If you’re a fan of music, then you should be a fan of satellite radio. That’s because it offers over 140 sports, talk and music stations, most of which are commercial free. Currently, the big leader in the market is SiriusXM, the combo pack made up of both Sirius and XM Radio. It used to be that to enjoy their offerings you needed a special receiver connected to a branded radio at your home or in your car, but now all you need is your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Now you might be thinking, “I remember the Sirius app coming out a long time ago. Why should I get excited about it this time around?” Well, the app has been refreshed but more importantly, so has the content. So what makes it so special? Hit the jump and we’ll work it out.
How It Works
First, let’s get this out of the way. SiriusXM is a paid subscription service. To make this app work, you have to pay a minimum of $12.95 a month for the SiriusXM Internet Radio package. If you want to add additional radios or add in a subscription for your car, you step up to a different plan. Because Sirius and XM used to be two different companies, the programming options can be a bit awkward at times, so make sure you look at their channel lineups before you pick a plan. They also have a 30 day free trial as well as a 7-day trial for the iPhone, so if you’re on the fence about joining the network, give that a shot first.
After a quick load, choose your music or talk category.
What’s On
When the app first came out, complaints came pouring in because it didn’t include all of the available stations for each subscriber, namely Howard Stern. But with Stern’s new contract came a new deal, and now both Howard 100 and Howard 101 are available on the SiriusXM app.
If you’re not a Howard fan (and let’s face it, he’s not for everyone), there are still plenty of options. Between Sirius and XM, all of the major sports are covered, and then there are other talk draws such as Oprah, Opie and Anthony, Martha Stewart, and Rosie O’Donnell. That’s not counting the music either, which is always commercial free — a pleasant change from most terrestrial radio stations!
View info for each show by touching the icon.
How The App Works
Once you’ve signed in for the first time with your username and password (or signed up for a free trial), a list of categories shows up on the screen. Flicking down the screen shows you each of the many options you have to choose from. Touch one of the categories and you’re presented with a list of stations for that segment. One more touch gets the station fired up and running, playing right away.
Touch the album cover and get more info about the station.
The logo for each station and an “i” icon are displayed on the top of the screen, and if you’re in the Home view, you get an image of the album cover for the currently playing song. If you like the song you can purchase it via iTunes or tag it and add it to your shopping cart, all from that fancy i icon.
Is It Worth It?
This is a subscription service, so this decision becomes more about whether or not you want to add another bill to your pile or not. If you’re already a subscriber, then downloading this app is a given. Because it streams over 3G, you could use it to replace your car stereo as well, assuming you have some kind of iPhone adapter for your deck. If you are streaming via 3G though, be wary: This app does suck up some data, and if left unchecked, you could certainly surpass your limits with AT&T or Verizon, depending on your current data plan.
Add stations to your favorites list easily.
The only real complaint that I have is that the app times out after a predesignated period, so if you have it plugged into a home stereo (as I often do) and you’re not nearby, the music will just shut off until you acknowledge that you still want the music to play. This is to decrease data usage I’m sure, but I wish there was a setting to turn that off.
In my case, I already was a Sirius subscriber, so I got the app right when it came out. Without Stern though, it really wasn’t worth a second look so it sat on my iPhone, buried in a folder somewhere. Now though, I can use it when I’m working in the garage, driving down the road or just if I’m in the house.
The app gave me the ability to drop down my Sirius plan a notch too, because I didn’t need all of the radios I was using anymore. It saved me money, and I got added value as well. For me, this app really is the icing on the cake, but I’m admittedly a big fan of the service. If you’re a music buff, give the app and SiriusXM a shot. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new favorite app like I did.