Sirius and XM join forces: iPod integration made easy?

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 47
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Clive At Five View Post


    Anyone thinking that Sattelite radio will be INTEGRATED with the iPod is sorely mistaken. At best, a 3rd party will make it an add-on.



    Was there anything to prevent this before? I know that integration into the unit was unrealistic given that the protocol is mostly used in the US and not much elsewhere, if at all. I suppose Apple could popularize the idea if they had the installed base of recievers, but services are probably not economically feasible.



    dutch pear, this service is also about live media too, news, sports, talk, and potentially give you access to a much wider range of music than most people can realistically or legally sample otherwise. I'd want to time-shift and they aren't offering very good ways to do that.
  • Reply 22 of 47
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dutch pear View Post


    What the (&^%& is that good for???

    Who uses that???

    What's wrong with FM??

    And... if I understand correctly... it's not even free???

    I can only laugh at the whole concept....



    Every NFL game, every Major League Baseball game, most college football games, most college basketball games, most music genres, news, talk, Playboy, Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, and so many other things are on satellite radio throughout the Continental USA. I use it. Most GM and Honda cars ship with XM included. Ford and Chrysler ship with Sirius. FM in the US is dying. The vast majority of free radio stations are owned by just three companies. These companies formatted the life out of FM radio. Oddly enough, one of these companies--Clear Channel--is selling-off a large block of its stations. You are correct--satellite radio is not free. However, your subscription includes something like 170 channels.
  • Reply 23 of 47
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dutch pear View Post


    Hmmm, if I want no commercials and sound quality I listen to a CD or iTunes (connected to stereo). I just cannot believe anyone would actually pay for this??



    Why don't you do a little research into the product before you spout off?
  • Reply 24 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dutch pear View Post


    Hmmm, if I want no commercials and sound quality I listen to a CD or iTunes (connected to stereo). I just cannot believe anyone would actually pay for this??



    If it wasn't for the fact that there are other things I would rather spend my limited budget on. Maybe when I throw a larger system into one of my cars it will become irresistable.
  • Reply 25 of 47
    Not going to happen.



    Neither the merger or the iPod integration will happen. There isn't a chance in hell that the FCC will let this happen. It's DOA.
  • Reply 26 of 47
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dutch pear View Post


    Hmmm, if I want no commercials and sound quality I listen to a CD or iTunes (connected to stereo). I just cannot believe anyone would actually pay for this??



    Well, if you happen to own every CD and song you could possibly ever want to listen to, and you're willing to listen to whatever you happen to have with you at the time (unless all your music fits on your iPod, and you do have that), satellite offers a lot. I have a short commute to/from work which can constitute an entire commercial break on standard crap FM (or constitute an entire rant/rave/laugh-along fest they love to do in the morning drive-time - Man, if only these people were as funny as they think each other are!)



    Satellite gives you choices that you just don't have on 'regular' radio. There's stations that cover a spectrum of sound, even within a a genre. Most of the stations offer variety and music you just can't get on FM/AM, and would cost you $$$ to buy on CD (if you could even find it all).



    Also, most (but not all) stations are commercial free, most, but not all, don't have banal chatter, and all come in at all times while you travel long distances. No searching for channels, or trying to find an empty one for my iPod/FM transmitter.
  • Reply 27 of 47
    wallywally Posts: 211member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by initiator View Post


    Not going to happen. There isn't a chance in hell that the FCC will let this happen. It's DOA.



    I wish you were right, but the FCC hasn't had a very good track record so far.



    SBC merges with AT&T

    AT&T buys Cingular (back)

    Verizon buys MCI

    (Someone help me out here I remember there being another big one recently...)



    For a while, I thought that the FCC was bought out by Walmart... but I could be mistaken...
  • Reply 28 of 47
    That's true, but AT&T is not a monopoly post merger. It's different for satellite radio. Instead of 2 players, there will be 1 post merger. That's the definition of a monopoly. Even if there is competition to satellite (terrestrial radio, hd radio, etc.) you can't get past the fact that 1 player in a market = monopoly.



    Yeah, I know the FCC sucks big time. But even this adminitration can't get past the monopoly issue. I suppose anything is possible though.
  • Reply 29 of 47
    if they added integration then i think they would have to allow you to buy songs you hear on satellite radio from the itunes music store instantaneously



    kinda of like" damn, that's a good song. i want that" click a few buttons and presto, the song is downloaded effortlessly to your ipod
  • Reply 30 of 47
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by intlplby View Post


    if they added integration then i think they would have to allow you to buy songs you hear on satellite radio from the itunes music store instantaneously



    kinda of like" damn, that's a good song. i want that" click a few buttons and presto, the song is downloaded effortlessly to your ipod



    That functionality would be cool. Note, however, that by the time this proposed

    merger is completed, there may be iPods/iPhones available which can connect

    to wireless networks. The iTunes store could stream its own "radio station" to

    iPod users. They could have multiple stations covering multiple genres, allowing

    people to hear unfamiliar music, some of which they might want to purchase.



    The click/buy

    functionality would be so much easier to implement if all pieces are within Apple,

    and to hell with satellite radio.
  • Reply 31 of 47
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by initiator View Post


    That's true, but AT&T is not a monopoly post merger. It's different for satellite radio. Instead of 2 players, there will be 1 post merger. That's the definition of a monopoly. Even if there is competition to satellite (terrestrial radio, hd radio, etc.) you can't get past the fact that 1 player in a market = monopoly.



    Yeah, I know the FCC sucks big time. But even this adminitration can't get past the monopoly issue. I suppose anything is possible though.



    Um, if there is competition, how can you then say its monopoly. It all depends on how you define it. For example, some argued MS was a monopoly, but there were lots of other choices out there to use. And when deregulating television services (while regulating content - got to love the FCC!), the argument is that cable has competition from satellite and other services (now FIOS, for example). Ergo, no monopoly and no need for regulation. Hell, when they released regulations from the phone companies for providing DSL, they basically said competition existed from other types of carriers, so there wasn't a need for the phone companies to lease their lines to competitors.



    And considering the low amount of actual subscribers on both sides, its hard to call it a monopoly.



    But the biggest issue with this being approved is the agreement both companies signed when they got the airwaves and approval from the FCC, which basically said they would not, and could not, merge. But they may have a way out of that (hell, that's what lawyers are paid for). But, you know how the government is, they'd rather watch one fail and end up with a monopoly rather then let investors and subscribers actually not end up on the short-end of a stick.



    However, what they should do is both declare bankruptcy, file for liquidation, and then startup a new company that buys all the assets for a song, and then can provide the service without all that overhead of actually paying for the satellites in the first place.
  • Reply 32 of 47
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Louzer View Post


    However, what they should do is both declare bankruptcy, file for liquidation, and then startup a new company that buys all the assets for a song, and then can provide the service without all that overhead of actually paying for the satellites in the first place.



    If by "they" you mean the managements of XM and Sirius, "they" would be trading

    their problems with the FCC for even bigger problems with the SEC. Such a blatant

    violation of fiduciary responsibility would likely result in prison time. (if you were

    being facetious, please ignore everything i said )
  • Reply 33 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Louzer View Post


    Um, if there is competition, how can you then say its monopoly.



    I'm referring strictly to a monopoly in satellite radio. 1 player = monopoly.
  • Reply 34 of 47
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by initiator View Post


    I'm referring strictly to a monopoly in satellite radio. 1 player = monopoly.



    Ah, but no one uses that argument anymore (as I defined in my way too long manifesto).
  • Reply 35 of 47
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by quinney View Post


    If by "they" you mean the managements of XM and Sirius, "they" would be trading

    their problems with the FCC for even bigger problems with the SEC. Such a blatant

    violation of fiduciary responsibility would likely result in prison time. (if you were

    being facetious, please ignore everything i said )



    Nah, its not that hard. I should know, since I once owned stock in a company called Iridium that did satellite phones. They ended up going under due to the huge debt of placing satellites into orbit. Former management at the company finally ended up buying up the assets for a song and restarting the company, sans debt. (Of course, they screwed over the investors as well, but what do you expect). But, if you're too chicken to try that, just going bankrupt Chapter 11 should be good enough to cut a lot of that debt down.
  • Reply 36 of 47
    While I agree that $13/month can be a lot to pay for satellite radio, there are many distinctive advantages. Mainly, it frees you from Clear Channel near-monopoly of FM radio stations and FCC censorship that destroyed talk radio. If Sirius-XM merger succeeds, I would be more inclined to pay $13/month, but only if there's a way to listen or upload contents to iPod somehow.
  • Reply 37 of 47
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wally View Post


    ....

    AT&T buys Cingular (back)

    ...



    Please keep your facts straight. The company now known as AT&T was formerly known as SBC. It never owned less than 60% of Cingular. Its partner BellSouth owned the other 40%. With AT&T's purchase of BellSouth, it increased its Cingular ownership from 60% to 100%.
  • Reply 38 of 47
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Louzer View Post


    Nah, its not that hard. I should know, since I once owned stock in a company called Iridium that did satellite phones. They ended up going under due to the huge debt of placing satellites into orbit. Former management at the company finally ended up buying up the assets for a song and restarting the company, sans debt. (Of course, they screwed over the investors as well, but what do you expect). But, if you're too chicken to try that, just going bankrupt Chapter 11 should be good enough to cut a lot of that debt down.



    Bummer. I take it you dont hold XM or Sirius.

    I did a search on Iridium and it appears there are a number of class action suits

    against Iridium management, so maybe they are not out of the woods yet. As a

    shareholder you might get a check for $4.17 after about 10 years if the suits

    succeed.



    With regard to what I expect, I guess corporate execs screwing small investors

    is what I have come to expect, although every once in awhile you get a Lay,

    Skilling, or Kozlowsky.



    PS: beware of any company headquartered in Bermuda
  • Reply 39 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by intlplby View Post


    if they added integration then i think they would have to allow you to buy songs you hear on satellite radio from the itunes music store instantaneously



    kinda of like" damn, that's a good song. i want that" click a few buttons and presto, the song is downloaded effortlessly to your ipod



    Nice idea. Hopefully in iPhone ??!! (ignoring technical issues for a second)
  • Reply 40 of 47
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wally View Post


    ...For a while, I thought that the FCC was bought out by Walmart... but I could be mistaken...



    No, Wallmart, Kmart and Target merged into one big entity and *then* bought out the FCC and the US Justice Deparment. Then most jobs were outsourced to India.



    Instead of your in-person greeter you get a video link-up with someone in India welcoming you to WallMart. Also to read you your rights via video link-up while you are held in the security room while they call the cops on you for shoplifting.



    After this, Microsoft bought out the whole US Congress. And then Apple, Inc. bought the Norwegian government.
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