U2’s Handset Havoc

Where, exactly, do U2’s loyalties lie? I want to know.

I’m not talking about Amnesty International. Or Project (Red). Or the continued end of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. No, those priorities are pretty clear-cut. What I’m talking about, dear readers, are handsets. Those Irish rocker types are so hot and cold when it comes to their smartphones. They take, they embrace, they call, they dance along to earbudded, only recently DRM-free music tracks – and then they cruelly cast them aside, looking for the next hottie. All that you can’t leave behind? Hardly.

The latest to get suckered by what I suspect is a combination of the Irish accent and the honey-toned loquacity of Bono appears to be Research in Motion Ltd.. You see, U2 is partnering up with the BlackBerry-maker to sponsor its tour for the new album, "No Line On The Horizon.” And sure, I don’t care if they take the money. Tours are expensive and God knows U2 isn’t made of gold ... oh wait a minute.

Redirect: I don’t care if they take the money. It’s the fact that U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, put the relationship thusly: The sponsorship announcement “marks the first stage of a relationship and shared vision.” Shared vision? That sounds rather serious. Well if you love it, put a ring on it, as they say. But no further details were available from Mr. McGuinness, only that this mystery-shrouded shared vision would involve enhancing the mobile music experience on BlackBerrys.

And for RIM rivals Apple Inc. and Palm Inc., this shared vision talk has got to sting.

Who can forget the limited edition U2-branded Apple iPod in 2005? What about the awesomely colorful iTunes commercials featuring “Vertigo” that some said represented a sell-out for the band? Who could forget that that kind of sell-out talk was completely smacked down by Bono, who was out there rhapsodizing about how the forthcoming music revolution would be digitized? He was in patented Bono-beatific mode saying that the future of music for the masses (oops – wrong band) is iTunes. And Apple. And the iPod. And the iPhone. The new single, "Get On Your Boots," was released on iTunes before anywhere else.

I’m surprised he didn’t change his name to iBono.

But meanwhile, guess who’s Palm’s largest shareholder? It’s a hedge fund owned by Bono and others known as Elevation Partners, which holds a 49 percent stake in the company. I don’t see U2 out there cutting sponsorship deals to use the upcoming Palm Pre as a marketing partner though – which, incidentally, would be the height of everyone’s favorite hackneyed marketing term, “synergy.” One love, you’ve got to do what you should? I don’t think so.

Nope. RIM is U2’s new smartphone darling. Oh sure, RIM, which is anxiously courting the consumer segment these days, will love the limelight since the tour is expected to hit 14 European cities this summer, starting in Barcelona. That will be followed by fall North American dates starting in September at Chicago's Soldier Field. But if it’s smart, it wouldn’t get all teary-eyed when the band launches into “With or Without You.”