HTC Chucks Beats Headphones, Will Not Pack with Handsets

Smartphone manufacturer HTC will no longer bundle Beats headphones with its handsets, which means the HTC Rezound will probably be the last smartphone to carry that technology.

Beats headphones offer what the company claims is a rich and realistic experience, where each deep bass includes enhanced quality and perfection. Apparently users will feel each beat as if they were inside a recording studio. It also includes a noise-cancelling function.

One reason why HTC may be dropping the headphones, according to CNET, is that they may have learnt their lessons from the Sensation XL and the Rezound; tech fans do not pick gadgets based on headphones.

"An accessory such as a headphone will not factor in when a person is purchasing a smartphone," said Martin Fichter, a HTC product executive, to CNET, adding, "If they want a Beats headphone, they'll buy it directly."

So why did HTC plump for the Beats brand and technology? The company even went to the extent of, in August, spending $300 million to acquire a 51 percent stage in Beats. The logical question now is - if the headphones are not going to help in selling the smartphones, then why make the purchase?

"The plan for HTC was to work with the technology behind the headphones, which is still getting integrated into the handsets," explained Fichter. That makes some sense, given that Beats technology has constantly appeared in HTC products.

Meanwhile, CNET also says the HTC Evo 4G LTE (for Sprint) and the HTC One X (for AT&T) will not be carrying the headphones, although the possibility of offering them as a bundle, at some time in the future is still an option.

"I always thought the Beats branding was a bit of marketing trick, so it could be for the best that company drops it and will focus on producing great phones," Fichter explained.

Finally, HTC has declared its results for the first three months of the year. There is a 35 percent drop in revenue. In the last quarter of 2011, profit dropped by 25 percent, while South Korean giant Samsung gained 73 percent.