HTC buys Beats by Dr. Dre, plus a little bit of cool

HTC has announced today that is has invested into Beats by Dr. Dre, the company that makes headphones and loudspeakers.

In a press release sent to the media today, HTC wants to integrate the technology behind Beats into HTC handsets:

HTC® and Beats™ have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations.

“Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “It’s an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer’s mobile experience and audio is a critical part of that experience.”

HTC is currently using SRS sound enhancement technology in some of their products (specifically the HTC Sensation) so it makes sense for them to invest into an audio technology they can call their own.

However, when they picked Beats, I wondered what sort of unique technology the company possess that HTC would be interested in.

It’s pretty obvious though that this strategic partnership is more aligned to branding and marketing — a position that Beats by Dr. Dre can definitely bring. HTC’s $300 million investment is definitely a move to further push brand recognition in the US.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

22 Responses

  1. Avatar for Cheap Christian Cheap Christian says:

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  2. Avatar for Free Beats By Dre Free Beats By Dre says:

    If some one wishes to be updated with latest technologies after that he must be visit
    this site and be up to date daily.

  3. Avatar for ivan ivan says:

    HTC is investing $300 million for a majority stake in Beats, it said.

    It said that after its investment, Beats will continue to operate autonomously, and maintain its partnerships with HP, Chrysler Group and Monster Cable Products.

  4. Avatar for gadgetaddict gadgetaddict says:

    I agree with you Mediocre and decal stickers. But i think sennheiser and altec dont need htc to have a partnership with them (just in case). Very strict sila in terms of audio quality. I read a lot of reviews, weakness ng htc ang audio quality (excuse lang po sa mga htc users diyan). Desire and sensation lang yata yung nakita kong maganda ang audio quality but the rest medyo disappointing na.

  5. Avatar for decal stickers decal stickers says:

    @mediocre, same here bro! they should have invested with altec lansing, sennheisser etc. Tried one product by beats and 101% i agree it lacks bass. Mas okay pa ung sony megabass hehe

    OOH

  6. Avatar for Mediocre Mediocre says:

    Beats is just an overprice and overrated product with a little bass enhancement if they want quality they should’ve partnered with Sennheiser instead.

    • Avatar for whatever whatever says:

      Lol. You’re just talking from your @#%. YOu feel like you know a lot but seriously you’re too stupid to even suggest that.

  7. Avatar for lol lol says:

    grabe! you can buy coolness na! something pagmamayabang mo sa friends mo… “hey dude u know what… ive got Beats integrated in my phone. now throw that iPhone of yours!” hahahaha

    • Avatar for mukha mo mukha mo says:

      bumibili ka ba ng phone para ipagyabang and icompare lang sa iphone? pathetic naman

    • Avatar for carlocarr carlocarr says:

      @mukha mo
      alam mo yung term na *sarcasm*?
      tsaka totoo naman yun eh..some people buy gagdets to brag.. may kilala nga ako bumibili ng Highend na phone eh hinde naman nila alam gamitin yung features..
      hinde pathetic yun, dun sila masaya e..

    • Avatar for mukha mo mukha mo says:

      @carlocarr totoo na marami bumibili ng phone for social standing but to buy a phone para icompare sa iphone? lol. now thats pathetic. alam ko ung term and meaning ng sarcasm eh ikaw alam mo meaning and usage nun?

  8. Avatar for Ryan Ang Ryan Ang says:

    This is an interesting update. Before, HP is the only company that uses Beats. Now that HTC partners with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, will that mean HTC will now have monopoly to the tech for the mobile phone space or will the Pre’s gonna have the same opportunity to license the tech?

    In short, will it affect the relationship between Beats and HP?

  9. Avatar for Jonaflormicfren Jonaflormicfren says:

    So probably they will be coming out with better output.

  10. Avatar for lawrence lawrence says:

    With all the Patent wars between big smartphone brands, maybe HTC invested on Beats because of the several patents Beats own which HTC might be using on their devices in the future (or other manufacturers for that matter.)

  11. Avatar for Harwin John Harwin John says:

    It’s the name and popularity of Beats by Dre that HTC wants. I personally own a pair of Beats by Dre headphone and I can say that though it really has a great sound, you can find other headphones that offers the same sound quality for a much cheaper price.

  12. Avatar for Yogi Yogi says:

    I think the upcoming models will have better batteries. Thank God they’re also improving the sound quality of their phones. Beats headphones aren’t actually the best in the market (specially when you factor in the SRP), but it’s still a major improvement and the HTC+Beats deal will do marketing wonders for both brands.

    Camera nalang, HTC!

  13. Avatar for rod rod says:

    They could’ve improved first the battery life of their handsets instead of investing in audio performance. Battery life is more value-adding IMO.

  14. Avatar for Abe Olandres Abe Olandres says:

    @sylv3rblade – you don’t pay $300 million just to be a partner.

    • Avatar for sylv3rblade sylv3rblade says:

      Ah my fault for sticking summaries.. the full text includes:

      “Beats is still a privately held company so there’s no indication exactly how much of the company will be in HTC’s control, although Beats mentioned it would continue to operate independently of HTC and alongside current partners including HP”

      so yeah.. my bad :)

  15. Avatar for sylv3rblade sylv3rblade says:

    Hmm… Anand is reporting that It’s a partnership and not a buyout.

  16. Avatar for Michelle Yu Michelle Yu says:

    So, when a person buys an HTC phone, that person is not only paying for the phone but also the earphones?

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