HTC to stop offering Beats Audio technology on future handsets?

When HTC first started its partnership with Beats Audio, it added a little buzz to HTC's devices. In the box, the Taiwan based manufacturer threw in a nice premium pair of Beats by Dre earphones, and the phones would be equipped with Beats Audio technology which essentially allowed users to boost the bassline and improve the quality of the audio on the handset. And of course, there was the Beats Audio insignia that could be found on the back of HTC models supporting the technology. The highwater mark for the partnership was Verizon's launch of the HTC Rezound. From thereafter, it was all downhill for the HTC-Beats Audio combination.

HTC's fortunes have changed. First, the manufacturer stopped offering the Beats by Dre earphones with its phones due to cost. Still, as recently as April, the manufacturer said it was committed to the partnership. Despite making that comment, HTC made the decision to give up majority ownership of Beats. The speculation is that this will all lead to a clean break with HTC no longer adding the Beats equalization technology to its phones and removing that highly recognizable logo from the back of their handsets.

As an experiment. we can't really say that the partnership with Beats Audio was a success for HTC. It didn't seem to add enough to sales to be worth the cost. And with speculation that HTC is expected to cut prices sharply, any penny it can save is a penny that goes to the bottom line. And that is perhaps the biggest incentive of all for HTC to pull the plug completely with Beats Audio.

source: AndroidPolice