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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."

13 of 288 comments (clear)

  1. This is going to be hilarious. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Flim-flam cable maker suing overpriced hipster baiting electronics firm over tacky rich kid headphones.

    Fetch me my popcorn

    1. Re:This is going to be hilarious. by techstar25 · · Score: 5, Funny

      You know what they say: All is fair in love and war and overpriced A/V accessories.

  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 Phreakiture · · Score: 5, Funny

      customers who advocate the superiority of your product on faith alone. Because they spent so goddamn much.

      The guitarist in a band I've engineered for is stone deaf but thinks of himself as an audiophile. He can't hear the hum coming out of his guitar amp, but swears by these overpriced interconnect cables as well as the special acoustic pad that he puts said humming amp on. One night I pointed out one of the XLR cables to him and said, "You see that $10 cable there? Whatever you're listening to went through one of those." He didn't say another word to me all night.

      --
      www.wavefront-av.com
    2. Re: Monster Business School by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      What you get is packet loss, which either results in buffering or artifacts. An example is 'snow' on faulty HDMI cables. So there's still a case for a good quality cable that's not going to be dropping data because it's sitting on the edge of what quality is acceptable.

      Where some manufactures enter the realm of fantasy is when they start to say things like the colours will look better. They won't. If the all the data is getting through a $10 and $3000 cable will look alike.

    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. Re:Monster Business School by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's why I make sure to use dust-plated connectors.

  4. Poor little monster by Rigel47 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Getting pushed around? Not used to having to deal with someone that can bite back? Keep in mind this is the company that has a track record of attacking any and all start-up cable and connector makers.

    This is a great read - a small-time cable maker basically telling monster suck it after they sent their default "infringement" claim. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/...

  5. Re:does marketing hype matter? by QuasiSteve · · Score: 5, Informative

    These programs tend to go well beyond just a sticker, though. If you're not part of this program, you just won't be listed in the store, or carried in Apple's physical stores. If you're not 'certified' for Apple devices, your product won't be in the "Apple Accessories" aisle at other retailers. And if you're not part of the MFi project, then at least in theory Apple could simply block your accessory from working at the lightning interface level.

  6. Re:So, a good move then by Aqualung812 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apple only charges around 2-3 times more for a cable than the competition.

    Monster's level of bullshit is another sport entirely.

    Buying genuine Apple stuff is like buying parts from the dealership for you car. More expensive, and may or may not be any better than what you can get elsewhere.

    Buying anything Monster is like buying a bottle of $100 window cleaner that has specially aligned atoms that will reduce wind resistance and increase speed on your car.

    --
    Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
  7. Re:This was always going to happen by NatasRevol · · Score: 5, Funny

    realistic understanding of the Cult of Ayn Rand

    If there ever was an oxymoron....

    --
    There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
  8. Re:Does Monster make overpriced watch bands? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sloppy seconds, you mean.