Restrictions drove U2 to switch sides from Apple to RIM - report

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  • Reply 81 of 110
    johnwinjohnwin Posts: 2member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr Squid View Post


    U2 has not been alternative since the 1990s. Now they just do bland pop rock. Long ago, however, they were brilliant.



    Mr Squid - you are right on the money - 'alternative rock band U2' - alternative to what? A good rock band?
  • Reply 82 of 110
    U2 being the worlds most business like rock band clearly should go with the worlds most business like smartphone...
  • Reply 83 of 110
    attkattk Posts: 2member
    "I Will Follow"... YES!!!



    "Get Your Boots"... NO FRICKIN' WAY!



    They just seem to be trying to be somebody else these days... Sell-outs, maybe?

    What a shame... If I had a dollar for every once-great-band-that-now-sucks, I'd

    be able to afford another Mac Pro!
  • Reply 84 of 110
    subsub Posts: 1member
    The really interesting question is: Why partner with RIM and not with Palm? Through the investment company Elevation Partners Bono is one of the biggest shareholders of Palm.
  • Reply 85 of 110
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    I think you all need to chill out. Why so much venom for a band's association with a box of wires?
  • Reply 86 of 110
    dpompidpompi Posts: 1member
    Sorry guys, I never post to sites, but I went through this entire thread and couldn't believe no one mentioned "PopMart"!!!!



    U2 has somehow gotten this halo as being above it all, but the truth is, they are just a bunch of guys who make music. half the band doesn't even have last names!



    When they go out to do a tour they have a choice. Pay for all the sets, travel costs, etc. by themselves or get someone else to pay for it.



    A few years back Kmart was desperately trying to stay afloat and so, rather than invest money to improve it's single largest asset (it's stores!) they threw money into a U2 tour, complete with giant launch ceremony in which Bono promised to change the perception of Kmart amongst the youth of America!!!



    For those who don't know, Kmart went bankrupt then sold out to Sears.



    My take on all of this is that RIM, though doing well financially, is desperate to break out of it's predominately corporate user base. They saw an opportunity to throw money at the problem to address a "younger" crowd, and they did. U2, happy to offload the costs of giving their fans what they want (and rake in the revenues while doing it!) jumped at the chance. The sound bite from Bono (no last name) about access tot he labs sounds an awful lot like how Bono was going to turn Kmart around.



    It's the U2 "Reality Distortion Field"!!!



    The bottom line is that fans will get cheap ($150) tickets to a very expensive show at the cost of having to be inundated with Blackberry hype, including a really cute during the show in-which The Edge (no last name) text's 3 lucky crowd-members, who get signed Blackberry's, in a cutting-edge black and red motif.



    And then they'll go back to buying the phone they like, because media saturation has cut marketing effectiveness to 1% of what it was 10 years ago.



    There. I am glad I got that out of my system. Thanks to both of you that bothered to read it.
  • Reply 87 of 110
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,712member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sub View Post


    The really interesting question is: Why partner with RIM and not with Palm? Through the investment company Elevation Partners Bono is one of the biggest shareholders of Palm.



    He probably meant to and got mixed up.
  • Reply 88 of 110
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Ok.



    See ya.
  • Reply 89 of 110
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    Maybe with the new iPhone 3.0 and expanded doc connector options - Apple could start sponsoring racing teams and put an iPhone into the car with a doc connector wired up to the telemetry in the car.



    Or maybe Apple is building a module for the space station, yeah.
  • Reply 90 of 110
    I think the real issue was that there is no "Special Edition U2 iPod Touch" or "Special Edition U2 iPhone". That's where the action is and probably where U2 wanted to be. The iPod classic is old technology and Bono probably wasn't interested in being associated with legacy technology.



    Apple on the other hand feels their products are well entrenched enough that they don't need special editions any more.
  • Reply 91 of 110
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sub View Post


    The really interesting question is: Why partner with RIM and not with Palm? Through the investment company Elevation Partners Bono is one of the biggest shareholders of Palm.



    RIM is rolling in the dough and Palm is struggling to survive.
  • Reply 92 of 110
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,402member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    I think the real issue was that there is no "Special Edition U2 iPod Touch" or "Special Edition U2 iPhone". That's where the action is and probably where U2 wanted to be. The iPod classic is old technology and Bono probably wasn't interested in being associated with legacy technology.



    Apple on the other hand feels their products are well entrenched enough that they don't need special editions any more.



    Most sensible explanation I've heard so far.
  • Reply 93 of 110
    nceencee Posts: 857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    yeah they do. "product [red]" might have originally been a U2 initiative but it's far bigger then them now.



    All U2 has done for Apple is make them produce the ugliest iPod colour scheme ever (the U2 iPod). It will be very interesting to see what they end up doing with Riim that is so cool that Apple refused to help them out with.



    I predict that it will be nothing much at all.



    Maybe lack of sales of the U2 iPod, was what made Apple say "Bye-Bye"?



    Apple may be hard to work with, but we don't even know what it is or was that U2 was asking for - REALLY asking for. If I was to guess, it was a piece of the sales of iPods, or a BIGGER piece. Heck he might have asked Steve and company to pay any back taxes owed, or any he would be owing in the future.



    I don't see it as a bad thing at all, that being, Apple not becoming a "Concert Sponsor" although it does make sense, but Apple would then be put in a bad place - who do they sponsors, who do they say "Sorry" to. With ALL of the musical acts that they sell records for? this could have put them in a tough spot.



    And at the FU%^$KING prices these ego maniac's are asking for ticket pricing - I say so long. It is only music after all, and NO ONE is worth the ticket money they are asking.



    Hey live is fun, but in my opinion, some live acts SUCK unless your stoned out of your mind, and then, hell you aren't listening to the music that's playing live, your listening to the music in your head



    Skip



    PS Bye-=Bye Bono, no loss at all in my mind, but then again, I am NOT a Bono fan any ways.
  • Reply 94 of 110
    cg0defcg0def Posts: 8member
    come on everyone know that Bono is a little bitch. They would switch to any company that gives them the highest support and the highest profit. Apple has very little use for U2 at the moment and quite frankly the iPhone is more popular than U2 is. Anyway, I think it's really nice that RIM are finally going after the regular consumer although it's a little bit late in the game IMHO. I wish them all the best since the iPhone really need more competition than Palm.
  • Reply 95 of 110
    who gives a shit what Bono thinks. U2 sucked 30 years ago and they still suck today. sure it has to be popular band, but at least they could pick one that's not complete and utter garbage. who's next... Disturbed lol. why associate yourself with such god-awful music.



    why not pick up a cool band, like Radiohead or something worth listening to.
  • Reply 96 of 110
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Here's Trent Reznor et al describing a new Nine Inch Nails app for the iPhone.



    Location aware fan chat linked to the NIN tour schedule and with a pretty slick interface, streaming remixes, etc.



    Apparently they didn't have any trouble getting a developer to make an app that did what they wanted, and they come off cooler for just using the tools at hand and being a little tech savvy, as opposed to needing to "partner" with Apple or anyone else.
  • Reply 97 of 110
    I wonder if the fact that Bono's financial company Elevation Partners owns 40% of Palm has anything to do with their decision to go with Blackberry? Good business decision?
  • Reply 98 of 110
    jazzgurujazzguru Posts: 6,435member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jeffersonwilde View Post


    I wonder if the fact that Bono's financial company Elevation Partners owns 40% of Palm has anything to do with their decision to go with Blackberry? Good business decision?



    Merely a coincidence, I'm sure.
  • Reply 99 of 110
    [QUOTE=tdmelvin;1399449]U2? Christ, do they still tour? The last song I heard them play was "I still haven't found what I'm looking for".



    you live in a cave?
  • Reply 100 of 110
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    RIM is rolling in the dough and Palm is struggling to survive.





    I would hardly say they are rolling in dough! Checked the marker recently?
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