HTC's Dr. Dre-Branded Rezound Will Cost You $299
Thus proving that cash really does rule everything around us.
Months after leaking last summer, and having undergone a name-change from its original Vigor code name, HTC has officially unveiled the Rezound, its upcoming Verizon-exclusive Android (Gingerbread) smartphone available on November 14th starting at $299 if you purchase a 2-year contract.
Rezound is a beefy little guy, with a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor, 16 GB of on board memory, a 4.3 inch HD screen with 720p display featuring a 2-megapixel front camera for video chat and the ability to charge wirelessly. The 8-megapixel camera is sounds like a winner too, with dual LED flash, 28mm wide-angle lens and numerous modes like panorama and action burst. All drool-worthy features, but the big selling point is that it features Beats Audio integration, derived from the Dr. Dre-branded headphones that can cost as much as $400. Rezound will be the first phone available in the U.S. utilizing the audio tech; Europeans got it with HTC's Sensation phone back in September.
It's a sleek gadget to be sure, and Beats Audio, even on tiny earbuds, sounds like a great idea. On the other hand, Verizon also sells iPhone. Though unlikely to pry away iPhone users from their precious status symbol, Rezound gives people looking to pay too much for phone service a choice in how good they'll look with the LTE network's arbitrary data caps.
- A $200 Tablet You Could Actually Consider Buying
- Apple's Legal Goliath Struck Down by Spanish Tablet Maker
- Make Google Spin With the Barrel Roll Easter Egg
- Amazon Prime Now Offers Book-lending for Kindle
- GameStop's Android Tablets Arrive in Stores
- Study: Chinese Cyber-Threat is 'Rudimentary'
- Kickstarter Project Hopes to Build a New Civilization
- Online Communities Lead to Risky Financial Decisions
- VIDEO: The First Grand Theft Auto V Trailer
- Ford Sets Focus Electric Car Price Below Cost
- Study: Playing Video Games Promotes Creativity
- US Says China is World's Biggest Cyber-Theft Perpetrator
- Sprint Lawsuit Against AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Moves Forward
- Unbelievable: 3.5 Million People Still Pay For AOL Dial-up
- Apple's Siri Suffers Extended Service Outage
- Climate Scientists Find Huge Increase in CO2 Emissions
- Our Two Favorite Apple Siri Parodies: GLaDOSiri and Conan
- Microsoft's Decision To Kill The Courier Tablet Explained
- Barnes & Noble Announcing Dual-core Tablet Monday
i think its the same price as those crappy headphones with the Dr. DRE name on it
Dr. Dre headphones are crap for their price.
Rezound: $99
Rezound with Dr-Dre theme: $299
dr dre sucks haha why all this crap with his name on it
ihadnoidea - the tech has been out there for a couple of years but only been on some devices and/or was a bit more expensive, however it is slowly coming into more devices.
Laptop the charges wirelessly from Dell: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-10362968-260.html
Mobile phone charging pad: http://www.powermat.com/
dr dre sucks haha why all this crap with his name on it
haha it has only made them very rich haha yeah.......
Rezound: $99Rezound with Dr-Dre theme: $299
Lame. Very very very lame.
You know what's brown and rhymes with Snoop?
Dr. Dre.
whaaaat? That is possible now?
My toothbrush does this. So, it's really not a big deal.
Who's Dr. Dre? Is that some kind of a niche U.S. celebrity like Justin Bieber?
ihadnoidea - the tech has been out there for a couple of years...
My power tooth brush charges wirelessly, and that's been around since at least the 80's. Nickolai Tesla came up with the idea of wireless power 100 year ago.
It'd be really cool if all these HTC phones didn't look the same. I had an Evo 4G for a few weeks last year...can't say anything I've seen from them looked much different. ...or perhaps that's the desired affect.
If Apple released phone after phone after phone after phone that all looked the same I'm sure their sales would be negatively impacted.
Oh...and I'm kind of doubting the whole "iPhone as a status symbol" thing. ...maybe back in '07, but now, really? What yesteryear moe-ron thinks they look cool because they have an iPhone still? ...its just a phone, abeit a phone I do like, but just a phone nonetheless.
Anyway, the specs are good. If I have to pick one, the regular will be my choice.
Everyone trashing Dre.... The specs are great on that phone. You may be paying $50 for Dre's name. But you get 1.5ghz processor and and a 720 p screen. The nexus prime (galaxy nexus) is only 1.2ghz. And I had wireless charging with my palm pre, one if the best features just set on the touchstone dock and there you go. Its a nice convenience considering how often you need to plug, unplug your phone. plus what that would keep the phone angled right and all notifications readable without touching your phone
you do realize that all of the high end phones are going to cost you 299 out of pocket (650-750 without the 2 year data plan). the price of the phones aren't changing, it's how much of a subsidy the wireless providers are giving you (read less). this is one of the few areas where we are not actually paying more for a "name".
ps Dre is the man... end of story
Everyone trashing Dre.... The specs are great on that phone. You may be paying $50 for Dre's name. But you get 1.5ghz processor and and a 720 p screen. The nexus prime (galaxy nexus) is only 1.2ghz. And I had wireless charging with my palm pre, one if the best features just set on the touchstone dock and there you go. Its a nice convenience considering how often you need to plug, unplug your phone. plus what that would keep the phone angled right and all notifications readable without touching your phone
The specs are spectacular. That is not the issue, though...for me. While us "enthusiasts" care about those specs the average Joe wants a unique and good looking device, I think, especially if its not the popular thing that everyone has (which, yes, is a dumb-@$$ criteria for a piece of technology). I think, with this particular piece the "Dre" name may assist, but so many Android phones are "me-too" samples...often with great specs, though. They do sell, and that's what counts, so perhaps my perspective is very unique itself.
dr dre sucks haha why all this crap with his name on it
Keep in mind that's your viewpoint and, TBH, his net worth is indicative that its not a very common one.
i can guarantee this phone doesn't sound any better than the average smart phone weather you are using earbuds or the internal speaker.
it's all a gimmick just like the Beats headphones. I have a 70 dollar pair of sennheisers that will put 400 dollar beats to shame.
i can guarantee this phone doesn't sound any better than the average smart phone weather you are using earbuds or the internal speaker.it's all a gimmick just like the Beats headphones. I have a 70 dollar pair of sennheisers that will put 400 dollar beats to shame.
That might not be true, actually. The DAC and op amp might be of a higher quality in the "Dre" hardware...or it may have an equalization configuration set that sounded more appealing to a test group of people and, therefore, was implemented wide-spread.
I wouldn't recommend making such a guarantee w/out first conducting listening tests. Also keep in mind that audio enjoyment is subjective. While you may like the lower bass output of your $70 cans others may prefer the sound of the $400 Beats.
Who's Dr. Dre? Is that some kind of a niche U.S. celebrity like Justin Bieber?
Yeahp, precisely. A rapper/producer. However, I think kids worldwide like his music. He's popular enough that Monster uses his name as an endorsement with the marketing that the gear sounds like what you'd hear in the studio. That seems directed to the uninitiated though...I'd think one would want a more neutral sound in the studio than what I've heard from the "Beats by Dre" products.
The specs really aren't that great. Qualcomm's processors are known for being dogs compared to other current offerings out there, and the Adreno 220 GPU is less than desired as well. Overall, this is a 2nd rate phone with a huge 720P screen. Overall, I'd still take the Galaxy Nexus over this, if not because the hardware is better, but because you won't have HTC's crap on top of it. And in all honesty, the Dr. Dre beats stuff is crap.
The specs really aren't that great.
I'm still not sure why people need so much horsepower in their phones...is it for gaming? Do most people really game that much on their phones? (That's a real question not a smart@$$ comment)....or do Android phones need that much power to be able to multi-task smoothly?
Dre is crap no matter how they overpricethem ,Senheisser FTW.
Sennheiser FTW? Hmm...I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD595 and a pair of Grado SR325i. I don't know what type of music you like but if its anything with a rythm I'll put my Grado's up against your Senn's any time, any place.
...there, stated as a true audio snob. 
whaaaat? That is possible now?
Wireless power delivery has been around a while. It showed up in the Palm Pre and some Duracell products under "powermat"... mostly inductive power transfer. Though the real winners were the ones they showed off at the TED conference. The efficiency is low, but they will get a bit better at it.
Personally, I hope to see the technology advance. Check out the video TED has about wireless electricity.
Lame. Dr. Dre is just another loser hip-hop "artist" who thinks he's somebody when he's nothing. I'm not buying that crap.
Keep in mind that's your viewpoint and, TBH, his net worth is indicative that its not a very common one.
I think this is still relevant. While Dr. Dre doesn't make music that I'm attracted to there's a lot of youth out there or folks that liked him when they were younger. Obviously, if you don't like that genre then he doesn't appeal to you. However, marinate on this: the man obviously has some talent. Even if you don't respect his craft, you may want to respect HIM and his business sense. ...sorry for being the voice of reason.
We have more crap to add to the pile of iCrap already in our midst; although HTC generally makes good solid well priced products with top specs, and fundamentally this is a good phone except for the name gimmick used to market it.
Many manufacturers having seen Apple successful defrauding of its dumbed-down fanboys have been emboldened and now launch useless exorbitant products in the hope of creating a technologically sub-literate fan-base of their own.
Many manufacturers having seen Apple successful defrauding of its dumbed-down fanboys have been emboldened and now launch useless exorbitant products in the hope of creating a technologically sub-literate fan-base of their own.
You have an interesting point there. ...even if its a bit skewed. Look, we know many folks are technically ignorant (or technically disinterested...they're not mutually exclusive) and choose Apple products for the wrong reasons...to enthusiasts anyways. ...and I'm not defending them (ama-aka-Phantom, are you out there bro?). The iPhone/iOs is not a bad product...if it was made by Samsung as a niche product line [sarcasm]it wouldn't be getting all the love it gets here [/sarcasm]. Sounds like because many folks dislike Apple and their rat-like practices (shout out to del35) they start out from the perspective of hating all Apple's products and work from there. Doesn't that sound just as bad as being a blind fanboy to you?