Tatum and Denim blog

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Transportation

Sirius is seriously on a roll today. Clearly not content with debuting its Stiletto 2 and Sportster 4 portable receivers, the satellite powerhouse has officially announced its SCV1, aka Backseat TV, aka The Child-Silencer (our name). If you’ve ever been on a road-trip with a couple of bundles of joy, you’ll understand how helpful this particular technology could be. The new receiver is able to grab both radio and TV signals, allowing it to pull down Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network on TV screens in the backseat (for the joy bundles) while it streams music or talk up front (for you). The system offers a “kid friendly” remote for controlling Backseat content, while the “adult” section is operated by a separate, wired remote. The radio can also be controlled via Sirius-compatible aftermarket headunits. The SCV1 will be available in the 4th quarter of 2007, and will run you $299.99 for the unit, plus an additional $6.99 for TV service each month — but hey — that’s a small price to pay for a quiet drive.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Sirius is apparently busy today, since hot on the heels of its announcement concerning the Stiletto 2 comes word of the brand-spanking-new Sportster 5. Updating its year-old Sportster 4 model, the new desktop- or dashboard-seated satellite receiver boasts a 6-line, multicolor display, the ability to pause or rewind through 60 minutes of live radio, a real-time sports news ticker, storage for 30 preset stations, an FM transmitter or line out for connecting to audio sources, and comes with a full vehicle kit for mounting in your car, truck, or 50-foot yacht. Weighing in at 3.7-ounces, this is apparently the lightest Sportster ever, so you don’t have to feel bad about making the kids carry it from the car to the house. Now all you have to do is decide how many you’ll need to buy. Available this Fall for $169.99. Peep the gallery for higher-res action.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Transportation, Wireless

Hey all you Sportster fans out there, don’t think we forgot about you in the midst of all the Stiletto 2 excitement. Sirius let us snap a few shots of this latest iteration in their popular line of dock-and-play radios, but frankly, you’ll probably get a better feel for its color screen in the professionally done press photos here than from the handful of shaky pics we managed to fire off. A little more exciting are the live shots we got of the upcoming SCV1 backseat tuner and kid-friendly remote, along with a sample of the video feed — none of which were in the press material sent out today. Also of interest to Sonos owners out there will be the screenshots of Sirius doing its streaming thing over the multi-zone system — and while the GUI is certainly tight, we weren’t paying enough attention to really attest to the quality of low bitrate audio they’re offering. Click below for all the hands-on goodness…

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Wireless

Alright, so it’s really not all that much different than its predecessor in terms of functionality, but you gotta love the slightly sleeker design and bulked up WiFi of the new Sirius Stiletto 2 — and the ability to add more tunes via microSD doesn’t hurt, either. Not a lot to say about this one that we haven’t covered with the original — i.e. if you weren’t happy with issues like reception or content restriction, you probably won’t be into the sequel either — so instead of rehashing the specs for the zillionth time, we’ll let you get right to the gallery…

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Now that the fiasco that surrounded the first Stiletto has died down, it’s about time we focused on version two. During this week’s earnings call, Sirius‘ President of Operations and Sales, Jim Meyer, reportedly stated that the company was “preparing for the launch of some new aftermarket products, including a new wearable product, Stiletto 2, and a new Sportser SP5.” Furthermore, he added that “more details” would be doled out “next month,” and suggested that the Stiletto 2 in particular may hit shelves sometime “this fall.” Aside from that, no further details regarding size, capacity, or feature changes have been divulged, but according to Jim, the wait for more dirt shouldn’t be too awfully long.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Word just hit the street that XM CEO Hugh Panero will be leaving the satellite radio provider in August, and the current president and COO, Nate Davis will be taking his place. This isn’t exactly surprising news if you take a look at the recent business the company has been doing. First there’s the XM / Sirius merger, of course, which has taken longer to complete than any other in FCC history, then there’s the outages, subscriber backlash over programming, patent lawsuits, copyright lawsuits, and of course, the much-loved CEO name-calling. Really, who could blame the man from wanting to get away from the inevitable spit-roast someone was about to make of him? Of course, we’ve had our eye on Panero for some time now, and it seems possible that a change of leadership may be just what the satellite kingpin needs right now.

[Via Orbitcast]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

XM and Sirius have already talked a bit about some of their post-merger pricing schemes, but it looks like that’s not all they have in store, with Reuters now getting word of some additional changes coming once the deal is done. Specifically, the companies are now saying that they’ll be offering a subscription package “priced 46 percent below current levels,” along with an option for customers to buy packages of their favorite channels. While exact pricing is still unclear, the “a la carte” programming would apparently be available “within one year following the merger” — whenever that actually happens.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

In the unceasing feud between the RIAA and satellite radio, the agency has rekindled the fire by encouraging the FCC to “require the merged companies to pay higher royalty rates to the record industry.” Reportedly, the RIAA argued that the firms were “no longer new, struggling companies that could get away with paying below-market rates,” and further salted the wound by insisting that the FCC “make clear that its approval of a merger was conditioned upon the continued protection of sound recordings from unlawful infringement.” Of course, a number of senators have already voiced their concern for more limitations on satellite radio streams, but unsurprisingly, it seems like the RIAA wants these lofty wishes to become reality (and in a hurry).

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Filed under: Portable Audio

It won’t go down as the timeliest of launches, but the Audiovox-built CommanderMT that we peeked back at CES is finally up for grabs. The in-dash receiver was designed to operate with any AM / FM radio and sports a four-line display, jog dial, and the ability to “alert you whenever your favorite songs, artists, or sports teams are being played on another channel.” Additionally, the Mini-Tuner compatibility ensures that you can take your XM subscription with you when you exit the vehicle, and while it may have lost some of its luster during the six months you’ve been anxiously waiting, interested consumers can snag one of their own “later this month” for $179.99. Continue on for a few in-car snapshots.

[Via Orbitcast]

Continue reading XM’s CommanderMT receiver finally launches

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Amid the takeover rumors, merger talk, blackouts, and general struggle and strife for consumers just trying to listen to some decent radio, it appears that a glimmer of hope may be breaking through all the noise. In an outrageously detailed letter to the FCC, a gentleman named Michael Hartleib calls for the agency to more clearly define the differences between “Dual mode” and “Interoperable” radios, and outlines how (using the latter variety) existing XM or Sirius receivers might be able to access both networks simply by having their firmware updated. The technical missive also suggests that the companies may be deflecting attention away from this fact in an attempt to bring “updated” receivers to market which have the aforementioned capability, when all that is really needed is a simple software tweak. Naturally, we can understand why he’d want to go straight to the FCC — it’s not like Sirius or XM are expected to discuss this possibility, and we think it’s safe to assume that if they merge they’re going to gouge customers into buying a new radio, instead of updating the ones they currently own.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio

Although the most recent buzz surrounding satellite radio as a whole has focused more on the unexpected outages (and furthermore, the lame excuse for an apology), a mysterious FCC document piqued the interest of those paying close attention to the sat radio realm. A Korean company dubbed i-Sirius Co., Ltd. had somehow snuck onto the scene, and without much to go by aside from the intriguing name, speculators began to run wild with visions of potential partnerships and new radio devices, but it seems that the whole fiasco has ended with a thud. The inspection of a SAR test report has apparently revealed that the company’s latest offering has nothing to do with Sirius or the satellite radio industry at all, as the application is for a GSM 850 / 1900 dual-band phone branded as the Motorola FX-850P. Hate to burst any not-yet-popped bubbles out there, but don’t count on this being the last time an FCC find doesn’t exactly live up to unsubstantiated expectations. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via Orbitcast]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Transportation

We guess that once your acquisition target has agreed to be purchased, you don’t really have to go around buttering up its board members or executives anymore, but it still seems odd that CEO Mel Karmazin would defend Sirius’ admittedly poor performance on Wall Street by arguing that at least his company “sucks less” than future partner XM. Yet that’s exactly the case presented to shareholders at a Manhattan meeting last week, where the often-outspoken Karmazin admitted that he was “real unhappy” with the satrad firm’s stock price — although compared to the 61% decline in XM share prices since September 2004, Sirius’ 8% gain over that same period was a relative bull run. Still, Mel, don’t you think there are better ways to phrase that sentiment other than attaching the connotation of “suckiness” to your company and one you hope to acquire? Hey, just a thought.

[Via FARK]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Wireless

XM looks be trying to make things right with its customers after an outage put a crimp in its service earlier this week, although the company isn’t exactly going all out to make sure they stay on board. As compensation for any withdrawal symptoms customers may have suffered (those that haven‘t already jumped ship, that is), XM has deemed it suitable to dole out credits for two whole days of service (yes, days) which, at the current rate of $12.95 a month, works out to about 87 cents. Of course, you’ll have to do a bit of work to pocket all that change, with a call to XM customer service at 1-800-967-2346 required to pry it from the company’s coffers.

[Via Orbitcast]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Wireless

For the XM Radio subscribers who haven’t patiently waited to hastily cancel your subscription just yet, we’re sure you’re well aware that the outages from yesterday are still lingering on. Reportedly, “software problems resulted in the loss of one of the network’s four satellite signals,” and while it expected to have everything back to normal by last night, sometime today is looking more likely. The company stated that “the problem occurred during the loading of software to a critical component of the satellite broadcast system,” and while XM has urged listeners to tune in online if possible, we all know this doesn‘t solve much. Notably, analysts are already pondering just how much loyalty (and cashflow) XM will lose from such an outage, and while we won’t bother to guess, each passing minute of dead air won’t do the customer satisfaction surveys any favors.

Update: XM is claiming service is back to normal.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Orbitcast’s got the scoop on a pair of upcoming XM tuners from Audiovox, the entry-level Xpress EZ (pictured after the break) and somewhat high-end Xpress Replay (pictured after the break, and simply referred to as the XpressR if you want to sound hip around satrad nerds). The EZ is about as barebones as they come, sporting a mere three-button-plus-single-knob interface but not much else; you are getting a three-line display, but for $70, we’d expect them to at least throw a little remote action in there. Much more appealing is the Replay, which as Orbitcast tells us, is the first satellite radio ever to feature a split-screen display, meaning you can keep the current channel’s info onscreen while you scroll through five stations at a time on the six-line LCD. Like members of the Sirius family sporting a ‘Replay’ tag, the XpressR allows for pausing / rewinding live feeds thanks to its 30 minute buffer, while also offering a total of 30 presets. Expect both models to become available sometime in June, and if we might be so bold, either would seem to be an upgrade over your current Xpress model in the looks department.

Continue reading Audiovox to bulk up Xpress XM tuner line with Replay, EZ

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Talk about a company that can’t stay out of the courtroom. Yet again, we’ve got XM headed back for another round of sticky legal action, and while we highly doubt the firm’s lawyers are done digesting the NMPA suit from less than a month ago, now it’s being forced to deal with an Arkansas man’s allegations in US District Court. Matthew Enderlin is apparently quite upset with XM’s “false claims of commercial free music,” as he adumbrates that the channels actually do include “promotional and advertisement segments.” Unsurprisingly, XM has said the suit is “without merit,” but Mr. Enderlin isn’t backing down; au contraire, he’s actually seeking to “have the suit certified as a class-action suit so all XM Radio customers can be considered plaintiffs.” Bet you weren’t expecting to join in on the fun yourself, eh?

[Via Orbitcast]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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Filed under: Household, Portable Audio

After witnessing the pair of attempts by the National Association of Broadcasters to discredit the Sirius-XM merger as a monopoly or bail-out, the folks at Orbitcast decided that “two can play” at that game, and created this clever “ad” of their own. We’ll let the image do the talking.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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Filed under: GPS

We hate to break it to you, but that oh-so-reliable GPS system that you simply obey each day could eventually lead you down a dark, perilous path. No, we’re not referring to the blind faith drivers who throw caution common sense to the wind and drive directly into sandpiles and bodies of water, but a new discovery has found that the unencrypted data that’s beamed to drivers everyday via RDS-TMC navigation systems could be undermined with relative ease. Andrea Barisani, chief security engineer with Italian consultancy Inverse Path, has claimed that the wireless signals could not only be intercepted, but incorrect directions could actually be used to lead motorists into a trap, direct traveling competitors away from a sales presentation, or create a massive gridlock by instructing the weary working crowd to all take the same “detour” home. It was noted that some firms are already looking into more secure methods of delivering such critical information, and considering the lessons we’ve already learned about GPS-addicted drivers, the updates can’t come soon enough.

[Thanks, Andrea B.]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

Just about the time that XM Radio was finally able to sit down and hammer out some figures for the upcoming merger, the poor satellite radio firm has hit yet another legal snag, and this time it’s care of the NMPA. The National Music Publishers Association have officially filed suit against XM, claiming that the “XM + MP3″ music service bypasses copyright laws by giving users the ability “to make permanent copies of on-air tracks” with units like the hotly-debated Inno. Quite similar to other gripes brought against the outfit in the past, this dispute claims that XM’s service “constitutes pervasive and willful copyright infringement to the overwhelming detriment of copyright holders, legitimate online music services and, ultimately, consumers,” but we’re still scratching our heads on the “consumers” bit too. Nevertheless, the NMPA is requesting demanding a maximum of $150,000 in “damages” for each work purportedly infringed by XM, but the sat radio company seems to be brushing this one aside as it claims that “the lawsuit is without merit.” These guys just can’t do anything right, eh?

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

We already know just how “priceless” the XM / Sirius merger will be, that your current radio will probably still function just fine, and that both firms are still facing legal heat in one way or another, but we hadn’t heard just how the newlyweds would handle the pricing of the new service — until now. In a decision sure to make a few people elated while giving a hint of suspicion to most others, the merged company will offer customers a package that includes “less channels” at a monthly price lower than $12.95, one that seems “substantially similar” for exactly $12.95, and finally, a third option that touts even more channels for “a modest premium.” We can only assume that the pricey third alternative will boast a nice mixture of both companies’ existing lineups, but unfortunately, it also leaves open the possibility that the cheaper two options might exemplify the “you only get what you pay for” tagline.

[Thanks, Frankenstein B.]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!