HTC Says Farewell To Beats Headphones – Will No Longer Bundle Them With Future Devices
If you were planning on picking up an HTC EVO 4G LTE, or any other future device from HTC with expectations of getting your hands on the included Beats Audio headphones — let me stop you right there. The Taiwanese manufacturer has finally come their senses and apparently, will no longer bundle the (arguably over priced) headphones along with their devices. HTC’s product executive told Cnet today,
“An accessory like the headphone doesn’t factor in when someone is buying a smartphone. If they want a Beats headphone, they’ll buy it directly.”
But, when it comes to Beats Audio software, HTC will continue integrating the software into future devices, branding them with the famous “B” logo. Still, even with bassy software integration, that $300 million HTC paid to acquire a majority stake in Beats a few months ago sounds like a whole lot less of a value when actual hardware is no longer involved. If you listen carefully, you can hear Dr. Dre laughing his way to the bank.