As we check out the alarming declining stocks and stagnation of subscribers to satellite radio...you might think that XM and Sirius is on it's last leg. Even Michael Savage made his negative prediction on Satellite radio. And as much as I want to only know and still believe that this has been a savior from terrestrial controlled playlists along with being still the greatest recent invention of technology....I'm wondering myself if it's worth investing to upgrade to an Inno.
But what's been kicking satellite's ass...it's not really terrestrial which has been also on the decline, or the Internet which is growing but still in it's infancy........Is it that MP 3 player called the IPOD?
So I question why..what makes the MP 3 more efficient then XM/Sirius. So I compared advantages and disadvantages between the Inno or portable receiver compared to the what Apple/San Disk,... 2 of the top MP 3 players put out in the market.
Okay ...the IPOD...it's advantages
1. It's thinner and more compatible. It fits in your shirt pocket. Satellite doesn't.
2. You can add photos, and top models deliver video or movies, plus it has some features like voice recorder (note to self) if you like talking to yourself, download audio books or any files that you have in your documents. (not that their all going to work.) And with a Satellite receiver you can't.
3. 10,000 songs at 128K that you paid for from I-Tunes or from your past CD collection.
4. No $12.95 or more a month.
5. Reception is there at all times where there is no signal to worry about. You can use it on an airplane if you can afford it.
Now...It's Disadvantages
1.New music ...it isn't free. Especially if your stuck with I Tunes. Apples worst then Sony when it comes to proprieties.
2.If you have no more money to spend after you shelled out 250.00 for 30GB...your stuck with same music you purchased in the past...unless your friends lend you some tunes. And on a Zune...that last only 3 plays then...Pooof!
3. If you don't back up your files.....and something burns out.....Pooof!... again. Your whole life savings are gone!
5 against 3 ...not to bad. As long as you don't fall into the 3 category.
Now Satellite (XM/Sirius advantages.)
1. More channels then you need...175! Most of us don't listen to all of them. But they cover every listeners genre needs. They actually over pleased.
2. More entertainment and selection then an IPOD/MP3 player. Every hit, every decade ever played, all the info from stocks, 30 major city traffic reports, almost all the talk shows, old time radio, comedy channels, network radio versions and anything that terrestrial ever delivered in the past , and what it can't deliver today. Even special event concerts, major sports games and shows from every major team...that alone.... 12.95 it's a steal.
3. 10 hours of recorded music or programs that come from XM. I think that maybe as much or more then 10000 tunes you can stick on an IPOD depending how it's decoded and above standard GBs.
4. The latest new releases automatically presented to you from today's current formats whether it's Top 20, or Country. It's 12.95 not a .99-1.99 a song. That adds up to the same or a whole alot more a month depending how much you have to spend to keep it current.
5. If you don't like downloading...it's already programmed for you no matter what the format.
6. You can't pick up Howard Stern on an IPOD/MP3. (Well that's 6)
Satellites Disadvantages.......
1. Even the Inno is bigger and bulky compared to most MPs player. I wouldn't try to stick it in my shirt pocket.
2. You don't own the programming. You can't download the recorded programming. (Yes you can....there's a certain third party unit for 40-50.00 dollars that can do it for those that know about it.) But I don't want to promote that'll throw this off topic.
3. People hate paying 12.95 for radio, but will pay up to 100.00 a month for cable TV to watch Law and Order and Seinfeld 12 times a day. I don't get it.
4. Signal problems...especially in the summertime and alot of dead spots like under bridges and densed trees.
5. sound quality.....that could be their major F*** up. They kept adding too many channels and the audio became more compressed within their allocated frequency bandwidth. Lack of depth...especially in the car. I would have settled for less channels and wider seperation.
6.Access like the gym, bike or hike trail, and the woods.
7.Poor boom boxes (mainly for XM) Lansing did a better for Sirius boom boxes as far as quality.
Ok....6 vs. 7....not bad, but still ...what XM and Sirius offer compared to the MP3 player, like the decade channels, baseball, their programming has been almost excellent, and it's sad that it's fate may come. So if it fails ....I'll wonder why is there such a big gap as far as popularity to the MP3? Is it the marketing? Is it the lack of knowledge of the public of what satellite radio is? Poor car sales? , Price of Gas for cruising and weekend trips? And why people only depend on XM for the car and not for the home?
I own both....but I use the satellite a whole lot more...because i will always get fresh programming no matter what? Well if satellite goes ....there's still the Internet and soon WIFI.
But what's been kicking satellite's ass...it's not really terrestrial which has been also on the decline, or the Internet which is growing but still in it's infancy........Is it that MP 3 player called the IPOD?
So I question why..what makes the MP 3 more efficient then XM/Sirius. So I compared advantages and disadvantages between the Inno or portable receiver compared to the what Apple/San Disk,... 2 of the top MP 3 players put out in the market.
Okay ...the IPOD...it's advantages
1. It's thinner and more compatible. It fits in your shirt pocket. Satellite doesn't.
2. You can add photos, and top models deliver video or movies, plus it has some features like voice recorder (note to self) if you like talking to yourself, download audio books or any files that you have in your documents. (not that their all going to work.) And with a Satellite receiver you can't.
3. 10,000 songs at 128K that you paid for from I-Tunes or from your past CD collection.
4. No $12.95 or more a month.
5. Reception is there at all times where there is no signal to worry about. You can use it on an airplane if you can afford it.
Now...It's Disadvantages
1.New music ...it isn't free. Especially if your stuck with I Tunes. Apples worst then Sony when it comes to proprieties.
2.If you have no more money to spend after you shelled out 250.00 for 30GB...your stuck with same music you purchased in the past...unless your friends lend you some tunes. And on a Zune...that last only 3 plays then...Pooof!
3. If you don't back up your files.....and something burns out.....Pooof!... again. Your whole life savings are gone!
5 against 3 ...not to bad. As long as you don't fall into the 3 category.
Now Satellite (XM/Sirius advantages.)
1. More channels then you need...175! Most of us don't listen to all of them. But they cover every listeners genre needs. They actually over pleased.
2. More entertainment and selection then an IPOD/MP3 player. Every hit, every decade ever played, all the info from stocks, 30 major city traffic reports, almost all the talk shows, old time radio, comedy channels, network radio versions and anything that terrestrial ever delivered in the past , and what it can't deliver today. Even special event concerts, major sports games and shows from every major team...that alone.... 12.95 it's a steal.
3. 10 hours of recorded music or programs that come from XM. I think that maybe as much or more then 10000 tunes you can stick on an IPOD depending how it's decoded and above standard GBs.
4. The latest new releases automatically presented to you from today's current formats whether it's Top 20, or Country. It's 12.95 not a .99-1.99 a song. That adds up to the same or a whole alot more a month depending how much you have to spend to keep it current.
5. If you don't like downloading...it's already programmed for you no matter what the format.
6. You can't pick up Howard Stern on an IPOD/MP3. (Well that's 6)
Satellites Disadvantages.......
1. Even the Inno is bigger and bulky compared to most MPs player. I wouldn't try to stick it in my shirt pocket.
2. You don't own the programming. You can't download the recorded programming. (Yes you can....there's a certain third party unit for 40-50.00 dollars that can do it for those that know about it.) But I don't want to promote that'll throw this off topic.
3. People hate paying 12.95 for radio, but will pay up to 100.00 a month for cable TV to watch Law and Order and Seinfeld 12 times a day. I don't get it.
4. Signal problems...especially in the summertime and alot of dead spots like under bridges and densed trees.
5. sound quality.....that could be their major F*** up. They kept adding too many channels and the audio became more compressed within their allocated frequency bandwidth. Lack of depth...especially in the car. I would have settled for less channels and wider seperation.
6.Access like the gym, bike or hike trail, and the woods.
7.Poor boom boxes (mainly for XM) Lansing did a better for Sirius boom boxes as far as quality.
Ok....6 vs. 7....not bad, but still ...what XM and Sirius offer compared to the MP3 player, like the decade channels, baseball, their programming has been almost excellent, and it's sad that it's fate may come. So if it fails ....I'll wonder why is there such a big gap as far as popularity to the MP3? Is it the marketing? Is it the lack of knowledge of the public of what satellite radio is? Poor car sales? , Price of Gas for cruising and weekend trips? And why people only depend on XM for the car and not for the home?
I own both....but I use the satellite a whole lot more...because i will always get fresh programming no matter what? Well if satellite goes ....there's still the Internet and soon WIFI.
Since I got XM, I just don't use the others unless the XM isn't available. And an INNO solves that problem...