SIRIUS Satellite Radio's GLBT channel, Sirius OutQ (ch 106), will be providing live coverage of the Gay Games VII from July 15th through July 22nd.

OutQ will broadcast the entire event - from the Opening Ceremony from Soldier Field to the Closing Ceremony from Wrigley Field - with interviews, profiles and stories of the athletes, directors and performers along the way.

Look for Sirius OutQ hosts offering colorful commentary and... behind-the-scenes facts about the event as well.

The folks over at GSI got their hands on some new Sirius Plug-and-Play receiver photos. The first is of the upcoming Brix Streamer GT3 ST3TK1B, which is essentially Brix's version of the Sirius Starmate Replay. The second photo is of the Brix Streamer 3 SP3TK1B, which is the Brix version of the Sirius Sportster 4.

Streamer GT3:

Streamer 3:

It's important to note that these are meant to be middle-tier units, so the Replay functions will not be available in either unit. The display is also an Amber display, rather than the cool blue. This gives a clear upgrade path for the consumer.

Both units will be compatable with the same docking connector. That will allow you to snap the unit into the SUPV1 Sirius Universal Vehicle Kit, the SUPH1 (Universal Home Kit) and the SUBX1 (Universal Boombox). Very nice.

[Get Sirius Info] 

UPDATE: Looks the new units are expected to be available November 2006. Also from this page, there will be support for "'Smart' Docks & Accessories" which I hope means there will be some universal portable systems for future plug-and-play receivers.

Looking for deals on the new Sirius Stiletto? Look no further than below:

UPDATE: Orbitcast is completely obsessed with the new Sirius Stiletto, so if you're part of the thousands looking for info on the upcoming device, check out all the links below:

• Sirius Stiletto 100 - FOUND
  
• Sirius SL10 - upcoming Sirius Stiletto "Lite" version?
  
• SIRIUS Stiletto 100 & Stiletto 10 Details... Leaked?
• Stiletto: More Pics and Product Sheet
  
• SIRIUS Stiletto Now Available on Crutchfield
• SIRIUS Stiletto Promotional Video
• It's Official: SIRIUS Announces the Stiletto

Keep checking back with Orbitcast, because if there's any info or news involving the Stiletto, you know we'll be covering it.

Thanks to quick photo work by The Deal, we (finally) have a photo of the pre-release version of Sirius' fully-portable satellite radio/MP3 player as Mel Karmazin is holding up at the Convergence 2.0 conference earlier this week.

To your right you can see Mel holding the device while he's talking about it's live on-the-go features, and that he promises that it will come out by the end of this summer.

If that's not enough, the boys over at Tech Effect were nice enough to provide a monsterous close-up photo of the device (which we believe will be known as the SIRIUS Stiletto SL100-TK1).

So without further adeau, here's what we have:

Now, the only point of reference for size we have is Mel's hand (which isn't a very scientific unit of measurement) and the connector - which looks identical to the Sportster 4's connector. So... that would put the connector's dimensions at just over 1" wide and 1/4" high,which gives us a reference point for how thick and wide the device is. Then again, this could just be a prototype.

[via Tech Effect]
(Engadget, Gizmodo, GSI, SSG and Sirius Backstage found it too)
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

In Forbes today, Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck noted that XM's website peaked around Father's Day at levels "significantly higher" than average, indicating a possible increase in interest around the holiday. By contrast, Sirius Satellite Radio's traffic stayed within the average range - spiking after Father's Day.

Curious. This peaked my interest. So I embarked onto good ol' Alexa to get a clearer picture:

Here's the Alexa graph showing the past month's worth of reach trending. I say "trending" because Alexa is great to determine exactly that - it's not an absolute measurement. Anyway.

So xmradio.com saw a significant spike in traffic just before Father's Day, yet sirius.com saw a spike after Father's Day. This could be translated in different ways as the post-Father's Day traffic could very well be from online activations (a good sign for Sirius). While the pre-Father's Day traffic for XM could be an indication that their TV spot made a difference. Ohh the speculation.

Whatever the causes, I'm pretty much convinced that the post-Father's Day traffic is from activations or from new subscribers checking out the service. Good news since this period is so important for consumer electronics sales.

But there's one thing that doesn't add up... Stern started streaming just before Father's Day.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has signed on Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame inductee Bill Gaither to host a new Souther Gospel music program.

The show, entitled Bill Gaither’s Homecoming Radio will feature classic as well as new southern gospel music, and will debut on Sunday, July 9th on SIRIUS ch 62, The Roadhouse.

The three-hour program will be broadcast at 9am ET and again at 9pm ET every Sunday.

Starting this fall, SIRIUS Satellite Radio will launch Variety Radio News. Powered by reporters and editors of Variety magazine, Variety Radio News will deliver entertainment news multiple times each hour of every day.

Oddly enough, Variety Radio News will air on SIRIUS' Los Angeles channel (ch 150).

Are you not getting your fix of Diamond Dave since he was fired from CBS Radio? Well, wipe away those precious tears because David Lee Roth is coming to SIRIUS Satellite Radio... but only for a little while.

DLR will be dropping by SIRIUS' Outlaw Country (ch 63) this Friday, June 30th @ 11am ET, to discuss his new album - Strummin’ with the Devil. And if you miss it, you'll be able to catch him again on Monday, July 3rd @ 11am ET for the replay.

[via Sirius Fan Network]
Thanks Todd!

If you take a look at XACT's website, you'll notice that only the XACT Visor has a "buy" button next to it.

Similarly, on Directed Electronics' website the Sirius Starmate Replay, along with the Sirius One, are no longer available.

Combined with Audiovox removing both XM and Sirius radios from their website, and it definitely smells like something's up.

• The FCC limit for FM transmitter emissions is something like 48dBuV/m.
• The Sirius S50 came in at an average of 74.7dBuV/m.
• The Sirius Sportster 4 came in at an average of 74.8dBuV/m.

(Interestingly enough, the NAB results contradict reports that the Sportster 4 has a weak FM transmitter.)

UPDATE: The NAB tested the previous generation Sportster Replay SPTK2, not the Sportster 4 as previously stated.

Even with a vehicle's insultating properties, the Sirius S50 still came in at an average of 56.7dBuV/m.

So what about the antennas? Apparently the supplied antenna is only a #20 guage wire (which is a no-no for some reason). Also the Sirius antenna connectors consist of a standard 2.5mm audio connector, and that violates the FCC requirement that the connector be a unique connector. The whole intent of this requirement is to prevent the use of an antenna that can be used to boost the signal beyond required emission levels.

[GSI]
[View the NAB Report] (PDF)
Thanks tim!

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has inked a deal with Barbara Walters to air a weekly two-hour series that replays many of the interviews Walters has conducted since joining ABC in 1976. The two-hour series, entitled Barbara Walters' Best of the Very Best, will begin next year on SIRIUS Stars (ch 102).

Walters has also agreed to host "Ask Barbara Anything," a one-hour show where she will take calls from listeners. This show will air four-times a year.

"It is a wonderful way for them to be heard," Walters told The Associated Press. "So many of them are classics. It is everything from Lucille Ball and John Wayne and Bing Crosby and George Burns to Matthew McConaughey and Julia Roberts."

[The Washington Post]