More details have been released regarding the Sirius / NAVTEQ Deal. With all the speculation running around, here's some concise answers to everyone's questions:

When?
Sirius spokesman Jim Collins said the company cannot say at this time when it will launch the new service. The Sirius traffic service would compete with XM Satellite Radio's traffic service (which cut a deal with Navteq two years ago - called XM NavTraffic). NavTraffic was launched in limited form in September as standard equipment in the 2005 Acura RL. Cadillac intends to offer the service as standard equipment in its 2005 CTS by the end of the year, said XM spokesman Chance Patterson. Patterson also said,

"We don't expect Sirius to roll out something like this for several years."

How?
Sirius said retail and automotive partners, such as DaimlerChrysler, intend to offer the service as a product upgrade for upcoming auto navigation systems. Since these systems don't necessarily have small screens, a factory installed option is the best bet - so that answers that question.

How Much?
Currently, subscribers pay $12.95 per month for basic service, but Sirius plans to roll out a host of video and data-type services, like the traffic service, that could be offered in a tiered pricing structure, Collins said.

With XM's basic service starting at $9.99 per month, Patterson said the XM NavTraffic service would cost subscribers an additional $3.99 per month.

Which is better?
Since XM currently uses Navteq and SIRIUS will be using the same source to provide the map information, expect the traffic data to be identical between the two. The maps might be slightly different in design, but don't expect one to have better data than the other. In the end, it'll be the hardware (and the size of the hardware especially) that separates one system from the other.