Two Smartphone giants seem set to go head-to-head on a new front very soon, thanks to an upcoming iPhone app from industrial metal band Nine Inch Nails, and a rumoured U2 branded BlackBerry from Research In Motion.

NIN’s Trent Reznor is currently [1] awaiting approval from Apple for an app described as "Twitter within the Nine Inch Nails network," according to Reznor's long-time collaborator Rob Sheridan. Speaking to Wired's Underwire blog, Sheridan continued: "You can post a message or a photo by location, and if you're at a show you can see conversations between other people who are right there."

News of the NIN iPhone app comes just days after it transpired that U2 had struck a deal with BlackBerry manufacturer, Research In Motion, ahead of the group’s upcoming U2 360 world tour. The RIM deal sees the Irish band breaking from a previously close relationship with Apple. A U2-branded Limited Edition iPod launched back in 2004 included the band members’ signatures etched onto the device’s back cover.

The news also heightens the brand connotations of ‘dad rock’ U2 signing a deal with RIM, while the more edgy NIN supports the iPhone.