Sirius XM Impresses on Blackberry

With all of the news making the rounds on a satellite radio application for the iPhone and Macs, I thought it would be appropriate for me to revisit a service that was made available by XM and Blackberry prior to the merger. Another item that compelled me to explore the service was the introduction of the Blackberry Storm, the first touch screen Blackberry.

As with many people, I am a Blackberry fan. I have seen and used the iPhone, but simply have not been compelled to make the switch. Thus, the ability to get satellite radio programming over my Blackberry was an interesting concept.

The XM for Blackberry service uses some of the best of the merged channel line-up offered by Sirius XM (SIRI) in an easy-to-navigate menu. Subscribers can listen to channels ranging from Hip Hop to Country, Rock to Jazz and more. It’s not just music either. The service also delivers Raw Dog Comedy and The Virus which is home to Opie & Anthony.

I have been using the service for about a month now, and can say that I am impressed with the offering. Catching satellite radio over the cell phone is a cool concept that will only improve as time passes. I find myself using the service in areas where I typically would not, and it came in handy when I wanted to catch the end of an Opie & Anthony segment after parking my car. I simply tuned in on the cell, continued to listen, and went on my way. Over time, the potential for new channels such as Sirius Stars, Sirius Stars 2, and Howard Stern needs to be considered, but at this point, the 20 channels being offered are a good cross section of popular channels that the majority of subscribers would have as presets anyway.

The XM for Blackberry service costs just $7.99 per month, and for the satellite radio addict, it is a great solution. You can even test drive the service for FREE (which I would recommend to any Blackberry user) for 14 days by visiting www.xmradio.com/bb. One caution is that you should understand your cell carriers' data plan prior to using the service. As a user of T-Mobile, I have unlimited data, thus the usage does not rack up additional charges.

Position - Long Sirius XM

Comments

[asm610:]

Thanks Tyler for this article. I only wish they did a better job of informing users of this equipment about the capabilities. These are the areas that need to be explored and exploited for future growth and stability. I'd like to see some more partnerships develop.....maybe with Microsoft and the Zune player......or something along those lines. The ties to the Auto industry are the bread and butter.....but they need to leverage capabilities by branching out into other mobile and easily portable devices besides their own specific SatRad equipment. Just my humble opinion.

Jan 06 09:08 AM

[fillossofer:]

I tried downloading to my BlackBerry Storm and the service is not supported.

Jan 06 09:45 AM

[Mr. Cynical:]

I have t mobile and was recently shopping for a smartphone. Had I known they offered this service, maybe I would've gotten a blackberry instead of the G1.

Jan 06 12:46 PM

[DBM LA:]

I am a Sirius subscriber and a T-Mobile Blackberry user, and I was completely unaware of this service. I understand that they might not want to spend media advertising dollars promoting this service, but as a customer of Sirius/T-Mobile/Blackb... you'd think I would get an email from one or more of these companies letting me know about this.

I am a marketing professional. Maybe I should contact Sirius about a job. it seems they truly need some marketing help!

Jan 06 01:14 PM

[asm610:]

Cynical,

That is one of the really maddening things about this company! They don't give the customer or the potential customer any easily accessible info ....and very little advertising mass media wise (TV, etc.)

Jan 06 01:19 PM

[asm610:]

DBM,

As a shareholder, an XM lifetime subscriber myself....as well as an AT&T Blackberry user, I hope you do contact them....because their marketing Dept. is not getting the job done!

Jan 06 01:38 PM

[yomann:]

Is this leftover marketing from the XM side, that will be capitalized on know that the company is officially combined?

Jan 06 01:49 PM

[Ishortyou:]

lol the management of Sirious XM have the solution to their suscription problems right in front of their noses i.e. cell phones and dont even take proper advantage of it, what a bunch of loosers!

Jan 06 01:56 PM

[jswede:]

so SIRI is now offering their content without the use of those expensive satellites that got them deep into debt..?

hhmmmm, I wonder if anyone else is providing content along those same lines -- phone networks, wifi, wimax etc....

yup - sure enough - 50,000+ internet and terrestrial radio stations from across the globe are available for free on the internet and on the iPhone for example, perhaps on the blackberry and other phones as well... not to mention Pandora and last.fm.

and look - it seems I can also get local sports stations providing coverage of any team I can think of... for free. maybe SIRI's expensive professional sports league contracts weren't such a good idea...

maybe thinking that satellite was going to be the only mode of transmitting content wasn't such a good idea either... hhmmmm...

Jan 06 05:10 PM

[yomann:]

not the only mode, just the best right now.

Jan 06 05:15 PM

[asm610:]

jswede,
No other media has the lineup or content that SIRI/XM does.....and yes they are still using those expensive satellites,satellites which by the way offer them more content capacity/capability and less restrictions.

Jan 06 05:35 PM

[jswede:]

it's working really well for them

Jan 06 05:42 PM

[jswede:]

asm, point is that SIRI is running out of die-hards such as yourself -- you HAVE to have this "more content capacity/capability", you HAVE to have the line-ups they have and whichever shows you listen to. but there's not a whole lot of folks like you out there, who don't already have their subscription... having internet radio available anywhere for free will further reduce that group on the fence, which is small to begin with.

and yea, yomann, it's the best right now, I agree. not for long... real competitors with clean balance sheets coming soon...

Jan 06 05:54 PM

[asm610:]

jswede,

THE TRUTH is that they have BARELY scratched the surface of the possibilities. They have not begun to even remotely market aggressively or to the younger crowd. I want to see what competitors you are talking about.....because bandwidth limits the internet for content much more than you seem to think. We shall see

Jan 06 06:26 PM

[Seller:]

I work in a Lincoln/Mercury dealership and see new Sirius customers on a daily basis renew their complimentary six month subscription that comes with every new Ford/Lincoln/Mercury. People that I never would have imagined as possible customers are renewing daily. It just goes to show, given a taste of Sirius/XM content, people crave it just like cable or satellite television.

Jan 06 10:31 PM

[I'm Not Jim...:]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For how many months now have I been saying the future of "satellite radio" does not lie on a satellite. If sirius survives at all, it will be as a content provider over other delivery systems, not as an archaic space shuttle and eight track like, obsolete form of delivery.

Jan 06 10:53 PM

[I'm Not Jim...:]

asm: The only content that sirius has that is in anyway exclusive are the major league sports. The audience for Howard, Opie etc. among young listeners is virtually non-existent. The music is available in limitless quantities and varieties. I have three teenagers. If I turn on anything in the car that in anyway smacks of talk or "comedy" they yell at me to put music on.

jswede. Major league sports won't be on sat rad one day past the point that they can reliably transmit from their own websites and eliminate the middle man.

Jan 06 11:02 PM

[asm610:]

I'm not Jim,

The same thing you condemn them for is the same thing that will play into their hands....Howard is on the downside but still viable, O&A ...same thing, eventually the new flavor of the younger folks choosing will surface and get on board the SIRIUS train....

As to the exclusivity of the sports on SIRI/XM...I wouldn't bet against them staying on SIRI/XM....it takes alot of excess overhead to build entirely new infrastructure for each of the Major Sports entities to do their own broadcasts eroding their bottom line further....much easier for them to farm it out to Siri and just collect pure profits.

Jan 07 11:56 AM

[jenny:]

You mentioned the Storm piqued you interest about this, yet I'm literally looking at my Storm browser right now and its saying this feature isnt compatible with the phone. Anyway, I do think this is a great idea as I often find myself frustrated carrying my iPod and phone around. It's unfortunate SIRI hasn't' made marketed this feature more. I feel a lot of BB users would be interested. This sort of venture into mobile SatRad may be the future for SIRI. They've got to hit a bottom at some point and I was checking their sentiment (www.predictwallstreet....) and notice that it has become extremely bullish after a few days of bearishness so hopefully this is a good sign.

Jan 07 02:46 PM

[BigVinnie:]

FYI Tyler,

The XM service is offered through at&t. Not only is it offered on the BlackBerry, I as well get this service on my Samsung Black Jack 2. It's only a matter of time befor ethis as well becomes a package for the Iphone 3g.

Jan 07 05:51 PM