Beats

AT&T announced today that it soon will offer an exclusive Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox to its customers.

The $399 device, which will arrive in the carrier's stores and online on March 11, is a wireless audio system with a built-in dock connector for smartphones. Featuring a pair of easy-carry handles, the speaker system comes with a remote control and Bluetooth connectivity and gets its power from six D-cell batteries. So in other words, AT&T has essentially become a retail partner for a rebranded Beatbox Portable.

As part of today's announcement, AT&… Read more

Remember when expensive headphones, let's say anything over $100, were never big sellers, and only audiophiles bought them?

That's no longer true--judging by the number of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones I see on the streets and subways in New York--pricey headphones have reached the mainstream. That's radical. Bose did pretty well with its QuietComfort noise-canceling headphones long before Dre jumped into the headphone business, but the Beats stand out in a crowd.

The reasons for Dre's success aren't purely based on sound quality, it's more that the other manufacturers' headphones sorely lacked any sense of street style. … Read more

Here at CNET we're about to start a three-day weekend thanks to Presidents Day on Monday. If you're lucky enough to have an extra day this weekend, what better way to waste a little time than with a solid new game? There have been a lot of great game releases lately, and this week I've picked games from various genres in the hope that you can find something you like.

This week's iOS app collection is all about new games to play over the long weekend. The first is a physics puzzler sequel that's extremely polished and very hard to put down. The second uses your music library to drive the shoot-'em-up action on screen. The third is a platforming game sequel that truly tests your arcade gaming skills.… Read more

HTC plays with streaming music, psychiatrists study Internet addiction, and MySpace beats on with the MySpace Music Player.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

I nearly fell off my couch when I saw Harman Kardon and JBL ads in the middle of the Grammy Awards show on Sunday night.

Audio-brand awareness in the mainstream is mostly limited to Bose and Beats by Dr. Dre, but now it looks like Harman, the parent company of AKG, Harman Kardon, JBL, Mark Levinson, Lexicon, and Infinity is starting to flex its muscles. I spoke with Chris Dragon, the senior global marketing director of Harman, to learn more about the campaigns.

JBL's "Hear the Truth" ads will feature many of the world's top musical … Read more

HTC is hoping a different tune may reverse its recent flagging fortunes.

The smartphone vendor is working on its own streaming music service, according to a report from GigaOm. The service would purportedly become the default music client on HTC phones and tablets, and pricing and plans are getting worked out.

An HTC representative wasn't immediately available to comment to CNET.

This wouldn't be HTC's first foray into the music scene. Last summer, the company acquired a majority stake in Beats Audio, the headphone business started by rapper Dr. Dre and music industry executive Jimmy Iovine. While … Read more

Monster and Dr. Dre spearheaded the trend of celebrity-endorsed headphones, starting with the eponymous Monster Beats by Dr. Dre and Lady Gaga's own signature earbuds. But an increasing number of artists are partnering with other manufacturers for their own collaborations.

Signeo announced the Soul by Ludacris headphone series at CES 2011, and 50 Cent stopped by the CNET stage this year to demo his own wireless cans, but does a celebrity shout-out mean that those devices sound better than the competition?

Check out the following list to get the real scoop on all these new headphones supported by famous musicians.… Read more

Beat the Traffic will unveil Beat The Traffic 2.0 app for the iPhone at the Macworld iWorld 2012 event being held January 26-28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

A team of 100 beta-testers will begin using the new Beat the Traffic app, which lets travelers view real-time traffic conditions--such as accidents, traffic congestion, and roadwork delays--and adjust their travel plans.

The new Beat the Traffic app offers interactive maps and additional surface street details; it also lets motorists retrieve travel times and live camera views.

The app will be available for free for the iPhone and iPad … Read more

It's Friday the 13th & we are wrapping up CES 2012. Today on the show we discuss the Best of CES winners and losers and discuss some CES disappointments and surprises.

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