Companies

Monster extended its celebrity earphone line this week with the launch of the Butterfly series co-developed with fashion designer Vivienne Tam. Tam and Monster head Noel Lee took the wraps off the $199 in-ear headphones at a press conference at Tam’s retail location in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. Emphasizing the marriage of technology and fashion, Tam said the earphones, which feature Tam’s signature butterfly motif, are meant to be a fashion accessories like earrings. Tam last year introduced a line of designer notebook PCs with HP called the “digital clutch.” Distribution for the phones will be exclusive and decidedly not mass-market, Lee said. “It will respect the distribution Vivienne Tam has for her fashion line.” The earphones will be available in early April. Like other in-ear phones in the Monster line, the Tam earphones will feature a version with Control Talk, Monster’s on-cable voice-based control function that enables hands-free calling and operation of iPods and the iPhone. The Butterfly series follows Monster’s introduction of Beats by Dr. Dre, Heartbeats by Lady Gaga and Miles Davis Tribute earphones. Lee said the Butterfly phones differ from the other models in “optimization.” The Gaga phones, he said, were designed with an emphasis on reproduction of bass and dance beats, and the Butterfly model is better suited to reproduction of strings and concertos. “It’s a lighter sound, more open and not as heavy,” Lee said.