Gizmodo: xm radio

Sirius XM Radio To Finally Stream on iPhone This Spring

Sean Fallon — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:18:00 EDT

Ok, for reals this time. According to AP, the troubled satellite radio provider will finally push out their XM radio app for the iPhone / iPod Touch sometime this Spring. [Yahoo]

Sirius XM Gets Bailed Out By Owners of QVC, Avoids Bankruptcy Scare

John Mahoney — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:54:20 EST

Liberty Media (proud owners of Starz, QVC and a 48% chunk of DirecTV) made a last-minute deal with Sirius XM, whose impending bankruptcy would have been the second biggest Chapter-11 filing this year.

Even though service would have likely continued uninterrupted had the freshly-merged company actually filed for bankruptcy, Sirius XM's days of luring in top radio jock talent on big contracts would have likely been over. Now, thankfully, we can carry on without skimping on the Howard Stern. [NY Times]

Sirius Satellite Radio iPhone App Could Come Within a Week

Sean Fallon — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:20:00 EST

Sources close to Orbitcast have revealed that Sirus is finally submitting their uSirius StarPlayr to the App Store this weekend. Once accepted, subscribers will be able to enjoy Sirius XM on their iPhone.

With Sirius being so late to the party, the only question is whether the service is really worth paying for when there are so many good, free streaming apps out there like Pandora and Slacker. [Orbitcast via The Motley Fool]

PopSci Gets Grubby Paws All Over Upcoming XMp3 Satellite Radio Player

Jack Loftus — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EDT

All we have is a blurb in Popular Science magazine this afternoon, but it would appear there's a first look of sorts going down today with the XMp3. The portable device is an XM Radio player that can record up to five satellite stations at once. "Other portable players save only one channel," PopSci notes, "but the XMp3 can decode five incoming streams to snag multiple songs whether it's in the dock or in your pocket." That's it for now. Expect more soon or whenever XM decides to give up more info. [Orbitcast]

XM-Sirius Merger Nears Approval, Comes Down To One Commissioner's Vote

John Mahoney — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:05:45 EDT

And here she is. After FCC commissioner Johnathan Adelstein withdrew his support today, the vote is now deadlocked and awaiting the yea or nay from Deborah Taylor Tate, a Republican who is expected to approve the merger so all of this can finally be over and done with (something tells me a large batch of high-end satellite radio gear is now being priority-overnighted to Taylor's office to make sure everything is greased appropriately). If you're a subscriber, not a whole lot will change once the deal is finalized and the two merge parts of their programming, but you'll need new gear to take full advantage of any new subscriptions once the merger is wrapped up. [WSJ via CrunchGear].

Why Jensen Rock-N-Road Costs $800: Optional Backup Camera, Other Tricks

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 04 May 2007 22:00:00 EDT

On Tuesday, we said that the $800 price tag on the Jensen NVXM1000 Rock-N-Road seemed expensive. It is, but it's down from the $1,000 it was supposed to cost when announced at CES. Also, further investigation suggests it's got more than most portables. Sure, it lacks the Bluetooth so many of the cool GPS navigators are sporting, but for a handsfree speakerphone, most of those suck anyway. In addition to being XM friendly, and in addition to supporting XM NavTraffic where available, the Rock-N-Road is the first navigator to be compatible with a backup camera. Check it out.

So, this certainly adds value, though it doesn't make the costs go down: once you've spent the $799 on the Rock-N-Road, you'll want to pony up another $250 for the super-sweet license-plate-frame "collision avoidance" camera.

Then there's $50 for the special Rock-N-Road cradle that powers the unit, routes satellite radio and turn-by-turn directions through your car stereo, and tells the Rock-N-Road when you are in reverse, automatically activating your camera. The new cradle requires a professional install, unless you're handy with auto A/V and electrical.

Once you're set up, you have to buy the XM Mini Tuner ($30) and subscribe to XM Radio ($12.95 per month) and to NavTraffic as well (an extra $3.99 per month, or $9.99 monthly if you don't care about the radio).

You may be saying, "Why don't I just buy an aftermarket in-dash system instead?" The answer, to me, is that when you travel, you can pop out the Jensen and stick it in a rental car, using the original cradle that came with it. So the cost will add up to more than a Nuvi, in the end, but it's a cool platform. Hey, sometimes you gotta spend money to spend money. – Wilson Rothman

Rock-n-Road Portable Navigation System Features XM Satellite Radio and Real-Time Traffic Capability [Audiovox]

Delphi's Promiscuous Sound System Docks Most of Your XM Receivers

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:35:49 EST

When it comes to showing its love, Delphi's new Premium Sound System doesn't hold back. The promiscuous player has the ability to work with a variety of XM receivers, as opposed to just docking one. So in other words, you can slide in your Roady XT, SkyFi 3, Inno, and so forth. The verdict is still out on sound quality (although there's a built-in bass enhancer to enrich sounds at low level), but feature-wise, Delphi's got our full attention. The unit will be out this spring for $179. – Louis Ramirez

Delphi Launches Multi-Radio Satellite System [Electronic House]

Audiovox Covers All Grounds with XM Stereo Line Up

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 10:30:30 EST

Audiovox has been busy creating new stereos based on XM's tiny cartridge-sized adapter, the CNP2000. The cool thing about the adapter is that it replaces the need for a dedicated receiver and you can use it on any stereo that supports it. So what new XM stereos will support the adapter? First up are the XR100 ($120) and XRC200 ($230), two clock radios with built-in iPod docks. The more expensive XRC200 adds a CD player. If you want something more than a clock radio...

Audiovox also has the CE547XM Micro Shelf system ($130), which outputs 40W of power and comes with a pair of detachable stereo speakers. Personally I like the XR100 which keeps things straight and simple, though high rollers can always splurge on the DV7600XM. – Louis Ramirez

CES: Audiovox CE547XM Micro-Shelf System [Orbitcast]
CES: Audiovox XM Mini Tuner/iPod Desktop Radios [Orbitcast]

Delphi SkyFi3 Review, A Capable Ugly Duckling

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 08:13:55 EDT

We've had our eye on the SkyFi3 for some time now and the folks over at CNET have put it through the ringer noting that other than the MicroSD expansion slot it carries, the SkyFi3 doesn't bring anything new to the market (especially not with its budget feel and monochrome display). You'll have to splurge an additional $49 dollars on a pair of "funky-looking" antenna headphones if you want Live XM capability and even then, the sound quality is "a tad compressed sounding." Overall, it's deemed a "nice audio companion for those who spend lots of time in their autos." If the Inno and Helix are outta your range, the $200 SkyFi3 might be what you were waiting for. – Louis Ramirez

Delphi SkyFi3 [via CNET]

The Woz Guest-DJs on XM Radio

Travis Hudson — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:42:38 EDT

The man, the myth, Steve Wozniak landed himself a little guest DJing gig on XM Radio 15, the Village. The show is appropriately titled: Guest DJ On A Segway—because of Woz's obsession with the Segway. On his show he talks about his latest book, iWoz: From Computer Geek To Cult Icon along with playing his 28 favorite songs of all time (narrowed down from 500 or so originally selected).

The show is on right now (noon to 4:30 ET), with replays airing all weekend. Jump to get the specific times for the replays. I'm not a big fan of his style of music, but it is always nice to see (or hear, rather) the Woz cut loose on air. Follow the linkage to see the interesting (and kind of lengthy) story of how the Woz landed this guest DJ gig. Congrats, Woz. I think you have finally made it big. – Travis Hudson

Story [Via Orbitcast]

Tuesday - Noon ET to 4:30 PM ET
Friday - Midnight ET to 4:30 AM ET
Saturday - 6:00 PM ET to 10:30 PM ET
Monday - 6:00 AM ET to 10:30 AM ET