iPod To Become a Portable Satellite Radio Player?

[SallyWattle]

Get out of the box

Don't think inside the box (like Microsoft) - think out side the box (like Apple).

I don't think apple would be tied to a just one radio station or commercial service. I think they will set up their own satellite/broad-band radio station similar to current available iTunes streaming radio. They would piggy-back on the Sirius Satellite network.

Think about it

- listen to new music on satellite radio
- list last 5 songs played
- one button option to buy song when next connected to internet
- you can not capture the stream music to iPod (copy right protection)

How could the other music services and mp3 players compete with this!!!!!

 

[solvs]

For those who need radio, there's always this. I hear it isn't great, but it's about as good as the others out there that are built in. There's also the iTalk if you need a mic. If you're planning on recording more high-quality stuff, or recording from radio, you would be better off with something else. I think the RIAA is afraid people will start recording live concerts and stuff with their iPods, so Apple has to cripple the recording quality. At least, that seems to be their story.

 

[mtalbot]

I would love this!! To have my music collection and sat. radio in one device would be great!! This way I could listen to music that wasn't picked by someone at ClearChannel. Even if it doubled the width and weight of the iPod, I would buy it. I work out, so I'm not too concerned about the extra ounces.

Better hope for a Sirius network device then.

ClearChannel is a major shareholder in MX Radio.

 

[toughboy]

what happened to the say of S.Jobs telling us that they will make iPod as cheap as possible??? Are they going to make it cheaper by adding exclusive service support which most of the world didnt even hear about yet?!...

 

[iPost]

Sirius, which has been making big moves to try to catch rival XM Satellite Radio, already grabbed headlines by hiring shock-jock Howard Stern and could make waves again by a deal with Apple, the market leader in portable music players.

Interesting... recently, Howard Stern has been heavily promoting the iPod on his radio show. He has been giving away free iPods as well as saying things like he just bought his daughter a pink iPod Mini because he wants to support his sponsor (Apple).

To me, it seemed a bit strange that Apple was spending money to advertise on Howard Stern -- I mean, you would think that the iPod is well known enough already... why spend the extra ad money there?

But if there is a Sirius-Apple deal in the works, this now makes complete sense as Howard Stern is one of Sirius's biggest properties at the moment.

 

[MacNut]

Well the iPod has seemed to have sold out everywhere for xmas so I guess any publicity is good.

 

[TechnoShaman]

External Remote Reciever

Step 1
A new version of the external wired remote. With Sirius components built in. Can work with any ipod.

Step 2
Apple buying 5 percent of Sirius. so they have a vote in corporate direction/policy.

Step 3
Extending step 1 & 2 over sea's. With their version's of Satellite radio.

Bigger Picture.

Apple Knows the iPod is a luxury. Price is the number one factor in decision making. They're trying to leverage it with external revenue producing streams. iTunes, iPhone, Sirius, ETC. But everything will be external. In a way it's apple's Playstation. Sell base unit cheap make money from extra's. I have no "insider info" . It's just a hunch.

P.S. See ya soon Steve.

 

[AllieNeko]

Wow, I'd LOVE to buy one of these little guys. Sirius is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I'm loving the Kenwood KDC-2025 setup in my car. For less than the price of one CD a month you get 100+ stations of commercial-free music, news, weather, sports, and talk. You get everything from Elvis Radio to WSM (home of the Grand Ole Opry). The sound is pretty good as well, and the reception is fantasic (better than XM because Sirius' satellites have a better view of the US - though in the cities, XM has more repeaters)

 

[rjwill246]

Curious Canada

Yeah, AM/FM is a priority before XM and Sirius... What ARE XM and Sirius, anyway?!

Mmm... how could you make a statement then ask that question seriously if you don't know what they are?

Another USA-only thing? Geeze Apple, the planet doesn't revolve around the USA. ;-)

again... what was/were Apple's other USA-only thing(s)? So far as seems visible, Apple has been going global, idiots for the Canadian music industry notwithstanding.

 

[bigandy]

ive not listened to the radio in almost a year.. suspicious that, when you realise i got my ipod in january of this year...

my god i even ran my university's radio station, did shows every week and still didn't listen!




satellite radio is pointless because of adding both size and the fact that you can't bloody use it outside the usa. normal radio is pointless because it's crap and we already carry around 10,000 tunes so why bother?

 

[Chomolungma]

Elton John add for XM

ive not listened to the radio in almost a year.. suspicious that, when you realise i got my ipod in january of this year...

my god i even ran my university's radio station, did shows every week and still didn't listen!




satellite radio is pointless because of adding both size and the fact that you can't bloody use it outside the usa. normal radio is pointless because it's crap and we already carry around 10,000 tunes so why bother?

I saw the Elton John XM radio ad, and I think is pretty much confirm this rumor! What about talk shows? How about sports? Imagine all the radio stations on iTunes you have on your desktop now can be in your car, or working out in the gym? I know, I'll be the first one in line for this product!

Adding FM radio to the iPod? Where is Apple's share of the pie? Exactly!

One college station, like what I have now, or 20 to 30 college stations from around the country?
I don't think Apple has a choice. the mode for distributing music is changing, and I think satellite radio is the next logical step for the iPod! IMHO, anything but Clear Channel is okay with me!

-Chomo

 

[AllieNeko]

What's wrong with a company creating a receiver for a service only sold in the USA (it works in Canada, Sirius works much better than XM in Canada though (and even in rural northern US))? Sounds like SDARS jealousy to me. Sirius and XM both want to sell service in Canada but so far the Canadian government isn't allowing them to (though it's expected to be approved eventually after negotiations). SDARS is the greatest thing since sliced bread for us rural folk who drive alot. iPods are wonderful on your person, but listening to your own music gets repetitive in the car. Plus, with Stern the demand for a portable Sirius receiver will be huge - Apple's in a great position if they supply this device.

The biggest problem I see is that, unlike the XM chipset, the Sirius chipset isn't really there yet in terms of size and power consumption but it'll happen.

 

[rufwork]

Wouldn't bet on AM/FM

That is an excellent choice dotnina. It brought a smile to my face, thank you. I perfectly happy with AM/FM. It's bad enough that we have to pay for Cable. I might be interested in the enhanced signal radio though. That only involves a new radio.

I can't imagine the most popular device nestled into your digital hub would accept crackly, hard to manage, plain jane radio reception. You simply can't guarantee the kind of reception that would make for an A-1 product. (Not that you said that, but I keep seeing people commenting on AM/FM in this thread).

With Sirius, you can guarantee quality, within reason. You've seen ole Elton John running around with his portable XM radio -- it might be quite some time until the price is something most people without Elton-like salaries can afford, but for the schmoes I saw in Charlotte, NC's Apple store this weekend, well, let's just say much of Apple's clientile can.

Satellite radio *is* enhanced radio with a perfect signal. It's coming, and a high-end music device like the iPod is the perfect place to put it.

And before you slam me too badly, this is from a guy who just got himself a Tivoli Audio Model One radio to listen to local stations more clearly. I certainly appreciate what's free over the airwaves. I just think it's going to get a lot less popular in the next 15 years, hardly more. For Apple, this just makes sense. Now add wifi to the danged thing and we'll be in business.

 

[dball213]

Sirius and AM/FM

I would love to be able to just carry around my ipod to listen to my library of songs, as well as Sirius, to hear Stern and Air America, as well as AM radio for Sports Talk and games.

But since Stern doesn't start on Sirius until '06, and I still have a few gb left on my 40 Gb iPod, I can wait it out a while.

 

[titaniumducky]

what? no . . . no no no. i would refuse to buy an iPod if it had sattelite radio. im paying for CDs (er iTMS downloads) i dont want to pay for a radio station to listen to radio. yes, i understand right now satelite radio is commercial free, but look at satelite TV its not commercial free, and you have to pay for it.

hopefully it will be an add-on to the iPod. a little box/reciever you strap to the back of the iPod then you can control your Serious stations through the iPod. . . that would be acceptable (plus probably the only thing that could work, like the article said theres not much of a chance the Serious reciever could fit in an iPod.

You wouldn't HAVE TO subscribe to satellite radio - you could continue using the iPod as you do now. The only difference is there would be a built-in receiver if you WANTED to use it.

 

[superfunkomatic]

I use my iPod to escape it

i don't know about other users but the ipod has ALL my music on it, and i can't see any use for having radio - the content on most american/canadian radio stations isn't worth listening to anyhow - that's why i bought a portable music device (ipod) - so i don't have to listen to the same 30 year old led zeppelin, eric clapton and aerosmith songs all day long on rock radio.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Better hope for a Sirius network device then.

ClearChannel is a major shareholder in MX Radio.

That's definately not true. Hell, I probably own more XM stock than ClearChannel (and made a small fortune off it too, I must say). Anyway, after the recent re-financing ClearChannel owns a staggering 3% share of XM. Prior to the re-financing they owned about 4%. If you want to consider that a "major" contribution, you can, but I'd disagree. XM does carry two ClearChannel-based stations: KISS FM out of LA, and another that I can't recall (A top-40 style channel called MIX, I think) - although, interestingly, they cut the commercials out of the feed. Anyway, I see this comment thrown around all the time, and it's so obviously false that I can't believe it gets repeated as often as it does.

No, the controlling shareholder in XM is General Motors (GM). You may recall that GM also had a controlling stake in Hughes Electronics (The owner of DirecTV) until recently. Obviously, this is why you see XM Radio exclusively in GM autos.

 

[Bilvox]

flash pod

although it might be wise to get in on the satellite radio area for apple... I think and have heard that (and the picture ipod is first step in this direction) we should and will probably see as flash over take the streaming media and webbased video market and the ipod to be able to play videos, download, and all that other fun multimedia experiences.

just my .02$
cheers
-bv

--------------------------
http://www.bilvox.com

 

[rosalindavenue]

No dish needed. Just an antenna. Which I believe is built-in to the XM portable version.

Actually the portable XM radio (Delphi MiFi) has a wired clip-on antenna that you are supposed to stick on your shoulder. I have an XM Roady 2 that has a magnetic antenna, about the size of two bottlecaps, that I put on my dash. The Delphi MiFi clip on must be similar. They do advertise an internal antenna, but according to reviews (see circuitcity.com, for example) it is very poor. If Steve doesn't like PC cables, think how he'd feel about an ipod with a clip-on antenna.

 

[blogo]

I think DAB is the way to go. In our country AM/FM will be gone within 3-5 years.

 

[davecuse]

I am all for Apple adding functionality to the iPod, however from what I have heard on both XM and Sirius at friends apartments... I'm not overly impressed with either. It's great that they have no commercials, but with some of the music on those stations.. I would almost rather listen to a Valtrex commercial. I'm glad some people like it, but I'd rather hand select my music from the iTMS. If Apple is going to add access to digital radio stations, it should be through iTunes, it would be great if those stations were higher bandwidth and if it were way too simple for me to buy a song that's playing. That's just my $.02

 

[TVGenius]

Better hope for a Sirius network device then.

ClearChannel is a major shareholder in MX Radio.

Umm... no. They have a less than 5% share... and no influence on the programming. XM had some CC stations at the beginning, but they've been replaced by in-house programming.

 

[Platform]

Don't think inside the box (like Microsoft) - think out side the box (like Apple).

I don't think apple would be tied to a just one radio station or commercial service. I think they will set up their own satellite/broad-band radio station similar to current available iTunes streaming radio. They would piggy-back on the Sirius Satellite network.

Think about it

- listen to new music on satellite radio
- list last 5 songs played
- one button option to buy song when next connected to internet
- you can not capture the stream music to iPod (copy right protection)

How could the other music services and mp3 players compete with this!!!!!

Sweet

 

[vollspacken]

maybe the buzz was about this device that was revealed today:

LINK

It's a docking station that records and copies music from XM Sat radio directly to an iPod through a docking station... (PC only as I understand it)

maybe Sirius has a similar product ready (designed for use with OsX)

vSpacken

 

[mactropy]

Considering the iPod has always been marketed as an extension of your digital life rather than a replacement, I don't think we'll see a fully integrated satellite iPod. But: a docking/syncing system of some sort makes sense to me.