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Apple iPod U2 Special Edition (20GB)

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Product summary

The iPod U2 isn't for everyone, but its target audience will love it.

Specifications: Device type: Digital player ; Flash memory installed: No built-in memory ; Digital player supported digital audio standards: AAC , MP3 , WAV , AIFF , Audible , Apple Lossless ; See full specs

See all products in the Apple iPod U2 Special Edition series

CNET editors' take

  • 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.

File-transfer speed
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
MB per second  
* = This player was tested on CNET Labs' old test system. See review text for details.

Battery life
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Hours  

See more CNET content tagged:
Apple iPod,
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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 92

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 14446 reviews of Apple iPod (Video) (5th Gen) from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 82/100 and users 83/100. Comparing these reviews to 361295 other MP3 Players reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 92/100 = Excellent.

  • alaTest.com

    Summary: It is a very thin MP3 player with posh design and good sound quality but the feature video has its limits.

    Read full review

  • ilounge.com

    Editors' rating: 100

    Summary: Hasta la vista, Apple iPod U2 Special Edition (Color). Off to pasture, like so many generations before you

    Read full review

  • the-gadgeteer.com

    Read full review

  • mobiletechreview.com

    Editors' rating: 100

    Summary: It's an iPod- what's not to like? It's gorgeous, can hold an obscene amount of music, show photos, easily fit in your pocket and there are a huge number of tempting accessories available for it. It's the easiest to use among media players with an ...

    Read full review

  • mp3.com

    Editors' rating: 83

    Summary: The amazingly low priced updated Apple iPod gets many under-the-hood improvements, but it's still not a true video player.

    Read full review

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