Apple iPod U2 Special Edition (20GB)

CNET editors' take

• Reviewed by: Jasmine France
• Edited by: James Kim
• Reviewed on: 10/26/2004
• Updated on:05/27/2005
• Released on: 10/26/2004

Quick Take: Late last year, amid much hype, Apple announced two new iPods: the iPod Photo and the iPod U2 Special Edition. After many previous collaborations, Irish rock group U2 and Apple again partnered to release the sole special-edition iPod to date. The iPod U2 (20GB only) shares most of its characteristics with the fourth-generation iPod but boasts a few key differences. The most noticeable is the player's black body and Ferrari-red scrollwheel--it definitely pops. Flip over the device, and you'll find another distinguishing design tweak: the signatures of all four U2 band members have been laser-etched in the iPod's shiny, silver rear casing, which also features a U2 stamp and the words special edition.

On a related note, Steve Jobs also announced an Apple iTunes exclusive: the world's first "digital box set," comprising the entire collection of U2's albums as well as unreleased demos and live recordings--more than 400 songs in all. Entitled The Complete U2, the set costs $149 and became available for download on November 23, 2005; understandably, you must use a broadband connection to get it. The $349 iPod U2 is also currently available. Purchasers of the new player will be rewarded with a coupon for $50 off the price of U2's digital box set as well as a poster of the band.

When we put the U2 to the test in CNET Labs, its performance mirrored that of the fourth-generation iPod. Although the U2's average transfer time of 9.38MB per second was notably faster than that of its all-white sibling (which came in at 6.79MB per second), this likely has to do with the fact that CNET Labs received all-new test systems between the time of the two recordings, and all products tested on both the old and new test computers exhibited slightly faster times on the latter. Battery life was about the same, with the U2's 13.3 hours just shy of the 13.9 hours recorded for the fourth-generation iPod.

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User opinions

WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW How would you rate this product?

• 9/10 Spectacular March 10, 2005

  by tldizard (see profile)

  "A solid player for a solid price" Read more >>

• 6/10 Good January 12, 2005

  "Same old Ipod?" Read more >>

• 4/10 Mediocre June 1, 2005

  by AMDCam (see profile)

  "BODY, NOT PERFORMANCE, difference" Read more >>

• WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEWSee all 74 user opinions >>

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