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Report: Apple, HP plan to ship 1 million iPods a month

Research firm says Apple and HP will combine to sell a million iPods a month as the holiday buying season nears.

Apple Computer and Hewlett-Packard are planning to ship about 1 million iPods per month starting in October, the Susquehanna Financial Group (SFG) said in a research report this week.

The reported figure would represent a more than three-fold increase in iPod shipments from the Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple. Last quarter the company shipped a total of 860,000 iPods as it battled a shortage of hard drives for its flavorful iPod mini.

For Apple\'s fourth fiscal quarter, which ends this month, analysts expect the company to have shipped anywhere from 900,000 to 1.4 million iPods. Still, these numbers pale in comparison to SFG\'s estimate of 3 million iPods during the company\'s fiscal Q1 of 2005.

It\'s unclear if, and for how long, the two companies will be able to sustain sales of 1 million iPods each month. Apple is actively attempting to reduce the cost of its iPod mini player, and could boost post holiday season sales with the introduction of a revised, cheaper mini in early 2005.