It took HTC less than a year to realize what a poorly thought out investment Beats Audio was as the Taiwanese handset maker sold half of its 50.1 percent stake back to the company founders, Dr. Dre and  Jimmy Lovine.

HTC bought a 50.1 stake in Beats Audio back for $309 million back in August 2011. At the time, the company hoped it would be a feature that would make them more appealing to the masses, and bundled premium Beats earphones with some phones.

Unfortunately, things didn't go the way HTC hoped and the company stopped bundling the earphones in April. The company claimed that users weren't buying the handsets specifically for the Beats earphones, in which case it simply adds up as unnecessary cost.

HTC issued a statement saying it will continue to work closely with Beats and it is widely expected that the latter will continue to provide software enhancements for HTC's smartphones.

More here.