A scoop Tuesday had the Nokia Lumia 800 reaching the US in an official capacity, but with conditions. A source for The Verge had Nokia's first Windows Phone coming to the US through Microsoft Stores as part of a bundle. The pack would include both an unlocked Lumia 800 as well as a Play 360 Bluetooth speaker and a Purity HD stereo headphone set.
This week at CES, Monster unveiled its new lineup of headphones that look to improve both audio quality and aesthetics. New products include the Inspiration, iSport, Diesel Vektr, Diamond Tears, and the Earth, Wind & Fire-backed Gratitude. In most cases, Monster is taking them relatively upscale compared to more utilitarian audio.
Monster Digital, so far only known for its cards, said Friday that it's planning to enter the solid-state drive space. The LeMans series will use some of the faster memory controllers on tap, peaking at 550MB per second in read speeds and 515MB per second in writes. Most details have been left out until the unveiling, which is slated for the CES expo in mid-January.
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.
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.
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.
Apple is keeping tabs on a problem with Monster headphones, internal leaks are said to reveal. In particular Apple is reportedly claiming an issue with the conductive flanges in some Monster units, which may be causing iPads, iPhones and iPods to erratically start and stop music. Affected Monster headphones use "ControlTalk" technology, based on Apple's in-line remote controls.
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.
Monster has announced that its Diddybeats in-ear headphones are now available from Best Buy's online store and retail locations. The headphones are the latest addition to the company's Beats by Dr. Dre series, created through collaboration with Sean "Diddy" Combs. The design is produced from aluminum with colored accents.
Monster on Thursday releaased special edition Butterfly headphones designed by Vivienne Tam. Based on the designer's Butterfly Lovers theme from the Spring 2010 fashion collection, the earbuds have an all-metal housing that reduces resonance. A cable management system has a built-in slider and clip that will keep the weight off the headphones, reducing stress on a wearer's ears.
Apple as promised has launched its Black Friday sale, currently ongoing in the US, Canada and Europe. The Friday-only discounts are highlighted by a $101 price cut for all iMac and MacBook Pro models regardless of size. The iPod touch also sees heavy discounts, bringing the 64GB model down to $358, the 32GB version to $268 and the 8GB model down to $178.
Monster unusually chose Labor Day to add two sets of earphones to its mix, including its first not primarily backed by Dr. Dre. The Heartbeats were co-designed by Lady Gaga and are meant to produce audio quality much like the Beats Tour in-ears but with the pop star's visual input, such as a jewel-like cap on the earpiece and a metal body. They still have Monster's unique ribbon-like cables that cut down on tangling and should also reduce the likelihood of a cable break.
Interscope Records is enlisting the help of Dr. Dre as well as HP for an initiative that would boost the quality of audio on computers, the combination of a leak as well as some official information. While Interscope head Jimmy Iovine will only acknowledge that the label hopes to improve quality across the "entire chain" from the files themselves to listening devices, CNET hears from music industry contacts that HP will launch high-end notebooks, earphones and software with Dr. Dre's "Beats" label sometime in the fall. Specifics of the arrangement weren't included.
Monster on Wednesday announced the release of seven new accessories for Apple's iPods and iPhones. This includes the new MonsteriCarPlay Wireless 1000 and iCarPlay Wireless 800 FM transmitters which also charge the iPhone and iPod. The 1000 can also be used in the home or office, thanks to a USB connection for charging that is compatible with standard USB drives or Monster's existing iSlimCharger or iCharger Travel USB wall chargers.
Monster Cable has unveiled a number of new products at the CEA's New York show, including a couple of firsts for the California-based company. A tabletop remote control, the MCC AV50 Home Theater Controller, can be setup via a web interface and allow one-touch-button control of multiple home theater components, such as Play a DVD or Listen to Satellite Radio.
Netflix has recently put up a job posting on Monster seeking an Engineering Leader for Gaming Platforms. The team such a position heads up is responsible for prototyping, testing and building a Netflix user interface on various gaming platforms. The posting's verbiage points to creating media rich applications on current generation gaming consoles, and with the Xbox 360 already sporting a Netflix interface, this could mean the PlayStation 3 and possibly even Nintendo's Wii.
Monster Cable today said it will soon ship its Beats headphones. The over-the-ear audio equipment is developed in tandem with rap artist Dr. Dre and Interscope head Jimmy Iovine, and is said to be tuned for accuracy at both the high end, the mid-range, and in bass response, even with relatively low-power portable audio devices. The headset also provides active noise reduction that cancels out background sounds and purportedly mimics the experience of studio monitors.
Monster Cable announced today it will offer a wireless transmitter for HDTV signals that will connect a home theater's TV set with a digital signal box or DVD player. The wireless system is comprised of a receiver that plugs into the HDTV's HDMI port along with a transmitter unit that will hook up with the signal source. Called Monster Digital Express HD, the set-up will also upscale non-HD signals to HD resolution.
