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XM to Launch Satellite Radio Handheld?

Posted by michael on from the jogging-to-the-beat-of-a-different-drummer dept.

g00set writes "Reuters is reporting 'XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc next week is expected to unveil a "wearable" device, marking the satellite radio industry leader's latest effort to woo audiences to the nascent format, analysts said.' In adddition, 'A radio industry executive said the device was believed to be a satellite-radio receiver with headphones that also had a hard drive enabling users to download XM content.'" There have been other rumors of this as well.

115 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. XM Adapter for iPod by Power+Everywhere · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm calling it here and now.

    --

    BLING BLING. Meet the architecture that's changing everything.

    1. Re:XM Adapter for iPod by wankledot · · Score: 1

      except I don't believe the iPod has a way to play through audio from another source. So if there was any iPod/XM hybrid, it would simply be using the iPod as a battery... which would suck, since the iPod battery isn't fantastic to start with.

      --
      My sig is blank, I typed this by hand.
    2. Re:XM Adapter for iPod by JawFunk · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Two major devices linked is a lot more than peple want to carry around. More likely we'll see Apple partnering with XM to design an iPod with integrated XM. The feasibility of such a device can be judged once we see the specs of the wearable XM.

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    3. Re:XM Adapter for iPod by The+Spoonman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      except I don't believe the iPod has a way to play through audio from another source.

      Although I don't have one, I have been investigating getting one, and I think that is incorrect. There is at least one accessory available for the iPod that suggests otherwise: The iTalk turns your iPod into a voice recorder. I think the unit simply stores your voice notes as MP3s on the iPod, but perhaps with a few tweaks it could playback real-time audio instead of just recording.

      --
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  2. Wearable != handheld. by Kenja · · Score: 1

    Based on what XM Radio tends to require I expect this to include a big dorky with an integral antenna.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Wearable != handheld. by phobos13013 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      And dont forget if you pass under bridges, go indoors, or a plane flys by right thru the feed. You lose signal... Sounds good to me.

      --
      ...and it should be known by now
    2. Re:Wearable != handheld. by erick99 · · Score: 1

      XM radio works fine indoors. Mine sits on my night stand and maintains great signal strength.

      --
      http://www.busyweather.com/
    3. Re:Wearable != handheld. by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 3, Informative

      Have you actually tried satellite radio?

      I haven't but I don't think that XM necessarily has the same problems that AM has because they are on different bands, and the property of RF vary depending on its wavelength. For many urban areas, XM also has terrestrial repeater antennas to minimize the risk of drop-outs.

      Besides, for intermitten't problems, the signal is pre-buffered a bit with plenty of error correction to boot.

      I'd be vaguely interested in it if I can dock this little thing to my car, dock it to my HT sound system, or to my computer sound system, and use external antennas that connect through the dock.

      Satellite radio subscriptions are charged per-reciever, and for one person, it isn't worth owning multiple recievers.

    4. Re:Wearable != handheld. by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just stick antenna in your pants and you'll be a hit with the ladies.

    5. Re:Wearable != handheld. by erick99 · · Score: 1

      I have a Roady with a home kit and I does have buffering. If you tune to a channel you haven't listened to for a while you will get a message "...loading" before it begins. I listen to ESPN on it and I have also had the very same ESPN up on the computer and the audio coming out of the XM is 15 to 20 seconds delayed.

      --
      http://www.busyweather.com/
    6. Re:Wearable != handheld. by phobos13013 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      XM doesnt work in large hulking structures made of concrete or thick metal. Passing under bridges loses the signal, driving inside a concrete parking garage also, and if you live in a brownstone or large scale apartment complex, its useless unless the antenna is outside on the roof at least. If yr home is a wooden/vinyl siding or balloon frame or such, yr fine. XM has tons of great options and the features or great, but i dont see it making a huge impact in the personal audio department, more of a car audio system imo.

      --
      ...and it should be known by now
    7. Re:Wearable != handheld. by erick99 · · Score: 2, Informative

      They give you a very long antenna cable with the home kit that would allow most folks to set the antenna on a window ledge and still have the radio on a table or night stand.

      --
      http://www.busyweather.com/
    8. Re:Wearable != handheld. by aelbric · · Score: 4, Informative

      This is not entirely incorrect.

      I have logged 40000 miles in my car with XM and have noticed the following:

      Bridges: no problem
      Parking deks: no problem
      Tunnels: problem, but how long do you spend in tunnels

      As far as indoors:
      Home, Brick(portable device): no problem
      Office: Can be iffy if mobile and dead spots can be encountered. But where it works I would not want to be without it.

      The service is fantastic I would recommend it to anyone. Small price to pay to get real music choice and almost no commercial interruption.

      --
      nos laetus epulor qui would domito nos
    9. Re:Wearable != handheld. by mcmonkey · · Score: 1
      Tunnels: problem, but how long do you spend in tunnels

      Let me guess...aelbric, you haven't seen our glorious Big Dig during rush hour, have you?

    10. Re:Wearable != handheld. by rob13572468 · · Score: 2, Informative

      actually, that is not true: both xm radio and sirius use additional terrestrial repeaters to solve the problem of signal loss inside buildings: xm has several hundred repeater nationwide while sirius has significantly less; this is primarily due to the fact that sirius uses an 3 sat elliptical constillation that allows receivers much more coverage due to the higher inclination of the sat in respect to the listner compared to xm's two geostationary sats. either way, the terrestrial repeaters solve the problem with the exception of some signal loss when the antenna is deep inside a building where the 2330 mhz signals simply do not propogate well. the new units will be very small; this is due to a new chipset that shrinks down the needed board size by about half of what was needed by the old one (which was produced by st-thompson and needed 3 chips beside the main processor). also the antenna has been minaturized to about the size of a small gps antenna; about 1" x 1" x 1/3". but the most important advance is that the new chipset and antenna uses drastically less power than the st chips and that was the main reason why we have not seen a portable until now. The xm service is truly an exellent service when compared to what is out there, i.e. fm radio. while it is not cd quality, that was never the goal. xm's entire bandwidth for all 100 channels is 4.8 MB/s which means that each channel averages 48 kb/s. the fact that they can get music that sounds like a 96k mp3 with that bandwidth is pretty damn good. that not withstanding, the real reason to listen to xm (or sirius) is that you actually get some programming choice; with the fm dial being owned almost exclusively by clearchannel and playing the same crap over and over, you actully get a chance to listen to something that you might want to hear...

    11. Re:Wearable != handheld. by martin_b1sh0p · · Score: 1

      I love my XM, however I have to dis-agree with you. I travel to and from work (about 50 miles round trip) M-F and I know of at least 2 bridges that consistently (as in every damn friggin time) I loose my XM reception. But I would still recommend (and I do) XM to anyone with at least a 20 minute drive to work one way.

    12. Re:Wearable != handheld. by martin_b1sh0p · · Score: 1

      You obviously haven't done any looking around have you? Almost every store that sells XM sell the exact unit you want (i.e. the one I have). It allows you to move it in and out of your car and to another car or in your home etc.

      Try:
      SkyFi

    13. Re:Wearable != handheld. by Jolhid · · Score: 1

      It depends on where you are. In larger cities, XM has ground-based repeaters. I live in upstate NY and overpasses, mountains and even tall buildings on the side of the road can momentarily block the signal. However, around the Norfolk, VA area where my parents live, the signal never dropped and it worked inside of parking garages and their house.

      --
      The bees are on the what now?
  3. A wearable satellite? by slowhand · · Score: 3, Funny

    perhaps I should rtfm.

    --
    Busy aligning my non-linear thoughts.
  4. Cool Device by genkael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is a really cool sounding device. But XM needs to do some more marketing to fight Sirius. XM is sweet and I'm looking forward to getting it. A handheld would make it that much better.

    --
    GeneralKael -- Slacker Extraordinaire
    1. Re:Cool Device by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Why must they do that? From a business prespective I uderstand why they might want to do it but why would you want that. I would much rather both networks servive. After all Sirius is the newer and smaller player at the moment. As a consumer nothing would please me more then for it to become XMs equal. It means there will be competition and therefore, lower prices most likely come the day I decide to go Sat. Not that I ever will unless it pushes free FM radio out of usefull existance. Frankly I think subscriuption raido service is horrible. I hope the two kill any chance at profit the other has. The last thing I want is for radio to become like TV where the networks have nothing worth watching and to enjoy Tv you must have some type of content serivce with a monthy fee and then still be subjected to commercials. I also don't think Sat radio is gonna stay commercial free. There is two much money there to avoid that. Now I grant you it might be more PBS like where they don't interrupt a program and advertisers are "Sponsors" but it still will mean that when you jump in your car at 5pm on your way home it will be just prior to the next programs start time and you're gonna listen to 10min + of commercials. Die sat raidio die.

    2. Re:Cool Device by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      From my area, it appears XM has a lot more marketing muscle. I've seen several XM ads and ads for XM products, but Sirius? I've only seen a couple store displays and maybe one TV ad.

    3. Re:Cool Device by generic-man · · Score: 1

      With all due respect, XM is the clear leader right now in the satellite radio space. XM has over 2 million subscribers whereas Sirius has 700,000 subscribers. I'd also say that XM has a better brand: until the Howard Stern announcement, most people had no idea there was a second company doing satellite radio in the first place.

      --
      For more information, click here.
    4. Re:Cool Device by ThomaMelas · · Score: 1

      It looks like it's more of an HBO model then a cable TV-Model.

    5. Re:Cool Device by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Paragraphs should be your friend. You aren't making any sense.

      Personally, I'd rather a small subscription for a lot of stations, long playlists and no ads versus "free" radio's obnoxious ads, repetitious programming and only a few stations. As it is, there used to be some ads on some channels of satellite radio but they've both gone [i]away[/i] from it. I can't imagine the satellite radio companies making money charging subscriptions AND selling ads, because the no-ads is a major selling point.

      I try to avoid "free" radio because of their stupid short playlists too. Die terrestrial radio, die.

    6. Re:Cool Device by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      FM (and AM) radio is already like that - especially during rush hours. 10 minutes straight of commercials - that's exactly why I want XM.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    7. Re:Cool Device by pawnIII · · Score: 1

      XM already has higher number of subscribers, and a lot of new GM vehicles come with XM + 3 month subscription. My dad got one in his new 1500, and seems to like it quite a bit. The only thing I see Sirius having, is Howard Stern in 18 months, but I don't think that will have as much effect as Sirius does. Really, the biggest worry for XM(as well as Sirius) is HD radio signals.

    8. Re:Cool Device by joeljkp · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yeah, you're right about the HD radio. But that won't solve the commercials problem.

      Also, Sirius is in Chrysler and Ford, so things may be looking up for them.

      --
      WeRelate.org - wiki-based genealogy
  5. Sign me up by erick99 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have XM radio right now and I would sign up for a portable receiver to augment the "fixed" one sitting on my nightstand. I am curious though, if I lean over the antenna I can lose the signal, where is this antenna going to be put on your body to maintain a good skyward orientation?

    --
    http://www.busyweather.com/
    1. Re:Sign me up by cbelt3 · · Score: 4, Funny

      XM Antennas look good on top of a propellor beanie or tinfoil hat. Sort of a shark fin thingy. Couple that with a GPS receiver, RFID implant, and your basic mind control implant that goes along with it, and you have an army of geeks at your beck and call.

    2. Re:Sign me up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      dont sign me up.

      They need to modify their gear to take some kind of ID card so I can have a reciever at home, in the car and portable and NOT pay close to $60.00 a month for the ability to have XM wherever I go.

      it is stupid to have to pay near full price for every reciever I listen to and the car solution in my Pioneer which is integrated in the head unit is far superior than the "move the module" crap. so I refuse to play that cradle and module ugly looking thing in my car and it also looks stupid at home on the audio rack.

      no thanks, I'll skip XM and sirus until they think of the customer.

    3. Re:Sign me up by changa · · Score: 1

      I say combine it with a sweatband and make it solar powered!

      And perhaps a blender!

      Just add some sort feature X so you won't look like a jerk!

      *Wonders if anybody knows the refrence*

    4. Re:Sign me up by Fnkmaster · · Score: 1
      I don't disagree... their per-unit charges are pretty insane still. There is a family plan now, so you only have to pay 7 bucks a month per additional unit instead of 10, but still I think it's too much money on the margin for all but the hardcore market. The usual response on the forums is "if they charged less than 7 bucks a month per unit above the first, there would be rampant account sharing". Hmm, I dunno about that, it's like saying that there should be rampant cable subscription sharing between adjacent apartments because it costs 1/10th the amount for an additional cable box as it does for the cable service. Sure, it happens occasionally, but it's pretty rare.


      I have an XMDirect in my car and an XMPCR at home (because as you say, I'm not lugging around a single unit between my car and my apartment, it's just not reasonable effort-wise to do so). I haven't switched to the family plan yet, so I'm still paying 20 bucks a month. I would have no problem with paying an additional 3 dollars or so per month per receiver, and I'd probably buy another two or three XM receivers at that price so I didn't have to lug around my PCR, and so I could have XM in my living room without going through incredible hassles, etc.


      Unfortunately, I just don't think XM has built their business in a way that makes this profitable for them. I don't think they make any money on receiver sales, just on subscriptions, and they really want people to get multiple subs for multiple units.

    5. Re:Sign me up by MustardMan · · Score: 1

      if I lean over the antenna I can lose the signal
      That all depends on where you live. In major metro areas, xm has ground repeaters, which will even let you get a signal in tunnels and whatnot. I seriously considered going satellite when i heard O&A were finally going back on the air, but alas budgeting my graduate student's stipend doesn't justify subscription-based radio.

  6. The Only Reason I Never Got Sattelite Radio by jetkust · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Is that it wasn't portable. Very interesting.

  7. Ooooo! by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 1
    Swift!

    Plenty of songs to rip on-the-road!!!!

  8. As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by SamMichaels · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have to say that the quality of XM's audio has significantly decreased since I got the service in 2002. It resembles a poorly encoded 96k MP3 now. It could be that they have too many channels and they had to drop the bandwidth...but it sounds AWFUL. FM stations in the area have more highs, not to mention actual audio processing (the stuff that gives it that "radio sound").

    If bandwidth is becoming a problem with all these channels, change the technology. Put an MP3Pro-like encoder on it...newer units sound crystal clear again and older units sound the same.

    I'd sure like to hear the technical explanation from XM as to why the audio has sucked over the last few months.

    1. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by SirDaShadow · · Score: 1

      If bandwidth is becoming a problem with all these channels, change the technology. Put an MP3Pro-like encoder on it...newer units sound crystal clear again and older units sound the same

      Funny you mention that. The encoder technology on XM actually uses an mp3pro-like approach. You can tell when the sound gets "muffled" for about half a second while driving under a small bridge. And yes, I read it is 96kbps per channel, except on those "weather and sport event" channels (which is why you can hear a "nasal" effect on the girl that announces that the game/event has not yet started)

    2. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by Texodore · · Score: 1

      I haven't heard a noticeable degredation. I've subscribed in late 2001. Talk stations are pretty bad, but music hasn't been.

      Reports are the new SkyFi2 sounds better than pretty much anything else. And there is a new Polk component XM receiver with optical and coaxial output. Time for an upgrade?

    3. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by SirDaShadow · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, after a few minutes of googling, I stand corrected. XM uses AAC with SBR at 64kbps. The "SBR" part is what makes it "mp3pro-like".

    4. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by thealmightyegg · · Score: 1

      If it IS bandwidth constraints, just wait untill all these new people who wheren't subscribers before, but will be now because it's portable get tacked on. It looks like maybe they're trying to make a pretty new gadget, get more money, THEN invest in imporoving their bandwidth. When what a NICE buisiness would do is make the investment to begin with, attracting more subscribers, which would THEN pay off for their investment.

      --


      -----
      120 chairs?! What the hell am I supposed to do with 120 chairs...?
    5. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by SamMichaels · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I haven't heard a noticeable degredation. I've subscribed in late 2001. Talk stations are pretty bad, but music hasn't been.

      It's easier to tell with an FM modulator. It used to have mad sibilance from the pre-emphasis...now since the highs are completely GONE (low pass at 10khz or something ridiculous?) and warbled, you don't hear that anymore.

      If my old Pioneer unit is no longer supported, don't you think XM would have said "we did technology improvements...you need to upgrade the firmware or buy a new unit manufacturered after XX"?

    6. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by Monkelectric · · Score: 1

      My god thats *TERRIBLE*, you're supposed to pay 1$ a month for music trickled to you at 8k/s?

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

    7. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by DAldredge · · Score: 4, Informative

      You do know this is a one way service and the bandwidth issue comes from the adding of channels, not the adding of subscribers. Don't you?

    8. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by Fnkmaster · · Score: 1
      It varies by channel too. The problem is, what good does it do to have 100+ channels if half of them are unlistenable? For a long time anybody who bitched about XM sound quality was hounded off the message boards as a 'whiny audiophile' who was just imagining things, but I sure as hell am no audiophile. I listen to 196kbps VBR CD-rip MP3s and enjoy them a lot, though I admit even 128kbps MP3s are 'listenable' but not fabulous to my ears. Now, I have several friends with XM radio who have decent ears but definitely aren't audiophiles and they complain about the sound pitch too - if you don't know that the highs are getting clipped, it's hard to describe, but I've heard them use words like 'hollow', 'missing something', etc. until I explained to them what was happening (the human ear hears to ~20kHz, and they are clipping frequencies above 15kHz or even lower before they even encode the music).


      I love listening to the classical channels on XM where I don't find the sound quality too bad and the variety of talk is nice. The pop stations (top 20, etc.) have a decent amount of bandwidth allocation and better-sounding pre-processing than some of the others, but the content gets boring after half an hour. This has left me reconsidering my XM subscription - I love my XMPCR at my desk, and my XMDirect/blitzsafe setup in my car, but I no longer have much desire to record songs for posterity off of XM. I do sometimes record talk shows though, and it's nice to not have to listen to a long program when it's on, but to have it waiting for me on my computer at my convenience.

    9. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by tgd · · Score: 1

      Its funny, I was thinking the same thing driving into work today.

      It seems like its gotten quite a bit worse just in the last few months. Weird compression artifacts, I was getting some clicking on one of the channels I was listening to on the drive. Weird stuff.

    10. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by Vermifax · · Score: 1

      "It's easier to tell with an FM modulator"

      How so?

      Wouldn't it be easier to tell if you have it directly plugged into a something instead of transcoding it for FM transmittal

      I hear no signal problems with my delphi home plugged directly into my stereo.

      --

      Vermifax

      Logout
    11. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by Therlin · · Score: 1

      As a long time subscriber, I've noticed this too.

      They only have so much bandwidth, so in order to cram all the worthless weather channels, college sport channels, and the emergency channels, in the same alloted bandwidth, they had to sacrifice quality on several other channels.

    12. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by michrech · · Score: 1

      My god thats *TERRIBLE*, you're supposed to pay 1$ a month for music trickled to you at 8k/s?

      No, we pay $9.99 a month to get our service. Less if we buy yearly or multi-yearly subscriptions.

      Despite what others have said, I think the music channels sound awesome. I wouldn't say they are significantly better than an FM radio station, but they do sound good. I think those that are hearing 'degraded sound quality' probably have played it so loud that they are actually loosing their hearing. =]

      --
      bork bork bork!
    13. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by rob13572468 · · Score: 3, Informative

      the total bandwidth for the xm spectrum is 4.8 MB/s.

      given that, the average bitrate per channel is 48kb/s. of course, talk and news channels will be given less bandwidth and music channels given more. xm HAS been experimenting with different codecs/bitrates and has the capability to change them on the fly.

      perhaps the reduction in quality that you are hearing is simply a channel that has had its bitrate lowered so that another could be raised.

    14. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by DAldredge · · Score: 1

      IT's a sat based system. They just can't upgrade the birds in geosync orbit!

      It also costs about 250,000,000.00 USD per bird to just build it and put it in orbit, and believe it or not, they get the money to launch/build it from investors based on FUTURE earnings.

    15. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by VAXcat · · Score: 1

      It's a rare person that can actually hear up to 20KHz...most people's hearing is seriously rolled off by 15KHz, and many before that.

      That's why so few people are bothered by flyback whine from TV sets - 15,734 KHz is above their hearing range. It wasn't for me when I was younger, and used to drive me crazy, but rock & roll & gunfore took care of my high frequency hearing to the point that I can't hear it anymore either.

      --
      There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
    16. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by SamMichaels · · Score: 1

      The FM modulator does a thing that all FM signals have...it's called pre-emphasis. It has a special EQ curve that REALLY boosts the highs....it's like taking your treble knob, turning it up the whole way, and then going twice more. The radio does de-emphasis to undo that before you hear it.

      When XM was sending crystal clear highs, it would often get that scratchy sound from overmodulating (sibilance)...since the sound quality has taken a nose dive and the highs are basically missing, it doesn't do that anymore.

      The digital link sounds just as bad as the FM modulated links because the audio XM is sending is degraded...it's no longer a weak spot in the local hardware.

    17. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by SamMichaels · · Score: 1

      I wanted to leave the content out of the discussion...but since this is going in that direction...

      I listen to BPM #81, 90s on 9 #9, Highway 16 #16, and Top 20 #20. Top 20 is pop..it's the same. Highway 16 is decent...they're pretty quick on the new songs.

      90s was trashed. It's SOOO bad compared to when Kane/Girl/Priestly were on.

      BPM is a mess. Disorganized, late on new music.

      Even if we solve this lousy sound quality issue, I'm still debating on whether or not to just let my radio get deactivated from not paying.

    18. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by Fnkmaster · · Score: 3, Interesting
      This is just not true. TV/CRT whine is almost painful to my ears if a room is otherwise silent. My roommate always does this - turns off the cable box, leaves on the TV in his room, and I have to go down the hall, into his room to shut the damned thing off because it's so distracting. Now admittedly, all of my friends are in their mid-twenties, and have never been loud concert going types (well, I've been to a few, but not a regular occurrence), so maybe we just don't have the damaged hearing of many older folks. But any audio product built specifically for a half-deaf 50 year old audience isn't going to do too well.


      I'm assuming you are talking from experience re: XM radio? For me, it's just a matter of listening to XM radio and listening to a normal MP3 or AAC encoded file. You can hear the "hard cutoff" in frequency response which you can visibly see in a spectral analyzer. Even if your hearing in the high frequency range isn't too great (and admittedly, nobody hears very _well_ at those high frequencies), the cutoff sounds hard and unnatural and should be quite noticeable. It's not a bitrate artifact, since low bitrate artifacts sound very distinct (and can be heard on many of the talk channels, especially the news/weather channels, ouch). Apparently, some of the XM issues are also from the "neural analyzers" they use as part of the encoding process, according to some of the people who should know in the XM radio forums. But almost everybody seems to admit now that the hard frequency cutoff is an issue.

    19. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by iminplaya · · Score: 1

      ...a half-deaf 50 year old audience...

      I look at things a bit more positively. I'm half-alive...and I can still hear up to 20K...Punk :-) Anyway, the damn thing is useless if I can't get Howard. May I assume that Sirius has undertaken a similar project?

      --
      What?
    20. Re:As an FM guy and XM subscriber... by tananda · · Score: 1

      I have to say that the quality of XM's audio has significantly decreased since I got the service in 2002. It resembles a poorly encoded 96k MP3 now. It could be that they have too many channels and they had to drop the bandwidth...but it sounds AWFUL.

      Well, you know, Sirius sort of has this whole Statistical Multiplexing thing going on to ensure against that....

      --
      I used to think Peter Shipley was cool. Then I aged past 16.
  9. Nice by igzat · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This has some serious potential. But I have an ipod now, if there was only some way to intergrate this into the ipods body, it would make an awesome combo. 40 Gigs of MP3's and satelite radio, I would pay $400 for that!

    --

    Free Desk

  10. reception? by hb253 · · Score: 1

    I would love to have such a device.

    I already have a Roady with home kit. Reception in the car is fine, but inside the house, it's very sensitive to antenna placement.

    I wonder how this device addresses reception isues.

    --
    Self awareness - try it!
  11. XM Stock price by jyanix · · Score: 1

    First baseball, now this!! I hear my bank account swelling - lets hear it for XMSR! Now we just need the "Sirius to XM converter", the "BicycleFI", and "BottledWaterFI".

  12. here are some pictures!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.xm411.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3164

    This does not look dorky, there really doesn't appear to be room for a harddrive (ignorant industry exec!), the antenna is integrated in the headphones, and it's actually just an accessory for the Roady2 XM receiver.

    1. Re:here are some pictures!!! by erick99 · · Score: 2, Informative

      That is a picture of the Roady, mated with some sort of dock.

      --
      http://www.busyweather.com/
  13. Portable by Auckerman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm one of those people who think if the music isn't portable, then it's useless. The only exception to this is my old war time jazz vinyl collection and that's cause I'm lazy and haven't encoded it yet. Anyhow, it's one of the fatal flaws in satellite radio along with the fact that the user still get's little input into what's being played.

    Personally, I think there's a LOT of money to be made with satellite based on demand music. The playlist/selection revolves during the day, you queue it up or put it on random.

    --

    Burn Hollywood Burn
    1. Re:Portable by cmdr_beeftaco · · Score: 1

      He's talking about the Gulf War. World War II was not the only war in mordern history, some people...

  14. XM really getting Serious by FerretFrottage · · Score: 1

    ..about the satellite radio biz. Maybe all those tin foil hats can actually serve a purpose now.

    --
    "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
    1. Re:XM really getting Serious by JawFunk · · Score: 1
      Not as far as the current consumer XM technology goes. The receivers they sell are just that - receivers, and do not have transmit capabilities. It would not be feasible to install a built in tracking device because it cuts out from your bottom line, and XMSR are value maximizers - like any subscriber-based business (Comcast).

      Tin foil hats could be useful once the satellites are employed for another reason, but what personal identifiers make you traceable? None so far. Sleep tite.

      --
      [Please sign here]
    2. Re:XM really getting Serious by FerretFrottage · · Score: 1

      ...missed me mark entirely there....Siriusly, next time, I'll do better.

      --
      "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
  15. *yawn* by Misch · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sirius already has a handheld unit, the XACT receiver.

    How small?
    This small.

    --

    --You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
    1. Re:*yawn* by Nodar · · Score: 1

      YEAH! that things is "HELLA" sweet!

      --
      Don't Blame me if I seem bitter, I'm at work, and the TV only plays soap operas.
    2. Re:*yawn* by Misch · · Score: 1

      For reference, this is my Palm Zire 71 hard case in my hand. (I am not the hand model for the picture of the XACT, so YMMV.)

      --

      --You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
    3. Re:*yawn* by DAldredge · · Score: 1

      It costs too much. If it was 39.95 or less they would get a lot more subscribers.

    4. Re:*yawn* by Misch · · Score: 4, Informative

      There's no reason to be such an ass when pointing out an error.

      There is a handheld power unit that goes with it.

      It looks something like this.

      And if I get modded to -1, you're going the same way, as it is not a "farking car module". Troll.

      --

      --You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
    5. Re:*yawn* by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      Where's the power supply? Where's the antenna?

      It's a plug-and-play shuttle, not a stand-alone unit. It's just like my Audiovox SIR-PNP2, only smaller.

    6. Re:*yawn* by IEFBR14 · · Score: 1

      Does that mean the built-in lithium battery and included antenna shown in the product specs can't be used with the device?

  16. common subscription by man_ls · · Score: 1

    Will a single XM subscription allow you to listen on n many XM devices?

    If my 1 XM subscription would allow me to listen on an XMPCR, car, computer, handheld, whatever, I'd be interested in it; otherwise, no.

    1. Re:common subscription by Iphtashu+Fitz · · Score: 2, Informative

      From what I understand both XM & Sirius license individual radios. This means a subscription lets you listen to their service on one radio. I think both companies offer discounts for additional recivers, but you're still paying for each one you listen to. This is why some of the manufacturers of radios make them portable & include docking stations for cars, stereos, etc. You buy one radio & take it wherever you want - in the car, the office, home, etc.

    2. Re:common subscription by man_ls · · Score: 1

      Yes, and I own a portable MP3 player, and have the connections necessary to make it play through my car's stereo, but I still burn mp3s onto CD and play them through the mp3cd player in my dash.

      Why?

      Because it's easier that way. And because there are less parts to worry about.

      Portable is good for personal use...dockable is okay (Delphi SkyFi receiver comes to mind.)

      I prefer individual devices for different settings. In-dash, desktop, pc-attached, personal.

  17. Cool! by eli173 · · Score: 4, Funny

    A hand-held satellite launcher! Think of what Carmack could do with that!

    Huh?

    Oh, a hand-held radio satellite's still cool; miniaturization has come a long way.

    What?

    Oh.

    Nevermind.

  18. But while driving? by Trolling4Columbine · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you mean assembling playlists and such before a trip, then fine. But I'd rather people weren't searching through menus trying to find a song while they're doing 90 down the freeway.

    --
    Socialism: A feeling of discontent and resentment caused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
  19. Sirius... by Iphtashu+Fitz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hope Sirius comes out with a similar product by the end of the year. I plan to subscribe to Sirius when Howard Stern starts there next year.

    1. Re:Sirius... by Trolling4Columbine · · Score: 1

      I don't mean to start a flame war about Howard Stern here (OK maybe I do, a little), but at what point does a person decide he has enough money?

      Sure he will work better in the satellite medium, and I'm sure he still love his work, but I bet he loves that $100 MILLION PER YEAR he will be making even more.

      Stern's a sellout, and I wouldn't mind seeing Sirius go broke trying to pay him.

      --
      Socialism: A feeling of discontent and resentment caused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
    2. Re:Sirius... by skydude_20 · · Score: 3, Informative

      They already do

      --
      Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
    3. Re:Sirius... by Iphtashu+Fitz · · Score: 1

      d'oh! I knew that. My fingers just outtyped my brain...

    4. Re:Sirius... by jokach · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't necessarily agree that he is a sellout. He did what was required to stay on the air and keep his $100 million a year paycheck.

      The way that censorship is cutting away at his radio empire, what other choice does he have? Satellite radio will become the cable TV of radio, I think everyone knows that, and Stern made the move at the right time.

    5. Re:Sirius... by Trolling4Columbine · · Score: 1

      I don't begrudge him for making a move that would preserve his show. But it takes a lot of balls and something far less noble, however, to look someone in the eye and tell them that your 4-hour workday is worth $100 million a year.

      And what about the rest of the crew? Gettin way offtopic here, but is it just Stern making the cash, or is that $.5 Billion contract for the rights to the entire show, including current personnel?

      --
      Socialism: A feeling of discontent and resentment caused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
    6. Re:Sirius... by DAldredge · · Score: 1

      It's isn't worth 100 Millon a year. It's really worth between 200 - 400 million as that is how much he brings in selling ads.

    7. Re:Sirius... by terrymr · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually it appears that $100 million is for programming 3 24/7 channels on Sirius rather than just bringing his morning show.

  20. Getting hot and heavy on the radio. by schiefaw · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I have the Audiovox portable tuner for Sirius with the boombox accessory. This thing drains enough juice that it may as well be a portable pizza oven. Eight D cell batteries last around six hours! The tuner itself gets very hot. Unless you plan on wearing a car battery around your neck, they will need to change some things.

    Perhaps this push for wearable units will force the manufacturers to update the technology. I don't understand why the tuner cannot be the size of a Palm Pilot and run cool. I have to imagine that much of the power drain is lost in heat.

    --
    Angleyne: You can't bend that girder - it's unbendable! Bender: Well I don't know anything about lifting, so that ju
    1. Re:Getting hot and heavy on the radio. by presearch · · Score: 1

      I've got an Audiovox PNP2, and the new JVC Gen 2.5 PNP.

      The audiovox is big and runs -really- hot.
      The JVC uses the new Gen 2.5 chipset and gives off minimal warmth and
      is about one third the size, due to the new, efficient chipset.

      They've gotten the technology refined quite a bit from the first release of the radios.
      The first ones ran hot because there's an exceptional bit of processing needed to find, refine, and process the signal.

      Pretty amazing that they got it to work so well actually.

    2. Re:Getting hot and heavy on the radio. by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      That's probably why Audiovox just released their third generation receiver. Too bad it's a different form factor from their earlier tuners; otherwise, getting it wouldn't mean getting new docking stations and such.

  21. Re:Just say no... by Soporific · · Score: 1

    If it was Sirius I'd buy it just to get Stern shows, and it has the added benefit of them not belonging to Clear Channel.

    ~S

  22. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    #1 No FCC
    #2 Huge huge amount of variety
    #3 No Commercials
    #4 No FCC
    #5 Travel Convenience
    #6 No FCC
    #7 O&A

    Honestly, I look at it the same way as I do cable. Why do people pay for hbo? Great programming, No commercial interruptions, No FCC 'guidelines'. Same applies here.

  23. R.I.P. Radio... by Duncan3 · · Score: 1

    Free today, subscription tommorow... soon with extra commercials like cable TV.

    I assume someone will get congres to "mysteriously reassigned" the soon to be empty AM and FM bandwidth?

    Long live NPR!

    --
    - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
  24. Re:Why? by syrinx · · Score: 1

    Yeah, and that "cable" TV? I just get TV for free over the airwaves!

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
  25. Re:Why? by skydude_20 · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, none, zip, zilch commercials, just music (at least with Sirus, they're getting there with XM). And your favorite station is the same station no-matter where you are in the country.

    --
    Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
  26. Re:Why? by Metzli · · Score: 1

    I mostly listen to ESPN Radio, 40s music, heavy metal, blues, Air America Radio, old country/bluegrass, and Big 10 football. With the exception of ESPN Radio, none of the others are available here. Plus, the ESPN Radio is only played in part here and pre-empted with local sports crap in the morning. I don't think my tastes are that esoteric, but the local top 40, new country, hip hop, and alternative stations don't play any of that. I also like the ability to choose between genres that I wouldn't normally here. Maybe today I really feel like listening to acid jazz or world music. Good luck finding that on either AM or FM around here.

    --
    "It's too bad stupidity isn't painful." - A. S. LaVey
  27. Re:Just say no... by juangonzo · · Score: 1

    Clear channel does not own XM, they just own some stock in XM. I can't stand Clear Channel stations, they play such sanitized boring music. XM on the other hand is so great that I own two receivers and am thinking about getting a third.

    --
    c# - Wait, it's not pronounced coctothorpe?
  28. Re:Why? by CharAznable · · Score: 1

    Out of curiosity, what kind of music do you listen to?

    If you are seriously into serious music, AM/FM is just not going to cut it. Not going to find Television, Richard Hell, King Crimson, Magma or Slint on your local rock station.

    --
    The perfect sig is a lot like silence, only louder
  29. Re:Why? by khelms · · Score: 1

    Actually, my tastes aren't met by the clear channel homogenized FM stations. I like groups that you can rarely find CDs for in places like Best Buy and you rarely hear anything from them played on FM. For example, I can hear progressive groups like Cairo, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, The Flower Kings, etc. on XM 51 that I have never heard on FM. XM is like cable for radio. It supports smaller niche genres nationwide that could never be supported by FM in a single market.

  30. I've built something similar... by rkopper · · Score: 1

    I have one of those Audiovox ones as well but I got all crafty and attached a laptop battery to it and stuffed all that into a backpack. I can listen anywhere I want to and it lasts for about 3+ hours on the battery. Great for camping!

  31. Sirius competitive advantage by JawFunk · · Score: 1

    Yea, well, Sirius paid this guy $500M for 5 years to do discussions on sex, boobs and boners. I think I know where my loyalty lies...

    --
    [Please sign here]
    1. Re:Sirius competitive advantage by boohiss · · Score: 1

      XM has already paid Opie & Anthony, and you don't have to wait until 2006. And their humor is more intelligent (can we use that word about shock/cringe radio?) than Howard Stern and Robin any day of the week. And they don't spend every day talking about conspiracy theories about George Bush out to get them. And they don't claim to have invented talk radio, shock humor, and every TV show concept. They don't have Artie Lange, but they DO have Jim Norton! Hoo hoo hoo.

      --
      Earn a free iRiver
    2. Re:Sirius competitive advantage by Rytr23 · · Score: 1

      I love Howard, but unfortunately for him, his show is on the way downhill.. And by the time he actually gets to Sirius, they are going to be so far behind against XM subscriber-wise that he will probably end up bankrupting the company. O&A do his show better than he does and are just funnier ..and will have a 15 month head start..Not to mention XM getting MLB (which unlike the NFL, actually makes sense to aquire for RADIO)

      --
      So many injustices..so little time..
  32. Re:Why? by Nick+of+NSTime · · Score: 1

    Can't hear The Decembrists, Her Space Holiday, or Junior Brown on FM.

  33. Sub$cription co$t$ by Secrity · · Score: 2, Informative

    XM and Sirius both charge per receiver:

    XM
    first receiver: $10 / month
    each additional receiver: $7 (2nd - 5th receiver)

    Sirius
    first receiver: $13 / month
    each additional receiver: $7 (2nd - 4th receiver)

    Both have discounted multiyear subscriptions.

    Sirius has a product lifetime subscription available for about $500.

    Hmmm, TiVo's product lifetime subscription is only $300.

  34. Re:Why? by HexaByte · · Score: 1

    Well, I get more than enough crap comming at me already over the airwaves. That's why I don't pay for cable TV, either.

    The quality things I want I usually want to see or hear more than once, so I purchase them. On Video, that a rare thing, on music, almost as rare. I was never one for the large audio collection. And now that Cd backup is possible, (and legal for archiving)I just burn me a copy, and when it wears out, burn another.

    I guess I just don't see the value in it, but hey! That's just me! YMMV

    --
    HexaByte - he's a square and a half!
  35. Re:Why? by JawFunk · · Score: 1
    Anything by Aqua.

    "I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wooooorld!"

    --
    [Please sign here]
  36. "Yawn"? by Gudlyf · · Score: 1
    That thing looks bigger than my Magellan GPS and at least from the description of the Sirius device, it doesn't have the reported hard drive that the XM unit will have.

    Nothing to yawn at to me...

    --
    Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
  37. Ohh nooooo! by Prince+Vegeta+SSJ4 · · Score: 1
    Newsflash!:

    Tinfoil hats are no longer safe. They are now being incorporated with XMSR and other tracking devices.

    In other news:

    in a strange twist of fate - Microsoft is announcing that the sudden migration of former Open Source advocates to Windows ME is proof positive that Windows is the best OS.

    Meanwhile, at a computer convention

    Steve Ballmer - it was inevitable, windows has and continues to be the OS of choice for the informed in the IT community... Suprisingly enough , most of the new visits to our website come from 66.35.250.150.. Tin foil hats, step right up and get your free tinfoil hats.

  38. Can I get one in a CF card? by talmage · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that's the ticket! An XM receiver in a Compact Flash card with an xmms-embedded plugin. Hello, Zaurus radio!

  39. Satelite Radio = cable TV by aliens · · Score: 1

    One of the big draws I see for Sirius & XM are the commercial free stations.

    How long will that last I ask.

    --
    -- taking over the world, we are.
  40. Re:Why? by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1
    Do you live so far out in the boonies that there are no stations?

    I do. My listening choices are:

    • Country music x 5
    • Classic rock
    • NPR
    • Clearchannel local
    • Clearchannel Sioux City
    • Clearchannel Omaha
    • AM talk
    • AM sports
    • AM country music x 23

    I listen to a fair amount of talk (AM and NPR), but there's nothing else here for me. I keep getting this close (hold thumb and index finger close together) to getting a Sirius receiver, but I keep backing down and buying more random stuff from CD Baby.

    Ironically, I have more (and cheaper!) Internet connectivity options than when I lived in a much larger city. Other than the dearth of music I'm interested in, I've very happy with my environment. I'd much rather subscribe to an alternative music source than move to someplace with decent stations (that haven't (yet) been bought by Clearchannel).

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  41. XM Radio : that would be very cool by ncstockguy · · Score: 1

    If the portable reciever does indeed have a record mode, this would be a tech leap forward. And I would buy one and subscribe. No doubt about it.

  42. great a tracking device on your belt clip by Robocoastie · · Score: 1

    just what we need, another device that can track you everywhere you go. Big Brother is watching only it turned out to be business not government.

  43. Re:XM Adapter for iPod -WRONG! by 4phun · · Score: 1
    I find it difficult to see how so many intelligent people can get the story wrong. There is no hard disk or I-Pod like device.

    It is simply an adaptor for the Roady2 that uses much less power than previous XM generation radios. There is even a picture of it on one of the XM radio fan sites. The Roady 2 clips into a slim case, which supplies battery power. It has a XM antenna. All this slips into your shirt pocket. You listen to the audio with a set of walkman type headphones.

    Here is a link to the web pages with more about it

    http://www.xm411.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3164

    Here is a link to a photo of the device partially open

    http://file.xm411.com/images/roady/Roadyport04.JPG

    Applications for this would be XM radio while jogging or walking out of doors or in a metro area where there are terrestrial repeaters blasting the XM signal indoors. People who work out of doors in construction or similar jobs may find this useful for listening to decent radio all day long.

    Since all major league baseball will be on XM radio starting next season one could see some fans listening to the games via XM while sitting in the stadium.

    People involved in fishing or other water related activities may enjoy grabbing audio off the satellite instead of the local broadcast band.

    End of story.