HP to Drop iTunes in 2006?

Macworld.co.uk reports that Hewlett Packard may stop pre-installing iTunes on their line of PCs in 2006.

This follows their earlier announcement in July that they would stop selling re-branded HP iPods. According to a statement at the time "reselling the iPod no longer fit with HP's current digital media strategy".

Reportedly, HP had a contractual agreement with Apple to continue bundling iTunes with their HP computers until January of 2006. Beyond that, however, future plans are unclear. HP has not made any announcements, but Macworld.co.uk speculates that HP will adopt a Microsoft Windows Media solution.