Pop stars U2 partner with iPod

Apple also announces European version of iTunes Music Store and super box-sets

Soon, Canada will finally get its own iTunes digital music store. The long-expected announcement came at a press conference held in California last week. A very healthy Steve Jobs, after his surgery a few months ago to get a pancreatic tumour removed, accompanied by two musical legends like Bono and the Edge of band U2, launched the European version of his revolutionary iTunes Music Store. Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain are now able to enjoy the same innovative features and the same price of €0.99 per song that turned iTunes into the world's foremost online music store. Canada will have to wait some more, but the launch in the land of the maple leaf is set for November.
The press conference was also meant to introduce two new models of the world's best-selling MP3 player, the iPod. Apple's gadget sold over 2 million units in the last quarter alone, or 92 percent of the market of hard disk-equipped players.
Still skeptical of the advisability of launching a do-it-all handheld, Apple chose not to change the design and functionality of its successful player even in the new version, called iPod Photo, that adds the ability to show pictures to the classic iPod.
iPod Photo has the same shape, style, and even weight - 158 grams - of its predecessor, adopting a wider (220 x 176 pixel) backlit colour screen instead of the old monochrome display. In addition to the audio features of classic iPod, Photo can archive onto its 40- or 60-GB hard disk up to 25,000 photos and display them in manual sequence or slideshow, even if the player is playing a song or a playlist at the same time.
"Carrying around one's whole photographic and musical collection wherever one goes is the next big thing," remarked Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "Anyone owning a digital camera would like to have fun and share one's growing library of digital pictures wherever one goes. Unlike video contents, photo contents are free and abundant, and there is no problem of copyrights to handle."
Apple's photo player is also equipped with a TV output that, just like most cameras on the market, can be used to view pictures and slideshows on a TV set or via a TV projector. Auto-Sync technology allows synchronization between the photo and music library of the iPod and a Mac or PC. Apple users can synchronize iPod Photo with their photo library in iPhoto, while Windows users can do likewise with their image library in Adobe Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Album, or their PC's My Pictures folder. iPod Photo can also interface with the new version 4.7 of iTunes.
Apple claims to have improved battery life, now at 15 hours of music and 5 hours of continuous photo viewing.
The 40 GB and 60 GB models of iPod Photo are sold on the Apple Store at €559 and €679 (taxes included) respectively. The player comes with a dock with audio and video output, headphones, AV cabling, FireWire and USB ports, AC adapter, a black case and a CD with iTunes 4.7 for Mac and Windows.
The presence of Bono and the Edge had also another meaning, since U2 and Apple have decided to collaborate. Apple launched iPod U2 Special Edition, a version with silkscreened images of the members of the famous Irish band, characterized by a black body with a red Click Wheel.
"We want our audience to have a more intimate online relationship with the band, and Apple can help us do that," said U2 lead singer Bono. "With iPod and iTunes, Apple has created a crossroads of art, commerce and technology which feels good for both musicians and fans."
The new U2 iPod is being introduced as the band prepares to release their new album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in late November. In addition to the new U2 iPod, the results of the U2, Apple and UMG partnership include: U2's single "Vertigo" from their upcoming album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is available exclusively in the US through the iTunes Music Store; Apple has created for the first time the online music industry's first-of-its-kind "Digital Box Set." The first digital box set, The Complete U2, will contain over 400 tracks including all of the band's albums and over 25 rare and unreleased tracks. U2 fans will be able to purchase and download The Complete U2 with just one click on the iTunes Music Store beginning in late November for just $149 (US).
The Digital Box Set is clearly experimental, but it could become an asset in digital music sales over the Internet. Judging from the reaction of the stock market, where Apple's shares have passed $50, many share that opinion.

Publication Date: 2004-11-07
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4577