Ah ha! XM's Channel Guide (PDF) gives us a glimpse into the new XM Channels a wee-bit earlier than expected I'm thinking. Wanna make some bets as to how long this PDF will be online?

Just in case you miss it, check out this image featuring the new logos and their channels coming soon. 

...and now Paul Mercer has designed the user interface for the upcoming Samsung Z5 MP3 Player. I wonder if he had a hand in the Samsung Helix and Nexus?

[NY Times via Slashdot] 

TWICE reports that the incredibly tiny XM Passport next-gen XM Connect-and-Play satellite radio tuner/antenna will be available in late-May/early-June. The 1.3-inch by 1.65-inch by 0.44-inch XM Passport mini-tuner will MSRP for only $29.99 and will be distributed exclusively by Audiovox.

TWICE gives a full SKU-by-SKU breakdown which I've put together in a shortened version available after the jump...

After reading this article on the chips in the Pioneer Inno, Samsung Helix and Nexus I'm pretty amazed by their power consumption.

The Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix both use Austriamicrosystems’ AS3524 Portable Audio Chip, while the Samsung Nexus uses the AS3525 chip. Both chips are similar, with the AS3524 obviously allowing for live XM Satellite Radio reception.

In playback mode, both the Inno and Helix have 10 hours of battery life. In live XM Radio mode they have about 5.5 hours of battery life. That's pretty impressive considering what's needed to receive the SDARS signal, not to mention power the 180x180 Color LCD Screens and all the other doodads involved.

So I got to thinking about how the Inno, Helix and Nexus stack up against the iPod in terms of power consumption.

After a bit of research I found that the 5G iPod Video consumes 1,000mW of power in playback mode. Now, consumption of course varies depending on what you're doing, such as starting up (1,800mW) or when the iPod is in "sleep" mode (70mW). But let's just focus on playback right now.

The Samsung Nexus' chip consumes 58mW of power during MP3 playback. Unfortunately, I don't have the numbers for the additional power needed to power the satellite radio decoder, but the playback power consumption alone is very impressive. Is this why they're restricted to 1Gb of flash storage? Too much power needed to power the SDARS decoder?

According to the article, the Samsung Nexus' chip has an ARM9-based processor subsystem with on-chip RAM and ROM, a CD-quality audio front-end as well as a smart power management and lighting unit. The Pionner Inno's and Samsung Helix's chips are similar but work with an analog front-end that is optimized for portable satellite radio reception.

The question that I have is whether these chips will eventually work with a hard-drive based unit (*cough* iPod *cough*). I assume battery life was comprimised when using a hard-drive based system, so they opted for a less battery intensive flash based unit for now, but do these chips have the ability to be ported to an iPod-like device once a more efficient power supply is figured out? Interesting thoughts.

The first of the advertisements for the Samsung Helix and Pioneer Inno are coming out. A reader sent in this link to a thread on XM411 where someone scanned in the ad.

You can view the Inno/Helix ad after the jump...

An article over at Adotas points to some very interesting future functionality that may be in store for XM's Push-to-Purchase feature. When the Samsung Helix XMP3 device hits the streets, so will the first units with the XM+Napster functionailty where you can "tag" songs for purchase later. Great idea.

But it seems XM has more ideas for what they can do with this "buy button" concept, as D. Scott Karnedy, senior VP-ad sales for XM Satellite Radio, said at a radio panel last week.

"The next generation [after that] will be that if you want to hit that button for more information about that product you just heard described."

Suddenly radio will be transformed from a branding medium for advertisers, to a direct-response medium. That inevitably will lead to more advertising dollars as marketers learn the benefits of advertising on satellite radio as opposed to other mediums. Awesome.

[Adotas]

Also at:
[Media Buyer Planner]

Read an interesting article today in the globeandmail about bringing mobile video over to the land of upright Mounties. Apparently XM Canada told analysts yesterday that XM Radio (the US version) is in the process of introducing video-equipped receivers that may eventually drive a significant portion of the industry's revenue. Meanwhile Sirius Canada CEO Mark Redmond said their own technology is aimed at the "backseat viewers" such as children who want to watch music videos in cars. "It's probably late 2006 at best," Redmond said.

Now, we know the upcoming Samsung Helix and Pioneer Inno will be supporting JPEG video for clip playback, but no other signs of a PVP (Portable Video Player) have reared their head lately.

Last month, our heads were swimming with thoughts mobile video delivered via satellite radio network, but nothing concrete. There was the C&C Air (watch video) that mentioned support for XM or SIRIUS when introduced in the US later this year, but that seemed more like a PSP competitor that simply might support satellite radio.

Then there was this blog post by On2 Technologies CEO Doug McIntyre hinting towards an On2 VP7 enabled portable video device. There it clearly says that the video content is downloaded via the XM Satellite network. Also Doug talks about scheduling of video content:

"You don’t even have to do anything, the device can automatically download schedules content, kind of like a TiVo. When you wake up in the morning all of your new shows, news, etc. is ready to go with you out the door."

Very interesting stuff. Further inquires to On2 pretty much led to a deadend (I can post the email exchange, but it really wasn't all that fruitful). Was the post a misguided reference to the Inno and/or Helix? Doubtful, but possible. And I don't think he was confusing the Helix/Inno with the in-vehicle video shown at CES 2006 - so there may be a mystery XM PVP device in the horizon.

And then there's SIRIUS. Not only are they looking into the backseat kind of mobile video (coincidence that music videos were mentioned?) but the last reports we heard they were on-track for a mid-2006 release of SIRIUS' own Portable Video Player. 

With all the hubbub speculation about what "fun new products" Apple will announce next week, and how we're all secretly praying the Touchscreen Video iPod (fake Photochop pictured above) could one day be real - one has to wonder how far behind are XM and SIRIUS? Every year we're heard about satellite video at every CES, so this is something they have been thinking on for quite sometime. Will we finally see it all come to fruition soon?

A reader sent in this absolutely hilarious Avis commercial featuring XM Satellite Radio. I don't care what side of the fence you're on, this commercial is the kind that can be played over and over again. (Please note: Flash 8 required to stack cheese.)

Thanks candlebougie! 

A truly interesting read in the Washington Post about the evolution of Bob Edwards. From his NPR days to now on XM Satellite Radio, Marc Fisher of the Washington Post writes of the development of Bob Edwards' style and the things that have been learned during the transition to satellite radio. Definitely worth taking a look at.

[Washington Post via Beyond XM] 

XM Rocks did a usability study on XM's website recently and I just thought it was an insightful little writeup. Points out a few pet-peeves people have had with it (no search, Mac compatibility issues, etc). I'd love to see a usability study done on SIRIUS' website as well. Would be interesting to see (and I can think of a few things to change).

Let's open this up to the comments. What are your biggest complaints/problems with either XM's or SIRIUS' sites? How about you Mac folks?