The Sirius XM (SIRI) app is out, and is a very popular download. It ranks among the most frequently downloaded apps not only in the music category, but overall. The app was an instant success despite the absence of Howard Stern, but the popularity has slipped in recent days, falling behind apps such as Paper Toss and a pinball game titled Wild West.

So how can Sirius XM make the app more of a success? In my opinion, it should be made more interactive. This weekend I found myself listening to Boneyard (Sirius 19 and XM 53). Boneyard is doing a countdown of Rush songs. The countdown was formulated by fan emails regarding the popularity Rush songs. I learned of this by cross promotion on Classic Rewind, and found myself tuning into Boneyard to catch songs from what is one of my favorite bands. This got me thinking.

I have always felt that Sirius XM has not done enough to utilize its web presence. With the iPhone app, the company has an opportunity to make the service more interactive for consumers. Why not upgrade the existing app to include some features that allow subscribers to feel more a part of the service?

Last week Sirius XM (SIRI) finally launched an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app made big news in a couple of ways. First, the fact that Howard Stern was not available on the app was the major attention getter. The other newsworthy item is that despite Stern’s absence, the app has enjoyed a huge number of downloads, and quickly became one of the most popular apps to hit the market.

Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) announced yesterday morning that XM Satellite Radio Inc., a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of SIRIUS XM Radio, is offering of $350 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2013 to qualified institutional buyers. The move is designed to seek better terms on what was $350 million of XM bank debt that was originally due this past May.

The story of this debt is long and can be a bit confusing because of various activities since the merger. This offering has nothing to do with the Sirius XM debt that was taken on to complete the merger, but instead what was existing debt for XM. That $350 million was recently refinanced with Liberty Media’s John Malone taking on $100 million of it, and the balance of $250 million financed in traditional methods.

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.

Sirius XM Satellite Radio (SIRI) announced yesterday that the ever popular Toyota (TM) Camry will now offer satellite radio as a factory installed option. The news is noteworthy in that the Camry is the best selling car in America, but tempered by slow overall auto sales, and the fact that it will be standard only on Camrys with the premium audio package.

The program will begin with 2010 model year production, and XM anticipates that Toyota will have over 1,000,000 satellite equipped vehicles on the road by the end of 2009. In reading the press release, it may be easy for people to jump to a conclusion that Toyota will have 1,000,000 installations this year. This does not seem to be the case at all. While Toyota has been involved with SDARS for a couple of years now, the penetration rate has been quite low. On the positive side, the fact that Toyota is ramping up with the Camry bodes well for the future of the OEM channel, as other manufacturers will need to follow suit to compete with what has become a very popular model line.

Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce issued a report Friday in which he maintained his neutral position, but lowered long term share price expectations. Joyce is one of only a few analysts that are actively following Sirius XM Radio.

Joyce cited that Sirius XM missed its expectations on revenue but that this was balanced off by better than expected cost cutting. Joyce previously had a short term price target of $0.50 and a long term target of $1.25.

Its been 11 months since the Apple (AAPL) iPhone App Store opened its doors and over a billion downloads later, there is still no sign of an official Sirius XM iPhone application. I should probably mention that the guys at Sirius XM (SIRI) have been saying that we should expect one “soon” which has fans everywhere asking the question… what the heck is taking so long?

As if things weren’t hard enough for fans of the Satellite Radio giant Sirius XM, they were dealt another blow when free internet radio specialists Pandora came through with a new application for the recently released Palm Pre. How is it that companies like Pandora, who by the way, had the most downloaded iPhone application of the entire year, can manage to turn out new applications in a matter of days while Sirius XM fans have had to endlessly wait?

In the wake of the GM bankruptcy, investors in satellite radio suddenly have become concerned about what impact will befall Sirius XM (SIRI). Analysts such as Scott Moritz of TheStreet.com say that this “can’t be good”. In a video Moritz spoke briefly about the situation, but seems to have only highlighted one side of the story. I submit that the news is a mixed bag, and that both short and long term impacts need to be considered.

Moritz looked at the impact from a “subscriber numbers” standpoint, saying, “They are already going to lose 1.6 million subscribers this year, and that was before the GM bankruptcy announcement.”

We often hear passionate satellite radio investors and fans clamoring for 100% auto installation penetration. On it’s face it may seem like a great idea, but the reality of the OEM picture is different, and Sirius XM (SIRI) demonstrated that Wednesday at their annual meeting.

As Sirius XM (SIRI) held its annual meeting of shareholders yesterday, their biggest OEM partner, GM, could well have been getting ready to file for bankruptcy. For the overall sentiment of the economy, the GM news is hardly good. Consumer confidence has been on a virtual see-saw, and a GM bankruptcy has wide reaching implications. The question for Sirius XM shareholders is what impact a GM bankruptcy will have.

Sirius XM has already absorbed the news that Chrysler’s woes will carry a dramatic impact on the Q2 numbers. With their bankruptcy, Chrysler halted production of vehicles, and by extension, satellite radio installations.

Sirius XM (SIRI) Radio closed at 36 cents on Friday, and from a technical trading standpoint, it sits right in the middle of “no-man’s-land.” With the stock dipping into the 30s and the next support at 29 cents, technical traders are in the middle of a quandary, and the direction of the stock will determine how those traders react.

At this point the technical signs are a mixed bag. There are bullish signs, as well as bearish signs, and this is exactly the point in time where many technical traders employ a “WAIT” strategy. Options week always brings interesting behaviors in any stock, and this last week was no exception.

Throughout the Sirius (SIRI) and XM merger process, HD Radio was a hot topic of discussion. There were proposals brought forth that wanted to mandate that satellite radio would have to include HD technology in every radio sold. Thankfully, capitalistic thoughts won out the debate, and the success of HD Radio would not be hinged on being coupled with satellite radio.

I am always a fan of letting the quality of a product or service, and the marketplace be the judge of whether a business succeeds or fails. To that end, it was always my opinion that HD Radio needed to put together a quality product and market it themselves. To their credit, they forged an early relationship with Ford (F), but momentum behind that relationship seemed lacking.

The headlines came out yesterday, but the news was not unexpected. The troubles at Chrysler and GM have been known for quite some time, and dealership closings were inevitable. The impact of these closings will be wide reaching both economically, as well as in the psychology of the consumer.

Consumers sometimes become as loyal to a dealership as they do to a car brand. A good dealer gets repeat sale after repeat sale. If that dealership offers good service, they get continued business. In the near future it is possible that 789 Chrysler dealerships will close if the court approves. From the GM standpoint, it has already been announced that 1,100 dealerships will close. If these dealerships close, consumers will find themselves shopping, and perhaps will shift to other brands.

For those that have followed satellite radio for a long time, Apple (AAPL) has always been seen as a brass ring of sorts. Over the years many investors were clamoring for a deal with Apple that never came to fruition. It just seemed right and natural to combine the live aspect of satellite radio with the features of the iPod and iTunes. iPods lacked a music discovery aspect that satellite could deliver. Perhaps the fact that a deal was never done was for the best. Apple would have demanded their pound of flesh in terms of revenue share, and either Sirius (SIRI) or XM, competing staunchly for an advantage, would have been forced to whittle away yet again at the bottom line.

Today is a different day. We now have Sirius and XM merged, and the iPod has graduated to the iPhone. No longer will iPods need to have satellite radio chipsets installed at a cost to Sirius XM. Instead, the service can be delivered over the Internet and directly to iPhone and iTouches.

In their quarterly call Scott Greenstein hinted that the application would feature the ability to stream more than just the Internet feed, but also stream additional channels for talk, sports, and news. Greenstein’s comment likely was overshadowed by the fact that the company actually announced that the long awaited application would actually be delivered in Q2.

Ford (F) and GM (GM) have been synonymous with rivalry for decades. Ford vs. Chevy in Nascar, Monster Trucks, and even with window decals decorating the back windows of trucks. “Ford Tough” seems to have won out recent as Chevy’s “Like a Rock” has been crumbling.

Ford has stood tall in a time when nearly every manufacturer is seeking bailouts. Even Toyota (TM) had at one point sought aid from the government of Japan. Of the big three U.S. auto makers, Ford has been the only company that has not accepted government bailout money.

RBC analyst David Bank has offered his opinion on Sirius XM Radio’s (SIRI) first quarter results. The analyst sees a mixed bag and is suspending his price target, but maintains a SECTOR PERFORM rating.

According to Bank, “Sirius XM is on the right track, but the valuation is still fair, and OEM hurdles are brutal.” He sees demonstration that Sirius XM is delivering on the promise of post-merger expense savings, but given valuations of other media companies, "SIRI is just too expensive, even in the context of potential growth.” Adding to that point, Bank points out that weak auto trends will likely persist for a while and he has questions regarding the long-term growth in the retail channel.

It was no surprise to learn that Sirius XM Radio's (SIRI) advertising revenue dropped in the first quarter. The drop was anticipated by many and reflective of the cash-strapped nature many companies are facing with their advertising budgets. A 20% drop in ad revenue is never a good thing, but news today can give investors some solace in knowing that Sirius XM is not alone.

Clear Channel (CCO) revenue dropped 22% and Cox Radio (CXR) saw a decline of 23%. What this means is that the problem of ad revenue is not only dropping across the board, but it is happening in a very balanced manner. The theme is common, and the actions by the respective companies are also common. Work hard to cut costs.

Dish Network (DISH) lost subscribers and the stock price appreciated by 20%. Sirius XM (SIRI) lost subscribers and the stock price plummeted by a like number. In fairness, Dish posted a better than expected profit (that was crystal clear) as well. Sirius XM, with the exception of one time costs on the Liberty (LCAPA) deal, would have posted a better than expected loss. The difference between what happened to Dish and what happened to Sirius XM rests in expectations and the fact that Dish is making a profit. Is Sirius on a road that is similar to Dish? Only time will tell.

There are perhaps some lessons in the Dish earnings report for everyone. First and foremost was the expectation level. With Dish, although subs were lost, the expectation was that the loss would be greater. With Sirius XM, most expected a subscriber decline, but with very few exceptions, most were expecting the number of de-activations to be smaller than it actually was. Perhaps, given the variables in how subscribers are counted at Sirius XM, there will always be confusion, and that confusion will always breed an uncertainty in the confidence of investors in the subscriber numbers.