Even Better Than That Real® Thing

    Later this afternoon, 1PM PDT, Bono and The Edge will join Apple’s Steve Jobs to make some form of announcement. It might be that the iTunes Music Store is opening in more countries or it might be that Apple is releasing a special, limited, U2-branded iPod. This iPod, according to Forbes, will be black and will come preloaded with U2’s new album and some of their back catalog.
    I am embarrassed to admit it but I am actually eagerly awaiting this announcement. Partly this is due to the childish, groupie realization that my favorite band and I have something in common: a liking for the Apple iPod and Mac OS X. It’ll give us something to talk about when I stalk them next Spring. Also I am curious if this new iPod will be worth buying. I wouldn’t mind getting an expensive Christmas present for myself and there’s talk the next iPods will be 60GBs and will sport color screens. Unfortunately, these fourth-generation models might not show up till 2005. If the U2 iPods are simply 20GB, black ones I’ll sadly have to pass. (And watch, they won’t even be really black, they’ll just be Colorware black.)
    Big surprise, some fans are cynically saying how U2 have sold out by allying themselves to Apple. This seems a tad disingenuous, since U2 have never been all that pure when it comes to endorsements, tie-ins, and sponsorships. Also, if they were going to sell out, wouldn’t they have joined up with something big, like Anheuser Busch or McDonald’s or Haliburton? I don’t think that pejorative applies when you make more money than the company with which you sign. Then again, bigger surprise, it looks like the whole uproar might be blown out of proportion. Thought so.
    Anyway, see you at the Apple Store later today.  …Maybe.   [12:30 PM]
    Update: The official announcement has not yet been made but the details have already been released. The U2 iPod will be 20GBs and is priced at $349. The colors are black and red and, in a nice touch, the band’s signatures are engraved on the back. The 60GB color-screen iPod I was hoping for was also announced, priced at $599. A 40GB model is also for sale, at a hundred dollars less. Shipment for the fourth-generation iPods is 1 to 2 weeks; shipment for the U2 iPod is 3 weeks. My credit card is crying to be let out.   [2:25 PM]
    Update update: no, I’m not getting a U2 iPod. I’m underwhelmed by the look of it. That’s why simply hanging on to this image should save me around four hundred bucks (including extended warranty and tax). The iPod Photo however looks like it might be a very nice birthday/Christmas present to myself. I was going to rag on the $150 dollar Digital Box Set of 400 U2 songs too, but a look at my U2 handmade playlist (which contains every album and studio recording sans UABRS) only has 199 songs! I wonder what all the rest are. Maybe “unreleased” might really mean unreleased! (And another thing, I guess the event times got mixed up. Apparently today’s announcement was at 10 AM PDT, 1 PM EDT.)