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[Ovid]

Don't forget to pick up AppleCare with your Beats headphones.

 

[Servbot24]

So Apple will continue to have terrible ear buds / headphones. :/

 

[catmincer]

A licensing deal to use a branded equalizer does not equal purchasing an entire company

Actually, the owned 50% of the company and sold it off. It was hardly just a licencing deal.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Do people not know beats has a streaming service?

 

[rashbeep]

Beats makes overpriced hardware, perfect match for Apple's hardware business.

First thought that came to my head.

 

[MutFox]

I see the "Beats Audio" stickers on other PC's...
Do they even make an Audio Chipset or is it just bundled software on a PC build?

Also, would those stickers be taken off other PC's after the acquisition,
or is this a way for Apple to make money off other PC builds?

 

[Devolution]

Complete overear senns are my fav. I need a new pair though. The jack broke.

 

[boingball]

That sounds like an incredibly stupid acquisition. Beats is probably at its peak, I don't think they can grow their business anymore.

But well, if managers don't have any ideas they buy a company.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

Seems like a weird buyout. Maybe Cook is getting Dre to finally do Detox.

I couldn't care less about those silly Beats headphones but if the buyout lets this happen, I'm all for it.

 

[ComputerMKII]

Why?

 

[LCfiner]

ugh. I hope not.

 

[DrFunk]

Guess nobody forgot about Dre

 

[JohnDoe]

Apple, you know better than this.

 

[Ovid]

Do people not know beats has a streaming service?

Buying their competition and buying "cool" too.

 

[lastflowers]

very weird acquisition if you ask me.

 

[Kraftwerk]

If this goes through, Dre will probably become a billionaire. He is already worth around $500 million. Will crush Diddy's goal in reaching billionaire status first. Diddy is around $700 milklion already.

 

[Kano on the Phone]

very weird acquisition if you ask me.

*why intensifies*

Interesting... I'm not sure what Apple gets out of this to make it worth it?

Why?

Do people not know beats has a streaming service?

Apparently not. This is a brilliant move. I honestly thought they might buy Rdio, but this is just as good. Apple is way behind the times when it comes to streaming audio.

 

[CartridgeBlower]

I wonder how Trent Reznor feels about this. Wasn't he one of the prime architects of the Beats streaming service?

 

[Nibel]

 

[injurai]

<scust intensifies>

 

[Avon Barksdale]

We're never going to get Detox now.

 

[Hasney]

I see the "Beats Audio" stickers on other PC's...
Do they even make an Audio Chipset or is it just bundled software on a PC build?

Also, would those stickers be taken off other PC's after the acquisition,
or is this a way for Apple to make money off other PC builds?

It wasn't really a chipset, it was a certain set of standards on the HP ones. Honestly, it was some of the best sound you could get out of a decent priced laptop speaker.

The big theme here is trying to preserve the audio signal from interference as it moves it’s way down the chain to your ears. This includes attempts to isolate the audio hardware on the motherboard, having a discrete headphone amplifier, separated right, left, and ground audio wires, and even a headphone jack with “no metal parts” to reduce grounding noise. There’s also a Beats Audio-specific sound profile that can be enabled to take advantage of the particular hardware that Beats Audio provides.

http://m.webosnation.com/what-beats-audio

 

[element]

Damn! Dre is going to be rolling in money.

Sold 51% to HTC for $309m in 2011
HTC sold 25% for $150m in 2012
Beats bought back the remaining HTC shares for $265m

And now the whole thing for $3 billion?

 

[Das Mookid]

Beats makes overpriced hardware, perfect match for Apple's hardware business.

So much this. Perfect match.

 

[kehs]

Do people not know beats has a streaming service?

I'm guessing it lies somewhere between sony's and samsung's.

 

[DominoKid]

whoa.

 

[strafer]

So what's so special about these?

 

[Dicer]

Perfectly

Spoiler

gross

match

 

[CaptainSlow]

Cool, now they can slap a "b" on their shitty ear buds, pack them separately, and charge $200 for them now!

 

[enzo_gt]

Interesting... I'm not sure what Apple gets out of this to make it worth it?

Beats has invested a LOT into their new Beats music service too, something Apple is most afraid of I guess.

 

[saelz8]

So what's so special about these?

Nothing. You can get another brand of headphones with the same or superior quality for half the cost. They are popular though, and control 40% of the headphone market. They won advertising, basically.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Did Apple kill your parents or something, jesus.

The most disappointing part is it's a'll the same jokes from 2005, too. We want new Apple material. Step up your humor game, terrisus.

 

[BlackNMild2k1]

Would this mean that Dr Dre beat Beyonce to being the highest paid black entertainer ever!?

 

[Kano on the Phone]

I'm guessing it lies somewhere between sony's and samsung's.

It's really solid. What an odd thing to just assume about a product you can try free.

 

[Fatalah]

Is Apple trying to tap into a custumer demo they're losing to Android? Does Beats have a demo?

 

[lastflowers]

Apparently not. This is a brilliant move. I honestly thought they might buy Rdio, but this is just as good. Apple is way behind the times when it comes to streaming audio.

I know they have one, and it's clear that the purchase would be about the streaming service and not the hardware aspect of beats. I'm just shocked that they haven't been developing a service. It seemed like they should have been developing such a service for a long time now, as the market has shifted quite dramatically over the past couple of years. It was a such a natural evolution of the iTunes formula that's it's shocking they haven't adapted.

 

[LaNaranja]

Beats makes overpriced hardware, perfect match for Apple's hardware business.

Yup. I assume there next move is to buy Monster Inc.

 

[Requiem]

You're one of the worst posters on Neogaf.

Well thats mean

 

[Timbuktu]

Is this a lot of money for them?

 

[ReAxion]

I don't get it, but okay. Probably gonna stock Apple Stores with them.

If you don't know Beats has a streaming audio service you might also not know about iTunes radio?

 

[Kano on the Phone]

I know they have one, and it's clear that the purchase would be about the streaming service and not the hardware aspect of beats. I'm just shocked that they haven't been developing a service. It seemed like they should have been developing such a service for a long time now, as the market has shifted quite dramatically over the past couple of years. It was a such a natural evolution of the iTunes formula that's it's shocking they haven't adapted.

It's a bad assumption to guess that they haven't, Have you tried Beats? I was impressed at how good the service was. I would say the smarter money is that a better one came along, ready to use, and they figured that was better than continuing to develop their own.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I guess Dre's going to be expanding Tom Brady's mansion.

 

[SRG01]

Apparently not. This is a brilliant move. I honestly thought they might buy Rdio, but this is just as good. Apple is way behind the times when it comes to streaming audio.

They don't need to buy another company if they want streaming. iTunes is already the biggest music store hands down. All they have to do is release 'iTunes streaming' and call it a day.

Apple doesn't care about product cannibalization, as seen with their previous product releases already.

 

[mackaveli]

Is this a lot of money for them?

No. Apple has 150 billion in cash. 88% is overseas though.

 

[ThatGuyAgain]

I didn't realize that Beats has a streaming service. Maybe that is what Apple is really after?

 

[D4Danger]

haters say Dre fell off

 

[la_briola]

Yup. I assume there next move is to buy Monster Inc.

Do you mean Disney or Coca Cola?

 

[AHA-Lambda]

This seems like such a weird choice of acquisition, why Beats? =/

 

[Stinkles]

This seems CRAZY to me.


Beats is a branding company, and one hipster away from becoming passé, not a technology company. Is apple genuinely getting on the follower bandwagon instead of leading?


Am I the crazy one?

 

[rezuth]

I've heard pretty good things about the talent over there. Great software, design and hardware teams, also a very promising music service. I doubt Apple would be interested in keeping the "Beats by Dre" brand of headphones etc going.

This seems CRAZY to me.


Beats is a branding company, not a technology company. Is apple genuinely getting on the follower bandwagon instead of leading?


Am I the crazy one?

You are crazy.