Fermi paradox

Apple has confirmed it will buy headphone maker and music-streaming service provider Beats Electronics.

The deal is worth a total of $3bn (�1.8bn), and is thought to be Apple's largest acquisition to date.
As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre will join the technology firm
Apple boss Tim Cook said the deal would allow the firm to "continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world"

Continue reading the main story "Start Quote The Beats deal is totally in character for Apple: everyone is puzzled
End Quote Benedict Evans Technology analyst In a statement, Apple said it is paying an initial $2.6bn (�1.6bn) for Beats, and approximately $400m (�239m) "that will vest over tim
. Beats was founded in 2008 by music producer Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop star Dr Dre and until recently was best known for its headphone

It started a subscription-based music streaming service earlier this ye
. Apple has its own iTunes store, the world's largest music download service, and launched iTunes Radio last ye
. But despite having been an early pioneer of digital music, the Californian firm has been facing increased competition from subscription services such as Spotify, Pandora and Rd
. Continue reading the main story Analysis Leo Kelion Technology desk editor There had been speculation that beats music Apple might drastically cut its offer price for Beats or pull the deal altogether, after a video of Dr Dre describing himself as hip-hop's first billionaire leaked onli

But the deal has now been confirmed for only $200m less than what had originally been report
. The press release announcing the tie-up mentions Beats' "premium sound entertainment," but there has been criticism of its headphones' sound quali
. However, there's no doubting their popularity or the skill of Beats' co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre in building up the bra

It's questionable whether Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs would have been willing to share the limelight with two such outspoken personaliti
. But the challenge for the more reserved Tim Cook is to bring the two firms' very different cultures together, and to make the most of the Beats brand, as he delivers on a promise to launch new products this ye
. However, Beats' music service only has about 250,000 paying subscribers, compared with Spotify's 10 milli

'It's the people' The deal with Beats also marks a departure for Apple, which has a reputation for developing new products in-house, rather than buying up smaller firms - a method preferred by rivals Goog
. But in an interview with the New York Times, Mr Cook hinted that Beats' founders may have been part of the attracti
. "Could Eddy's team [Eddy Cue, Apple executive in charge of iTunes] have built a subscription service? Of course," he told the newspap

"You don't build everything yourself. It's not one thing that excites us here. It's the people. It's the servic
" "These guys are really unique," Mr Cook added. "It's like finding the precise grain of sand on the beach. They're rare and very hard to fin
" The Apple boss also said that Dr Dre and Mr Iovine would be coming up with "products you haven't thought of ye

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to pl
. In a video posted online, Dr Dre is shown celebrating the deal before it was even done, as Michelle Fleury repo
s 'Everyone is puzzled' However some analysts remain baffled by the acquisiti
. Technology writer Benedict Evans tweeted: "If you think Apple's lost it, Beats deal is confirmation. If you don't, it's� perplexing. Few really convincing rational

Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine, who made his name as chairman of the Interscope Geffen A&M record label, welcomed the d
l. "I've always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple," he s
d. Apple released this picture of Beats founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre posing with Mr Cook and Mr Cue "The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple's unmatched ability to marry culture and technolo

Apple analyst Jim Dalrymple hinted that it may be Mr Iovine's talent that the technology firm is af
r. Writing on his website The Loop, Mr Dalrymple said: "In my opinion, Jimmy is going to play an important role going forw
d. "Maybe not that you always see, but he'll be the
". As well as headphones, Beats sells earphones and portable speakers, and has even developed partnerships with carmakers and beats music computer manufacturers to include its BeatsAudio software technology in their produc

The company's flagship products have also received several celebrity endorsements, with stars including Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj designing their own customised Beats headpho
s. Subject to regulatory approvals, Apple said it expects the deal to close in the fourth financial quarter of this year.