« iPod / Sirius Satellite Radio Rumor | Main | Sirius Can't Wait to Have Stern, But No Plans To Jump Gun »
December 06, 2004
Thoughts on the iPod Satellite Radio Receiver
There's a whole lot of speculation in regards to how the iPod and SIRIUS Satellite Radio could merge together to create an uber-portable-music-machine. Here's just a few thoughts that come to mind:
Battery consumption. The iPod's batteries don't last very long with just an FM transmitter connected, how would a Satellite receiver hold up? XM's MyFi only has 5 hours of battery life - pretty lame considering the 'on-the-go' concept behind it. Will a dual iPod-SatRad Receiver be able to have a usable battery life? Not without being huge, which leads me to...
Size. One big thing that XM has over SIRIUS was the decision to move technology development in-house way back in the early stages of development (this also resulted in XM coming to market first, but that's a whole 'nother story). This choice resulted in less corners cut in terms of size - XM receivers are generally more compact than the majority of SIRIUS receivers. Even so, XM's MyFi isn't necessarily 'small' (see photo) - so if XM can't make their portable receiver small, can SIRIUS?
There's no doubt in my mind that Apple's team can bring a smaller satellite radio receiver to market - provided that SIRIUS would actually agree to farm out production to them. But Size versus Battery Life is an ongoing battle as features increase, and it's hard to think that we can have a small enough "iPod Satellite" without compromising in the portability department.
December 6, 2004 10:43 AM
