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GTA Online's next big update features Dr. Dre and Franklin from 'GTA V'
'The Contract' includes new music from the rapper and producer, as well as more vehicles and weapons.
Thanks to Apple, Dr. Dre had the most profitable year of any musician in history
Dr. Dre has had a very good year. This week Forbes magazine released its rankings of the world's highest paid musicians, and the good Doctor took the number one spot by half a billion dollars more than the second place earner. The number two spot went to Beyonce with $115 million. So how much exactly did Dr. Dre earn? Thanks to Apple's $3 billion purchase of Beats in May, Dr. Dre took home $620 million before taxes. This not only makes him the most profitable musician in the world for 2014, but it also earns him the distinction of earning more money in one year than any other musical artist in history. Dr. Dre less than subtly hinted at the Beats sale right before it was confirmed in an exuberant party video with Fast and Furious star Tyrese Gibson. You can find that story right here. Dr. Dre released his last album, titled 2001 on November 16, 1999. It sold 7.6 million copies in the United States.
Dr. Dre as the voice of Siri
In its largest corporate acquisition to date, Apple has acquired Beats Electronics for US$3 billion. As part of the deal, Beats co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will join Apple as full time employees. While discussing the deal with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at yesterday's Code Conference, Apple exec and all-around wheeler and dealer Eddy Cue said that the Beats acquisition will enhance Apple's creative with interesting opportunities. Which got me thinking; what would iOS look like if Siri's personality was replaced by Dr. Dre's rap persona? So without further ado, here's a glimpse as to what that that would look like, with all of Dre's answers taking the form of lyrics from some of his more popular songs (song attributions will appear below each pairing). The lyrics in the photo above are taken from "Nuthin' But a G Thang" and "Forgot about Dre", respectively. "Deep Cover" and "Nuthin' But a G Thang" "Forgot about Dre" and "California Love" "Express Yourself" and "Nuthin' But a G Thang" "Lyrical" and "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" "Let Me Ride" and "Been There, Done That" Feel free to drop in any "Dr. Dre as Siri" suggestions in the comments!
Tim Cook explains the motivation behind Beats acquisition
Confirming earlier reports, Apple today officially announced a blockbuster deal to acquire Beats Electronics for $3 billion. While the notion of Apple acquiring Beats initially resulted in a slew of questions and raised eyebrows, the wisdom of the acquisition now makes a lot more sense; digital downloads are on the decline as consumers increasingly flock towards streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. As former eMusic CEO Adam Klein explained, Apple's late to the party and "this is the quickest way to get there." In conjunction with Apple's announcement of its Beats acquisition, Tim Cook granted interviews to a few select publications where he explained in further detail the impetus behind the acquisition along with more details as to how Beats will operate under the Apple umbrella. In an interview with the New York Times, Cook heaped praise upon Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre while also highlighting the professionally-curated musical playlists that differentiate the Beats subscription service from other offerings. "These guys are really unique," Cook explained. "It's like finding the precise grain of sand on the beach. They're rare and very hard to find." In a separate interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cook elaborated: "We love the subscription service that they built - we think it's the first one that really got it right." On this note, it's worth pointing to an Engadget review of the service from this past January: On the whole Beats has succeeded at building a mobile-first service that offers something its competitors don't. The human-curated playlists are top notch and features like The Sentence allow users to create a more unique listening experience than simply starting a radio station based on a song or artist on Pandora. Returning to the rationale for the decision, many wondered before the deal was made official why Apple wouldn't simply create its own subscription service. To this point, Cook, who called the deal a "no-brainer", articulated that Apple's isn't always concerned with building everything themselves, noting that Apple over the last year has acquired 27 companies. Could Eddy's team have built a subscription service? Of course. We could've built those 27 other things ourselves, too. You don't build everything yourself. It's not one thing that excites us here. It's the people. It's the service. Cook subsequently added that buying Beats gives Apple a "head start" on rolling out a subscription service. The Beats brand will remain intact under the Apple umbrella, and with both Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine joining the fray at Apple full time, Cook confidently stated that the two will help Apple take music to new heights. The most in-depth interview Cook gave was to Re/Code where both he and Jimmy Iovine talked all things music. There, Cook explained that music has always played an integral role in society and culture; and Apple, which views itself standing at the intersection of technology and liberal arts, has long believed that music runs deep in its DNA. What Beats brings to Apple are guys with very rare skills. People like this aren't born every day. They're very rare. They really get music deeply. So we get infusion in Apple of some great talent. We get a subscription music service that we believe is the first subscription service that really got it right. They had the insight early on to know how important human curation is. That technology by itself wasn't enough - that it was the marriage of the two that would really be great and produce a feeling in people that we want to produce. One thing's for sure, Tim Cook is putting his own stamp on Apple.
Engadget Daily: a guide to Japanese toilets, Apple eyes Beats for $3.2 billion and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
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]
Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep 'commercial exclusivity in mobile'
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.
HTC moves aside CFO who oversaw $300 million Beats Audio deal (update)
HTC's CFO Winston Yung has been shunted into a 'corporate development' role after barely a year on the job. He orchestrated some pretty controversial deals during his tenure, including the $300 million purchase of the Beats Audio brand from Dr. Dre -- an acquisition that has so far shown little value except as a marketing device. Yung also occupied the hot seat while HTC's balance sheet suddenly flipped from brilliant to bad and then worse, and was outspoken in his views of what went wrong. HTC has provided no reason for the job shift, leaving analysts to guess at how the company's strategy will change to capitalize on its new One smartphones and battle against Sammy's imminent contender. The new CFO is Chia-Lin Chang, a former Goldman Sachs partner and Motorola engineer who hopefully knows how to handle pressure. Update: HTC's own CEO Peter Chou has taken time to respond to analyst reports. His quote follows: On Monday, HTC announced the appointment of Chia-Lin Chang as Chief Financial Officer withWinston Yung, his predecessor, transitioning to a corporate development role. "Media speculation that ties this announcement to HTC's partnership and investment in Beats By Dre is categorically inaccurate," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. "HTC and Beats have made impressive progress in innovation and brand awareness and the integration of the Beats brand and technology in the new HTC One series is a clear indication of our commitment to this partnership."
Tupac hologram performs at Coachella, keeps all eyez on him
Have you been getting a kick out of Coachella's jams and arts in Indio, California? Or, did you decide to peacefully enjoy it from home via YouTube's site? Either way, you may have heard Tupac made an on-stage holographic appearance over the weekend, performing Hail Mary and 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted alongside Snoop Dogg. Tupac's hologram was made possible by AV Concepts in partnership with Dr. Dre's production company and Digital Domain, after reportedly working on the project for a few months. The outfits used a display technology dubbed "Eyeliner" that, with the help of a custom rig and a mechanical solution, was able to shoot out a life-sized, 3D illusion of Mr. Shakur onto the Coachella platform. Don't believe us? Hit 'em up at the source below, though we feel compelled to tell you language isn't exactly for all ages.
HTC updates Beats Audio, makes it work with any third-party app
Let's just say we were underwhelmed by the first iteration of HTC Beats on the Sensation XE. But now it looks like the technology has been revamped for the latest One handsets, so -- once we've tasted the pudding -- we might just have to revise that opinion. The new Beats is claimed to make music sound more "authentic," and whereas the previous version could only be activated inside HTC's stock music player, this time it'll work with YouTube, Pandora, Spotify and any other third-party Android app. What exactly will it do with those apps? And will it move beyond its current gimmicky bass-boost status? We'll just have to wait and listen.
Monster and Beats Electronics discontinue partnership, audiophiles rejoice
Color us surprised, but word on the street is that Monster and Beats By Dr. Dre are soon going to be a thing of the past. After years of pumping out fashion-forward, bass and treble pumping headphones that (debatably) changed the landscape of personal audio products -- and spawned a slew of imitators -- both companies have reportedly decided not to renew their five-year contract. Businessweek notes that two sources have confirmed that disagreements over "revenue share" and "who deserved the most credit for the line's success" stemmed the decision between the companies -- not surprisingly, Beats Electronics wanted more of both. In the followup, Monster will pump out eight new headphone lineups this year independently. Monster is noted to have brought in 60% of its own revenue from Beats by Dre, and now plans to shift its focus on older demographics, such as executive types, which the brand never exactly catered to. Notably, Businessweek also states that Beats Electronics will retain the rights to the headphone's iconic design, sound-signature and branding. Considering Beats' partnerships reign far with companies like HP and HTC, things probably won't be all doom and gloom for the company -- but the amount of time left to pick up your very own JustBeats likely just got very slim.
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%
HTC Rezound review
The Motorola RAZR and Samsung Galaxy Nexus seem to be the two Verizon LTE juggernauts enjoying the lion's share of the spotlight, with the HTC Rezound sandwiched smack dab between the two of them. But that doesn't mean the device has any less to offer -- you might even say it's entitled to some bragging rights. It's not the thinnest phone, nor does it have Ice Cream Sandwich (yet), but being the first carrier-branded handset in the US boasting a 720p HD display should carry a lot of weight. The Rezound -- as you might have gathered from the name -- is also the first HTC gizmo in the States to integrate Beats Audio. So does it fare well against its LTE competition? Is it enough to take your mind off of the Nexus? Read on below to find out. %Gallery-139234%
HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio review
We had some hands-on time with HTC's new European Android flagship a short while back, but it wasn't nearly enough to answer all our questions about how the 4.3-inch, 1.5GHz dual-core XE compares to the original 1.2GHz Sensation, or whether the implementation of Beats Audio was anything more than a cunning scheme cooked up between the manufacturer's marketeers and Dr. Dre's agent. Now, though, this phone has been our closest companion for long enough to reveal its true colors. They're red, primarily, but there's a whole rainbow of detail right after the break. %Gallery-135086%
HTC announces its next party, Beats Audio and 'surprise headliner' in attendance
HTC's Facebook page is inviting fans to a gathering on October 6th at the rock 'n roll Roundhouse in London, ostensibly to celebrate the Beats Audio technology we've been listening to with the Sensation XE. Call us over-excited, but the manufacturer's last party bore plenty of exotic fruit so we reckon those Dre-approved headphones in the flyer might be connected to yet another new handset -- unless the mystery guest happens to be the aging hip-hop star himself. In any case, we'll be there and we won't hit a single canapé or rap pose until we've brought you the news.
HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio, we go ears-on (video)
Guess who's back? HTC let us play with the new and improved Sensation XE in London last night and we even managed to find a secluded spot to bop our heads to the integrated Beats Audio and packaged YourBeats headphones. The XE is very similar to the original 4.3-inch flagship Sensation in terms of hardware, except there's a 300MHz clock-speed bump to 1.5GHz, a slightly larger 1750mAh battery and also a packaged 16GB (instead of 8GB) microSD card. But aside from that, we expect it'll be the audio credentials and related marketing hype that will attract most attention when the device reaches shelves later this month. Current Sensation owners probably won't even consider the upgrade unless they're chronic Dr. Dre fans, but what about those with more sticky icky icky devices? Should they be enticed by all the fuss? Click past the break if you think rap's changed and you want know how we feel about it. Update: HTC has been in touch to clarify that this device is not coming to the US. An intriguing decision to say the least. Update: The latest word is that HTC is working on bringing "other Beats-integrated devices" to the US market -- "soon." So, you might find this hands-on relevant after all. %Gallery-134610%
Beats Electronics' Jimmy Iovine: 'we have got to get to the phone'
The HTC teleconference announcing its $300 million partnership with Beats Electronics just wrapped, and we were able to grab a few tidbits that weren't so clearly evident in last night's press release. The largest questions HTC CEO Peter Chou and Beats head honcho Jimmy Iovine fielded were focused on the effects of the purchase and why it happened. Neither Chou nor Iovine shared many specifics, but we learned that the two companies will be deeply committed in a "special" and "exclusive" relationship, which Iovine referred to as a "marriage." In discussing the possible deal, he mentioned that Beats felt a need of urgency to penetrate the mobile marketplace and were bent on making it happen with HTC: "we have GOT to get to the phone...this marriage expedites that process." Computer and phone companies alike are realizing that they need to upgrade the (currently subpar) audio experience in their products, he said, and we should expect to see many of these businesses launching stellar improvements in sound quality over the next three months. In answer to what HTC is looking for in terms of ROI, Chou discussed the desire to have more differentiation in the market, in terms of the branding and technology the purchase will bring to its products; he also told us that the investment will generate several hundred millions of dollars in return beginning later this year. Rather than solely focusing on headsets, HTC plans to integrate the Beats tech completely into the product portfolio. Exactly how extensive that consolidation will be remains a mystery for now; since the effects of this deal will come to fruition sometime this fall, however, we doubt we'll have to wait terribly long to find out.
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.
Nothin' but a $ Thang: Zynga partners with Dr. Dre for Mafia Wars promo
Nothing quite says "family friendly" like West Coast gangsta rapper Dr. Dre, which is likely why social game magnate Zynga has inked a deal with the musician to crosspromote his forthcoming album, "Detox," within Mafia Wars. "Dre is a culture icon that has inspired generations of music lovers. We're huge music fans at Zynga and we know the players within Mafia Wars will love the chance to discover incredible music content while playing with their friends," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus noted in the bizarre announcement. Aside from watching Dre's newest music video for the song "Kush" streaming in-game, players can enter the "Hustlin' wit Dre" area of the game to earn "limited edition goods" (with examples including headphones, a vintage car, and weapons). If that weren't enough, an "exclusive Dr. Dre video message" is somewhere hidden in the game as well -- we're holding out hope that it's actually just a live performance of "Nothin' But a G Thang." Hey, it's not quite exploding armored cars in the Nevada desert, but it's a start, right, Dre?
Beats by Dr. Dre launching Beatbox iPod dock, along with LeBron and Bieber-branded headphones
Dr. Dre knows a hit when he sees one, and the already sprawling Beats lineup is getting five new products to hit just about every demographic you can imagine. First off is the Beatbox, a high-end portable iPod dock with 5.25-inch bass drivers and 2-inch high frequency drivers which will retail for $400. Next up is a LeBron James-branded set of athletics-friendly earbuds dubbed the Powerbeats. The $170 headphones include dual drivers and a design that lets in external noises. Meanwhile, the Beats Pro blows the lid off with a $450 pricetag and audio pro-style quality and performance. At the cheap end we have iBeats, a $120 pair of i-device friendly cans for the less discriminating, and our personal favorites: JustBeats. JustBeats are better than all the other headphones and we heart them and they're totally worth $200 for the on-ear and $120 for the in-ear versions because Justin Bieber is totally down to earth and sexy and probably the best singer ever. All of these should be landing in the next few weeks; we know you'll make the right decision. Update: Oh, and just so you know: we still hate Monster. You just can't pass up some Bieber, you know? %Gallery-103656%
