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http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050826_183033.html
Sirius to release wearable pod device for recorded satellite radio
By Humphrey Cheung
August 26, 2005 - 18:30 EST
New York (NY) - Beginning this October, Sirius radio subscribers will have a new toy to play with. The new and very small (compared to previous players) S50 portable music receiver and player will be able to record and serve up content on the go, hanging nicely by a chain or in one's jeans pocket, perhaps in a location one's iPod would normally be placed.
For the S50 to receive satellite signals from Sirius, it must be connected to either a car or home docking station. Measuring 1.9 in. by 3.9 in. by .7 in. thick, the S50 is small enough to be worn. Consumers can record into the unit's on-board flash memory, and play back those recordings in an iPod-like fashion, through a full-color display.
Will satellite receivers with new record-and-playback capabilities start encroaching on MP3's territory, currently dominated by Apple's iPod? Wang believes not, saying "there is some overlap of MP3 users and satellite radio users, but I suspect that the interest is not very high -- perhaps 20%."
Users of current MP3 players like the convenience of picking their own songs and being able to play them back anywhere, Wang explained. With S50's reliance upon its docking station to receive programs, and with customers having to rely on a schedule for their particular song or show to be broadcast, he pointed out, the convenience level is not the same. "With music players, consumers like to be in the driver seat," said Wang.
Sirius has been fighting an uphill battle against XM Satellite Radio, the other major satellite radio provider for the US market. Most notably, XM has more than double Sirius' subscribers, (4 million versus 1.8 million). It seems that XM stays one step ahead of Sirius with content deals and hardware strategies. Just after Sirius signed Infinity Broadcasting star Howard Stern to a five-year, $500 million dollar deal, XM fired back with an 11-year, $650 million deal with Major League Baseball. In addition, XM has had its own portable players -- capable of receiving satellite radio without docking stations, including the pocket and wearable varieties -- for several months.
The S50 package, including the docking station, will premiere in October for an MSRP of $359.99. An additional home docking station sells for $99.99. Sirius' monthly subscription fee -- as well as XM's -- is $12.95.
Sirius to release wearable pod device for recorded satellite radio
By Humphrey Cheung
August 26, 2005 - 18:30 EST
New York (NY) - Beginning this October, Sirius radio subscribers will have a new toy to play with. The new and very small (compared to previous players) S50 portable music receiver and player will be able to record and serve up content on the go, hanging nicely by a chain or in one's jeans pocket, perhaps in a location one's iPod would normally be placed.
For the S50 to receive satellite signals from Sirius, it must be connected to either a car or home docking station. Measuring 1.9 in. by 3.9 in. by .7 in. thick, the S50 is small enough to be worn. Consumers can record into the unit's on-board flash memory, and play back those recordings in an iPod-like fashion, through a full-color display.
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Harry Wang, research analyst at Parks Associates, is less than impressed with the S50, calling it too expensive and with less functionality than its competition. "At $360, plus an extra $100 for the (home) docking station this is too expensive," Wang told Tom's Hardware Guide. I doubt this is a positive move for Sirius."
Will satellite receivers with new record-and-playback capabilities start encroaching on MP3's territory, currently dominated by Apple's iPod? Wang believes not, saying "there is some overlap of MP3 users and satellite radio users, but I suspect that the interest is not very high -- perhaps 20%."
Users of current MP3 players like the convenience of picking their own songs and being able to play them back anywhere, Wang explained. With S50's reliance upon its docking station to receive programs, and with customers having to rely on a schedule for their particular song or show to be broadcast, he pointed out, the convenience level is not the same. "With music players, consumers like to be in the driver seat," said Wang.
Sirius has been fighting an uphill battle against XM Satellite Radio, the other major satellite radio provider for the US market. Most notably, XM has more than double Sirius' subscribers, (4 million versus 1.8 million). It seems that XM stays one step ahead of Sirius with content deals and hardware strategies. Just after Sirius signed Infinity Broadcasting star Howard Stern to a five-year, $500 million dollar deal, XM fired back with an 11-year, $650 million deal with Major League Baseball. In addition, XM has had its own portable players -- capable of receiving satellite radio without docking stations, including the pocket and wearable varieties -- for several months.
The S50 package, including the docking station, will premiere in October for an MSRP of $359.99. An additional home docking station sells for $99.99. Sirius' monthly subscription fee -- as well as XM's -- is $12.95.