O2 will sell Beats by Dr Dre with smartphones

OVERPRICED HEADPHONES 'Beats by Dr Dre' are about to be sold by mobile operator O2 as the firm looks to pair them with Iphones and HTC smartphones.

The headphones, which are made through a partnership between the 'musician' Dr Dre and Monster Cable, are "coming soon" and "in time for Christmas", according to a blog on O2's website. The deal is exclusive to O2.

The blog said, "Beats by Dre can make your music sound better than ever before and, in time for Christmas, we'll be bringing them to our stores - the only network operator to do so. We'll let you know the full range and the prices as soon as we can."

O2 emphasises that the Beats headphones are "iPhone friendly" and that the in-ear headphones hook up "perfectly with an iPhone or iPod".

The mobile operator also mentions that HTC has a stake in Beats after investing $300m (£184m) in the company, "with plans to integrate Beats incredible audio into its phones, with the first models sporting the tech out in the Autumn".

O2 is aiming to capitalise on this by flogging the headphones alongside its smartphones, it appears. At least, it might push the price down, but we're not holding our breath. µ