Today, Sirius XM radio and Apple introduced a new iPhone and iPod Touch application that will bring the satellite radio service right to your mobile device. The app is available for immediate download via the iPhone App store or iTunes.
It looks like 120 channels are available for your listening pleasure, but that does not appear to include Howard 100 or Howard 101, two channels exclusively featuring the Howard Stern Show and other Howard-related content. I’m sure that will not be the case for long though, it took Sirius a little bit longer to make Howard available for listening through the internet due to the high demand of listeners.
Sirius/XM is offering a free 7-day trial of their service for users who download the app. Existing Sirius/XM users will need to upgrade their account to internet listening to use their iPhone or iPod, which is an additional $2.99 monthly. For those who wish to sign up for internet-only listening, it is $12.95 monthly.
What does this mean for terrestrial radio? Doom. But it was doomed already. Now, using only one device, I can listen to my entire music collection, internet radio stations and playlists, watch ,movies and TV shows and now listen to satellite radio and in the near future, Howard Stern. This app should also put a dent into satellite radio equipment sales. The devices were clunky and glitch-ridden anyway… now there’s no need to buy a separate receiver any longer. One-stop shopping… gotta love it!
Stay tuned for more information on the subject and a TMR Zoo official review of the app.
