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HTC wants to be a Cool Kid as well – Invests $300 Million in Dr Dre’s Beats

Published by on Aug 11th, 2011, 1 Comment

This one we did not expect. While it is not yet official, it looks like HTC will announce a majority share acquisition of the Beats Electronics brand. You know the brand – those pricey headphones typically endorsed by some pop star, like Lady Gaga or P Diddy (or whatever he calls himself these days). They are currently made by Monster, that company that sells those ridiculously overpriced cables. Beats currently has similiar parttnerships as well with HP – with some of their high end machines featuring high end Beats audio. Now HTC also want some of that street cred.

“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 Corp. “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.”

While we can expect the full announcement soon, Wall Street Journal currently says HTC will invest $300 million for a strategic partnership. So you can expect Beats branded HTC phones in the coming year. Expect better sound quality from the built in speakers, better built in sound processing and hopefully better bundled headphones. Update: Turns out the final figure was $309 million, and HTC is acquiring 51 percent of Beats. Beats’s current chairman Jimmy Iovene will keep on running Beats despite the new ownership.

Call me crazy, but the combination of the overpriced Monster brand and celebrity endorsement has always put me off the Beats brand, despite the apparent good sound quality. But I can absolutely see the value of a Beats branded smartphone which specializes in decent sound quality.  But please HTC, do not go and brand the entire Android interface with the Beats logo, OK?

Click through for the Press Release: (more…)

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Vodacom Launches HTC Magic in South Africa

Published by on Jun 4th, 2009, 1 Comment

Vodacom has exclusively launched the new HTC Magic in South Africa. The handset runs on Google’s Android OS and allows users to customize every facet of the phone as per their wishes. It is an open source format where a user can create personal applications, themes and even games.

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And since HTC Magic is such an amazing phone that allows a crafty developer to access its core functionalities, Vodacom decided to also create South Africa’s first open market where people not only create what they want but, even sell their creativity to other Android based users across the country. The open market is supposed to feature exciting content, containing wallpapers, ringtones, videos and applications.

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With a one touch access to services like Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail and YouTube, and allowing speedy navigation on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Flickr, the new HTC Magic has been crafted for a uniquely powerful search experience.

Tailor-made by you and for you, HTC Magic features a 3.2-inch display with 320 x 480 resolutions and a full touch screen interface with an onscreen keyboard. Just a fraction smaller than the iPhone, could it be the long “rumored” iPhone killer we’ve heard of so many times?

Time will tell …

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