HTC Corp said its latest smartphone, the Rezound, will be its first US phone to include audio technology from Beats Electronics, a company it took control of earlier this year. The Rezound will go on sale at No. 1 US mobile service Verizon Wireless on November 14 for $299.99, including a Beats branded headset.
But the device, which runs on Google Inc Android software, will have stiff competition at Verizon Wireless, which is also selling Apple Inc's iPhone, the Droid Razr from Motorola Mobility and the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
HTC already sells phones in Europe and Asia that use technology from Beats Electronics, which was founded by Dr. Dre, a U.S. rapper and music producer, and Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine. The launch comes at a time when HTC is losing market share, analysts said. The company has risen in a few years from an obscure manufacturer of other companies' phones to become the No. 5 smartphone brand.
But earlier this week, HTC warned that revenue in the fourth quarter, normally a bumper sales season, would fall below third-quarter levels, as it expects phone shipments to fall to a range of 12 million to 13 million from 13.2 million. HTC said on Monday it was more optimistic about LTE 4G phones to be launched in the first quarter. Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc.