U2 Ditches Apple for Dell... er... Palm... er... RIM?

We can just feel CrackBerry.com's Kevin preening over news: Biggest. Jump. Since. Mayer.

Yep, U2 has left the warm embrace of Apple (though Product Red iPods no doubt remain) for the harsh corporate sponsorship of RIM. Of course, they flirted briefly with Dell first, and Bono's Elevation Partners are huge backers of Palm -- though according to PreCentral.net they likely needed to spend their cash on far more serious things, like bringing the Pre to market... Still:

"This tour announcement marks the first stage of a relationship and shared vision between RIM and U2 that we expect will lead to new and innovative ways to enhance the mobile music experience on the BlackBerry platform for U2 fans. We look forward to sharing more details as the relationship unfolds."

Kevin already called it "sloppy thirds" on our behalf (thanks!) and while Apple is continuing to discover fresh new talent with every iTunes/iPod ad, RIM keeps just going where Apple's long gone from. Wait, do we sense a trend here?

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.