This BusinessWeek article gives a very in-depth look at the mounting pressure that the Sirius Stiletto is posing on XM. For SIRIUS' first live-handheld satellite radio receiver much of the media fanfare seems to revolve around its Wi-Fi capability, and this article is no exception. "Inclusion of Wi-Fi in the Stiletto puts Sirius at the front of a pack of electronics makers expected to feature the wireless broadband connectivity in devices in coming months. Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to include Wi-Fi in its Zune music player. XM wouldn't comment on plans, but it's portable lineup doesn't currently include Wi-Fi capabilities."
Personally the WiFi functionality is a cool line-item in the list of features, but it's the internal antenna that I really care about. Don't get me wrong, I'm not downplaying the fact that it has WiFi - for in-home use it will prove to be absolutely priceless. Hell, anything that removes the wires associated with satellite radio receivers is a welcome addition to the industry (ultimate wish: cordless satrad antennas).
But at work? I doubt it will be as useful as some are hoping (no admin wants to provide unauthenticated access, with more and more requiring MAC address authentication). Public access like in airports and cafes as BusinessWeek suggests? Probably not reliable. Sure, if there's no landing page required to access the service then you've got free reign - but I doubt (though don't know for sure) that the Stiletto has a built-in browser to support any of these. That might pose to be a problem.
But in places where there's open access, or even just a WEP/WPA key required - such as in your home - the Stiletto will truly shine.
That said, who cares as long as it sells radios? WiFi access is a growing trend in consumer electronics, and Sirius is positioning itself as a technology-leader now. The Zune comes to mind immediately, and of course there's loads of WiFi iPod rumors, and then there's also WiFi Skype phones and hell even WiFi enabled digicams get gadgetheads giddy. So by featuring WiFi, Sirius not only creates a buzz-worthy device that will excite early-adopters, but at the same time they change their image signficantly. And that's a halo effect folks.
[BusinessWeek]
Good points above. I doubt Wi-fi is going to be all that useful for most users out there but unfortunately, most business journalists don't get it. Nor do they care to.
"Wi-Fi" is a cool buzzword at the moment so they're going to write about it as if it was the cure for cancer. It was smart of Sirius to include it in the Stilletto if only to get the free PR from the sheepish press. I highly doubt that most of the non-tech writers touting it as a VERY IMPORTANT HUGE FEATURE even understand what it is and whether it's of any real benefit to users or not. It's cool, but ultimately not the be-all, end-all of features that I'd want.
Certainly, as you mentioned, a wireless antenna would exite me much more than wi-fi ever will.
Ryan - Nintendo DS works with many hotspots with landing pages and it didn't have a web browser until just recently. There are ways to go about it.
Many businesses have WiFi and allow people to bring in their own laptop to link into the corporate network. It's possible in most cases that people could get the Stiletto authorized as well.
I also have an interest as to if the Zing features for social networking, etc. will be activated. They use Adhoc WiFi, which is another potential fun reason to have WiFi in the device, even if you never use it to stream SIR.
I do agree that the internal antenna is key, but having an option for places that you'll never get a signal otherwise is also a pretty helpful thing. Whether people will use it or not, I'm not sure, but it's certainly made for a lot of buzz.
--D
My gym for some reason has wi-fi. Now I can listen to satradio in my gym? That's HUGE!
I think everyone in the business (and SatRad fan) community is concentrating on the WiFi b/c it is thought to be a "cure all" to SIRI's spoddy reception.
Personally, I don't see a lot of use for this except in the home or around an unencrypted/unencumbered AP. Coffee shops and places that commonly have open AP's usually ask for some sort of interaction for authentication (i.e. accepting the shop's 'Terms of Usage' before being allowed to browse). And even if you were to wardive an area that had multiple AP's that you could switch between, I doubt this systems WiFi is any better than what's currently in my Dell Axim (which I use at times as a adhoc "MyFi" with XstreamXM mobile). I can't walk b/w AP's without it causing some kind of hiccup.
I do, however, see why this is a big deal. I just hope it works out for the lil' doggy co.
>>>> There are ways to go about it.
Droo -- are you saying this isn't going to be a problem?
Almost all the hotels/motels I stay in have a landing page that requires you to "agree" to terms of service. Can this new device handle these? If so, how does that work?
As to using it in a business, forget it. The first thing I advise clients who are adding Internet access to their offices to do is to allow access ONLY where needed and to limit it to essential sites. Any consultant or inside IT guy worth his salt does the same thing.
It is sure to bring great publicity, but the little brother device will be much, much more popular unless the reception isn't any good.
With most people ignorant as to how the sat reception should be on a portable SATRAD in general resulting in returns; Wi-Fi will also disapoint many users who will become fustrated when they "see" a hotspot and can't connect. I suspect high sales with high returns.
i don't know about sirius, but at least w/ XM, you can't even get all of the channels over the internet feed. is sirius going to make syndicated channels like CNN, ESPN, etc., available via wifi somehow? or are new customers going to be disappointed when they find out they can't get all the channels with this "extra" level of coverage?
@delbert_grady
Neither company can rebroadcast every station on their platform. Channels like ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, etc. are licensed thru XM/SIRI for rebroadcast on their platform...not over the internet.
While it is a sucky situation to some, there's a good reason why either company SHOULD NOT pay the rights to re-broadcast them on their respective internet streams...the main reason is that it would probably cost a FOR-tune.
I have no problem with XM only broadcasting the stuff that they produce on the net (O&A, music channels, Bob Edwards).
-h
I access XM over wifi with my Samsung Q1. Granted it's the standard XM Internet feed, but plays fine through the Windows Media Player. Setup includes a XM icon on the player to reconnect.
No better, no worse than other internet streams.
Stackpointer/Frontmed -
As I pointed out in your Google Groups post, there are definitely ways to get around the landing pages that don't require a Web Browser as several devices in the wild can do this.
Since ZING's business model is largely built around WiFi, I will hope they intend to strive for maximum compatibility. If they didn't, they will be needing to fix this in a firmware update.
At the very least it should work with the more common T-mobile and AT&T Hotspots (as well as anyone else who supports 802.1X authentication).
As for your remarks about businesses, you'll find an alarming amount do not block UDP connections in any form outbound and tend to weigh heavily on TCP traffic. This is also indicative by the amount of people that are listening to XM and Sirius streaming via their work computer.
This isn't the venue to go into discussions about large and small businesses network security efforts but anyone who reads the news will notice companies who shouldn't have laxed policies generally do. These things aren't a priority to many until the preverbial shit hits the fan.
--D
"This isn't the venue to go into discussions about large and small businesses network security efforts but anyone who reads the news will notice companies who shouldn't have laxed policies generally do. These things aren't a priority to many until the preverbial shit hits the fan."
So true Droo. And I'm sure many companies will frown upon the Stiletto/SIR once anyone complains about hearing Stern in the background while at work. It is both a blessing and a curse IMHO.
The WiFi is a great idea, but I believe it is too restrictive and not commonplace enough to be of much use at this point in time. I garner in about two more years, it'll be easier to access as well as be more commonplace. Particularly outside the U.S.
Once reviews of the Stiletto are out, they should be concentrating far more on the unit itself and not the WiFi.
My problem is that people seem to see having WiFi has a bad idea. If it were in exchange for Satellite signal, that'd be different. However, people can pick and choose their road to get their content. I see this as more options and OPTIONS are a good thing.
--D
"My problem is that people seem to see having WiFi has a bad idea."
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I just question it's usefulness to most average users.
"I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I just question it's usefulness to most average users."
That sounds a bit off to me. How can it having a wi-fi feature be bad or can you question it's usefulness? Its better than having a unit with no wi-fi. Sounds like you're playing favorites for some reason, although i can be mistaken.
Then don't use the WiFi feature, or get the SL10 instead.
--D
All of it sounds cool, but I will let others be the first to buy and then find out how all of it is working.
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=Stern: O&A say I invented everything, I didn't event everything, I just invented their act.