Posts Tagged “
Satellite Radio
”Sirius Starmate 5 Coming With XM Support?
Sirius' update to its Starmate line, the Starmate 5, is currently in front of the FCC for testing, and it looks like it might have a little trick up its sleeve. The gadget includes the standard abilities to pause, rewind, and replay up to 44 minutes of live radio, a memo feature to store up to 30 favorite artists or songs and a wide-angle 5 line display, but it also might just have the ability to play XM radio stations as well. More »BlackBerry Users Get XM Radio, Excuse to Take Phones Into Bathrooms For $7.99 a Month
I used to sleep through class by tuning my cellphone's FM radio to a classical station, sitting in the back, and putting a jacket over my face, so this XM Radio on BlackBerry is pretty spectacular news. All you need is a BlackBerry 8800, 8700, Pearl or Curve and $7.99 a month. You'll get 20 "exclusive" XM channels (list after the jump), and you can download the app here or text "XM" to 47201. Time for a nap. Since this uses the phone's regular data connection, you hopefully won't be forced to wear giant ridiculous looking headphones in order to get reception. More »XM/Sirius Merger: What Happens to My Current Radio?
The XM/Sirius merger is all but rubber-stamped. Obvious question: Will this new hybrid with cheaper, shinier programming come in on my current gear? Yes and no. If you keep your old radio, XM customers will keep getting their XM stuff with the added goodness of Sirius programming, and while Sirius people will get their same batch, plus the fresh crunch of XM content. You'll need a new best-of-both-worlds radio that's still in development to take advantage of one of the two a la carte packages that'll be offered, however. It'll hit the market after the merger's got its last i's dotted and t's crossed. [Image via Flickr] More »XM/Sirius Merger a Go: What It Means To You
XM and Sirius just cleared the largest (and longest) hurdle on their path to getting all conjoined: The Justice Department officially okayed Sirius's $5 billion buyout of XM. They said that the growth of mobile broadband "made it even more unlikely that the transaction would harm consumers in the longer term," squashing arguments from radio and broadcasting groups the merger would be anti-competitive. The DoJ thumbs up makes the merger more likely to happen, which Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin has repeatedly promised will make for cheaper, better programming. More »
roundup
Afternoon News: Harry Potter Is Too Close for Comfort, DirecTV Breaking Promises?, Best Buy's Profits Soar and More
• Daniel Radcliffe, a/k/a Harry Potter, just bought an apartment in Manhattan. Coincidentally, it's only four blocks from our NYC headquarters. Luckily we have our own Dark Lord Balthazaar to protect us from his spells. [Gridskipper]• Less than two weeks remain for DirecTV to add 15 more HD channels in order to reach their promise of 100 by the end of 2007. Hope you like the sound of Drying Paint HD, Growing Grass HD and Water Boiling HD, DirecTV customers. [Broadband Reports] [Thanks, Erin!!]
• Toshiba is joining IBM, AMD, Samsung, and others to work on 32nm chip technology. Now the alliance is just an wind, fire and heart away from summoning Captain Planet. [Reuters]
• XM Satellite Radio has settled its lawsuit with Universal Music Group over the time-shifting recording capabilities of XM's Inno player. Surprisingly, the terms still allow for the creation of more time-shifting devices. [Digital Trends]
• Best Buy's profits spiked 52% this quarter, due to fewer promotions on flat-panel TVs. Thanks a lot, Best Buy. [Market Watch]
roundup
Afternoon News: XM-Sirius Merger Gets Serious, Gas Pumps Lie, and Mice Now Fearless
• XM and Sirius shareholders approve merger, next stop: the FCC. [AP]• Gas pumps that measure 1/1000th of a gallon really just trick you into thinking you're getting more gas. [Gadget Lab]
• Scientists genetically engineer mouse that isn't afraid of cats; rodent homicide rate expected to spike soon. [Pink Tentacle]
merger mania
Wall Street, Analysts Beginning to Bet on XM/Sirius Merger
The long-lobbied-for XM/Sirius merger is starting to pick up some optimistic vibes from Wall Street and analysts, who are beginning to think it might just happen. In fact, one analyst group, Cowen & Co., not only says that the odds are the "best ever," they're wagering on FCC approval before Dec. 4, possibly as early as next month. Of course, analysts' words are far from gospel, but the mood toward the merger seems much sunnier than it did months ago, so keep your ears open. [Orbitcast]
sirius 2007 line show
Did you know Sirius makes a $40 receiver called the InV2? Unfortunately, it won't work with docks, but you can't argue with that price. On top of that bit, you saw a lot of major gear today from Sirius's show—the new Stiletto 2, the Altec Lansing dock, the Polk dock, the Sportster 5 with color screen and the Backseat TV system for kid video programming.
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Sirius's Extremely Budget-y $40 InV2 Receiver and Other Bits From The Show
Did you know Sirius makes a $40 receiver called the InV2? Unfortunately, it won't work with docks, but you can't argue with that price. On top of that bit, you saw a lot of major gear today from Sirius's show—the new Stiletto 2, the Altec Lansing dock, the Polk dock, the Sportster 5 with color screen and the Backseat TV system for kid video programming.More »
sirius 2007 line show
Box Converts XM-Ready Cars to Sirius-Ready Temples of Howard Stern
The honkin' GM Sirius box, which replaces the XM box currently found in most XM-enabled GM cars 2003 and newer. This new Sirius box is compatible with about 8 million cars on the road. There are boxes from Directed that do the same for Hondas, Toyotas and Lexus autos, too. More »
satellite
Sirius' SCV1, also known as Sirius Backseat TV, is their latest product that receives three channels of TV programming as well. The three channels—Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network— are all geared to keep kids entertained in the backseat while you're listening to regular Sirius music in the front seat. The SCV1 brings in 130 channels of audio, and works in 4:3 aspect ratio in just about any car with an on-board rear-seat video monitor. Retails in the fall for $300. [InfoSyncWorld]
Sirius SCV1 Satellite Tuner Brings Satellite TV to the Car
Sirius' SCV1, also known as Sirius Backseat TV, is their latest product that receives three channels of TV programming as well. The three channels—Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network— are all geared to keep kids entertained in the backseat while you're listening to regular Sirius music in the front seat. The SCV1 brings in 130 channels of audio, and works in 4:3 aspect ratio in just about any car with an on-board rear-seat video monitor. Retails in the fall for $300. [InfoSyncWorld]
sirius line show 2007
Today, Altec Lansing was at the Sirius line show in New York, showing off a new attractive creation. It's a speaker dock, the $149 SR4021, that fits all dockable Sirius radios, including the Stiletto, Sportster (shown), Starmate and Stratus lines. Its mandatory subwoofer contains most of the audio electronics; you can hide it somewhere or leave it on the floor, but if you think it's sexy—and you just might think it's sexy—Altec designed it to stack with the speaker dock itself, as shown in the gallery.
Hands-On Altec Lansing's SR4021 Stacking Sirius Speaker Dock
Today, Altec Lansing was at the Sirius line show in New York, showing off a new attractive creation. It's a speaker dock, the $149 SR4021, that fits all dockable Sirius radios, including the Stiletto, Sportster (shown), Starmate and Stratus lines. Its mandatory subwoofer contains most of the audio electronics; you can hide it somewhere or leave it on the floor, but if you think it's sexy—and you just might think it's sexy—Altec designed it to stack with the speaker dock itself, as shown in the gallery.
sirius line show 2007
I'm not ready to swap out my 80GB iPod, but the new Stiletto 2 is the best looking, best designed portable satellite-radio player I've yet seen.
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Sirius Stiletto 2 Grope and Gallery
I'm not ready to swap out my 80GB iPod, but the new Stiletto 2 is the best looking, best designed portable satellite-radio player I've yet seen.
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sirius line show 2007
Sirius Stiletto 2 vs Original Sirius Stiletto
How much smaller is the new Stiletto 2 from Sirius? See for yourself, because I just shot it alongside its predecessor. Notice that the older unit has the chunky extended battery. That's because it takes the extended battery on the old Stiletto to get the same battery life that the new one gets right out of the box: 4 hours of live satellite radio, 10 hours of Sirius Internet Radio over Wi-Fi and 20 hours playback of stored content.
rainbow power
With Sirius' new Sportster 5 their dockable line has finally gone color. Featuring both a color display and a customizable backlighting to match your dash, the new Sportster is sure to offer hours of heated discussions over the merits of various schools of color design. Other than that, upgrades seem scant. The unit will offer 16 more minutes of recording (now you can record up to an hour of Sirius broadcast) but otherwise the same FM transmission and other (Fill in Special Feature)™ stay intact. Look for the Sportster 5 debuting this fall at $169.99. Hit the jump for the feature list in full.
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Sirius Sportster 5 Goes Color
With Sirius' new Sportster 5 their dockable line has finally gone color. Featuring both a color display and a customizable backlighting to match your dash, the new Sportster is sure to offer hours of heated discussions over the merits of various schools of color design. Other than that, upgrades seem scant. The unit will offer 16 more minutes of recording (now you can record up to an hour of Sirius broadcast) but otherwise the same FM transmission and other (Fill in Special Feature)™ stay intact. Look for the Sportster 5 debuting this fall at $169.99. Hit the jump for the feature list in full.
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breaking
In spite of having hardware partners, XM still develops its products in-house, which explains why every XM product has the same basic look and feel. The XpressRC, technically from Delphi, marries the color screen you've seen on the Samsung Helix/Pioneer Inno product with the XpressR-style split screen for browsing without losing "now playing" info.
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XM's XpressRC Features Color Screen, Preset Channels, Instant Replay
In spite of having hardware partners, XM still develops its products in-house, which explains why every XM product has the same basic look and feel. The XpressRC, technically from Delphi, marries the color screen you've seen on the Samsung Helix/Pioneer Inno product with the XpressR-style split screen for browsing without losing "now playing" info.
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