Originally posted by pleasegone:[..]
"Vertigo" was a miracle with a great advertising tie in.
This might actually be what U2 is waiting for: the commercial tie in. I actually think it's really smart to release a single with some other platform because the popularity of the song and the platform play into each other. Coldplay is releasing a new track as a part of the new Hunger Games move soundtrack. I'm willing to bet the success of that single will depend on the success of that movie.
In either case, timing their release is crucial. But if they had a killer single, they could just screw timing and take the world by storm whenever they wanted to. I guess U2 just want people to ride the hype train a bit longer.