By Brandon Matthews
Reports are coming in that Apple’s (AAPL) 3.0 iPhone update is now available and being installed on iPhones around the world. As Friday’s launch of the iPhone 3G S is anxiously anticipated by consumers the world over, Sirius XM subscribers are wondering: Is this finally the week? According to Satwaves sources…. YES IT IS!
The information would seem to be reliable, in that the anticipated application had been promised as a second quarter release from Sirius XM management. As the second quarter winds down, several writers from around the web with a history of downplaying potential good news have begun to question whether the iPhone application will benefit Sirius XM. Some have begun to question whether or not the application will even be released this quarter, with message board terrorists claiming the application may have been denied by Apple.
At least one source is indicating that the long awaited Sirius XM Radio iPhone application will be made available to subscribers by the end of this week. In what is being described only as “a true partnership with Apple,” the application will be free to subscribers of Sirius XM’s premium Internet service, which may include a nominal free trial through Sirius XM.
As I write this article, this letter from Sirius XM customer service is now making its way around the web:
Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding whether or not there is a SIRIUS iPhone application available. We are here to help! We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us in regards to this matter! We are happy to inform you that beginning June 18th a SIRIUS Internet Radio application will be available at the Apple iTunes App-Store for the iPhone and the iPod Touch! All Premium SIRIUS Internet Radio subscribers will be able to download the application fromthe Apple iTunes App-Store for free on their device and access the service at no additional cost! Subscribers who are listening to the Basic Online Service for free must first upgrade to the Premium Online Service for $2.99 per month to access the application on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
The premium Internet service offers 120 channels to subscribers. It is unclear how many of those channels will be made available on the iPhone. With up to 45 million “iDevices” worldwide, this application has the potential to bring Satellite Radio’s superior content into the 21st century; potentially creating a new wave of interest in the future of radio…Sirius XM Radio.
Position: Long SIRI
Brandon,
“message board terrorists”…LOL, best description for them I have heard yet.
Nice Article, Brandon!!
Thanks for being on top of this at every twist and turn
Hoping this is indeed the “Paradigm Shift Moment” away from Auto
Dependency and toward a Handheld OEM Model.
It is the best Content and Delivery System in the World.
Here’s to a great June……Apple App and the New Satellite!!!
All the Best to the Faithful Longs…..
Any idea how this new app will work on Edge? Here’s hoping it’s better than Pocket Tunes, where you can only listen to the standard stream.
THE KETTLES ABOUT TO BLOW!!
Kettles going nowhere till there is an “official” release….send me an e-mail asking about the iphone app….I could give you the same response….SIRIUS NEEDS TO ANNOUNCE OFFICIALLY
well, pocket tunes still works great for me….. but i will probably use this app instead.
Question for Brandon or anybody. In our town we don’t have ATT/I Phone yet untill ATT takes over our Alltell cell service this summer,so my question is will the Iphone Siri/Xm app include getting the news/talk channels like CNBC/CNN or just music…………………..Thanks.
I don’t buy the message from Sirius Customer Service. Way too many exclamation points. I am anxiously awaiting this app. My radio was stolen from my car a few weeks ago and I am unhappy with the replacement (which I have returned). I’m listening only on Pocket Tunes, but find that it drops too often (especially when moving from WiFi to 3G) and is incredibly slow to reconnect.
While I hope the release is this week, I think they wait until after their Father’s Day marketing campaign is complete.
i get no drops ever on pocket tunes i put spa 73 put on at 11am and still playing in the am.
great only to sleep to
We are ALL anxiously waiting.
I’m sorry Brandon, but I read that poster’s email on the Yahoo! board. I don’t believe that email is a legitimate source to quote from. I will wait until an official pr comes from the company.
You might see something at end of day today, or perhaps tomorrow then Paul.
Does anyone not realize the amount of !!!’s in that quoted source from SIRI. When have you ever gotten any customer service response like that. It is almost always computer generated jargain when someone does respond its telling you to do something you have already done or tried. The only way all of the !!!’s could have been added is if this wasn’t a credible source OR someone took the trouble to remove the periods and add the !!!’s. Therefore I give this an EPIC FAIL.
I don’t think the letter from “Customer Service” is real. In addition to the large amount of !!!, why would they say “We are here to help”?
Also, why would Sirius XM Customer Service be sending around information about a future application – at least 2 days before it was supposedly to be released. Sirius XM would have made a public publicity announcement first, before any “Customer Service” announcement.
Having said that, perhaps the application will launch on or about June 18, even though the Customer Service blurb seems not to be real.
@SteveSirius Having thought about it a little more, it is possible that such a letter from Customer Service exists (even though it is poorly written). It is possible that there is an announcement in the works from Sirius XM and that this letter was created to be sent out after such an announcement. It is possible that such a letter was leaked. I hope that is the case, but because of all the rumors that have been created about Sirius XM these past few years, I am very guardedly hopeful.
I say the email is a fake. I get the same form email EVERY time I write to investor relations and it NEVER has exclamation points!!!!!!!!!
truth is in the eye of the beholder
IR just denied the email. Said it did not come from SiriusXM. IR said the app is scheduled for 2Q release and tlod me to refer back to the last shareholders conference.
Steve Sirius sums it ALL up nicely and simply, “I am very guardedly hopeful.”
Way to go. Keep us informed. I don’t need an iPhone but will now get one because of Sirius XM. Anyone know if I have to get the new iPhone. Or can I get it on the previous version, the discounted version. I have stopped clicking on the negative dummies. They could make hitting a $100 million lottery sound like a death sentence. I like content and variety, and nobody does it better. Also, way to go Toyota!
why would the blow their announcement in an unofficial email. come on guys
Brandon
I can smell BS a mile away on this (official) email from SiriusXM. Hell, they can’t even put out a press release on what today’s date is…Will wait for official PR release…if there is one!!!!
Here’s an email exchange I had with IR on June 11th. Not that it really matters but IR did use an exclamation mark in the response. I also have followed up with Customer Service with the same question today. I have not received a response from CS as of this writing.
On Jun 11, 2009, Investor Relations wrote:
Dear Maurice:
There has been no recent press releases on the Apple application. Stay tuned!
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Shirley Huang
Associate Manager
SIRIUS XM Radio Investor Relations
212-584-5242
________________________________
From: donotreply@broadcast.shareholder.com [mailto:donotreply@broadcast.shareholder.com]
Sent: Thu 6/11/2009 4:44 PM
To: Investor Relations
Subject: Sirius App for iPhone 3G
The following comment was submitted via the Sirius XM Radio Inc. website by Maurice DeNuccio.
When will the highly anticipated app be released for the iPhone 3G. I know it is in Q2 but any specific date?