Tag Archives: DrDre

WSJ: Beats Electronics looking to end HTC partnership

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WSJ Beats Electronics looking to end HTC partnership

Whatever you feel about Beats' audio, you can't help but think that the company's partnership with HTC hasn't really worked out. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Dr. Dre and Co. are planning to buy back the phone maker's remaining 25 percent stake in the business -- just a year after HTC reduced its stake by half. Either way, we're hoping that this potential separation helps HTC get back to winning ways and frees up Dr. Dre to resuming prescribing those pills he's now so fond of.

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Via: WSJ Digits

Source: Wall Street Journal

Beats unveils refreshed Studio headphones with 20-hour battery, improved comfort

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Beats unveils refreshed Studio headphones with 20hour battery, improved comfort

You haven't forgotten about Dre, have you? His Beats Studio headphones -- the ones that started the whole celebrity-endorsed portable-audio craze in 2008 -- are finally getting a full-on revamp. Well into its post-Monster life, Beats Electronics has addressed the chief complaints of the original. An extension of a modernized silhouette, the new Studio is 13 grams lighter (263g), with improved padding and ergonomics to provide better comfort. Better yet, these over-ear cans pack a headband that won't snap so easily during extreme bends. Updated noise-cancellation tech enables the Studio to automatically adjust depending on your surroundings -- it even intensifies the effect for further noise reduction when the cable (which naturally features an in-line remote and mic) isn't plugged in.

The days of needing to carry an extra pack of Duracells are gone too; the Li-Ion battery promises 20 hours of music playback. Meanwhile, a variable-color LED displays juice levels and an automatic power control keeps the cells from draining if you forget to turn 'em off. The company's new DSP, Beats Acoustic Engine (BAE), aims for a voicing of "balance, accuracy and emotion," and the cans apparently leak out less sound to those around you. So, is it more than just a new take on the bass-heavy S-curve that's managed to "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" for five years? You can find out this August for the admission price of $300, in your choice of black, white or red.

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Source: Beats Electronics

Beats is either ‘in talks’ with Apple over new music-streaming service, or it’s just very good at marketing

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Beats musicstreaming service is in either 'in talks' with Apple or just very good at marketing

Excuse us, but we find it hard to swallow some of the hype that swirls around the Beats brand. That sounds harsh, maybe, but it's borne out of experience. Anyway, we do trust Reuters, and that outlet claims to have it on good authority that Beats is "in talks" with Apple over a partnership involving the forthcoming Daisy music-streaming service that was formerly MOG. The word is that Tim Cook attended an "informational" meeting with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine and "expressed interest" in his business model -- whatever that is -- and that Apple's head of Internet products, Eddy Cue, was also present.

In news that is very much related, Beats has also revealed that it's managed to generate enough buzz around the $12 million acquisition of MOG to raise a further $60 million in investment to help it to launch the rebranded and hopefully expanded service as a separate entity later this year. It'll be interesting to see how the newcomer plans to tackle the already-entrenched competition, possibly with curated playlists and other MySpace-style ideas, and we're fully prepared to eat our skeptics' hats if it succeeds.

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Via: VentureBeat

Source: Reuters

Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker spotted at FCC and HMV: take one and call Dr. Dre in the morning

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Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker spotted at FCC and HMV take one and call Dr Dre in the morning

The Beats by Dr. Dre badge has usually been attached to headphones and the occasional laptop or smartphone. We've never really seen it attached to dedicated speakers, however, and that's where both an FCC filing and a sighting at UK retailer HMV's online store raise a few eyebrows. The House that Dre Built appears on the edge of launching the Beats Pill, a Bluetooth wireless speaker with four drivers and a shape that more than explains the medicinal name. While we don't know just how much of that signature Beats thump we'll get, we do know from the FCC that the Pill can serve as a speakerphone, carries an aux-in jack and will last for a typical 8.5 hours on its USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery. There's also signs of a red version of Beats' Mixr headphones coming at the same time. HMV has publicly scoured its pages of any trace of a ship date or price for the Pill, but cached copies point to a £170 ($276) price and a release around September 28th -- not necessarily trustworthy figures, but they may be in the ballpark. Our only question is whether or not we'll get a dose of the Pill in the US.

[Thanks, Germaine]

Gallery: Beats Pill speaker (unofficial)

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Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker spotted at FCC and HMV: take one and call Dr. Dre in the morning originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep ‘commercial exclusivity in mobile’

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Although HTC and Beats are just shy of the one-year anniversary of their 300 million dollar partnership, it looks like the two are again growing apart. In a letter to shareholders today, it's been announced that the original owners of Beats plan to buy back 25 percent of its own shares, for a total ownership stake of 75 percent. That said, HTC will still retain nearly 25 percent of the remaining shares for itself, ensuring that it remains the largest external shareholder. As the release puts it, this new setup "provides Beats with more flexibility for global expansion while maintaining HTC's major stake and commercial exclusivity in mobile." All in all, it seems like this is more about shifting priorities given recent news like Beats' MOG acquisition, but it wouldn't make eventual breakup all the more unsurprising given the partnership's mixed results.

Continue reading Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep 'commercial exclusivity in mobile'

Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep 'commercial exclusivity in mobile' originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC moves aside CFO who oversaw $300 million Beats Audio deal

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HTC moves aside CFO who oversaw $300 million Beats Audio deal

HTC's CFO Winston Yung has been shunted into a 'corporate development' role after barely a year on the job. He orchestrated some pretty controversial deals during his tenure, including the $300 million purchase of the Beats Audio brand from Dr. Dre -- an acquisition that has so far shown little value except as a marketing device. Yung also occupied the hot seat while HTC's balance sheet suddenly flipped from brilliant to bad and then worse, and was outspoken in his views of what went wrong. HTC has provided no reason for the job shift, leaving analysts to guess at how the company's strategy will change to capitalize on its new One smartphones and battle against Sammy's imminent contender. The new CFO is Chia-Lin Chang, a former Goldman Sachs partner and Motorola engineer who hopefully knows how to handle pressure.

HTC moves aside CFO who oversaw $300 million Beats Audio deal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tupac hologram performs at Coachella, keeps all eyez on him

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Tupac hologram performs at Coachella, keeps all eyez on him

Have you been getting a kick out of Coachella's jams and arts in Indio, California? Or, did you decide to peacefully enjoy it from home via YouTube's site? Either way, you may have heard Tupac made an on-stage holographic appearance over the weekend, performing Hail Mary and 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted alongside Snoop Dogg. Tupac's hologram was made possible by AV Concepts in partnership with Dr. Dre's production company and Digital Domain, after reportedly working on the project for a few months. The outfits used a display technology dubbed "Eyeliner" that, with the help of a custom rig and a mechanical solution, was able to shoot out a life-sized, 3D illusion of Mr. Shakur onto the Coachella platform. Don't believe us? Hit 'em up at the source below, though we feel compelled to tell you language isn't exactly for all ages.

Continue reading Tupac hologram performs at Coachella, keeps all eyez on him

Tupac hologram performs at Coachella, keeps all eyez on him originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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