HP decides to stop selling iPods

The iPod is the world's most popular digital music player

US computer firm Hewlett-Packard has decided to stop reselling Apple's iconic iPod music player.

HP said its sales of iPods would stop by the end of September, ending a relationship which began in early 2004.

The deal to sell the devices had been secured by the former HP chief executive, Carly Fiorina, but she resigned earlier this year.

Under new chief Mark Hurd, the firm is now reshaping its plans across the board.

Details already released of the rethink include 14,500 job cuts - about one in 10 of the firm's worldwide staff.

"HP has decided that reselling iPods does not fit within the company's current digital entertainment strategy," said an Apple spokeswoman.

HP will still install Apple's iTunes music software on its PCs.

The deal allowed HP to sell iPods which carried small HP logos alongside the normal Apple branding, and accounted for some 5% of the device's overall sales.

The popularity of the iPod has been largely responsible for a huge upsurge in Apple's profits, which rose fivefold in the second quarter of the year.