You have waited patiently for 11 long months, been forced to read countless articles about its release, and even watched a home grown Sirius XM app that was ready to go 5 months ago get squashed like a bug but, all of that is over now… the official Sirius XM (SIRI) iPhone application is actually available today, for the first time, via the iPhone App Store.
At first glance there is a lot we can learn from the new SiriusXM.com iPhone information page, most importantly that they are offering a free 7 day trial for all new listeners and that the application itself is FREE, something we all knew would be important from the get go. That being said, there are quite a few things that I don’t think a lot of people were necessarily expecting.
The first thing that should jump out at readers is that the new iPhone application is only available in the United States. One would have to assume that this is because of royalty fees and regulations at this point, similar to those that have plagued the international availability of other Internet streaming radio but, it is disappointing to those people outside of the country who have been so eagerly awaiting the release.
The most shocking thing about the new iPhone app may not be the 120 available channels but instead, the channels which are NOT available. The list astonishingly includes MLB® Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR® Radio, and Howard Stern! How could the person who Sirius XM cites as being responsible for bringing in more subscriptions than anyone else not be part of this application? As we sit and wait for more news, this is certainly something that will have both investors and subscribers alike scratching their heads in disbelief.
Update: The reviews are already coming into the iPhone app dedicated to Sirius XM on iTunes and it has not gone without notice that Howard Stern is not available. They are, shall we say, less than pleased.
For more information readers can visit siriusxm.com which has apparently, for the time being, been transformed into a stand alone promotional website for the iPhone application
Disclosure: Long SIRI
