The Top List Update--How Is HP Doing Toward Becoming Cooler Than Apple?

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It’s hard to believe, but it’s been fully six months since we looked at a variety of things–the top six, in fact–things that new HP CEO Leo Apotheker could do to make HP cool. Admittedly, in corporate time, six months isn’t exactly a long time, But I figured it would be a good time to check in and do the first-ever top list update, in which we take a look at some of the things we suggested last time, and see how Apotheker et al are doing in light of these. So strap in and brace yourself for the first ever Top List Update, The Top Six Things Leo Apotheker Should Do To Make HP Cool.

6. Get The Kids Involved

As we mentioned in the earlier version, HP already got at start on this one, so we lead off with a chunk of good news. HP’s pursuit of the education market continues unabated, by all reasonable reports, so we know that they’re definitely keeping up the pace there. And as we said in the original article, the more they can do to get the young folks on board, the more likely they are to carry on with their transition from the king of beige boxes to an all-around equipment supplier.

5. Expand The Product Line

There is absolutely no doubt that HP’s pumping up the product line. The HP TouchPad is putting on a good showing, even if they have had to cut the prices recently. The Pre 3 is already getting its apps together, and you can even find some extra nifty stuff out there like the HP Movie Store app that puts movie rentals and purchases alike in users’ hands. If you were hoping to see stuff that would shake the beige box image, well, there’s no doubt that the tablet, the cell phone and the video store on the go qualify nicely.

4. Innovate Like Crazy

Invent, invent, invent; that’s what HP needs the utmost in order to get themselves looking as cool as Apple. And considering all the things we just saw in the last section, it’s not hard to see where HP is getting plenty of invention going on. They’ve already stepped up their game on a massive scale from the beige boxes, and are giving us plenty of bells and whistles and assorted toys that previously we would have only seen with Apple gear. We’re even seeing some stuff that you wouldn’t expect to find on Apple hardware, like 4G support. It’s going to be be very interesting indeed to see where HP takes the lead it’s only starting to build for itself.

3. Keep The Prices Under Control

News about rebates aplenty have been hitting lately, and HP is definitely working hard to keep its prices regulated, not to mention as competitive as possible with the folks out at Apple. The more they can improve on this score, the better they’ll do overall, as they’ll manage to keep the customers they’re bringing in with rebates and prevent their losses as much as possible simply by being a vastly, vastly better deal.

2. Subvert The System

This may be the area where HP is doing the worst. There haven’t been any real big “aha!” moments, no big light bulb, game changing Eureka moments for a company that very badly needs them. They’re getting somewhere with this, of course, but for the most part what they’re doing is essentially imitating Apple. And you can’t be cooler than your target by doing the exact same things they’re doing. There, the best you can hope for is to be as cool as Apple, and frankly, you’ll likely never get that far as you lose the first mover advantage that Apple perennially cultivates. HP’s been very weak by way of subverting the system of late, and hopefully, they can get that back and keep on innovating until they get a few Apple-style big names to their credit. I have to give them some credit for their subway offensive back last May, though, as a smart idea. Getting the Lady Gaga lookalikes involved definitely raised some eyebrows, as you can see below.

1. Get Apotheker More Involved

This area too, sadly, could see a lot more action than it has been of late. Apotheker doesn’t make many public appearances that we’ve seen so far, no huge shows, not even a fake version of him hawking iced tea in some foreign country. It’s a shame too, because Apotheker could definitely use a little more of that rock star style edge in his favor. Again, I insist that the man looks almost exactly like Captain Picard, and with looks like that, he could definitely land some geek cred in his–and through him, in HP’s–favor.

And so, that’s our look back at the top six ways to help HP get to that vaunted “cooler than Apple” status. They’re doing a pretty good job, from most any indication. They’ve definitely shattered the beige box paradigm and are well on their way toward getting that cool rank they want so badly. But to be cooler than Apple–even as cool as Apple–is going to take quite a bit more work yet. They’re going to have to really step up that game in order to get that ranking they want.

But what about you guys? What do you think is missing from HP’s bid to become cooler than Apple? We definitely want to hear what you think about this one, so head on down to the comments section, and tell us just what Apotheker et al are going to have to do in order to be just as cool as–or even more so than–Apple.

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