Tuesday, June 06, 2006, 08:00 am
Apple introduces the new U2 iPod
Apple on Tuesday introduced a new version of its U2 Special Edition iPod as part of a continued partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group (UMG).The new U2 iPod is based on the company's fifth-generation 30GB iPod and holds up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 photos or over 75 hours of video. It features a distinctive, all-black stainless steel enclosure, red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures.
U2 iPod adopters will also receive 30 minutes of exclusive U2 video downloadable from the iTunes Music Store, Apple said. The new iPod is available immediately for $329.
"We're thrilled to continue working with one of the greatest bands in the world to bring U2 fans a special edition of the world's best digital music player," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of worldwide iPod Product Marketing. "With its distinctive new design, including an all-black stainless steel enclosure, the new U2 iPod is sure to be a hit."
The new U2 iPod features Apple's patent-pending Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads digital music, podcasts, photos, audiobooks, home movies, music videos and popular television shows onto the iPod and keeps them up-to-date whenever the iPod is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using USB 2.0. The new U2 iPod features up to 14 hours of battery life for music playback.
Pricing & Availability
The new 30GB U2 iPod is available immediately for a suggested retail price of $329 (US) through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Each player includes earbud headphones, USB 2.0 cable, a case and dock insert. U2 iPod customers will also receive a coupon for 30 minutes of exclusive U2 video content downloadable from the iTunes Music Store.

iPod requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port and Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later and iTunes 6; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional (SP2) and iTunes 6.
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Whoa AppleInsider is on the ball with this one - beat out iLounge, Engadget and the rest to this news.
This definitely seems pretty pointless to me - the appeal of the first U2 iPod was the different color option, whereas all this one offers is a red click wheel and the band members' autographs.
Two things that could have made this better - offering the iPod in Red and/or donating a sizable chunk of the price to the (Red) campaign Bono et. al have going on now to deal with aids (Motorola offer a Red SLVR here in the UK which includes a cut of the profits to this cause). This would have served as a way to differentiate the model further, imo.
BTW, what's the reference to Apple's Auto-Sync tech? Isn't that what we've had on every iPod since the beginning?