Beats Electronics, the audio products company founded by Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre and Interscope-Geffen-A&M boss Jimmy Iovine, has cornered the market with their high-end Beats By Dre headphones and other audio equipment. According to a report from tech site Boy Genius Report (BGR), it appears that the company is looking to make a splash in the increasingly crowded smartphone and television markets in what is billed as an effort to take on technology giant Apple.
Electronics manufacturer HTC made an initial investment into the Beats line, hoping to tap into the company’s popularity and offer other collaborative products. Although HTC has already sold back half its ownership stake to Dre, Iovine and the Universal Music Group, they are part of a creative team that will develop a smartphone for the brand. While there is no name yet for the device or specs, Beats intends to introduce a service similar to iTunes nicknamed “Daisy” and plans to roll out a subscription-based music streaming service in the same vein as Spotify and other such apps.
Choosing not to rest on its laurels, the Beats team is also unveiling a “TV With Beats” via a partnership with manufacturer Samsung. BGR reports that the Beats TV will perform much like Apple TV and hopes that the new smartphone device will integrate seamlessly with the new television sets. This set up nearly mirrors Apple’s set up with its iPhone and how it plays well with other products the company produces.
Is there room for another smartphone? Can the Beats line compete with the big boys in the ultra-competitive tech world? If the success of the Beats By Dre headphone line is any indication, it appears that a fight for technological supremacy may be brewing soon.
As of now, there is no timeline for the release of the Beats phone.
