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Tag: beats audio

  • Beats Music Streaming Service Launches on January 21

    The streaming music service industry is about to get yet another large player.

    Beats Electronics this weekend announced that’s its new streaming music service, Beats Music, will be launching on January 21. Customers can go ahead and reserve their screen name for the service through the Beats website.

    Like other streaming music services, Beats Music will provide subscribers with a large catalog of music (“tens of millions of songs,” over 20 million to be specific) to stream. Beats, however, is claiming that its streaming service will help customers find music that will fit the context they are currently it. The company has enlisted the help of radio DJs and music writers to help curate its music catalog and create recommended playlists.

    Beats Music will cost $9.99 per month for unlimited streaming of its music catalog. Beats will also be offering a free limited trial of the service when it launches. The Beats Music app will be available for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and PC platforms when it launches.

    In addition to the individual subscriptions, Beats has partnered with AT&T to allow AT&T subscribers to sign up for a family plan. The plan will cost $14.99 per month and allows up to five people to use up to 10 devices to stream Beats Music.

    “We’re excited to be able to offer our breakthrough service through the nation’s premier mobile service,” said Ian Rogers, CEO of Beats Music. “This exclusive collaboration will allow Beats Music to lead the music streaming category by making the benefits of a premium experience available to the biggest audience. Thanks to AT&T’s commitment to an integrated approach with Beats Music, this is an affordable way for everyone in the family to enjoy the right music that’s right for them.”

  • HTC Sells Back Its 25% of Beats Electronics

    For almost two years now, all of HTC’s smartphones have come equipped with Beats Electronics-branded audio. This is because, two years ago, HTC bought a 25% share in Beats, the audio equipment company founded by famed rap producer Dr. Dre. However, just over one month ago, reports surfaced that the growing company was looking to buy back those shares from HTC, seeking out investors to finance the purchase.

    Now, with an image to uphold, Beats has officially acquired some 26,000 of its Class B stock from HTC – an estimated 24.84 interest in the company. The purchase cost Beats $250 million, and HTC now owns no part of the company. HTC originally paid around $300 million for the shares back in 2011.

    Beats, which is now a well-recognized brand of premium-priced headphones, has recently begun increasing its product range, including Beats-branded speakers, car audio systems, and PC audio. The company is currently looking for debt financing for future expansion.

    While Beats continues to grow, HTC is currently in a downward spiral. The tech company’s most recent high-end smartphone offerings, HTC One X and HTC One, failed to sell well despite being well-reviewed by critics. The company is now relying on an odd Robert Downey, Jr. marketing campaign to save its handset division. HTC has been caught in the same place as other Android smartphone manufacturers, with Samsung’s range of Galaxy and other Android devices dominating the sector.

  • Beats Reportedly Trying to Cut HTC Ties

    Two years ago, electronics manufacturer HTC acquired 25% of Beats Electronics, the audio equipment company founded by Dr. Dre. Since that time, most of HTC’s smartphone lineup has been stocked with Beats-branded audio. Now that HTC is quickly losing smartphone market share, however, Beats is looking to cut ties with the smartphone maker.

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Beats is looking to buy out HTC’s shares of the company. According to the report’s unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” beats is also rumored to be speaking with a possible investor that could finance an expansion of Beats’ product offerings. The company recently began branding speakers, car audio systems, and PCs.

    While Beats has managed to corner the market on premium-priced headphones, the company is still looking for debt financing for its growth. Meanwhile, HTC has been left behind by the growth of the smartphone market over the past two years. While the company was once the best-selling Android smartphone brand in the U.S., it has since been surpassed by Samsung. The company doubled-down on the high-end smartphone market with its HTC One X and HTC One devices this past year. Though the phones were well-reviewed, sales of the devices failed to make a dent in Samsung’s growing Galaxy smartphone empire.

    HTC’s current hopes lie with a strange billion-dollar advertising campaign starring Robert Downey, Jr.

    (via The Wall Street Journal)

  • HTC Rezound Unveiled, Release Date November 14th

    HTC has just unveiled its long-awaited Rezound, and it’s the first smartphone in the U.S. to come stocked with Beats Audio. That means that the device will come with a high-definition audio experience unlike any other device on the market today.

    The HTC Rezound enables customers to hear music the way the artist intended with unique audio tuning by Beats that delivers thundering bass, soaring midrange and crisp highs. Unique to HTC, the HTC Rezound also includes new lightweight Beats headphones, created exclusively to integrate with the Beats’ audio profile on the device. Hands-free calling is easy with the built-in microphone and the on-cable remote to pause, advance or rewind and answer a call mid-track.

    The Rezound is the first HTC phone with a true HD 720p display, on its 4.3 inch screen. It’s got a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and will run on Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The device features a rear-facing 8 MP camera and a front-facing 2 MP camera and is capable of 1080p video.

    Here are some additional features:

    Mobile Hotspot capability: share 4G connection with up to ten Wi-Fi-enabled devices
    Operating System: Android 2.3™ (Gingerbread) with latest HTC Sense – an upgrade to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will be available in early 2012
    Internal Memory: 16 GB on-board memory, 1 GB DDR2 RAM
    Memory Card: 16 GB MicroSD™ pre-installed
    Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n
    Bluetooth®: 3.0 – support for headset, hands-free, stereo, phonebook access and object push for vCard and vCalendar
    GPS: GPS/AGPS
    Battery: 1,620 mAh
    Special Features: HDMI (through MHL), G-sensor, Light sensor, Compass, Proximity sensor, MicroUSB, USIM/CSIM/ISIM, audio jack and Wireless Charging capable
    Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM8660 1.5GHz, Qualcomm® MDM9600
    Dimensions: 129 x 65.5 x 13.65 mm

    The phone will launch exclusively on Verizon on November 14th and will run you $299 with a new contract.