uSirius StarPlayr - Sirius XM on iPhone

[JonHimself]

If Howard Stern didn't require an outrageous contract for constantly taking vacation (he never works on Fridays and constantly takes off for weeks at a time), things might be better for Sirius XM and this bankruptcy scare might never have happened.

I believe you to be an O&A fan, whereas I am a Howard Stern fan. I live in Canada so I've never heard O&A and have no opinion of them and basically missed the radio war that the two have had (are having?). I don't mean to stoke those flames so please don't think that I'm saying this as a blind Howard devotee or as an attack on O&A. I think that having a crew of talk guys (Howard, Bubba - who I dislike, Ron & Fez, O&A, Jason Ellis, whoever else hosts talk shows) is a good thing for the company... IF they bring in listeners. It's my understanding that Howard is responsible for bringing in enough listeners to offset his (shows) contract, I suppose I could be wrong, but I would imagine that if he left, a lot of subscribers would also be lost. (As I'm sure is the case with any personality that has a BIG following).

I think your problem (and our problem, as subscribers to a company that I assume we both want to succeed) should be directed at deals with Oprah or other individuals who were signed just as a name that don't really provide content, or perhaps even the deals signed with NFL, MLB, etc that were signed at a higher value than they should have been because each company was competing to get the exlusive rights... if there was only one company the deals they signed would likely have been less. As much as it's easy to point to 500 million spent on one show, I think that you can make the argument that that contract isn't what's caused this bankruptcy/financial struggle.

[Zman3001]

I believe you to be an O&A fan, whereas I am a Howard Stern fan. I live in Canada so I've never heard O&A and have no opinion of them and basically missed the radio war that the two have had (are having?). I don't mean to stoke those flames so please don't think that I'm saying this as a blind Howard devotee or as an attack on O&A. I think that having a crew of talk guys (Howard, Bubba - who I dislike, Ron & Fez, O&A, Jason Ellis, whoever else hosts talk shows) is a good thing for the company... IF they bring in listeners. It's my understanding that Howard is responsible for bringing in enough listeners to offset his (shows) contract, I suppose I could be wrong, but I would imagine that if he left, a lot of subscribers would also be lost. (As I'm sure is the case with any personality that has a BIG following).

I think your problem (and our problem, as subscribers to a company that I assume we both want to succeed) should be directed at deals with Oprah or other individuals who were signed just as a name that don't really provide content, or perhaps even the deals signed with NFL, MLB, etc that were signed at a higher value than they should have been because each company was competing to get the exlusive rights... if there was only one company the deals they signed would likely have been less. As much as it's easy to point to 500 million spent on one show, I think that you can make the argument that that contract isn't what's caused this bankruptcy/financial struggle.

I think he should have to really earn that big contract, as in work Fridays, and take less vacation. Otherwise, his contract should be renegotiated to reflect the amount of vacation time he takes to save the company some money. He did leave a lot of his fans in the dark back in terrestrial, and now that O&A took his terrestrial spot as a simulcast for their XM show, they picked up a lot of his former fans who did not feel like paying for sat rad.

As for the sports, I love listening to baseball game and hockey games through XM. I'm not sure if I would listen to football games on the radio as i'm usually at home to watch them. Basketball is just out of the question for me. But yes, a part of the reason I am an XM subscriber is for NHL and MLB. The rest is for commercial free and interruption free music as well as O&A. (The radio war stemmed from the terrestrial days of both shows, as Howard had a problem with O&A mentioning him on the air. They worked for the same company, but Mel Karmazin basically only took Howards side. It was pretty immature on Howards part).

[DEAN616]

Not sure if this has been asked but are we going to be able to multitask with this app. Meaning like the iPod can we still hear the audio after we back out of the app and go into something like safari or mail or the home screen etc.

[Wintrmte]

Any updates on the release?? :(

[bbotte]

Not sure if this has been asked but are we going to be able to multitask with this app. Meaning like the iPod can we still hear the audio after we back out of the app and go into something like safari or mail or the home screen etc.

Good question, I hope so.

[Rob Mclovin]

Good question, I hope so.

No, its just like any other app, wont be able to run in the background.

[marty084]

I think he should have to really earn that big contract, as in work Fridays, and take less vacation. Otherwise, his contract should be renegotiated to reflect the amount of vacation time he takes to save the company some money. He did leave a lot of his fans in the dark back in terrestrial, and now that O&A took his terrestrial spot as a simulcast for their XM show, they picked up a lot of his former fans who did not feel like paying for sat rad.

As for the sports, I love listening to baseball game and hockey games through XM. I'm not sure if I would listen to football games on the radio as i'm usually at home to watch them. Basketball is just out of the question for me. But yes, a part of the reason I am an XM subscriber is for NHL and MLB. The rest is for commercial free and interruption free music as well as O&A. (The radio war stemmed from the terrestrial days of both shows, as Howard had a problem with O&A mentioning him on the air. They worked for the same company, but Mel Karmazin basically only took Howards side. It was pretty immature on Howards part).

I’m not sure your reasoning behind Sterns contract. A little over 2 years ago Stern negotiated a contract that included his Vacation days and his Mon-Thurs schedule. It’s not like he signed a contract and decided not to work these days. I work Mon-Fri; I don’t work for free on the weekends because it would be better for my company to have free employment. Also when Howard signed, Sirius had 200,000 subscribers and was dead in the water waiting to be bought by XM, within the 1st year of his Sirius life he paid for his entire 5 year deal with new subscribers. And in the process SAVED Sirius from bankruptcy and being bought by XM. If XM could turn back the clock they would have paid Howard more (As they tried REALLY hard to acquire his services) and would have shut the door on Sirius once and for all. The fact that there was even a merger and a 8 Million subscriber increase in 2 short years shows the effect Howard has had on this type of medium. Also a big portion of his contract was stock in the company that has plummeted 95% since, so I’m sure he feels he’s taken a huge pay cut that is undeserved as it is.

[xgman]

It's incredible how long apple takes to approve these apps. :rolleyes:

[joesegal76]

I think that it is evident that Apple will not be approving this app any time soon for one reason or another. If you have been watching the app store there have been numerous new applications that have been place into the app store only to have updates, sometimes multiple, come out for the app 2-3 times that week. Not sure why they would be so hesitant to release it, but I am fully convinced that if this was a different kind of application it would have been approved already, something is not right here.

I have to agree with you... I would have to assume that SiriusXM has to endorse a product like this for it to be approved, I can't see them allowing a third party to make 12.99 a pop without any affiliation with the actual company. As far as I know, every other SiriusXM "player" introduced out there has been made available for free and without any authorizations required, but this is different. Apple looks at different angles before putting things through to the public, and I'm sure they have looked at licensing from Sirius so they do not get sued.

[JonHimself]

I have to agree with you... I would have to assume that SiriusXM has to endorse a product like this for it to be approved, I can't see them allowing a third party to make 12.99 a pop without any affiliation with the actual company. As far as I know, every other SiriusXM "player" introduced out there has been made available for free and without any authorizations required, but this is different. Apple looks at different angles before putting things through to the public, and I'm sure they have looked at licensing from Sirius so they do not get sued.

I've got to agree. There's got to be some kind of technicality that would create problems... and if SiriusXM were truly concerned, they could adapt their web-site to be iPhone friendly and make this app almost insignificant (or even if they were to make their own app).

[volntitan]

Any word from you "insiders"?

[bitslap47]

Any word from you "insiders"?

Still rolling along in the :apple: approval process :D

[MrSoprano]

Damn stop posting in this thread unless it's out already. Everytime I see this thread at the top I get my hopes up that it's out. ;)

Anyway, I don't expect this app to be released until after we have to start paying for Sirius/XM Online service. Apple is probably considering all the complaints they would get once people can't use this app unless they pay an extra monthly fee......

[volntitan]

I already am paying an extra $2.99 a month for Internet premium service. Will monthly fee go up?

[p8ntballguy]

I've got to agree. There's got to be some kind of technicality that would create problems... and if SiriusXM were truly concerned, they could adapt their web-site to be iPhone friendly and make this app almost insignificant (or even if they were to make their own app).

If i remember correctly, sirius is getting a cut, and is the reason the price is so high. It could take up to the 29th to come out and still be considered in the normal release/review period. 2-4 weeks.

[MaxPower49]

I already am paying an extra $2.99 a month for Internet premium service. Will monthly fee go up?

no, i don't think so

[verks]

no, i don't think so

The fee is the same but people who get it for free now as it's been included as part of the regular service have to pay now if they choose to keep it. They are upgrading the stream to 128 bit and eliminating the lower bit stream and forcing you to pay. This begins March 1 I believe.

[Goodeye]

March 11th.

If you log into sirius's own player online they put a pop up that gives this date.

[pieomy]

The fee is the same but people who get it for free now as it's been included as part of the regular service have to pay now if they choose to keep it. They are upgrading the stream to 128 bit and eliminating the lower bit stream and forcing you to pay. This begins March 1 I believe.

Really, theyre forcing me to pay, last time I checked no one put there hand in my pocket for money but me....lol, gotta love when people throw at the "force you to buy' or 'make you pay', no on has a gun to your head!

[Goodeye]

I think he meant it as they are forcing you to now pay for internet if you want to still use it.

Alot of us singed up as this was a HUGE plus that the online listening was free. Allowed alot of people like myself to listen while at work and at home etc.

And for alot of people is a BIG plus in the fact they are paying for radio when they could get it free use ipods etc..... But that's another debate for another time.

[Trackmonkey]

Latest status

http://www.nicemac.com/

[MaxPower49]

That sucks, but I had a feeling that might happen. Since Sirius is going to 128k streams for all music stations, do you think AT&T thought this would be too much traffic for the 3G networks?

As fans, we are committed to continuing to work with all parties involved as necessary in any capacity required to see this product to market. It is our goal, as it has always been, to release this application at as low of a price point as possible, if not free of charge.

I wonder what this means? Did Apple have an issue with the price they wanted to charge for the app?


Maybe they'll release it for jailbroken ipods... Sounds like they are going to keep fighting though.

[DotComCTO]

Yeah. The news from the Nicemac/Geekstoolbox/uSirius team is incredibly upsetting - especially given that the team ran tests of the 128K stream over EDGE with no issue.

I'm hoping they will tell the community-at-large what we can do to help move this forward.

:mad:

--DotComCTO

[MM07]

I think they'll have to wait to see how everything shakes out after March 11. Not having free online listening sucks and this app relying on that was important.

Being a Beta tester of this app I am disappointed. It works great and I have a first gen iPhone.

Now we'll just have to wait.

[FearlessFreep]

Sadly, this app will never be approved.

[BryanLyle]

So, let me get this straight. Somebody sat there and approved iFart and the 100 other iFart "like" applications, but decided to turn down an application that actually made sense?

This is why I have no desire to spend time on an iPhone app that could ultimately get rejected.

Is this app available for jailbroken phones / touches?

[aandf1978]

So, let me get this straight. Somebody sat there and approved iFart and the 100 other iFart "like" applications, but decided to turn down an application that actually made sense?

This is why I have no desire to spend time on an iPhone app that could ultimately get rejected.

Is this app available for jailbroken phones / touches?

Just another reason why this whole App Store has been an utter and complete let-down and failure on Apple's part. We have loads of fart apps, apps that let you make boobs in a pic jiggle, and so on available to us in the App Store. When Apple first informed us of the App Store and what it would do for us, my imagination ran wild on what the world's most sophisticated and elite phone would allow us to do, and all of those anticipations have been crushed. I really had high hopes that an elite name and company such as Apple would not lower their standards to allow such apps into the App Store and keep out useful qualtiy apps such as this one from entering the App Store. Oh well there is always the Slacker Radio App for now!!!!

[Superman07]

How can applications like iHeart and Pandora be granted access and something like this be rejected?

[bbotte]

How can applications like iHeart and Pandora be granted access and something like this be rejected?

If it's not released by March 11th, it will never come out and there will be 1 more jailbroken iPhone out there.

[MaxPower49]

If it's not released by March 11th, it will never come out and there will be 1 more jailbroken iPhone out there.

This app isn't available for jailbroken phones either.

[volntitan]

This really blows.

[Wintrmte]

What a disappointment. I was REALLY looking forward to this application. It saddens me that Apple would reject this app, yet approve other useless applications that cost money.

Is the App store the only way they can distribute this application? Presumably, they were able to distrubute the app to beta testers through some method, why not use that method to turn a profit on the app and circumvent the app store?

I'm not all that familiar with the development process for iPhone apps, so my question might be a dumb one.

[bbotte]

This app isn't available for jailbroken phones either.

There will be one soon I bet if this thing is not released. If not, I'll just continue to listen to howard illegally on my iPhone. Frak the app store and apple.

[gowanis]

I never stream SiriusXM on my PC - I only listen in my car. If I had the iPhone app now, I would certainly take advantage of the deal before the March 10(?) deadline. With the app in limbo I won't bother. Then, a few weeks later Apple will approve the app and I'll be forced to pay the extra $2.99 a month. Its a conspiracy.

[bbotte]

The only acceptable answer I can think I will accept is:
"Sirius is upgrading servers and bandwidth to accommodate all the extra internet traffic to it's servers with the 128kb feed and iPhone users."

If this is it, just come out and say it.

[gadgetdad]

Crap, was hoping this was finally released. I guess the ducttape will have to stay on my iPhone and Inno. What a bunch of poo heads.

[Superman07]

The only acceptable answer I can think I will accept is:
"Sirius is upgrading servers and bandwidth to accommodate all the extra internet traffic to it's servers with the 128kb feed and iPhone users."

If this is it, just come out and say it.


Sorry, did you pull that quote from somewhere or is it your own speculation?

[JonHimself]

Sorry, did you pull that quote from somewhere or is it your own speculation?

My guess is speculation, as in, if that is the reason causing the delay (or I suppose IF there is ANY specific reason for causing the delay) then it'd be great if we could know.

[joesegal76]

I think it may have one of two reasons...
One, because only a 128kb stream will be available there may have been bandwidth issues.
Two, as I've said before, I seriously doubt SiriusXM would have allowed a third party who has no afiliation with the company to make a profit off of their subscriptions. I don't see how the developers thought they could get away with this.
I would not be surprised to see SiriusXM bring out an app of their own and get approved no problem.

[bbotte]

Sorry, did you pull that quote from somewhere or is it your own speculation?

It's the only logical reason I could see for the later release of the app. It's my own thought.

[Superman07]

I think it may have one of two reasons...
One, because only a 128kb stream will be available there may have been bandwidth issues.
Two, as I've said before, I seriously doubt SiriusXM would have allowed a third party who has no afiliation with the company to make a profit off of their subscriptions. I don't see how the developers thought they could get away with this.
I would not be surprised to see SiriusXM bring out an app of their own and get approved no problem.

I take it at face value - the developers have said numerous times that they were working through Sirius on this to make sure there weren't any issues.

[iphone529]

I think it may have one of two reasons...

Two, as I've said before, I seriously doubt SiriusXM would have allowed a third party who has no afiliation with the company to make a profit off of their subscriptions. I don't see how the developers thought they could get away with this.
I would not be surprised to see SiriusXM bring out an app of their own and get approved no problem.

I 100% agree with this comment. Siriusxm would never let another company make money on them, especially when they are doing so poorly. I do hope the usirius starplayr guys wise up and approach Siriusxm soon before they miss opportunity to sell their product.

[skippyrulz]

I 100% agree with this comment. Siriusxm would never let another company make money on them, especially when they are doing so poorly. I do hope the usirius starplayr guys wise up and approach Siriusxm soon before they miss opportunity to sell their product.

you guys saying that sirius/xm wouldn't allow this app to be sold and make a profit for another company are forgetting one thing: they already DO allow this app to be sold. for windows mobile at a price of $13. why would they let the company (nicemac, i guess?) to sell it for win mo, but NOT apple?

[JonHimself]

you guys saying that sirius/xm wouldn't allow this app to be sold and make a profit for another company are forgetting one thing: they already DO allow this app to be sold. for windows mobile at a price of $13. why would they let the company (nicemac, i guess?) to sell it for win mo, but NOT apple?

... because then we'd have nothing to complain about? haha I dunno, I think everyone is just anxious and is looking for any reason to explain it. Personally, this is the first app that I feel I 'need'. I've wanted other ones but had no problem waiting. Recently my work blocked sirius online and even more recently my Stiletto broke so unless I'm at home on my laptop I am without Sirius... of course I say 'need' in a relative way.

[skippyrulz]

... because then we'd have nothing to complain about? haha I dunno, I think everyone is just anxious and is looking for any reason to explain it. Personally, this is the first app that I feel I 'need'. I've wanted other ones but had no problem waiting. Recently my work blocked sirius online and even more recently my Stiletto broke so unless I'm at home on my laptop I am without Sirius... of course I say 'need' in a relative way.

oh, don't get me wrong... i want the app as much as everyone else. i just don't agree with all the conspiracy theory being thrown about here. lol. not that i know or would even hazard a guess as to why apple rejected it. but i doubt that apple and sirius are in cahoots either.

[JonHimself]

oh, don't get me wrong... i want the app as much as everyone else. i just don't agree with all the conspiracy theory being thrown about here. lol. not that i know or would even hazard a guess as to why apple rejected it. but i doubt that apple and sirius are in cahoots either.

Yeah me too. Some of the reasons mentioned here could pass as legit but others are a little too 'tin-foil-hat' type ideas.

[aidricksdad]

IT ALL GAY GAY GAY......I WANA LISTEN TO MY NFL RADIO.....WAAAA WAAA WAAAA... give me the app apple or i will......i will...i will do nothing....




(as aidricksdad walks away crying, a small boy in asia finally smiles when he hears of an app called ipoor for apple's iphone that simulates the effect of being rich, infact, so true to life that the small boy quits his job at the chicken leg factory to travel the world and cure disease. one day he will rule to world, in glorious fashion all from the 3.5" screen of the G.P.O.A.T.)

[junebug1]

These guys just need to release the app on Cydia and IF by some miracle it ever does get approved by Apple there are still MILLIONS of people out there without a Jailbroken iPhone that will buy it. This wait has been insanely long for nothing. Release the app already! If it works right and becomes popular and SiriusXM sees that this could be a way to get another million subscribers just listening on the iPhone than you better believe they will lean on Apple to approve it cause they OBVIOUSLY need the money badly.

[BryanLyle]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9530/4.7.0.75 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

In the words of the great Jim Norton. " a boooo "

[bigrobb]

this is an interesting article

http://siriusbuzz.com/sirius-xm-to-release-free-iphone-application.php

[MaxPower49]

methinks sirius-xm is coming out with their own app.

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/sirius-xm-teases-that-something-big-is-coming.html

[skippyrulz]

this is an interesting article

http://siriusbuzz.com/sirius-xm-to-release-free-iphone-application.php

i'd say that's interesting conjecture. there is absolutely no evidence that sirius xm is developing their own app. and if that WERE the case, why wouldn't they have blocked nicemac's release of the winmo edition of the app as well?

the author of that article is simply stating his conspiracy theory as fact. i could just as easily do the same.

OMG!!! apple won't approve this app because they're gonna buy sirius/xm!!! that way they corner the market on portable entertainment!! OHNOES!

see?

methinks sirius-xm is coming out with their own app.

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/sirius-xm-teases-that-something-big-is-coming.html

now that actually has some basis in fact. and is indeed interesting. if they were to offer an internet only sub in combination with an iphone app, i would be all up in that mess. heh.

[BryanLyle]

Well, I really hope this is the case. Something similar happened right before Amazon released their iPhone app. There was a kick butt application that was developed and submitted to the App store only to get rejected. Less than a week later, Amazon came out with their own app.

[drichards]

IT ALL GAY GAY GAY......I WANA LISTEN TO MY NFL RADIO.....WAAAA WAAA WAAAA... give me the app apple or i will......i will...i will do nothing....

Can't listen to games anyway, just the analysis channel. Can't say its a huge shocker that this was denied, Apple's app store has always been sketchy. Glad there's no limits on the BB from some RIM board for apps. Course, I haven't seen the RIM app store, but I'm not on VZW, and it probably sucks anyway...

I'm still holdin hope that StarPlayr drops for the BB soon. :)

[marty084]

Can't listen to games anyway, just the analysis channel. Can't say its a huge shocker that this was denied, Apple's app store has always been sketchy. Glad there's no limits on the BB from some RIM board for apps. Course, I haven't seen the RIM app store, but I'm not on VZW, and it probably sucks anyway...

I'm still holdin hope that StarPlayr drops for the BB soon. :)

While you might not be able to listen to ALL games, you can listen to many of them. They are spread out over a few channels that do broadcast over the internet. Ive listened to many of the games by looking up the channel they were being broadcasted on and checking online to see if that was one of the streaming channels. I say just release it for jailbroke phones and will pay just like the video recorder apps. The jailbreak process takes 30 sec and is used so often now anyways.

[pieomy]

Seems Sirius/XM is making their own according to orbitcast.

Perhaps like others have stated, theyre delaying Starplyr until this free one can hit the market.
Let hope the UI is as nice as those at Nicemac

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/official-sirius-xm-iphone-app-now-in-beta-source.html

[SwingOnThis]

Seems Sirius/XM is making their own according to orbitcast.

Perhaps like others have stated, theyre delaying Starplyr until this free one can hit the market.
Let hope the UI is as nice as those at Nicemac

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/official-sirius-xm-iphone-app-now-in-beta-source.html

I don't care who makes it, i just want an app to listen to my Sirius and i want it NOW!

[MaxPower49]

... and free definitely beats $13. Sucks for the guys that worked hard developing StarPlayr, but I guess they knew this was a possibility up front.

[hexonxonx]

I don't care who makes it, i just want an app to listen to my Sirius and i want it NOW!

Not sure if others mentioned the XM email that mentions 3 ways to listen. I'm betting this new app gets released or at least XM tells us when it will be released this week. The email was mailed last week and it says coming next week so here we are.

[MVPinFLA]

Not sure if others mentioned the XM email that mentions 3 ways to listen. I'm betting this new app gets released or at least XM tells us when it will be released this week. The email was mailed last week and it says coming next week so here we are.

It doesn't mean it will be released for iPhone though. That is my concern.

[volntitan]

Those 3 ways could mean...1) car 2) Home 3) Online

[JonHimself]

Not sure if others mentioned the XM email that mentions 3 ways to listen. I'm betting this new app gets released or at least XM tells us when it will be released this week. The email was mailed last week and it says coming next week so here we are.

Same e-mail went to Sirius subs as well. The 3 ways could be, as mentioned, home, car and online... could be car, online and phone (I doubt the third way would JUST be iPhone, maybe smartphones, but it'd be odd if they ONLY pushed the iPhone platform and not appeal to blackberry or winmo users with a Sirius XM official app (if that's what it is).

The conceptual problem I have with the 3 ways is that there is overlap between the four options we've mentioned (home, online, car and phone). The home and car are essentially the same because you use a receiver and the phone and online are (as I understand it) the same because they both use the internet feed. I'm wondering if they could clearly differentiate between between online and phone, or home and car... at least enough to run a promo for it... maybe the 'phone' option will have ALL of the channels, not just the internet ones. I was under the impression was that the reason the online wasn't available was because of licensing for some of the channels (or something like that) and maybe they've worked out a new agreement for the 'phone' version so that you can get all of the channels.

Just thinking out loud, I guess...

[MaxPower49]

Those 3 ways could mean...1) car 2) Home 3) Online

Yes, but the email seems to imply something new is coming. I assume they are counting car and home as the same thing (radio receiver), internet would be #2, and the third is a mystery. A smartphone and/or iphone app could be #3, but who knows. I guess we'll find out one day this week.

[iSaga]

I would bet money this app is released next week. I got the something big is coming email as well and then yesterday got the 1 weeks special of $100 off the portables. I'm thinking Sirius wants the chance to sell as many portables as possible before this app is released.

[JonHimself]

I would bet money this app is released next week. I got the something big is coming email as well and then yesterday got the 1 weeks special of $100 off the portables. I'm thinking Sirius wants the chance to sell as many portables as possible before this app is released.

You've got a point here. I think that as much money as Sirius XM may make off hardware sales (I have no idea), most of their money is going to on subs. I'd be interested in seeing how many months someone would have to subscribe for Sirius XM to make as much money as they would from selling a receiver. I also wonder how many people never bothered with satellite radio because the upfront cost of all of the hardware they would need was too much... if they have an app that will let users use their smartphones (I assume that a full-blown app is a bit much for regular cell phones) I wonder how many people would jump on board.

[DEAN616]

http://siriusbuzz.com/sirius-xm-to-release-free-iphone-application.php

[JonHimself]

http://siriusbuzz.com/sirius-xm-to-release-free-iphone-application.php

That article takes a rumor and then just makes guesses and treats that as fact. It could be right though, we'll see.
I point to this part: "Sirius XM has clearly moved to take action with Apple to block the release of arguably the most eagerly anticipated iPhone application ever. Now why would they do such a thing? The only possible answer is they have a free application which they developed in-house, that is most likely days away from being approved."
I mean, they could be correct and then can just say "told you so", but there's no evidence of that other than speculation.

[aandf1978]

Well it's Thursday and where is the big news from Sirius/XM??? It was supposed to be this week right??

[bigrobb]

I am starting to think all it is is these sales, unless they announce something tommorrow.

Offers
Day 1: Home Solution
Scheduled to launch Monday, March 2nd
• Grace Internet Radio + Stratus 5 @ $199
• Stratus 5 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 6-month commitment with a $50 ETF.
• Grace Internet Radio requires a Premium SIRIUS Internet Radio Subscription @
$2.99/month.
• We will promote this offer to both SIRIUS and XM Prospects alike.


Day 2: Portable (w/ home/car solution)
Scheduled to launch Wednesday, March 4th
• Stiletto 2 @ $269.99 + Free Home/Vehicle Kit or XMP3 @ $239.99 + Vehicle Kit
• Stiletto 2 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 6-month commitment with a $50 ETF.
• XMP3 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is also a
12-month commitment with a $75 ETF.


Day 3: Plug n Play
Scheduled to launch Friday, March 6th
• Xpress R/ Starmate 5 @ $79.99 (Save $50)
• Starmate 5 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 6-month commitment with a $50 ETF.
• Xpress R requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 12-month commitment with a $75 ETF.

[MaxPower49]

I am starting to think all it is is these sales, unless they announce something tommorrow.

Offers
Day 1: Home Solution
Scheduled to launch Monday, March 2nd
• Grace Internet Radio + Stratus 5 @ $199
• Stratus 5 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 6-month commitment with a $50 ETF.
• Grace Internet Radio requires a Premium SIRIUS Internet Radio Subscription @
$2.99/month.
• We will promote this offer to both SIRIUS and XM Prospects alike.


Day 2: Portable (w/ home/car solution)
Scheduled to launch Wednesday, March 4th
• Stiletto 2 @ $269.99 + Free Home/Vehicle Kit or XMP3 @ $239.99 + Vehicle Kit
• Stiletto 2 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 6-month commitment with a $50 ETF.
• XMP3 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is also a
12-month commitment with a $75 ETF.


Day 3: Plug n Play
Scheduled to launch Friday, March 6th
• Xpress R/ Starmate 5 @ $79.99 (Save $50)
• Starmate 5 requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 6-month commitment with a $50 ETF.
• Xpress R requires a minimum 3-month subscription at the time of purchase. There is
also a 12-month commitment with a $75 ETF.

Meh. I have been waiting to see what this announcement was going to be before I decide if I am renewing or not before the March 11th price increased. If that is the "3 ways to listen" surprise, I am not impressed.

[xgman]

something fishy for sure. :mad: As Bubba would say, "I'm calling shenanigans on the deal"

[skippyrulz]

http://www.sternfannetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=434208

this whole thing just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser...

[verks]

http://www.sternfannetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=434208

this whole thing just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser...

WOW!!! Starplayer was a great product! It's a shame they are gone. Looks like Sirius shut them down. They(Sirius) keep making one mistake after another.

Unless they plan on releasing similar products they will lose even more customers. Unfortunately they probably won't but someone out there will find a way.

[orrelse44]

Wow...it is true.

http://usirius.starplayr.com/

[aandf1978]

Wow???? Something just is not right here. Did SiriusXM step in and take them by force, and insist they close up shop or are they a part of SiriusXM now?? This just keeps getting more and more weird.

[Lara F]

The Nicemac developper just tweeted that he'd be cancelling his Sirius XM subscription come March 11. Make of that what you will...

[DotComCTO]

SiriusXM better step up and offer something. Give me something to go with the $2.99 extra per month.

The guys at Nicemac got hosed.

:mad:

--DotComCTO

[brendon2020]

wow that really sucks, hopefully we'll something else though.

[JonHimself]

SiriusXM better step up and offer something. Give me something to go with the $2.99 extra per month.

The guys at Nicemac got hosed.

:mad:

--DotComCTO

I'm not sure if that's entirely true. I don't know anything about their programs or if they were working with Sirius/XM (or if SiriusXM just allowed them to continue without harrassing them) but I've got to think they would need the blessing of the company that they're making money off of. Of course if they had that blessing then I'm inclined to side with you, I just don't know enough about it to make that call.

[Rychiar]

not gonna happen now. Starplayr just folded and is killing all ther apps including PC/MAC. this SUX and its all so cryptic, what the hell happened:confused:

[ncfuser]

not gonna happen now. Starplayr just folded and is killing all ther apps including PC/MAC. this SUX and its all so cryptic, what the hell happened:confused:

Maybe they now work for Sirius/XM?
Maybe Sirius/XM saw their talents and hired them to re-do their players.
Part of the deal was to stop working on the Starplayr?

Just my 2 cents.

[JonHimself]

Maybe they now work for Sirius/XM?
Maybe Sirius/XM saw their talents and hired them to re-do their players.
Part of the deal was to stop working on the Starplayr?

Just my 2 cents.

Yeah, there's a lot that could have happened. Sirius XM could have "bought" their technologies, hired them, or (and hopefully not) legally had them shut down (or whatever the real term for that is).
I really hope that the end result is an iPhone app and new desktop app.

[MaxPower49]

Maybe they now work for Sirius/XM?
Maybe Sirius/XM saw their talents and hired them to re-do their players.
Part of the deal was to stop working on the Starplayr?

Just my 2 cents.

Possible, but this make me think otherwise:

The Nicemac developper just tweeted that he'd be cancelling his Sirius XM subscription come March 11. Make of that what you will...

Who knows, I was kind of waiting to see what happened here before I decided whether to renew my contract and avoid the $3 fee increase. I like some of the talk stations, but I prefer ipod/Pandora/Slacker/Last.fm for music. Not sure it is worth $13 a month for me (or $16 a month with no contract).

[JonHimself]

Possible, but this make me think otherwise:



Who knows, I was kind of waiting to see what happened here before I decided whether to renew my contract and avoid the $3 fee increase. I like some of the talk stations, but I prefer ipod/Pandora/Slacker/Last.fm for music. Not sure it is worth $13 a month for me (or $16 a month with no contract).

I saw that as well, makes you wonder... it would appear that he's cancelling because he doesn't want to support a company that's screwed him over (I suppose that's what most people would say)... to play devil's advocate, maybe he's cancelling the sub because in exchange for the software he's getting his sub paid for? haha I love wild speculation.

[xgman]

whatever the case . . bummer . . . :( Sirius needs to get an app out now to keep pace with current trends.

[bitslap47]

Thank you to all of the fans and users of the StarPlayr products.

I expected to wake up to my inbox filled with emails complaining, and instead I found it full of emails with only kind words.

I am truly thankful to have a user community as massive and as kind as ours.

Today, a Geek's heart is broken </3

~Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q-i6AIqRD0

[MaxPower49]

Thank you to all of the fans and users of the StarPlayr products.

I expected to wake up to my inbox filled with emails complaining, and instead I found it full of emails with only kind words.

I am truly thankful to have a user community as massive and as kind as ours.

Today, a Geek's heart is broken </3

~Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q-i6AIqRD0

The cake is a lie? What does that mean?

I'm assuming there is some kind of non disclosure agreement and we will never really know what went on here. I'd love to see this app show up in the new Cydia store though. ;)

[ckbook]

"The cake is a lie"

expression used when something great has been promised from a third party but it ultimately is not so.

Shawn:mad:

[JonHimself]

"The cake is a lie"

expression used when something great has been promised from a third party but it ultimately is not so.

Shawn:mad:
Or when the source of motivation turns out to be a lie.

[Trackmonkey]

Thank you to all of the fans and users of the StarPlayr products.

I expected to wake up to my inbox filled with emails complaining, and instead I found it full of emails with only kind words.

I am truly thankful to have a user community as massive and as kind as ours.

Today, a Geek's heart is broken </3

~Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q-i6AIqRD0

Bitslap,

I really enjoyed your stuff. I used WM5 before I got my iPhone. Thanks for the hard work. I wish this turned out better.

[Trackmonkey]

Sirius is pissing me off. I'm growing board with Howard's show. Definitely loosing his touch. The first year or so they had lots of energy now it's just a slow slide into retirement. The only thing lately that's funny is Eric the Ack Acktor. Well the goofing anyways.

Top this off with the price increase and this app getting killed I'm about ready to cancel.

As a back-up I was planning to use Orb and usirius but of course that's out to.

Is there another way to stream Sirius?

[drichards]

Hoo Hoo lost his touch when Clinton was president.

Its a real shame to have the carpet lifted out from under the project. StarLight was easier than bothering to goto XMradio.com or take the Inno out of the car. Was looking forward to the Blackberry app.

[jproy79]

Just looking at the XM Online Radio FAQ... not sure if it always said this but take a look at the last sentence: "Why have you changed the online listening product? The Online listening platform has been upgraded to a higher quality digital audio and is no longer included as a part of a base subscription at no charge. The upgrading of this service allows for customers to listen at near CD-quality sound (128k) for a better listening experience. In the future this will also allow customers to access the online listening platform from a variety of electronic devices."

Lets just hope the future they speak of is sooner rather than later and that the variety of electronic devices includes the iPhone.

[iphone529]

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090312-708950.html

YESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[skippyrulz]

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090312-708950.html

YESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nice! especially since "the second quarter" begins in two weeks!

too bad you have to subscribe to read more than the intro paragraph.

[MaxPower49]

nice! especially since "the second quarter" begins in two weeks!


But that means it could be another 3 months before we have the app.

[skippyrulz]

But that means it could be another 3 months before we have the app.

true. and knowing how sirius/xm loves to eff with us... it will probably be released june 30th.

i'm betting (hoping!!) it's soon, though.

[bbotte]

Tried to start my Starplayr 0n my macbook air today and got the "it's over" error. Sadly I had to trash the aplication. Sucks, it was so nice.

[iphone529]

a better article

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=14451

[Superman07]

I started a new thread since I though it deserved a new/fresh topic: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=7259509#post7259509

[JonHimself]

Tried to start my Starplayr 0n my macbook air today and got the "it's over" error. Sadly I had to trash the aplication. Sucks, it was so nice.

Yeah me too :(

I caved and bought Pulsar from Rogue Amoeba... it was 15$ and works very similarly (I suppose? I only use Starplayr for playback and didn't use any other features that it had). The only downside I've found is that it doesn't seem to start playing automatically... I enjoyed be able to set Starplayr to launch in the AM as my alarm and just start playing.

[bbotte]

I'm about to cancel my Sirius account....

Once 9am EST hits and all of Cali logs onto sirius I can't listen or get to the stream. SO I am paying for a service that I can't use..... :mad: Imagine that, they implement a service that they don't have the bandwidth for and charge for it, awesome. Well glad I didn't pay for a $12 app that I couldn't use anymore....

Calling Sirius now.

[drichards]

Calling Sirius now.

Still on hold? I dread Calling SiriXM for anything.