“Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said on Wednesday it has discussed with Apple Computer Inc. the possibility of adding its service to Apple’s popular iPod music player. However, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs did not see the need at this point to combine the functions, a Sirius spokesman said,” Reuters reports.
“Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin revealed the discussions to media, entertainment and technology professionals at McGraw Hill’s 2005 Media Summit in New York on Wednesday, the spokesman said,” Reuters reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Come on, Steve, we want our Howard on our iPods!
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Analyst throws cold water on Apple iPod – Sirius Satellite radio deal – December 16, 2004
Analysts: Apple iPod + Sirius Satellite Radio ‘technologically unfeasible right now’ – December 15, 2004
RUMOR: Apple to add SIRIUS Satellite Radio (and Howard Stern) to iPod in mid-2005 – December 10, 2004
Non-Apple news: Howard Stern signs deal with SIRIUS satellite radio – October 06, 2004
uh oh, this better not turn out like how sony blew off apple. what goes around comes around, steve. hopefully the “rejection” was on good terms.
Why not just make a “Made for iPod” adapter?!?!
Part of the iPods success is due to its simplicity. Keep it simple, don’t cluster it all up with crap the majority of people don’t want. On the other hand, Serius should look at adding it’s on “accessory” that would allow their service to work with the iPod – thus only those who are interested need bother with it.
satellite radio would truly destroy any argument against the iPod.
What about the monthly fee, though?
I would like to see Apple be supportive enough that they cooperate if Sirius wants to make an accessory that works with the iPod. It would be essential that you could record it so you could time shift and keep the convenience inherent in the iPod.
Making XM internal to the iPod makes no sense, simply because XM only works in North America and has no relevance to Europe or Asia which contributes 50% of Apple’s sales.
Here in Europe, we have a standard called DAB which would be fantastic in an iPod as well. Guess what? Not going to happen because Apple would have to customise the functionality for three different regions, and then the radio function wouldn’t work for me when I trvelled to the USA and an American unit would be hamstrung when the owner came here.
Sirius shouldn’t have bothered and talked to Griffin instead, serious.
I really dont think Jobs made the right descision here. Just make and iPod_satallite or somthing, this is another way to keep the iPod innovative and give people more options.
“did not see the need at this point”
Hasnt he learned from his mistake with CD burners vs DVD players that he just talked about in his Fortune interview? If there would be a point at which this would be viable, start now so in 6 months or so, you dont try to rush somthing to the market.
We’ll see how much of a threat Napster actually turns out to be.
This will be Apple’s answer to subscription services, if, and only if, they turn out to be popular with the masses. Mark my words.
Good choice not accepting. Apple needs to maintain simplicity, and not turn into the next M$ with their fingers in everyone’s pie.
Save it for the iPhone.
I had assumed an accessory would be the best option if this were to ever happen, but reading Buffy’s post makes me rethink that idea. There are very convincing arguments as to why it shouldn’t be included in every iPod, but why not create a special edition iPod, kind of like the U2 iPod? If people here in America want that option built into the iPod, they can pay an extra few bucks. Those that don’t want or need it are completely unaffected because they can just go out and buy the regular iPod. Same idea as the iPod photo. It’s another option that people can choose from if they want it but it’s not forced upon everyone.
and it doesn’t have to be any more complicated than using the iPod photo or changing the settings on an iTrip. just have an “artist” for the radio, maybe grouped by genre with the individual songs being the different stations. hardly a complicated manner.
“I really dont think Jobs made the right descision here.”
Buffy,
MCCFR makes an excellent point about the region-specific nature of satellite radio. A fanciful “iPod Satellite” would have to support all regions if the user happened to be travelling.
Less is More also makes a good point that Sirius should have approached Griffin. It would be easier to make a range of “iSat” modules (a la iTrip) that supported various regions; so you could take say three modules and your iPod on an extended trip, instead of getting pissed that your iPod doesn’t work in Berlin and Singapore. Apart from the question of whether satellite radio should come to the iPod, the interface is tailor-made for navigating through sat radio stations, and I Siriusly doubt that Apple is dismissing the notion out of hand.
Please. Sirius is a serious also-ran. They sound as desperate and whiny as Napster and Real. They’re product doesn’t need a storage device, and the iPod doesn’t need to be a radio. They are trying to gain fame by association with the Amazing iPod, figuring that using Steve’s name and suggesting that they are important enough to have ‘meetings’ with him will give them some credibility.
I’ll bet it went like this:
Sirius: Hey, Steve, we’re from Sirius radio. Can we take a second of your time?
Steve: “Not interested, loser. Where the hell’s my bodyguard?”.
Sirius: Okay, thanks anyway. If you ever want to talk please call us, Okay? Steve? Hey, it was nice talking to you. Let’s do lunch sometime. Hey, did you guys see that? I was talking to Steve Jobs. We go way back. Old friends, and all. We’re entrepreneurs just like he is. Hey, you gonna eat that?
Grrrilla,
I disagree; satellite radio is the future of radio, whether or not Sirius remains viable.
Viridian,
I don’t have a problem with satellite radio. I just think if Sirius were a serious, respectable player, they wouldn’t go to the media with this particular announcement. It makes them sound like Glasser of Real.
Oh, and incidentally, I have been using satellite radio for the 3 month trial period, and won’t renew it. Never did find anything on it as good as plain old radio. Not sure why.
Grrrilla you pathetic 12-year old, when someone like Mel Karmazin calls even God takes that call.
Grrrilla,
I don’t listen to the radio at all, I find it more annoying than entaining or informative, but for those who consume it’s services, particular music and talk, satellite radio is to radio what cable is to broadcast television. It’s still in its infancy, but the potential to deliver special-interest programming is vast. Before cable, fishing shows and the Antiques Roadshow could not exist. Neither cable nor satellite radio have to compete for slices of the broadcast spectrum, so they can reach much more specialized viewership and audiences.
For the record, I have no opinion on Sirius, XM or any other service provider, but I am bullish about satellite radio as a medium.
Actually, DAB is the future of radio. It’s free, it’s high-quality, and the additional technology required to support DAB is relatively minimal in comparison to XM.
The [B]ONLY[/B] reason that the USA is not adopting DAB is [I]as per GSM or countless other cases[/I] the unholy alliance between the vested interests of the American electronics industry, the American broadcast industry and the FCC.
Instead, the USA pursues Enhanced FM which really doesn’t deliver anything by way of enhanced content or programme diversity.
“Actually, DAB is the future of radio. It’s free, it’s high-quality, and the additional technology required to support DAB is relatively minimal in comparison to XM.”
MCCFR,
That’s very interesting to know. Could you please provide some more information about DAB? When I said that satellite is the future of radio, I should clarify that I am not hung up on the delivery method, such as satellites per se, but I believe that any viable, widely adopted point-to-point delivery system will prevail over broadcast radio. What would be nice is if such transmissions could come from cell transmitters, or WiFi. Is this what DAB is aiming for, something as prevalent as GSM?
“Could you please provide some more information about DAB?”
Never mind, I just googled WorldDAB. This is very interesting stuff; I urge everyone to read the FAQ.