Kellen and I were talking earlier this week about how Android used to be entertaining. While I might counter that it’s still entertaining, there are few instances from around ten years ago that do support the idea that Android was, in fact, considerably more entertaining in the past. The use of Beats Audio on HTC smartphones is one illustration.
You see, it was reported in 2011 that HTC was spending $300 million to acquire a controlling interest in Beats. At that time, “integrated devices,” which implied HTC would release phones with Beats Audio built in, were hinted. And they did free them. The HTC One (M7), a phone, was the first product with Beats for the US market many Android bloggers love to call the most beautiful phone of all time. Priced at $199, the phone featured dual amplified front-facing speakers lovingly called BoomSound and they were f’ing awesome.
Even though the purpose of this post isn’t to break down the entire drama surrounding HTC’s purchase of Beats control, its subsequent sale, and Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats Music and Electronics, the HTC x Beats Audio timeline does sound exciting, and if it were turned into a movie, I would definitely watch it.
The stunningly gorgeous One X, the DROID DNA, and the HTC Rezound are a few of the standouts in the lineup of smartphones that came with Beats-branded audio. You may also remember that HTC used to bundle Beats Audio hardware with their products, making many of these phone purchases an excellent value. However, HTC stopped doing it, which infuriated many.
