HTC unveils the Rezound, featuring thumping Beats Audio

Say hello to the HTC Rezound, yet another media-focused Android smartphone from the prolific Taiwanese manufacturer, and its second to sport integration with Beats audio technology.

HTC unveiled the Rezound at a swanky event in New York City this afternoon. How swanky? Dr. Dre was sitting in the audience (he co-created the Beats brand).

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HTC CEO Peter Chou says the company began working with Beats Audio earlier this year to revolutionize mobile audio. Back in September, HTC announced it was investing a whopping $300 million in Beats Electronics. HTC’s Sensation XL also features Beats integration.

The phone takes some design cues from the Incredible line with red accents, but it’s also great looking under the hood. HTC Sales President Jason Mackenzie showed off a slide demonstrating the sexy red interior hardware of the Rezound, which is what you’ll see when you remove the battery cover.

Not surprisingly, the Rezound is also a powerhouse, sporting a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core CPU, 1 gigabyte of RAM, LTE support, and HTC’s first 720p (1280 by 720) HD resolution display on a 4.3-inch screen. The phone will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the latest version of HTC’s Sense software. The company says it’s “Ice Cream Sandwich ready,” which means it can be upgraded to Android 4.0 when it’s available early next year.

The phone’s 8-megapixel camera also features many of the camera features in T-Mobile’s MyTouch 4G Slide (also built by HTC), which includes quick shooting and panorama capabilities. Just like the iPhone 4S, the Rezound camera has an f2.2 lens, which means it will perform well in low light. HTC also included extensive editing features, including social effects that can be instantly previewed. And as is the custom with new phones, it can record 1080p HD video.

With Beats Audio, the company says the sound on the phone is tuned specifically to make music sound great. HTC will also pack in high-quality Beats headphones that promise much better sound than typical cellphone headphones.

Beats co-founder and music exec Jimmy Iovine said at the event he wanted to make phones better music players, pointing to the fact that you still see people juggling audio players with smartphones (personally, I rock a Zune HD alongside my iPhone 4).

The Rezound will be available on Verizon Wireless on November 14 for $300 online, and at Verizon Wireless and Best Buy stores across the country.