Satellite Radio Playground

by Demian Russian

Sirius XM Radio’s (NASDAQ:SIRI) online streaming feed, including Howard Stern, is now available on Windows Mobile (NASDAQ:MSFT) phones via a free app. This is great news for the millions of Windows Mobile smartphone users who now have access to Sirius XM’s premium audio content. According to the most recent comScore data, Windows Mobile is the third most popular smartphone platform in the U.S., behind Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry in first place and Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone in second place. About 50 million people in the U.S. own a smartphone. While Windows Mobile is still a major player in the existing smartphone user base, recent data from Gartner shows that the Android platform outpaced Windows Mobile in Q1 sales. With the Android platform gaining traction, AT&T (NYSE:T) has locked its Android phone customers out of all non-Android Market apps, including the Sirius XM app. While Sirius XM has released official apps for the Blackberry, iPhone, and Android platforms, Howard Stern has not been made available on any of those releases as of yet.

For Windows Mobile smartphone users, this new free app allows Sirius XM subscribers access to the Satellite Radio provider’s full Premium Online lineup — including Howard Stern. SXRadio2 is a third party app produced by Steamtown Media Limited, the company behind the iterum2 streaming radio app for the iPhone. The app is now available as a free download through the Windows Phone Marketplace or through their forum page on GeeksToolbox Forums. SXRadio2 supports both Sirius and XM accounts, as well as guest accounts. The app supports both standard and high quality streams over carrier data networks as well as WiFi. The app features album artwork and Twitter integration as well.

I had an opportunity to review the SXRadio2 app on an AT&T Tilt phone using a 3G network. It worked flawlessly. It took but a moment to enter in my username and password. Since the Windows Mobile platform allows for multitasking, I was able to browse the internet and have a stock streamer running while listening to my favorite Sirius XM channels. The app also offers a separate in-app volume control. The sound quality was excellent on the high quality setting. When using the standard quality setting, to preserve battery power or on a slower network, the sound quality was surprisingly good.

SXRadio2′s user interface was a pleasure to use. It was easy to add my favorite channels as presets for quick access. While listening to a channel, it’s easy to scroll through the channel list to see what’s playing on other channels. The album artwork feature was impressive. This is a feature not currently offered by any of Sirius XM’s official apps as of yet. It really adds to the user experience to see the original album cover for the song you are hearing pop up on the screen as the music begins. The album artwork feature can also be turned off in the settings to preserve battery power. After users enter in their Twitter account information once, it’s a breeze to tweet any song.

With smartphone sales up about 50% year-over-year, the opportunity for Sirius XM to reach these users, with apps now available for all of the major smartphone platforms, is significant. According to Gartner Research, there were 54.3 million smartphones out of the 314.7 million total mobile phone sold in Q1. The landscape is changing. Seeing Sirius XM penetrating this growing and important content distribution platform is positive. Sirius XM’s exclusive content gives them a competitive edge over other streaming audio services. Having that premium content available to customers wherever they are and however they want it is the key.

Position: Long SIRI

Contact the Author: demianrussian@satelliteradioplayground.com