Apple appeals one more time to U2 fans

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 07 June 2006 04:46

Your IT - Home IT

We are not entirely sure how many U2 fans there are in the world. However many, Apple is obviously hoping that there are enough to justify bringing out an updated version of a sleek new special edition iPod model with engraved signatures of the band members on the back.

The new model, which retails in the US for $329, is $20 cheaper than the original which was released in 2004, has a longer battery life (14 hours), has more storage (30GB) and, unlike the original, plays videos.

At $30 more than the vanilla model, Apple must believe that the allure of 30 minutes of downloadable U2 videos which comes with the package, plus the U2 insignia, will be enough to convince fans that the extra money is worth it. The question of whether there are enough fans who will either ditch their existing iPods or buy their first U2 iPod for it to be worthwhile for Apple is probably moot. Apple has no doubt done its market research and, coupled with its closely guarded knowledge of how many units of the old model it sold, the company has a fair idea of expected sales - and the numbers almost certainly look good.

U2 has sold more than 140 million albums around the world since the band was formed in 1976. Apple only needs to get a a small sliver of that number to make this branding exercise a success.