BeatsByDrDre
Latest
Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker spotted at FCC and HMV: take one and call Dr. Dre in the morning
The Beats by Dr. Dre badge has usually been attached to headphones and the occasional laptop or smartphone. We've never really seen it attached to dedicated speakers, however, and that's where both an FCC filing and a sighting at UK retailer HMV's online store raise a few eyebrows. The House that Dre Built appears on the edge of launching the Beats Pill, a Bluetooth wireless speaker with four drivers and a shape that more than explains the medicinal name. While we don't know just how much of that signature Beats thump we'll get, we do know from the FCC that the Pill can serve as a speakerphone, carries an aux-in jack and will last for a typical 8.5 hours on its USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery. There's also signs of a red version of Beats' Mixr headphones coming at the same time. HMV has publicly scoured its pages of any trace of a ship date or price for the Pill, but cached copies point to a £170 ($276) price and a release around September 28th -- not necessarily trustworthy figures, but they may be in the ballpark. Our only question is whether or not we'll get a dose of the Pill in the US. [Thanks, Germaine]
HP refreshes the Pavilion dm4 with a subwoofer, unveils requisite Beats Edition
It's shaping up to be a wild day for HP: in addition to revamping its Envy laptops and announcing its first Ultrabook, the outfit went and refreshed the mid-range Pavilion dm4. While it has the same metal-heavy design that bowled us over in our review, it trades Altec Lansing audio for Beats and gains a subwoofer. Otherwise, its entry-level specs -- a Core i3 CPU, 6GB of RAM and a 640GB 5,400RPM hard drive -- closely match the starting config available today. And, while the company was at it, HP also announced a red-and-black-spangled Beats Edition. An inevitable move, if you ask us: HP has been pushing its partnership with Dr. Dre so heavily that it went so far as to redesign its Envy laptops with a prominent Beats dial. Then again, this is the first time HP's given the Beats special edition treatment to anything other than a top-shelf machine. In any case, you better be pretty sweet on that red backlit keyboard -- the gussied-up, Dre-approved version starts at $900 (headphones not included). Then again, at least you get beefier specs for the money: a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. If nine hundred bucks isn't what you had in mind, the classic dm4 starts at $630. Both will be available December 18th. If you're curious, find the full PR after the break, along with some rubbernecking hands-on shots below. %Gallery-137823% %Gallery-137824%
HP Envy 14 review (2011)
HP redesigns its Envy laptops, announces the Envy 15, 17 and 17 3D (video) HP releases Q4 2011 earnings: $9.7 billion operating profit for fiscal year Toshiba's quad-core Satellite L750D goes on sale for $699 as one of the first available Llano laptops The last time we reviewed the Envy 14, we concluded, by and large, that HP got it right. The company succeeded in delivering good performance and graphics punch, all while correcting a teensy overheating problem and adding an optical drive and backlit keyboard. Then there was that rock-solid, engraved metal chassis that made it one of the most attractive notebooks on the market -- a distinction it still holds to this day. So as you can imagine, when HP refreshed the Envy 14 this summer, there wasn't exactly a lot to improve. What we have here is a nearly identical machine, with the same stunning design -- not to mention, $1,000 starting price. Now, though, HP is selling it with Sandy Bridge processors and USB 3.0 -- the kind of tweaks laptop makers have been rolling out for the better part of this year. Normally, that kind of speed bump wouldn't warrant us re-reviewing a laptop. In fact, we probably wouldn't be revisiting the Envy 14 if it weren't for two things. For starters, we've received an unusual number of emails, tweets and comments from readers, imploring us to weigh in on the Sandy Bridge version before they pull the trigger. Secondly, in addition to that processor swap, HP has fine-tuned the touchpad drivers, and assures us the trackpad isn't the flaky mess it was the last two times around. So how much better is the Envy 14 in the year two thousand and eleven? Let's find out. %Gallery-132905%
HTC to buy a chunk of Beats Electronics, keep Dr. Dre in a lab with a pen and a pad
HTC's been making money hand over fist lately, and it looks like all that cash is burning a hole in its pocket. First, the Taiwanese company bought cloud services firm Dashwire and now it's looking to buy the lion's share of Beats Electronics. For a cool $300 million, HTC plans to up the ante in mobile audio with the expertise of Dr. Dre baked into its future handsets. The deal is set to become final later this year, and we'll see phones packing the big red 'b' this autumn. Feel free to peep the PR while you wait for 'em to drop.
Beats by Dr. Dre get the ColorWare treatment, minus the color (video)
Now, you'd think ColorWare would be working furiously to release some flashy iPad 2s, but that's not what we're getting today -- instead we now have a pair of Monster headphones to complement that ever-so-necessary neon Dyson Air Multiplier we assume you've already added to every room in your tastefully decorated mansion. These very limited edition ColorWare "Chrome Beats" headphones don't actually have any color, but they admittedly do look pretty slick, excepting the $1,000 price tag necessitated by this perfect storm of overpriced branding. ColorWare is only decking out 50 of these 'cans, so grab that platinum card and head over to our source link to get your pair.
HP Envy 14 Beats Edition no longer available with Dr. Dre endorsed headphones, results in price drop
The differences between the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition and the plain ol' Envy 14 have been primarily aesthetic -- it's got a black Beats branded lid and red backlit keyboard -- but HP's also included that set of Monster Beats Solo headphones you see up there. Sadly, that last differentiator is no longer. We'd heard from a few readers that their Envy 14 Beats Edition laptops arrived sans headphones, and HP has confirmed for us that due to "supply constraints" the Dr. Dre Solo from Monster headphones are no longer included with the snazzy black and red laptop. Hopefully those customers that paid full price for the laptop and didn't receive the Solos will get a refund, but we're told by HP that the price has been lowered by $100 since the cans went out of stock -- the starting price was originally $1,249.99 and is now $1,149.99. We're not entirely sure why you'd pay $150 more for the Beats version now, considering you get the same audio experience with the standard $999.99 Envy, but what do we know? There may be tons of diehard Beats Audio fans living amongst us. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HP teaming with Dr. Dre for new 'Beats' line, music ecosystem in the works
Naturally, until proven otherwise this just sounds like an excuse for a computer company to charge more for Dre-branded semi-music-related products, but according to CNET there's a bit more meat to a new deal between HP and Dr. Dre to create a line of "Beats by Dr. Dre" laptops, headphones and software. Apparently Dre, Interscope's Jimmy lovine and HP hope to foster a new "digital music ecosystem," which would boost audio quality the whole way down the chain. Sounds great if they can pull it off, and it's not like they're going it alone: they welcome Apple and other CE companies to join forces. But if anything, we're just glad to see Dre and lovine expand their gear collaboration efforts outside of Monster Cable. [Via BusinessWeek]
