Beats and Monster Cable have ended their partnership together on headphones, the two sides revealed this week. The two are now focusing independently on their own headphones. A pair of sources for Bloomberg added that Monster purportedly wanted more credit for the designs than Beats was willing to give.
HTC's plans for a quad-core tablet were made more real Thursday after a leak showed the device and some details. Now nicknamed the Quattro, the tablet PocketNow has seen in a press render should have the Tegra 3 that earns the Quattro its name. The 10-inch system would simultaneously be HTC's first Beats-equipped slate, getting the better sound and presumably better pack-in headphones.
HP in one of its more surprising unveilings Wednesday night completely remade its Envy 15 and 17 notebooks. The new versions take more of their visual cues from the MacBook Pro, adopting its silver-colored metal, but put an even heavier emphasis on Beats audio processing than they did in the past. Each has six speakers and a subwoofer, even going so far as to have an oversized thumb dial for volume that both gives it finer volume control and a more iconic look.
HP's last round of notebook updates included a unique refresh to the Pavilion dm4. The 14-inch ultraportable runs on more recent Intel Core processors but is unique in being the first known notebook with Radeon HD 7000 video. Some trim levels can carry a dedicated Radeon HD 7470M, whose performance is a mystery but should raise the bar for entry-to-mid-level video.
HP started off the week with a push into 3D in areas it doesn't normally touch. Its media hub, the Wireless TV Connect, now has a new model that has the still-rare ability to stream 3D video from a PC to a TV. It's now much smaller but can still take the footage directly from a PC's HDMI adapter, up to 1080p with 7.1-channel surround, over a WHDI stream with "virtually no latency" to its own wired HDMI connection.
As expected, HTC's New York City event saw the introduction of the Rezound. Verizon's Android 2.3 flagship is the first in the US with Beats Audio and carries both a special set of in-ear headphones as well as a unique audio profile that kicks in when the headphones are plugged in. It's also just the second phone after the Galaxy Nexus to have a 720p (720x1280) screen, and at 4.3 inches is sharper than its 4.65-inch Samsung rival.
A last-minute catch has shown the official, complete look of the HTC Rezound. Due to show this afternoon, the Android 2.3 device shown by PocketNow very closely resembles the Vivid at AT&T but with signature HTC-at-Verizon red cues and a more rounded design. Its Beats Audio and 4G logos are clearly in sight, although the shots don't give away what's on screen.
Verizon on Sunday spoiled HTC's November 3 event by posting ads for the Rezound. While they don't show more than a product shot, they do confirm the Beats Audio connection, including the signature red-corded headphones and red light-up navigation keys. The ads hint the phone might be ready to go soon after the event.
HTC on Tuesday sent out invitations for yet another special event, now on November 3. While saying little about the subject of the New York City gathering beyond promising a "latest innovation," the notice includes the Beats Audio logo, a strong sign that it's likely the Rezound. Phones like the Sensation XL and Sensation XE both have Beats but aren't so far expected to ever reach the US in official form.
HTC is trying to encourage developers to write audio apps for its handsets. The phone manufacturer will provide API tools to developers so that they can write code that will bring Beats Audio into HTC mobile devices. HTC has already integrated Beats by Dr. Dre apps into its phones, including the new Sensation XL, which was rolled out earlier this month.
HTC made another in a string of company buyouts Tuesday as it acquired Zoodles maker Inquisitive Minds for $13 million. The deal will get it the creator of a child-oriented front end for smartphones and tablets that both lets parents manage the enviroment, such as blocking ads or setting play times, as well as giving them a central place for books, drawing, games, and videos. HTC noted that there were about two million users, although it didn't say what would happen to Zoodles after the deal.
The HTC Vigor smartphone has been spotted in Verizon's Device Management system with the Rezound name. Droid-Life sources allegedly confirm that the phone will be renamed as such, and the name was rumored when the handset first appeared in unofficial channels. The major specs are impressive and include a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, a 4.3-inch 720p touchscreen, and LTE-based 4G.
HTC chief executive Peter Chou believes the Taiwanese company needs to develop more content deals in order to become the best-known smartphone brand. Speaking with the FT [free reg. required], Chou said users need a "holistic experience of hardware, software and content" in order to be successful. HTC already made deals with Saffron for streaming video, OnLive for gaming and a 10 percent stake in KKBox, a Taiwanese online music service.
HTC's special London event saw it roll out its largest-ever Android phone. The Sensation XL, previously nicknamed the Runnymede, has the same 4.7-inch, 480x800 LCD and 1.5GHz, single-core Snapdragon as its Windows Phone equivalent the Titan but has a much heavier focus on music. It takes on the Beats audio processing from the smaller but faster Sensation XE and comes with the same urBeats in-ear headphones, which kick in a special audio profile when plugged in.
HTC UK has issued an opt-in event invite on Facebook to the launch of HTC with Beats Audio. It's happening at the Roundhouse in London on October 6 and will include performances from Fedde le Grand, Martin Solveig and an unknown headliner. It's expected HTC will use the opportunity to officially reveal the Sensation XL/Runnymede, the Vigor smartphones, or both.
When HTC launches its new smartphone, code-named Runnymede, it will most likely not be called the Bass, as many had expected. Pocketnow now reports that the phone, which will be sold in packages offering Beats Audio accessories, will bear the name Sensation XL. The phone, which the company has still not officially announced, is most likely to have its formal debut at an upcoming HTC media event pegged for October 7.
HTC's extra-large Runnymede, possibly called the Bass, has been spotted in real life for the first time through a video (below). True to form, it has a very large and probably 4.7-inch screen. Beats audio is in view, although it's notable the phone is using HTC's older Sense 3.0 and not the 3.5 seen in the Rhyme and possibly the Vigor.
HTC's collaboration with Beats by Dr. Dre appears to be extending beyond just Android handsets, as the smartphone maker has confirmed plans to bring Beats Audio to upcoming Windows Phone devices. The company has yet to provide further details surrounding specific Windows Phone handsets that will be outfitted with the enhanced audio features, however.
HTC's Radar and Sensation XE will be hitting UK shelves on October 1. Retailer Phones4u is boasting that it will be the first in Britain to be offering the smartphones. The Sensation XE is an update to HTC's popular Sensation smartphone, which the company hopes will compete effectively against Apple's forthcoming iPhone 5.
HTC unveiled a rare early revamp of a core smartphone on Wednesday in anticipation of a heated battle with the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S II LTE. The Sensation XE upgrades in raw speed, from a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon to 1.5GHz, bit is also the first phone to take advantage of the HTC stake in Beats Audio. Its software has been tuned to improve the audio experience, and it ships with a pair of custom-designed Beats in-ear headphones and microphone remote that automatically switch to a unique audio profile when plugged in.
HTC's Runnymede was reinforced Monday with a discovery of a press shot. The phone is now near certain to be an Android conversion of the Windows Phone-based Titan and will share the 4.7-inch, 480x800 screen. Accordingly, what PocketNow saw would be an unusually mid-range device for the big screen, carrying a single-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon and either 16GB or 32GB of storage.
HP on Wednesday remade its TouchSmart all-in-ones for the home with five new models. The 20-inch TouchSmart 320, 21.5-inch TouchSmart 420, and 23-inch TouchSmart 520 all have a completely new design with a weighted base that lets them freely tilt the computer and LCD while creating a sense of space. Beats Audio processing comes along with an optional Pulse Subwoofer for the 520 that can give it deeper bass without needing an entirely separate set of speakers.
THX senior VP Rick Dean in an interview Monday said his company was pursuing its certification process for smartphones and tablets. The audio team was "actively going down that path" of hoping to improve mobile audio, in part because mobile devices could now output to a TV. Size limited what THX could do, but Dean told Pocket-lint that compression or DSP tuning could improve what came out of the system.
HTC signaled plans for a pair of likely US-bound phones on Wednesday through escaped official documents. One Beats audio processing. CNET heard that, along with better output, it would come with a higher-end set of in-ear headphones with an in-line remote.
A new rumor suggests that HTC is developing a new smartphone codenamed 'Runnymede' that is expected to pack Beats Audio. HTC recently injected $300 million into Beats Electronic in order to deliver handsets with better audio quality. The new phone is also set to be bundled with Beats Audio headphones, not earphones.
HP is planning a major, much slicker redesign of its TouchSmart all-in-ones. An escaped promo video shows the TouchSmart 520 having a considerably slimmer design more akin to the iMac but with its own design touches. The easel-like frame intercepted by Engadget would change to use "sweeping support arms" that would allow for easily pivoting the display.
The upcoming HTC Vigor will be the first to sport Beats technology in phones, Droid-Life learned from its sources. The Beats by Dr. Dre device should be identified as such by a logo that appears during the boot-up sequence. Otherwise, the source claims the device will indeed sport a 4.3-inch touchscreen with a very high 1280x720 resolution and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor.
Just hours after promising a "major" news event, HTC chief Peter Chou talked down expectations by revealing the plans ahead of time. The phone maker is investing $300 million into Beats Electronics' audio processing and will build it into future phones and tablets. One HTC device shipping this year would carry Beats audio, Chou said in an AllThingsD interview, without saying what.
Beats by Dr. Dre, owned by Monster, has just announced the released the Heartbeats by Lady Gaga in-ear headphones. They replace the original product of the same name, and thus carry the 2.0 moniker. The design was inspired by leather and studs and is compatible with iPhones and iPods to control music and make calls.
HP on Monday quietly posted some of the highest end of its new AMD Fusion-based Pavilion notebooks. The dv6z Quad Edition uses AMD's faster Llano-based chips and ranges from a 1.4GHz quad A6-3400M through to a 1.9GHz A8-3530MX, the two extremes of which can boost to 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz respectively. The Fusion technology gives them graphics capable of playing 1080p video smoothly, but they can be optioned up with an unspecific dedicated AMD Radeon chipset to handle more demanding games.
Signeo USA has recently unveiled a new range of headphones dubbed Soul by Ludacris. Offering an alternative to Dr. Dre's Beats headphones, the range is made up of five models. The range-topper is the SL300 Powered Noise Cancelling headphones, which have powered amplification thanks to two AAA batteries.
Most of the Beats by Dr. Dre line is high end but always targeted at the mainstream: it's the upgrade to your iPod's stock earbuds or the basic headphones you bought for your notebook. The Beats Pro, however, is billed as a professional headphone set for anyone from high-end home listeners to DJs and even audio engineers. With a price tag larger than many computers, we have high hopes for these reportedly audiophile quality earpieces; read on to our Beats Pro review for our take.
More details have popped up for HP's Opal and Topaz tablets that in a leak that shows at least some parallels to the iPad. Both devices will be the only known mainstream tablets outside of the iPad to have 1024x768 screens. Engadget's contacts added that the 9-inch Opal's dimensions will be so close to those of the iPad that it will be just 0.04 inches smaller on average than its Apple counterpart.
The premise of the Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones from Monster is that people "aren’t hearing all the music;" much of the time, however, that has meant premium audio out of the range of most listeners. The iBeats earbuds are targeted squarely at the army of white-earbud-wearing iPhone and iPod owners making their first leap beyond the pack-in earbuds. We'll find out in an iBeats review if the lower $120 asking price still provides a good trade-up from Apple's iconic audio.
HP kicked off its CES plans with speed upgrades to three of its highest-end notebooks. Both the Envy 17 and the Pavilion dv6 and dv7 now use Intel's Sandy Bridge-based Core processors and AMD's newer Radeon HD 6000M graphics. Systems can use up to the quad Core i7 and, on the Envy 17, AMD's completely new Radeon HD 6850M with graphics switching to save power by using Intel video.
HP's Pavilion home desktops got a major lift early this morning with both sound and visual upgrades. The Slimline s5700, Pavilion p6700 and Elite HPE-500 now have the Beats audio that was previously only an option for notebooks. Making the pick gives them richer audio output from headphones or speakers, purportedly getting closer to the intended sound.
The Apple Store today kicked off a post-Thanksgiving Monday sale that has swung attention to accessories and some of Apple's secondary services. Audio is a focus and sees Beats' Beatbox speaker dock and Solo HD headphones drop down by $40 and $20 respectively, to $360 and $180. M-Audio's KeyStudio 49 MIDI keyboard has also been discounted from $100 to $70, and Edifier's Prisma E3350 speakers have had their price lowered to $117.
The HP Envy 17 3D notebook introduced at the start of September will begin shipping from HP on November 5. The base system starts at $1,600, and for that money, buyers get 3D active shutter glasses, a quad 1.6GHz Core i7 CPU, a dual-layer Blu-ray writer and 6GB of RAM. The GPU is a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 with HDMI output.
Monster has expanded its Beats by Dr. Dre series with new earphones, PowerBeats, that are said to be borne of collaboration with Miami Heat star LeBron James. The earphones feature an adjustable ear hook with a flexible arm designed specifically for sports enthusiasts and athletes.
HP's notebook updates today included a pair of special versions of its Envy notebooks. Topping the mix is the Envy 17 3D; as HP's first real 3D notebook, it has a 120Hz, 1080p display that works with bundled active shutter glasses to produce a stereoscopic 3D image. It's seen as a movie-focused system and comes with both a Blu-ray drive and a new version of its MediaSmart app that will play 3D movies.
HP as part of a sweeping notebook update this morning became the first PC builder to use AMD's new mobile Phenom II processors. Its Pavilion dv5, dv6 and dv7 all have the option of using the dual- and quad-core versions of AMD's new chips and overcome many of the performance and battery life gaps with Intel. A dual-core 2.8GHz Phenom II N620 can be up to 69 percent faster than HP's previous best Turion Ultra but gets up to 24 percent more battery life.
On the Beats by Dre Solo box, Monster is keen to drum in a quote by Dr. Dre saying that "people aren’t hearing all the music" -- that typical headphones are giving up details, and Dre feels it his mission to get those details back. That he largely achieved that goal with the high end models is generally accepted, but how does the Beats line fare with a middle of the road offering? Are listeners really missing details in their music with other headphones? Our Beats Solo review finds out.
HP this afternoon provided fuller details of its special-run Envy 15 Beats (link active soon) notebook. It expands on the reference version by bundling a pair of Beats over-ear headphones as well as bundling Traktor LE for live DJing. Cosmetically, the model comes in the same glossy black and red as most Beats earphones.
