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aricher

macrumors 68020
Feb 20, 2004
2,211
1
Chi-il
yg17 said:
IMO, Sirius is worth the money if you spend any time in a car. I've had it for almost 2 years now and love it, it makes long road trips and rush hour traffic bearable

hmmm - so does the iPod. I have a 2-3 hour round trip commute each day and listen to nothing but my iPod. Audio Books from Audible are a lifesaver.
 

Spaceman Spiff

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2003
243
0
thequicksilver said:
iPod: worldwide phenomenon. Sirius: USA only.

And Canada. We got it in Canada now too.

I see it more being another accessory than it actually being built into the iPod.
 

noel4r

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2002
661
0
Los Angeles
If you're a subscriber, you can stream Sirius from its website. The thing is if I can capture that stream then put it in my iPod, then I would definitely subscribe to Sirius....
 

Ted13

macrumors 6502a
Dec 29, 2003
669
353
NYC
Npr?

Does Sirius carry NPR? Or local stations like WNYC FM/AM?

If not, I'd much rather the iPod get an FM radio.

Ted
 

JonHimself

macrumors 68000
Nov 3, 2004
1,553
5
Toronto, Ontario
I would settle for a deal with Sirius and iTunes that offers their talk programming for download. Things like the shows on Raw Dog (Jim Breuer), Martha Stewarts Show, and most importantly, the Stern Show and other Stern related Shows (Tissue Time, Meet the Sterns, etc)... And if you subscribe to Sirius, for like 5-10 extra per month you could download and archive these shows. Then charge non-subsribers a higher cost (15-20) to have the same access. That way both companies win... If people are already subscribing to Sirius then Apple can take a good portion of the 5-10 but if they are not then Sirius and Apple can split the 15-20
 

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,188
3,364
Pennsylvania
I just want FM radio! Not some crazy new-age crap. In fact, while I'm ranting. Radio One, bring back y100! It was the only radio station I ever listened to!
 

Beck446

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2003
132
0
thejadedmonkey said:
I just want FM radio! Not some crazy new-age crap. In fact, while I'm ranting. Radio One, bring back y100! It was the only radio station I ever listened to!


I agree. I think that Sirius and XM are just a bunch of fluff. I imagine that there are some that would spend OVER $200 PRE-TAX ON RADIO A YEAR, but honestly, how many?

Another thing that some overlook is that the regular radio broadcasters are trying to come up w/ Digital Radio to compete. This would be nice on an iPod and FREE.

I don't know... I guess I just think that satellite radio is all hype and I hate to get all judgmental, but doesn't it say something about the self-indulgent nature of our society that people will spend that kind of money on RADIO? Surely Apple could better focus its energy on making great products that make us more productive as a society (ie new computers) and/or bring the great entertainment value of the iPod to the masses (which is what the nano and flash are doing).
 

EricNau

Moderator emeritus
Apr 27, 2005
10,728
281
San Francisco, CA
Beck446 said:
I agree. I think that Sirius and XM are just a bunch of fluff. I imagine that there are some that would spend OVER $200 PRE-TAX ON RADIO A YEAR, but honestly, how many?

Another thing that some overlook is that the regular radio broadcasters are trying to come up w/ Digital Radio to compete. This would be nice on an iPod and FREE.

I don't know... I guess I just think that satellite radio is all hype and I hate to get all judgmental, but doesn't it say something about the self-indulgent nature of our society that people will spend that kind of money on RADIO? Surely Apple could better focus its energy on making great products that make us more productive as a society (ie new computers) and/or bring the great entertainment value of the iPod to the masses (which is what the nano and flash are doing).

Satellite Radio is great for those who live in either rural areas where few radio stations are available, or for those who live where radio signals are poor (ie: mountain areas). Not to mention the people who travel a lot, they don't have to search for a new station every time the enter a new city. What about the people who just want a good variety of music?
But while we are at it, what about TV, the average cable bill is atleast $50 a month x 12 months = $600, but we shouldn't waste our money on that either. :rolleyes:
 

jasonfj

macrumors newbie
Feb 17, 2004
23
0
If any of the iPod WiFi rumors come to pass, surely you could then listen to any of the iTunes internet radio stations... :cool:
 

Beck446

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2003
132
0
EricNau said:
Satellite Radio is great for those who live in either rural areas where few radio stations are available, or for those who live where radio signals are poor (ie: mountain areas). Not to mention the people who travel a lot, they don't have to search for a new station every time the enter a new city. What about the people who just want a good variety of music?
But while we are at it, what about TV, the average cable bill is atleast $50 a month x 12 months = $600, but we shouldn't waste our money on that either. :rolleyes:


Yeah, it makes sense if you live where traditional radio signals are poor. But I have a feeling that most of the subscribers to this stuff are 25-30 year old males who thinks it's cool. Cable gives alot of great entertainment and news; satellite radio gives the same stuff that traditional radio does, except without ads. You're paying $200/year to look and feel cool. There's no way around it... unless you're a trucker or have a 2 hour commute or live in the country. I'm sure that 95% of their subscribers don't.

Just my opinion.
 

coreybox

macrumors member
Oct 28, 2005
38
0
Beck446 said:
I agree. I think that Sirius and XM are just a bunch of fluff. I imagine that there are some that would spend OVER $200 PRE-TAX ON RADIO A YEAR, but honestly, how many?

Another thing that some overlook is that the regular radio broadcasters are trying to come up w/ Digital Radio to compete. This would be nice on an iPod and FREE.

I don't know... I guess I just think that satellite radio is all hype and I hate to get all judgmental, but doesn't it say something about the self-indulgent nature of our society that people will spend that kind of money on RADIO? Surely Apple could better focus its energy on making great products that make us more productive as a society (ie new computers) and/or bring the great entertainment value of the iPod to the masses (which is what the nano and flash are doing).

You could say the same thing about TV as well. Whats the point of paying for HBO, movie chanels, and just regular cable, when you get fox and nbc for free? They are broadcasting stuff in HD to 'compete'.

People just like more options, or maybe XM offers chanels with more selective programing (such as a blues station...something nonexistant on FM) much like HBO and company give TV. Stations being commercial free would be a big plus as well, listening to FM is very painful when only half the time i spend listening is music.

I guess im just tired of people saying this is pointless and stupid just because they dont use it. If having satelite radio is worth it then buy it, if not then dont. No need to bad mouth it.
 

EricNau

Moderator emeritus
Apr 27, 2005
10,728
281
San Francisco, CA
Beck446 said:
Yeah, it makes sense if you live where traditional radio signals are poor. But I have a feeling that most of the subscribers to this stuff are 25-30 year old males who thinks it's cool. Cable gives alot of great entertainment and news; satellite radio gives the same stuff that traditional radio does, except without ads. You're paying $200/year to look and feel cool. There's no way around it... unless you're a trucker or have a 2 hour commute or live in the country. I'm sure that 95% of their subscribers don't.

Just my opinion.

I see your point, but I believe there is more to satellite radio than just "no ads." Satellite radio gives you over 150 channels for sports, traffic, music - all of which I can get on my radio, but I cant get the same assortment. I might have one rock channel on pubic radio, where there could be 25 on satellite.

I know people who have it, and trust me, it's very nice. :)

That's just what I think.
 

maestro55

macrumors 68030
Nov 13, 2005
2,708
0
Goat Farm in Meridian, TX
puckhead193 said:
whats the point of it.....

Satellite radio would be cool to have on the iPods. I wouldn't mind XM or sirius, but I think I would like it more if Apple had their own, and they could make good money from it.

Maybe have like the regular model iPods and the SAT models?
 

happy.buddha

macrumors member
Jul 18, 2005
93
0
New Hampshire
Beck446 said:
Yeah, it makes sense if you live where traditional radio signals are poor. But I have a feeling that most of the subscribers to this stuff are 25-30 year old males who thinks it's cool. Cable gives alot of great entertainment and news; satellite radio gives the same stuff that traditional radio does, except without ads. You're paying $200/year to look and feel cool. There's no way around it... unless you're a trucker or have a 2 hour commute or live in the country. I'm sure that 95% of their subscribers don't.

Just my opinion.

I've got XM and I don't spend $200 a year on it, I pay $156 a year and it is worth every penny, you are overlooking that there are ways to record XM and move it to a portable player. My XM receiver cost me $29 and that's a one time fee until I buy a new one, so for $156 a year I have access to a very deep playlist in any genre that I want that I can record and move to my iPod...so for a little over 42 cents a day and not needing to put up with 20 minutes of commercials every 10 minutes I'd say that it is well worth every cent.

As for the comment about portable XM units being between $200-$300 you couldn't be farther from the truth, you can easily find a portable XM unit for $100 after a $50 rebate.

For those of you who say sat radio are fluff you are mistaken, XM with well over 5 million subscribers and Sirius with over 3 million, is more than fluff, it is a viable entertainment alternative that traditional radio has taken notice of and tried to squash, just like the RIAA did when the iPod and other portable players took off. If you want to see how much of a threat a product is to the market look at how it's competition react to it, if it were fluff than traditional radio wouldn't bother trying to impose strict restrictions on it, they'd ignore it.

It is like when cable TV first came out, TV station didn't think people would pay for TV when they could get it for free with an antenna, how many of you have TV with no cable...they called it fluff too...I'll bet that 99% of us shell out between $50 and $90 a month for pay TV when you still can get local network TV for free.

I'll gladly pay my 42 cents a day and enjoy great programming that isn't interrupted every few minutes for an ad for Uncle Ted's Furniture Warehouse or a lawyer looking to file a class action lawsuit, enjoy your commercials and the frustration of hearing a DJ talk...I'll enjoy my XM (in my car, in my house, in the office) and sometimes when you see me with my iPod, guess what I just might be enjoying recorded XM there too :)
 

SPUY767

macrumors 68020
Jun 22, 2003
2,041
131
GA
Sirius is floundering compared to XM because of uninspired products and crappy programming. They may well simple look to apple in order to shoehorn their service into anything smaller than the average german shepard.
 

JonHimself

macrumors 68000
Nov 3, 2004
1,553
5
Toronto, Ontario
I understand that you're trying to make an argument but to say that you pay OVER $200 for Satellite is just wrong... An to further the point of paying for satellite v. paying for cable, you can't take your cable with you wherever you go.
And I don't think that Sirius is floundering in comparison.. while it does have less subscribers I would like to see the numbers in the past year because i would be inclined to think that Sirius added more subscribers last year than XM with the addition of some big name talent/programs
 

ariza910

macrumors regular
Oct 19, 2002
192
1
So Cal
iHavenolife said:
Portable XM radios are pretty expensive stand alone (some as much as a full size iPod), I would not count on it.

Like I said before, I dont think Apple would evern put a Sirius reciever inside the iPod.

It would work more like the Sirius S50 device. the actual unit would be a regular iPod any iPod...you would then dock it into a Sirius dock either in the car or at home... the Dock holds the Sirius satellite receiver so you could only listen to LIVE Sirius on the iPod when connected to the dock. iPod form factor would remain the same.

Cool thing is you could record Sirius content to the iPod to listen to at a later time... think of it as TIVO for Sirius.

I think this sort of partnership would be great for both Apple and Sirius... Apple wouldn’t have to change the iPod hardware/form factor at all, it would just require software to control and display Sirius information when connected to the Sirius receiver dock. and Apple would sell more iPods!!!!

It would probably be the best device to buy for people who are looking to get Sirius... plus Apple would have another number to yell from the mountain tops...we have brought in 5million subscribers to Sirius since the launch of the iPod/Sirius dock!
 

JonHimself

macrumors 68000
Nov 3, 2004
1,553
5
Toronto, Ontario
ariza910 said:
It would work more like the Sirius S50 device.

Hey, I think the problem with doing this is that RIAA would screw it up. Didn't they put restrictions on how much content could be transfered to the device? Like maing sure there was a certain amount of talk/music or something? I would assume that it would apply just the same.. but your idea would be awesome if it was free of restrictions!
 

ariza910

macrumors regular
Oct 19, 2002
192
1
So Cal
JonHimself said:
Hey, I think the problem with doing this is that RIAA would screw it up. Didn't they put restrictions on how much content could be transfered to the device? Like maing sure there was a certain amount of talk/music or something? I would assume that it would apply just the same.. but your idea would be awesome if it was free of restrictions!

Your right, the RIAA jumped in last min and put restrictions on the S50. I think you can only record 1hr at a time of Talk radio and only a few min for the music channels. Not sure why, since its much like a TIVO, your just time shifting your Sirius content to listen to at a later time. Maybe this is why the Apple - Sirius talks ended.
 

maestro55

macrumors 68030
Nov 13, 2005
2,708
0
Goat Farm in Meridian, TX
ariza910 said:
Your right, the RIAA jumped in last min and put restrictions on the S50. I think you can only record 1hr at a time of Talk radio and only a few min for the music channels. Not sure why, since its much like a TIVO, your just time shifting your Sirius content to listen to at a later time. Maybe this is why the Apple - Sirius talks ended.

Meaning it is not physically possible to record more? Or it is just against the law if you do record more then they have "allowed"?
 

ariza910

macrumors regular
Oct 19, 2002
192
1
So Cal
maestro55 said:
Meaning it is not physically possible to record more? Or it is just against the law if you do record more then they have "allowed"?

The device has been handicapped so it can not record more than what the RIAA wants you to
 

scorpion

macrumors newbie
May 1, 2002
25
0
Arlington, VA
Howard Stern on iPod?

It seems unlikely that Sirius will be added to the iPod, but consider Stern starts on the first day of MWSF.

Would be a huge PR move if it were true.
 

madmaxmedia

macrumors 68030
Dec 17, 2003
2,932
42
Los Angeles, CA
ariza910 said:
It would work more like the Sirius S50 device. the actual unit would be a regular iPod any iPod...you would then dock it into a Sirius dock either in the car or at home... the Dock holds the Sirius satellite receiver so you could only listen to LIVE Sirius on the iPod when connected to the dock. iPod form factor would remain the same.

Cool thing is you could record Sirius content to the iPod to listen to at a later time... think of it as TIVO for Sirius.

I think this sort of partnership would be great for both Apple and Sirius... Apple wouldn’t have to change the iPod hardware/form factor at all, it would just require software to control and display Sirius information when connected to the Sirius receiver dock. and Apple would sell more iPods!!!!

It would probably be the best device to buy for people who are looking to get Sirius... plus Apple would have another number to yell from the mountain tops...we have brought in 5million subscribers to Sirius since the launch of the iPod/Sirius dock! :)

Guys, ariza has it spot on. Take a look at the Sirius S50 (it even looks like a Nano):

http://www.sirius.com/gs/s50/index.html

It's basically a flash player with specialized interface, and dock with satellite tuner. So even a current iPod could get duplicate functionality with a special Sirius dock.

Currently satellite radio tuners require line of sight, which makes a iPod w/ satellite tuner unlikely. And as others have mentioned, Apple hasn't even bothered to put a regular radio tuner in, much less a satellite tuner.

Sirius would lose S50 sales with such an arrangement, but it's still worth doing for them given the large iPod user base. They would instantly be able to tap into it with a dock for even just 5G and Nano iPods. It would be a plus for Apple, as it even further differentiates the iPod from the rest of the pack.
 
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