Apple iPod U2 Special Edition - Reviews - Cool Gear - Audio

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Apple iPod U2 Special Edition

By Alex Kidman, CNET.com
November 02, 2004
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/coolgear/audio/soa/Apple-iPod-U2-Special-Edition/0,139023372,139165134,00.htm

Apple iPod U2 Special Edition Apple's iPod U2 Special Edition takes customisation to an extreme, as long as you're a fan of Irish rock bands.

Along with its photo-capable 60GB iPod, Apple today announced its most customised iPod to date -- the iPod U2 Special Edition. Available only in a 20GB capacity, the U2-styled iPod will set consumers back AU$569.

Upside: The most practical upside of the U2 Edition iPod is that it's an iPod like any other, and that means you're getting the world's favourite hard drive based music player, complete with the clickwheel introduced on the fourth generation model, iTunes compatibility, cross platform Mac and Windows compatibility and the classic white earbuds. The real reason to get excited about the iPod U2 Special Edition, however, is if you're a fan of Bono and chums. The front casing is black, with a red clickwheel, while the rear of the unit features the band's signatures. Apple has done similar things in the past, although not on quite the same scale.

Downside: 20GB is on the small side in iPod terms, especially compared to the monster 60GB unit also announced today. The signatures on the back are only laser reproductions of the band's signatures -- it's not as though somehow we doubt they're sitting in a castle in Ireland somewhere frantically signing iPods, if you're particularly fanatical. The biggest downside of the iPod U2 special edition is undoubtedly the price -- all that lovely U2-centric customisation costs you an additional AU$70 over the regular 20GB iPod price.

Outlook: If there's one thing that Apple's proven it can do in the past, it's sell style to the mass market, and the iPod U2 Special Edition is dripping with style. The timing of the release -- not just ahead of the Christmas rush, but also to more or less coincide with the release of U2's latest album, How to Dismantle an Atom Bomb, may mean that more than a few U2 fans may have finally found what they're looking for.

Alex Kidman reports for CNET.com.au. You can read more from CNET.com.au here.