Talk about weird developments: in a move that could best be described as "strange", Dell has just announced that it will begin to sell Apple's iPod hard drive digital MP3 portable music player. Due to the history of Dell's competition with Apple (particularly in the educational market) this makes this announcement all the more intriguing.

Dell will only be selling the Windows versions of the iPod, but will offer the 5GB, 10GB, and 20GB versions. The traffic in Dell's online store has sufficient volume to be attractive to Apple, who with the iPod, has been working hard to break into new markets.

Dell is not a stranger to offering portable MP3 products and has offered products from Archos Technology, Creative Labs and Sonicblue on its site. Currently, Dell does not offer its own "Dell Branded" MP3 player solution, but with their pending launch of a Dell PDA, this might not be that far off.

Dell is not the only one to be adding the iPod to their
line up: retailer Target is also reportedly going to offer the Apple iPod for sale in their retail stores.

With its excellent form factor, long battery life, and easy-to-use interface, Apple is certain to make inroads into new markets with the iPod. THG recently gave the iPod for Windows a glowing review in an article entitled "The Apple iPod For Windows Begins A New Legacy."

In case you missed it, you can click here to read our review of the Apple iPod titled "The Apple iPod For Windows Begins A New Legacy"