Hasta La Gadget!

Although HTC and Beats are just shy of the one-year anniversary of their 300 million dollar partnership, it looks like the two are again growing apart. In a letter to shareholders today, it’s been announced that the original owners of Beats plan to buy back 25 percent of its own shares, for a total ownership stake of 75 percent. That said, HTC will still retain nearly 25 percent of the remaining shares for itself, ensuring that it remains the largest external shareholder. As the release puts it, this new setup “provides Beats with more flexibility for global expansion while maintaining HTC’s major stake and commercial exclusivity in mobile.” All in all, it seems like this is more about shifting priorities given recent news like Beats’ MOG acquisition, but it wouldn’t make eventual breakup all the more unsurprising given the partnership’s mixed results.

Continue reading Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep ‘commercial exclusivity in mobile’

Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep ‘commercial exclusivity in mobile’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC is going on something of a certification tangent: it’s following its PlayStation Suite approval with its own program, HTC Connect. Home AV equipment with the label promises to lift the standards for streaming media to or from one of HTC’s devices. The rubber stamp will be limited at first to DLNA audio and video, but it should eventually include just about anything that doesn’t involve a wire, such as Bluetooth, in-car media, NFC and wireless speakers. There isn’t an immediate deluge of partners. HTC has scored a rather big ally, however: Pioneer’s DLNA-ready receivers and wireless speakers this year, and beyond, will flaunt the HTC Connect badge. Don’t brag about the media credentials of your One X just yet. Although the Connect seal of approval won’t be needed for media streaming anytime soon, it will only be coming to the One series through an upgrade in the months ahead.

Continue reading HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up

HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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