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U2 is giving away new single on iTunes today, BofA is donating $1 to Red for every download until midnight
Yesterday's Super Bowl wasn't just about watching one team completely demolish another team; it was also about advertising. But in the middle of that sea of lite beer ads and cacophonous movie trailers was buried a chance to get some free music and maybe help the world in the process. U2 announced it would be giving away its new single, "Invisible," via iTunes until 11:59 PM EST on February 3. That's today, so get to downloading. To sweeten the deal for people who don't like U2, Bank of America will be donating US$1 for every download to U2 singer Bono's Product (Red) campaign, which funds the fight against AIDS. You've got a little under nine hours left to download the track. Head over to iTunes and go help out the cause. Even if you're not a fan of the band, you can help make the world a little bit better of a place. You can watch the Super Bowl spot below.
Apple's Jony Ive tapped to design one-off Leica M for charity auction
In case the newly announced Leica M simply isn't astronomically expensive enough -- or charity-minded enough, as it were -- Apple's senior VP of design Jony Ive is working with the German photography company on a one-off version set to be auctioned for charity. Given the M's baseline price of €6,200 (about $8,100), we're guessing the one-of-a-kind version designed by one of the world's most influential designers is going to fetch a pretty penny at auction. Like, "sell off one of your extra homes" kind of money. Leica head Dr. Andreas Kaufmann announced the collaboration last night during a Leica event at Photokina -- an event that Ive himself was reportedly set to appear at -- where he said that the auction will be done with U2 frontman (and longtime friend of Ive) Bono Vox. The latest Leica M debuts in early 2013, though we won't see the fruits of Ive and Leica's collaboration for some time as the camera's design has yet to begin.
Bono compares Steve Jobs to Elvis
U2 lead singer Bono paid tribute to Steve Jobs with kind comments for the man who turned the music industry upside down with the iPod and iTunes. Bono called Jobs "the hardware/software Elvis" and described him as a man who was "only interested in doing truly great things." Speaking of his influence on music and technology, Bono said, "Jobs changed music, he changed film, he changed the personal computer and turned telephony on its head while he was at it." Bono worked closely with Jobs and Apple in the mid-2000s on a U2 iPod with a signature black and red design. The U2 iPod has similar specs to its comparable non-U2 iPod models, but included a download voucher for premium U2 content and the autographs of band members engraved on the back. Apple also released a variety of iPods and an iPad 2 cover under product RED, an African AIDs charity founded in 2006 by U2 front man Bono and Bobby Shriver.
U2's Bono has kind words for Steve Jobs
U2's Bono has expressed thanks for Steve Jobs's "invaluable" support in fighting AIDS in a letter to the editor of The New York Times. Bono contacted the editor after The Time's Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote a link-bait column titled "The Mystery of Steve Jobs's Public Giving." In the column Sorkin seemed somewhat obsessed over the "mystery" and lack of a public record about Steve Jobs' charitable contributions. Clearly Bono wanted to set the record straight, as his letter to the editor reads: To the Editor: Re "The Mystery of Jobs's Public Giving," by Andrew Ross Sorkin (DealBook, Aug. 30): As a founder of (Product)RED, I'd like to point out that Apple's contribution to our fight against AIDS in Africa has been invaluable. Through the sale of (RED) products, Apple has been (RED)'s largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - giving tens of millions of dollars that have transformed the lives of more than two million Africans through H.I.V. testing, treatment and counseling. This is serious and significant. And Apple's involvement has encouraged other companies to step up. Steve Jobs said when we first approached him about (RED), "There is nothing better than the chance to save lives." I'm proud to know him; he's a poetic fellow, an artist and a businessman. Just because he's been extremely busy, that doesn't mean that he and his wife, Laurene, have not been thinking about these things. You don't have to be a friend of his to know what a private person he is or that he doesn't do things by halves. BONO Dublin, Sept. 1, 2011 In Sorkin's defense, the columnist obviously (and rightfully) cares about the importance of philanthropy. I too am a big supporter of the "those that have more should give more" line of thought, but to jump on a man who's notoriously private about his personal and business dealings when he's just resigned over health issues was a bit much, but then again, link bait is a powerful motivator. As for Bono's reply, at least he didn't call for Sorkin to apologize to Steve Jobs like Forbes's Eric Jackson did.
China Unicom launches WoPhone Linux platform, because the world can't get enough of Tux
Another day, another Linux mobile platform launched. The latest flavor hails all the way from China Unicom -- Apple's sole iPhone partner in China thanks to its WCDMA network -- who's just announced the WoPhone platform to, ironically, "break up the foreign smartphone platform monopoly." Of course, this isn't the first time that a Chinese carrier has pushed out its own OS -- TD-SCDMA operator China Mobile already has OPhone, though it's really just a bastardized Android; whereas China Unicom claims that WoPhone's an entirely new OS built around the Linux core. That said, some of WoPhone's UI elements do look awfully familiar. While we don't expect to see this new OS trickling out to the rest of the world any time soon, a big handful of manufacturers -- namely Motorola, Samsung, HTC, TCL, K-Touch, ZTE, Huawei, etc. -- and cloud service partners were present at yesterday's launch event to show off the first batch of devices, including the K-Touch U2 pictured above. Head over to ifeng for more hands-on pics.
U2 360° Tour Blu-ray actually makes compelling use of BD-Live
Normally, if asked to choose between living with or without gimmicky BD-Live enabled bonus features, we'd pick the latter. Musical preferences aside though, U2's use of the technology on their 360 Tour Blu-ray to share select performances from their 2011 tour is just the kind of cool use case we've been looking for. According to the disc's production company, it was also cheap to implement -- think less than a pair of Bono's sunglasses. That happens to fly directly in the face of arguments made by other studios who cite BD-Live's costs as the main reason for its limited integrations to date. So while we never thought the day would come, it looks like the same minds behind the special edition iPod have set a new precedent -- mainly that studios shouldn't get away with all that they leave behind. That's right you heard us movie companies, we want more free future content on discs -- and while you're up get us some Goobers too.
Harmonix polling fan interest in future Rock Band titles
How do you feel about Led Zeppelin getting their own Rock Band title? Maybe you'd be happier with Pink Floyd or The Eagles? Perhaps U2? Yeah, none of those sound particularly enthralling to us either. Thankfully, Harmonix gave us the option to write in our own choice (Flock of Seagulls, duh!) for a possible future artist-specific Rock Band title via a recent poll offered on the developer's forums. Not interested in more one-group/artist RB titles? That's also an option! Harmonix explains the poll as a way to interact with its community and solicit fan response to future titles that are being considered. "With the release of Green Day: Rock Band just a few days away, we wanted to take the opportunity to ask all of you to tell us about which other artists you might want to see as the focus of future artist specific games." As you might imagine, though, the company says it's not planning on making any of these games for sure just yet. "This survey isn't a guarantee that Harmonix is going to make games based on any of these bands, but community feedback is and always has been absolutely invaluable to us in determining our focus within the world of Rock Band as we move forward." We're holding out hope that a group of hardcore Scott Stapp fans aren't secretly plotting to overwhelm the poll with requests for Creed: Rock Band. [Via Blast Magazine]
Some things we may not see again from Apple
Conan O'Brien once had a recurring segment on Late Night called "Guests We Won't Have Back," during which he would look back at guests (who were fake) that he regretted having on the show. There was bug expert Sara Wiggins, who ate a live beetle in front of the camera. And there was wine expert Charles Nance who, during his on-air wine tasting session, drank himself into a drunken stupor. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Some_Things_We_May_Not_See_Again_From_Apple'; Despite its fairly strong record over the last decade, Apple has not been without its lapses and major changes. And, in the spirit of Conan O'Brien's "Guests We'll Never Have Back," let's take a look at "Some Things We'll Never Have Back" on the Apple front.
U2: We, too, want to be in our own music game
Last year, U2 was apparently all set to add their virtual likenesses to Rock Band in some way, but the band decided against it. However, now that The Beatles have done it and people are playing their game on the morning talk shows, everything has changed. "We definitely would like to be in there, but we felt some of the compromises weren't what we wanted," Adam Clayton told USA Today. "That could change. I love the idea that that's where people are getting music, and we'd love to be in that world." Evidently the representation of the band was the issue the first time. "What The Beatles have done, where the animation is much more representative of them, is what we're interested in, rather than the one-size-fits-all animation. We didn't want to be caricatured." Fans looking forward to singing "Lemon" in an unlockable Mr. MacPhisto costume should be glad it's The Beatles: Rock Band the group saw, and not Guitar Hero 5. [Via Kotaku] [Image credit]
U2 to debut new video exclusively on VidZone
U2 is set to unleash the video for its new single, "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" on August 17 in the UK, however PS3 and PSP owners will get an early glimpse at the new video, thanks to streaming service VidZone. The news comes courtesy of Casualgaming.biz, who reports that Vidzone doesn't have an ETA for the animated video at the moment, though it'll likely be before August 17. We know how important this is to all of you, so we're going to be hitting F5 on VidZone's site up until then, so we can break this most important news as early as possible. Viva la Edge![Via MCV]
New RIM ad shows deep appreciation for U2, Apple's ad team
Yeah, we're sure there are only so many ways you can feature a bit of Brian Eno-produced stadium rock in space in support of your hip, relevant tech company, but we'd say RIM copped a bit much of Apple's style in its new U2 ad. Check out "BlackBerry loves U2" and its iTunes-touting Coldplay inspiration after the break for all the shimmering, uncanny similarities. Though, to be fair, Apple has done its own share of ad swipes in the past, so perhaps RIM was just looking to imitate the master?
U2 music video & concert collection hitting Comcast HD VOD
While we wait for someone to figure out how to squeeze the U2 3D experience down a coax wire, Comcast has gone ahead and put a few dozen of the band's concerts and videos on video on-demand and in high definition. The new album doesn't hit until next week but the video for the newest single Get On Your Boots is one of the available selections. Comcast claims users already watch 50-60 million music videos per month on VOD, and the prospect of pulling out an Irish flag and reliving the Vertigo tour's Chicago stop one more time is probably enough for us to join them.
Asus U2E gets unboxed
Although we'd been told that the hot Asus U2E ultraportable was delayed so the company could launch several products at once, it looks like the crew at PC Perspective managed to get their hands on one and do the requisite unboxing. No word on how the lil' scamp runs with that ULV Core Duo, but it looks just as slick as ever, and we're digging that satchel case it comes with -- check it all out at the read link.[Thanks, Ryan]
HD cameras helped make U2 3D what it is
We'll be straight with you -- it's a touch difficult to describe U2 3D in words alone, but for those that have seen the extremely well received concert film, you may be interested in finding out exactly how it came together over at Sound & Vision. According to Catherine Owens, the film's co-director, the footage was shot entirely in high-definition in a digital format that proved much easier to handle than the reels used in years past. Additionally, the team behind the project had a Samsung HDTV shipped in to find out how the content translated from the big screen to one not so big, and results were described with adjectives including "phenomenal" and "insane." Yeah, we still think 3D in general has a ways to go before it shakes the gimmick label it has rightfully earned, but at least 3D in HD makes rocking those gaudy goggles slightly more bearable -- slightly.[Image courtesy of 3ality Digital]
Rumor: Guitar Hero sequel to star U2
Now that we've had a taste of mixing the peanut butter of drumming and vocals with the chocolate of guitar and bass, it's hard for us not to wish exciting news about Guitar Hero would replace the words "guitar" and "hero" with "rock" and "band." The newest nugget from EGM's Quatermann is a perfect example. In the latest issue of the magazine, the rumor monger hints that a standalone sequel to Guitar Hero is in the works based around the music of Irish rockers U2.Now, don't get us wrong, we'll be excited to channel our inner The Edge, but who doesn't want to be Bono? Or, to a far lesser extent, Larry Mullen Jr.? ... Oh, before we forget, we should mention that our Rock Band/Guitar Hero news juxtaposition law doesn't apply to whatever assault of depression Aerosmith's crafting. Guitar Hero can keep that. -- Or jettison it into blackest space. Either way.
New Asus U2E laptop, R700 GPS satnav, and more at CES 2008
We'd like to say we're a little more surprised by some news from Asus today concerning a handful of new products they've got coming to American shores, but from the looks of things we've seen almost all of them. First up -- just as hoped for -- the company is bringing the Nova P22 desktop our way, a Core 2 Duo-based number which should please the style conscious without breaking the bank (at its $799 price tag). Also headed this way is the $399 R700 GPS navigator that we saw for Europe recently, a 4.3-inch touchscreen-based nav unit with a petite 1.3-cm-thick (er, thin) footprint, and a bunch of media playin', Bluetoothin' functions that will make you weak in the knees. Also announced for the US is the U2 laptop (here known as the U2E), a Core Duo ULV-based computer, coupled with a 32GB SSD -- which cuts down on the energy-sucking without sacrificing performance (or so they say). There was one new product in the PR that we haven't seen: the 24-inch widescreen MK241, which features HDMI support, a built-in webcam, microphone, and speakers, though no word on price or release date. Check the read links for a slightly more detailed look.[Via jkkmobile]Read - ASUS Dazzles Las Vegas with Exciting New ProductsRead - The New ASUS U2E with 32GB Solid State Drive Integrates Luxury and Technology
Asus announces U2 hotness
We're not sure why Asus damned its hot new laptop by announcing it prior to CES (unlike its predecessor, the U1) -- and on a Saturday, no less -- but you can't question the quality: Core Duo ULV or Centrino, 802.11a/b/g, Vista (from Basic to Ultimate), 11.1-inch 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display, 32GB SSD option, up to 4GB RAM in a 2.75 pound 1.1-inch thick footprint. We'll spare you the Bono ref or jokes about the lack of Edge data.[Thanks, Jimmy]
(PRODUCT) RED iPod shuffle coming on the 5th?
AppleInsider totally called it last time with the Oprah-launched (PRODUCT) RED iPod nano, so we're inclined to believe that they may have the inside line on Bono's latest attempt to cozy up with the Jobsian Empire, in the form of a signature-red shuffle refresh purportedly being announced at the upcoming "Beat Goes On" event. For those of you tracking these sort of things, this (PRODUCT) RED shuffle claim follows the nano Phatty, iPod Touch, Beatles on iTunes, and portable Coverflow rumors on the list of possible announcements to be made on September 5th at the Moscone Center -- among many others that we probably haven't picked up on. Okay, back to your regular programming, but don't get too comfy, because the next 'inside scoop' could be just minutes away...[Image courtesy of AppleInsider, thanks jungzandvliet]
U2's Bono called upon to battle Mercenaries
More Venezuela versus Pandemic news now, with the attack on Mercenaries 2: Venezuela World in Flames now bolstered by the attempted enlistment of Bono -- charitable human rights rescuer and lead singer for rock group U2. In a pair of open letters addressed to religious leaders and the bland-o-rama band frontman, Venezuelan Solidarity humbly asks Bono to use his "considerable influence" to halt development on the game and perhaps invest in a company that doesn't detract "from [his] image as a human rights defender." Does Bono know how to dismantle an anti-static BD-ROM? The political group's concerns arise from the fact that the "extremely realistic" game allows players to shoot and otherwise demolish people and constructions within the recognizable borders of Venezuela. Their paranoid plea frantically plucks nebulous studies ("research demonstrates that playing violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior"), bizarre gamer hostility ("the game inevitably will provoke increased tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela) and unfounded fiction fear ("celebration of violence in much of our media, music and video games is poisoning our children") from the air, shortly before rolling everything into a moist ball and splattering it across Bono's front door. In other news, both Sony's David Jaffe and Cory Barlog have been asked to stop their rampage against Greece's tourism industry. "We're not all half-naked barbarians and bloodthirsty minotaurs, you know!"[Via Gamesindustry.biz]
Belkin and Microsoft make nice, settle U2 lawsuit
No, we're not talking Apples and Apples here, nor does this have anything to do with Bono (nor the Edge, actually); rather, Belkin and Microsoft have finally made nice regarding Belkin's consistent use of Microsoft's "U2 technology," which allows keyboard and mice to detect what type of connection (USB or PS/2) is needed. While other accessory makers, namely Targus and Fellowes, have been paying Gates and Co. royalties for years to borrow said technology, Belkin has been resisting the pressure "for more than two years." Eventually the misalignment between companies came to blows, creating a lawsuit that suggested Belkin pay fees for using the detection technology in its third-party peripherals. The decision was settled when Belkin finally agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the Redmond giant to continue using its patented U2 goodness, and both sides actually went so far as to say they were "pleased" with the outcome. C'mon folks, can't we just learn from this and all strive to get along?
