This Beats All -- A Non-Bakken Story -- Could Be Biggest Story Of They Week

It looks like Apple will buy Beats Electronics. I was looking at a pair of Beats headphones in the local Apple store a couple of weeks ago; Beats will be my next headphone purchase. But what a surprise, Apple buying Beats.

Apple carries very, very brands other than Apple in its retail stores. I was surprised to see Beats being heavily marketed in the store, but in retrospect it does not surprise me. It's my opinion that headphones are a commodity; there is a range of quality and price for everyone. What sets Beats apart is what sets Apple apart: cachet. When you buy an iPhone, just like buying Beats headphones, you aren't buying hardware; you're buying awesome.

Can they afford Beats? It's gonna cost Apple about $3.5 billion dollars. Oh, not to worry. Apple has about $150 billion in cash. The story at the link:

Apple is said to be paying $3.2 billion dollars for the company, a sum that dwarfs the $404 million Apple spent to acquire NeXT in 1996, its largest purchase to date. As of its last earnings call, Apple had some $150 billion in cash on hand, plenty to cover the large acquisition.

Tim Cook said earlier this year that the company was open to making large acquisitions if the purchases made sense. "We have no problem spending 10 figures for the right company, for the right fit that's in the best interest of Apple in the long-term. None. Zero."

In addition to producing a range of popular premium headphones and speakers that Apple currently sells in its stores, Beats also recently launched its Beats Music service, a direct competitor to Spotify, Pandora, and Apple's own iTunes Radio service. Beats Music is, however, a subscription-based on-demand service, which could bolster Apple's free station-based iTunes Radio service.

By the way, here's another columnist/analyst that does not get it. 

Parallel to this magical denial fantasy, Apple’s rigid stance, that it must build everything in house, even as it was generating the massive financial resources necessary to make strategic purchases, froze progress and hurt the company badly. Apple flat out missed Nest, a company recently acquired by Google, built by ex-Apple guys, that makes connected thermostats, fire detectors and the like - beautifully designed products that are a part of the internet of things and forward looking.

No, Apple is not into thermostats and fire detectors. Apple is into 'awesome.'