Dear Friends,
The big news this week was official confirmation of the worst-kept secret in recent Apple history. Apple announced after the bell on Wednesday that they would be acquiring Beats Audio in a $3 billion deal. In addition to the wildly popular Beats headphones and speakers, Apple gains access to Beats Music, the subscription-based music service that Tim Cook described as the first subscription service to “get it right.” The key is “human curation” married with technology.
Of course, Apple also gets Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre as part of the Apple executive team. People, product, and a service justify the biggest acquisition in Apple’s history. It will be very interesting to watch how Apple integrates and changes Beats, but more so, how Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre change Apple.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior VP of Internet Software and Services described Apple’s product pipeline for later this year as “we’ve go the best product pipeline that I’ve seen in my 25 years at Apple.” We are going to get at least a sneak peek at that pipeline and Apple’s plans during the keynote presentation Monday at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Tim Cook and his team will present at 10am Pacific (1pm here in Eastern time). Stream it live on Apple’s website and follow along with us as we cover the event.
There have been a lot of rumors floating around, and while Apple normally concentrates on software at WWDC, there have been some notable hardware updates at these conferences as well: the Power Mac G5, iSight camera (there was one under each attendee’s chair), the Mac Pro (old) and the latest Mac Pro, which was introduced with Phil Schiller’s infamous comment, “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass?!” I expect some very exciting news and will be watching the stream to enjoy the presentation. I am highly skeptical of the 4-inch iPhone that unfolds into an iPad mini that one analyst reported, but I am sure there will be new toys for all of us!
My Kibbles & Bytes exclusive special this week is a Chill Pill Audio bundle. This bundle includes a set of black Chill Pill speakers for the ultimate in portable sound in a very compact package, and a Tuxedo Black Chill Box which features big sound with the convenience of wireless Bluetooth connectivity. This is normally a $129 value, but this week for Kibbles & Bytes readers, you can get these two Chill Pill Audio products for only $99!