Sirius XM iPhone App Updated: Adds Multitasking, XM SkyDock Users Excluded

Sirius XM updated their iPhone app yesterday to version 1.3.3 (Link). Included in this update is the ability to multitask (thanks to iOS4), reduced buffer while on a cellular network and the ability to organize favorite channels. Also included are several new settings and various bug fixes to improve stability. So far the reviews look positive with the only issue being the absence of Howard Stern.

Sirius XM also released a new version of the XM SkyDock app yesterday but unfortunately excluded the ability to multitask. The only update was improved accessory connections while using iOS4.

If you are using the updated iPhone app leave a comment and let us know what you think.

SIRIUS XM Radio Android App Now Available

The Sirius XM Android application is available today, giving users of supported Android-powered smartphones access to over 120 channels of exclusive sports, talk, entertainment, news, comedy and commercial-free music over cellular and WiFi networks.

The SIRIUS XM App for Android-powered smartphones allows users to:

• Listen to over 120 channels of SIRIUS XM Premium Online programming on the go, even while surfing the web or checking email.

• Bookmark SIRIUS XM Premium Online channels for fast, easy access through a “Favorites” function.

• View the current channel plus what is playing on all other channels via the “Lookaround” function.

The SIRIUS XM App is available by visiting www.siriusxm.com/android. The SIRIUS XM App is compatible with a variety of Android-powered smartphones, including DROID by Motorola, DROID INCREDIBLE by HTC, DROID ERIS by HTC, HTC Hero, T-Mobile G1, Motorola CLIQ, and Google Nexus One models. After downloading the free App, users can register for a 7-day free trial to SIRIUS XM Premium Online on their compatible smartphones.

There is no additional charge for listening to SIRIUS XM’s Premium Online programming on an Android-powered smartphone once a user becomes a SIRIUS XM Premium Online subscriber or subscribes to the Company’s Premium Online service in conjunction with their satellite radio subscription.

The Tivoli Audio System… Good Enough for Grandma?

My White Zinfandel-swigging, poker-playing, 1940s music-loving, lead-foot-driving grandma recently turned 86. It’s hard to imagine. So, what do you get an 86 year old for their birthday? When I called her, I asked her. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Karen: “Hi, Nana! You’re having a birthday soon, huh? What would you like for a gift?

Nana: “Great-grandkids.”

Karen: “Oh, Nana… Don’t I need to nail down that husband first?”

Nana: “Not really, sweetie. I’ve been watching that Maury show and none of them have husbands!”

Karen: “I was thinking something along the lines of a Sirius XM Satellite Radio so you can listen to your 1940s music all the time!”

Nana: “Honey, my fingers don’t work as well as they used to because of this damned Arthritis. I appreciate it but I don’t think it’s something I can really set-up. I do love the music though.”

At this point in the conversation I could have given up and sent her something unremarkable.  Of course, I didn’t want to do that and I was convinced that, like me, once she experienced satellite radio, she would instantly love it.  My only dilemma was figuring which product would be best for her.

Luckily, this is something I get to do every day.  I talk to a wide variety of customers that have a wide variety of needs and it’s always fun to be able to figure out the best product for each specific situation.

In my grandma’s case I knew she’d want to listen at home, the radio had to be easy to set up and easy to operate.  I instantly thought of the Tivoli:

http://www.tss-radio.com/refurbished-tivoli-audio-model-satellite-radio-p-7039.html

The Tivoli is a great looking Sirius XM Satellite Radio. It is simple to set-up, but my 86 year old grandma wasn’t very tech savvy, so I wanted to be sure she’d be able to do it. I figured, if I could set it up with minimal effort and not have to bust out any screwdrivers or other tools, she’d be in.

I took a few pics just to show how easy it is.

E-mail me and let me know what your thoughts are: karen [at] tss-radio.com

SIRIUS XM Radio Coming Soon to Android-Powered Phones

SIRIUS XM Radio today announced that a free application for Android-powered smartphones will be available in May, giving consumers access to over 120 channels of sports, talk, entertainment, news, comedy and commercial-free music on the DROID by Motorola and the Google Nexus One.

The free SIRIUS XM App for the DROID and Nexus One will give mobile consumers the freedom to listen to SIRIUS XM Premium Online content on the go on their smartphones over cellular and WiFi networks.

“SIRIUS XM will make it easy and convenient for DROID and Nexus One users to access our superior programming and exclusive content that they can’t get anywhere else,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio. “We are happy to add the DROID and Nexus One to our growing portfolio of Apps for smartphones that bring subscribers the best in mobile audio entertainment.”

The SIRIUS XM App will give subscribers to SIRIUS or XM Premium Online who own a DROID or Nexus One the ability to access exclusive sports talk and entertainment programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service. Exclusive programming includes MLB Network Radio, SIRIUS NFL Radio, NHL Home Ice, PGA TOUR, Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo, CNN, Fox News Talk, NPR, MSNBC, The Foxxhole channel presented by Jamie Foxx, Blue Collar Comedy Radio, The Virus featuring Opie & Anthony, Playboy Radio, Rosie Radio, Oprah Radio, and Martha Stewart Living Radio.

SIRIUS and XM Premium Online subscribers will be able to listen to commercial-free music featuring exclusive programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service, such as Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour and Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure. Premium Online subscribers can also hear a broad array of 24/7 artist-branded music channels such as The Grateful Dead Channel, Eminem’s Shade 45, Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s Underground Garage and Outlaw Country channels, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Place, Elvis Radio, Siriusly Sinatra, and Metropolitan Opera Radio. In addition to the artist branded channels, Premium Online subscribers have access to commercial-free music channels from every genre, such as, dance channel BPM, new country music channel The Highway, and indie rock channel SIRIUS XMU.

Premium Online subscribers will also have access to exclusive online-only showcase channels that feature multiple plays of exclusive programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service, including such acclaimed shows as Rosie Radio, The Jamie Foxx Show, specials from Blue Collar Comedy and Raw Dog Comedy, selections from the Artist Confidential series, and selections from exclusive live SIRIUS XM music performances, including pop, rock, hip-hop, country, jazz and more.

Certain programming, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available via the SIRIUS XM App for DROID and Nexus One. Listeners will continue to be able to access that programming through the SIRIUS XM platforms where they are currently offered.

The SIRIUS XM App for DROID and Nexus One will allow users to:

• Listen to over 120 channels of SIRIUS XM Premium Online programming on the go, even while surfing the web or checking email.

• Bookmark SIRIUS XM Premium Online channels for fast, easy access through a “Favorites” function.

• View the current channel plus what is playing on all other available channels via the “Lookaround” function.

The SIRIUS XM App for DROID and Nexus One will be available as a free download through the Android Market on the handset or by visiting www.siriusxm.com/android. After downloading the free App, users will then be able to register for a 7-day free trial to SIRIUS XM Premium Online on their compatible smartphones.

To sign up to receive an email with a link to download the free App when it is available, users can also visit www.siriusxm.com/android.

There will be no additional charge for listening to SIRIUS XM’s Premium Online programming on an Android-powered smartphone once a user becomes a SIRIUS XM Premium Online subscriber or subscribes to the Company’s Premium Online service in conjunction with their satellite radio subscription.

SIRIUS XM Radio Now Available on BlackBerry

SIRIUS XM Radio today announced the availability of a free application for BlackBerry smartphones, giving consumers access to over 120 channels of sports, talk, entertainment, news, comedy and commercial-free music on compatible models of the popular BlackBerry devices — the BlackBerry Storm, Bold, Tour and Curve.

The free SIRIUS XM App for BlackBerry gives mobile consumers the freedom to listen to SIRIUS XM’s Premium Online content on the go on their BlackBerry smartphones over cellular and WiFi networks.

“SIRIUS XM makes it easy for BlackBerry users to discover entirely commercial-free music and enjoy audio entertainment they will not find anywhere else,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM. “We are truly excited to launch the SIRIUS XM App for BlackBerry, giving millions of discerning mobile consumers the ability to take our superior Premium Online programming with them on the go.”

SIRIUS XM App for BlackBerry provides subscribers to SIRIUS or XM Premium Online who own compatible BlackBerry devices the ability to access exclusive sports talk and entertainment programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service. Exclusive programming includes MLB Home Plate, SIRIUS NFL Radio, NHL Home Ice, PGA TOUR, Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo, CNN, Fox News Talk, NPR, The Foxxhole channel presented by Jamie Foxx, Blue Collar Comedy Radio, The Virus featuring Opie & Anthony, Playboy Radio, Rosie Radio, Oprah Radio, and Martha Stewart Living Radio.

SIRIUS and XM Premium Online subscribers can listen to commercial-free music featuring exclusive programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service, such as Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour and Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure. Premium Online subscribers can also hear a broad array of 24/7 artist-branded music channels such as The Grateful Dead Channel, Eminem’s Shade 45, Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s Underground Garage and Outlaw Country channels, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Place, Elvis Radio, Siriusly Sinatra, and Metropolitan Opera Radio. In addition, Premium Online subscribers have access to more than 70 commercial-free music channels, such as, dance channel BPM, new country music channel The Highway, and indie rock channel SIRIUS XMU.

Also available to Premium Online subscribers are exclusive showcase channels that feature multiple plays of exclusive programming from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service, including such acclaimed shows as Rosie Radio, The Jamie Foxx Show, specials from Blue Collar Comedy and Raw Dog Comedy, selections from the Artist Confidential series, and selections from exclusive live SIRIUS XM music performances, including pop, rock, hip-hop, country, jazz, and more, available for the first time on compatible BlackBerry models.

Select programming, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available via the SIRIUS XM App for BlackBerry. Listeners will continue to be able to access that programming through the SIRIUS XM platforms where they are currently offered.

SIRIUS XM App for BlackBerry allows users to:

• Surf through over 120 channels of SIRIUS XM Premium Online programming on the go.
• Bookmark SIRIUS XM Internet channels for fast, easy access through a “Favorites” function.
• View the current channel plus what is playing on all other available channels via the “Lookaround” function.

SIRIUS XM App for BlackBerry is available as a free download by visiting www.siriusxm.com/blackberry on your computer or BlackBerry browser. After downloading the free App, users of compatible BlackBerry devices can register for a 7-day free trial to SIRIUS XM Premium Online on their smartphone.

At launch, the free App will be available on the following BlackBerry models:

• Storm 9530
• Storm2 9550
• Bold 9000
• Bold 9700
• Tour 9630
• Curve 8900
• Curve 8520
• Curve 8530

There is no additional charge for listening to SIRIUS XM’s Premium Online programming on a BlackBerry once a user becomes a SIRIUS XM Premium Online Internet subscriber or subscribes to the Company’s Premium Online service in conjunction with their satellite radio subscription.

Audiovox Adds XMp3i Portable Satellite Radio to Lineup

Audiovox Corporation announced today at CES that it will be supplying the XMp3i from SIRIUS XM Radio as part of its line-up. XMp3i will carry an MSRP of $229.95.

XMp3i is SIRIUS XM’s smallest and most innovative portable satellite radio and MP3 player. Loaded with features, the XMp3i is capable of recording up to 100 hours of live XM programming, including up to 10 hours of songs from XM’s commercial-free music channels, and gives users the ability to pause, rewind and replay up to 30 minutes of live satellite radio at the touch of a button.

The XMp3i also features SIRIUS XM’s revolutionary PowerConnect(TM) technology.

Tom Malone, president of Audiovox Electronics Corporation stated, “The addition of this innovative new model further strengthens the SIRUS XM line that we supply and further expands our relationship with SIRIUS XM. We believe there is an appetite among consumers for this product and we look forward to placing it with our retail customers.”

In addition, an enhanced Programming Guide provides subscribers with more ways than ever to discover their favorite shows and music. XMp3i is also compatible with “The Best of SIRIUS” programming package, and boasts a slot for a microSD(TM) memory card to make it easy for listeners to add and enjoy more of their personal music library.

Audiovox CES booth is located at 11006-10506.

Sorry no pictures yet.

SIRIUS Traffic Available on Model Year 2010 Mercedes-Benz Vehicles

Mercedes-Benz USA and SIRIUS XM Radio today announced that SIRIUS Traffic is available on all Mercedes-Benz 2010 Model Year vehicles equipped with navigation and SIRIUS satellite radio.

SIRIUS Traffic is expected to be installed in 70% of the Mercedes-Benz Model Year 2010 lineup, and will be standard on the S-Class, CL-Class, CLS-Class and G-Class models.

SIRIUS Traffic comes pre-activated with a six-month trial subscription for Mercedes-Benz customers along with a six-month trial subscription of the “SIRIUS Everything” satellite radio package.

SIRIUS Traffic provides traffic speed and flow information to vehicles over SIRIUS’ nationwide satellite radio network. SIRIUS Traffic also provides information on traffic incidents, scheduled road closings and road construction. Since SIRIUS Traffic is integrated with the vehicle’s navigation system, the service assists drivers in picking the quickest, safest routes based on real-time traffic conditions.

“SIRIUS Traffic will benefit Mercedes-Benz drivers with traffic information to help them navigate through our country’s major roadways,” said Sascha Simon, Department Manager, Advanced Product Planning, MBUSA. “We are pleased to add this service to SIRIUS’ audio entertainment in Mercedes-Benz vehicles.”

“Mercedes-Benz is a renowned brand, famous for its exceptional performance and technology,” said Steve Cook, Group Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Division, SIRIUS XM Radio. “SIRIUS XM is thrilled to make the SIRIUS Traffic service available on new 2010 Mercedes-Benz vehicles.”

For information on SIRIUS XM Radio and SIRIUS Traffic, visit www.sirius.com/traffic.

XM SkyDock Featured in Apple iPhone Holiday Gift Guide

The SkyDock is getting some more attention from Apple again, this time in the form of a new Holiday Sales campaign. A recent Email features the SkyDock which is also listed on their new Holiday Gift Guide web page.

As I mentioned before in previous posts it really nice to see Sirius XM advertising and getting their products out there this Holiday Season.

I’m still hearing positive things about the SkyDock and I expecting  Sirius XM to post some great numbers for this final quarter of the year.

Sirius XM Makes SkyDock Official

The XM SkyDock has already been available from retailers for a couple of weeks. Today, Sirius XM officially launched the new device with a press release that boasts nation wide retail availability. If you have not had a chance to see a skydock in action, make it a point to do so. The user inferface of the device is unrivaled, and you can begin to get a grasp of how cool SkyDock is by visiting the demonstration video at XM’s website.

SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI – News) today announced that the XM SkyDock(TM), the first satellite radio controlled by an iPod touch or iPhone, is available for purchase in stores across the country including the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Best Buy, Radio Shack, independent retailers and online retailers (www.tss-radio.com), including www.xmradio.com/skydock.

“We are excited to launch XM SkyDock at our subscribers’ favorite retailers,” said Bob Law, Group Vice President and General Manager, After Market Division, SIRIUS XM Radio. “The XM SkyDock can bring live satellite radio entertainment to millions of iPod touch and iPhone users in their vehicles.”

Subscribers can enjoy all of XM and the complete “Best of SIRIUS” programming package controlled by their iPod touch or iPhone anywhere they drive. XM SkyDock will also charge iPod touch and iPhone devices while listening to satellite radio.

The required XM SkyDock App utilizes the innovative Multi-Touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch to let customers experience the breadth of content SIRIUS XM subscribers have come to enjoy. The XM SkyDock App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

Subscribers can easily tag songs and purchase them from the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com) –including songs on SIRIUS XM’s 24/7 artist-branded commercial-free channels such as Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, Elvis Radio, Eminem’s Shade 45, The Grateful Dead Channel, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Place, and Siriusly Sinatra.

XM SkyDock comes with SIRIUS XM’s PowerConnect(TM) technology, which simplifies vehicle installation, working through the existing vehicle radio and making it easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. An Aux In Cable is a standard in-box accessory to facilitate Aux In connections in vehicles with Aux In capability.

XM SkyDock is compatible with iPod touch (1st and 2nd generation), iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. All models require iPhone OS 3.0 or later.

To view the interactive demo and to learn more about XM SkyDock, please visit www.xmradio.com/skydock.

To learn more about XM, please visit www.xmradio.com.

Do yourself a favor, and check out the video on XM. If you are a satellite radio fan, you will be thrilled with the XM SkyDock.

SkyDock Sets New Standard In Satellite Radio

Whether you are a long time satellite radio aficionado, or just now considering the Sirius XM service, the XM Skydock has something for you.  SkyDock, released earlier this month, essentially turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into the best satellite radio device the medium has ever seen.

Skydock may seem simple, but there is a lot of technology bundled into the device.  The SkyDock works in concert with an iPhone or iPod touch through a free application that can be downloaded directly from iTunes.   If you are familiar with Apple apps, you already know the myriad of things that they can do for you.  Now apply that process to a satellite radio service that offers well over 100 channels of music, sports, and talk programming, and you can begin to appreciate exactly what these software applications are capable of.

One key element of SkyDock that is not getting as much attention as it should is the PowerConnect technology.  This allows the Skydock to be powered and mounted directly to a cars cigarette lighter adapter.  PowerConnect not only powers the device, but allows you to tie in to your cars existing stereo system with ease that simply did not exist before.  With PowerConnect, you can have your Sirius XM programming broadcast through an FM channel on your existing stereo.  If your car has an auxillary input, you can utilize that as well.

An XM SkyDock combined with an iPhone puts many things right at your fingertips.  You have satellite radio, your phone, your contact list, emails,  and all of the apps that you are already used to in one convenient place.  The satellite radio chips are embedded into the SkyDock, but that does not mean you need to keep the iPhone docked to listen to your tunes.  Undocked, an iPhone with the Sirius XM Internet Radio app allows you to stream most channels directly through your iPhone.

The XM SkyDock is feature driven and with the SkyDock or Sirius XM Radio apps, you finally have a source for music discovery (or rediscovery) that simply did not exist before.  It is the perfect marriage between satellite radio and iTunes.  Tagging is great, but the features do not stop there.  Users can mark their favorite channels, set alerts for specific artists,  access a sports ticker, and even track the stock market through the stock tracking feature.

SkyDock is available now through standard retailers nationwide, as well as retailers like TSS-Radio that specialize in satellite radio.  Whether you are a long time subscriber or jest now considering satellite radio, your experience with SkyDock will be positive.  Simply stated, SkyDock is the best satellite radio ever made, and you wont regret giving it a try.