“Toronto-based radio DJ Alan Cross flew to Boston last month with a plan to find a way into a secret U2 concert at an old vaudeville-era theatre. What he ended up with was an exclusive peek at a landmark business deal between the iconic Irish rockers and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. After Bono and his band wrapped up their gig at the intimate Somerville Theater, Mr. Cross ended up at a crowded reception at a nearby pub in Harvard Square and came face to face with the U2 front man. To strike up a conversation, he told Bono he had friends who worked for RIM. Then he asked Bono about the new partnership between RIM and one of the biggest rock acts on the planet, which the Waterloo, Ont.-based company announced in a routine press release just two days earlier,” Simon Avery and Matt Hartley report for The Globe and Mail.

Avery and Hartley report, “‘I’m very excited about this,’ Bono told Mr. Cross about the RIM deal. ‘Research In Motion is going to give us what Apple wouldn’t…’”

MacDailyNews Take: Enough rope?

Avery and Hartley continue, “‘…access to their labs and their people so we can do something really spectacular.’”

MacDailyNews Take: Now Bono’s a comedian.

Avery and Hartley continue, “RIM realizes its future hinges on winning consumers over to the BlackBerry. The company has taken several leads from Apple, the king of consumer technology, that go beyond winning the affections of one of the world’s greatest rock stars. RIM has recently introduced touch-screen technology with the BlackBerry Storm and an online store for games and software known as App World, similar to what Apple has already perfected for using with the iPhone.

MacDailyNews Take: Define “similar.” Here’s what Avery and Hartley think “similar” means:
• 75 million reasons why RIM’s Blackberry App World can’t touch Apple’s iPhone App Store – April 02, 2009
• Mossberg: RIM’s BlackBerry App World clumsier, more expensive than Apple’s App Store original – April 01, 2009
• Only one storm drags down D.C. Republicans and Democrats alike: RIM’s awful BlackBerry Storm – March 06, 2009
• Apple’s iPhone storms BlackBerry-maker RIM and carries fatter component and assembly margins, too – January 29, 2009
• PC World: It’s official, Blackberry Storm is no Apple iPhone killer – January 27, 2009
• RIM’s big response to Apple’s iPhone, BlackBerry Storm, falls flat – January 26, 2009
• ChangeWave: Apple iPhone’s ‘very satisfied’ rating more than double that of RIM’s BlackBerry Storm – December 22, 2008
• Buyers lining up to return RIM’s BlackBerry Storm? – December 17, 2008
• Yale Daily News: The Storm isn’t an iPhone killer, it’s a Blackberry killer – December 10, 2008
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship Professor reviews RIM BlackBerry Storm: ‘Disappointing and awful’ – December 05, 2008
• NY Times’ Pogue reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘I’ve got a better name for it: BlackBerry Dud’ – November 26, 2008
• InformationWeek reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘Tiresome, slow, severe bugginess and problems’ – November 24, 2008
• TIME Mag reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘Novelty screen feels cheap; steer clear of this storm’ – November 20, 2008
• Chicago Tribune reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘Can’t compete with Apple’s iPhone’ – November 20, 2008
• Gizmodo reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘Heavy, laggy, sluggish, unstable, clunky, and tiring’ – November 20, 2008
• Engadget reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘Frustrating, inelegant, uncomfortable; a disappointment’ – November 20, 2008
• PC World reviews RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: ‘Awkward, disappointing; a failed experiment’ – November 20, 2008
• BlackBerry Storm: No Wi-Fi. No iPod. No iTunes App Store. No sale. – November 14, 2008
• RIM’s new BlackBerry Storm delayed again due to ‘software glitch’ – November 07, 2008
• RIM’s new BlackBerry Storm offers mechanical click screen, lacks Wi-Fi – October 08, 2008

Avery and Hartley continue, “But RIM has yet to attempt what Apple does best: sell its brand to consumers. Experts warn that if RIM doesn’t quickly fire up a global marketing machine of its own, the company will be pushed to the wayside by bigger brands such as Apple…”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Follow the money. Bono certainly does.

[Attribution: MacNN. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "MacVicta" for the heads up.]