Is Beats about to go solo..? That’s what common opinion from a number of web sources would suggest today. And following word that mobile buddy HTC has recently sold back 50% of its half ownership of the audio software and head phone company, we would not be surprised to see a Beats own-branded smartphone hit the market.
Back in July, HTC sold back a 25% share of Beats Audio – the Dr Dre owned company – which was purchased no further back than a year ago in August 2011. This was part of a ‘strategic partnership and investment’ which cost HTC $300 million and birthed a number of popular audio enhanced smartphones including the HTC Sensation XL and the line continues with the recently announced HTC Desire X. These models delivered sharper sounds and compatibility with those stylish headphones and of course carry the street cred of bearing that Beats logo on the back.
Beats has recently been doing a spot of shopping of its own, snapping up MOG an online music and sharing network akin to iTunes or Spotify – branded as Beats this would become the perfect addition and start point for an audio based smartphone. At time of this acquisition Dre’s co. declared “Beats was never about just headphones. We’ve expanded the Beats mission to every other link in the music experience chain – speakers, mobile phones, personal computers and automobile sound systems”.
It’s believed that HTC will help in the Beats designed hardware’s manufacturing but that’s as far as the Taiwanese mobile co.’s involvement will go. This will be a Beats project based around Android featuring a custom made user interface (no ‘Beats with HTC’ collaboration.)
As for now it’s merely rumours but the Gadget Helpline will keep our readers in tune with the latest on this one!
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Source: BGR