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Apple De-Certifies Monster Cables After Lawsuit Against Beats

Posted by Soulskill on from the this-story-is-more-interesting-if-you-use-$140-cables-to-read-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Since 2005, Monster cables have been licensed under Apple's "Made For iDevice" program, which lets cable manufacturers put a logo on their product signifying they work with Apple products. Now, Apple has revoked that certification. In January of this year, Monster sued Beats, accusing its founders of fraud. Beats was acquired by Apple in 2014, and Monster is accusing Apple of bullying them by terminating the licensing deal. Monster's general counsel said the move would "significantly disrupt Monster's business and that the two companies had worked well for years, with Monster paying Apple more than $12 million in licensing fees since 2008."

12 of 288 comments (clear)

  1. This was always going to happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's inevitable and it's going to happen more. They are both from the dark side so who cares for any of these frauds. This type of thing will happen more often because of the IP Protection racket the government is running and also because these companies are going to increasingly run into each other due to this protection racket. The whole stack of cards is in it's last era.

    1. Re:This was always going to happen by jedidiah · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No. He just has a realistic understanding of the Cult of Ayn Rand and what that means for corporate governance.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    2. Re:This was always going to happen by harrkev · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Just a comment on the "status symbol" thing.

      How many times have you seen a iPhone enclosed in a big sturdy case designed to protect the thing from nuclear armageddon? And on these cases, how many times do they have a big cut-out for the Apple logo on it? Heaven forbid that the person standing next to you would fail to notice the Apple logo!

      No, how many times have you seen a similar thing on a case for any other phone?

      This just proves that some people don't just want an iPhone... they want everybody around them to know that they have an iPhone.

      I am still waiting for the Apple shoes and matching purse to show up.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  2. Bad guys... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple, Monster, Beats, an ex hedge fund manager turned headphone designer... This reads like a Marvel comic with only supervillains in it.

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  3. Monster Business School by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have always admired Monster's business model. Take something as dirt cheap as a cable, tack on a price at least 3000% above cost and not only make it a success but have customers who advocate the superiority of your product on faith alone. Because they spent so goddamn much.

    1. Re:Monster Business School by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      This works as well...

      I have always admired Apple's business model. Take something as dirt cheap as a Chinese manufactured electronics, tack on a price at least 3000% above cost and not only make it a success but have customers who advocate the superiority of your product on faith alone. Because they spent so goddamn much.

    2. Re:Monster Business School by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Careful: if the connectors on your equipment aren't gold-plated, then it's those hard-to-replace connectors that will rust instead of the easily replaced cable.

      What you really want is a connector plated the same as the connector you're connecting it to. If it's tin-plated, use a tin-plated connector. If it's gold-plated, use gold. What I don't know of is any tin-plated cables which include a sacrificial zinc anode. In motoring (and presumably other places with metal bolted to metal) we use zinc anti-seize where dissimilar metals meet because it gets eaten up first, which is handy. I'm not sure if that applies to tin, though. Also in motoring, tin is what's used as an intermediate between steel or copper and aluminum.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Monster Business School by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And this is why radio hams, a self-selected group of the technically knowledgable that routinely deal with analog signals orders of magnitudes higher frequency than audio signals, are so fanatical about solid gold plated oxygen free copper directional cables. Not.

  4. does marketing hype matter? by nimbius · · Score: 3, Insightful

    does 'certified for iDevice' even matter anymore? I could see it being a concern for the average consumer about a decade ago but so many products, uncertified mind you, exist for the apple to channel audio from soundcard to headbone that the logo itself seems of little merit.

    Monster and Beats cultivated a brand all their own. Sure, Dr. Dre doesnt have his doctorate in accoustic waveform theory, but neither does Monster when it comes to a $600 pair of mission control headphones on the average teenager. Its all about the image, and in this case that image is perpetuated by pop culture and not dictated by apple.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:does marketing hype matter? by Daemonik · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It matters, in some cases, such as their sync cables. Apple's walled garden is so high most people buy Apple's peripherals just to be sure they'll work.

      I'm still shocked, to be honest, that Apple uses standard headphone jacks though.

  5. Trendy Crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It just amazes me that Brand names tied to artists still govern sales.
    Beats are crap, we all know it, and that same $300 could be better spent on a Pair of AKG's or Sony's etc....
    The Kids will buy what looks cool and trendy, and at least we can then tell who's got Bling and who's got IQ.

  6. who are the quality PC makers? by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just curious who the reasonably priced, quality PC makers are and how they compare to Apple? Also, consider after sales service.

    All those that come to mind are at the same price point and quality as Apple. Actually, I can only count one: Lenovo.

    I am not saying you are wrong (I am not saying you are right either), I am just saying I need something to put things into context.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.