Dave Alvin, the Grammy-award winning roots rock legend, will join XM Satellite Radio as host of his own show "9 Volt".

"9 Volt" will premiere the week of September 18th on XM's Americana music channel X Country (ch 12). Named after his song dedicated to his transistor radio listening days "Plastic Silver 9 Volt Heart," the hour-long show will feature Alvin paying homage to all styles of music, from the Blues to R&B to Folk to Roots Rock to Rockabilly and more.

Dave Alvin’s "9 Volt" will air the third week of every month on X Country; Mondays at 11am, and replays on Thursday at 7pm and Saturday at 11am.

The Pioneer Inno is in desperate need for a good case. The case that comes with it just doesn't cut it, and the Belkin leather case that came out at the same time - while nice looking - isn't really the best option for "active" users.

For someone who spends a lot of time working out, nothing beats a good armband. Yes, they're cheesy looking, but in terms of functionality they can't be beat. DLO released an armband a few weeks back that almost made me giddy - but as an Orbitcast reader pointed out - there's no access to the antenna port. Too bad, it could have been a contender.

Enter Speck Products. The same peeps known for creating incredible iPod cases, and who have set their sights on satellite radio having released cases for both the Sirius S50 and the MyFi. Now, they have cases for the Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix.

So for the past two weeks I've had the privilege of fooling around with a couple of Speck's skins on the Inno. I'm not necessarily gentle on my Inno (or anything actually) - daily gym use, doing my ridiculous home improvements, and on my regular 10-block walk to/from work - I generally have a set of earbuds on at all times. So I put these things to the test.

Speck's Armband + Case includes both the armband and a Skin-Tight case. The Skin-Tight case has all the ports made available - headphones, USB, antenna port - all there. Big plus. All buttons are fully accessible through the skin as well - another plus. No more unsnapping of a strap to change channels/songs.

The band itself is made out of a soft neoprene-like material with velcro to attach it - it resists sweat 100% (nothing's worse than a sweaty armband) and I haven't had it fall off yet. It'll fit arms up to 16" so if you're a fat O&A listener you might be out of luck. The Skin-Tight case that comes with the Armband can still be used in the armband or out of it though, so stop crying.

Then there's Speck's Tough-Skin Case. This gives your Inno a raised paneling that looks straight off of a Hummer - definitely looks neat. S50 and iPod owners are probably quite familiar with the Tough-Skin case. It comes with a belt clip that detaches from the case itself - so a quick press of a button releases the Inno from your belt.

Gripes? For both the Armband and the Touch-Skin, you can't plug in the Inno into the home-dock (I don't have a car-dock... I listen to Sirius in the car). The Skin-Tight skin can almost make the connection, but I didn't force it. So in order to dock it, you need to peel off the skin each time you want to plug in. Sorta stinks, but I can't see a way around it since the backing of the home-dock has such little clearance to the connector plug. I also seem to avoid using the screen protector - just because I'm lazy.

The one thing that would make the Armband even better would be if it came with a belt holster. That way I could take it from the gym, pop it out of the armband and snap into the holster and head to work. Might be a good "deluxe pack" option for Speck to consider.

Aside from that, both cases are highly recommended. Best cases for the Inno yet in my opinion.

Banc of America Securities analyst Jonathan Jacoby said yesterday that the NPD-reported satellite radio unit sales grew an average 2% year-to-year in July.

Those numbers are better than June - which was pretty much flat - but XM’s growth was down year-to-year by 29%, likely due to the product shortages thanks to receivers that failed to pass the FCC emissions tests.

Sirius' growth, on the otherhand, was up 49% year-to-year. Jacoby said that "Sirius has taken share on account of product shortages for XM." He also warned that, "We do NOT believe that satellite radio is out of the woods yet regarding the fallout from the FCC issue." Ugh. Say it ain't so.

Last week XM announced that they've received FCC approval for three key receivers. One concern (at least for me) is whether the signal now will be so weak that it becomes more or less useless. Many for instance have complained about the FM modulator strength on the Sirius Sportster 4.

But rather than reducing the signal, XM has setup a method to bring the signal closer to the antenna itself. XM's new FM modulator consists of an additional third wire that is installed in close proximity to the car's antenna (not attached to the car's antenna as previously reported). The wire simply can be attached to the glass or elsewhere inside the vehicle, and only needs to be near the car's antenna (say, 18" or so).

This fix protects the sound quality for a positive consumer experience, as well as satisfies the excessive emissions issue. The downside? It makes installation a lil' harder - especially for vehicles where the antenna is located in the rear.

AOL Radio will start carrying Bob Dylan's weekly XM Satellite Radio show "Theme Time Radio Hour" this Wednesday, August 30th.

AOL Radio listeners will get to play catch-up and listen to 18 previous shows as part of XM's Theme Time Radio Hour marathon starting this Friday, September 1st at 6pm ET.

They'll also get the treat of listening the premiere of Bob Dylan's much anticipated Modern Times album, to air today and tomorrow, with on-demand streaming available throughout the week (all part of AOL Music's Full CD Listening Party).

[AOL Radio Info Page]

XM Satellite Radio has received new grants of authority by the FCC for three XM radios with FM transmitters indicating that the radios are now in  full compliance with FCC regulations.

These XM plug-and-play radios - the Audiovox Xpress, Delphi RoadyXT, and XM Sportscaster - are three of XM's primary products at retail.

Manufacturers can now resume production of these devices, just in time to ensure receivers can be available at retail for the holiday shopping season.

Check out the Sportscaster Grant and the Roady XT Grant [via Satellite Radio TechWorld].

Interesting, there seems to be a growing interest in Internet Radio in the satellite radio industry. First Sirius registers for SIR: Sirius Internet Radio, and now XM has applied for Power Shift.

The trademark app simply give the description of Power Shift being "entertainment services, namely, an on-going radio program for broadcasting via satellite digital audio radio services and over the Internet."

So judging by the name and description, this sounds like a service that will switch between the XM  satellite signal (SDARS) and an Internet feed.

View the full trademark application at Satellite Radio TechWorld. 

Jessican Simpson is making the rounds with the satcasters - first she hosted a recent SIRIUS Hits 1 Weekend Countdown (on a Thursday, ironically) - and today she spent the day at XM Satellite Radio studios in DC to talk about her latest album "A Public Affair" (released August 29th).

Jessica sat down for an interview with XM’s Top 20 on 20 host Michelle and also visited XM's dance channel BPM to chat with DJ Alan Freed. All for the ride was her dog.... Daisy.

Of course, no mention of Jessica Simpson should be without a plethora of photos, so g'head and check them out after the jump...

A new study by Bridge Ratings found that the renewal rate of XM/SIRIUS subscribers, when broken down by OEM channel and Retail channel acquisitions, differs significantly.

The report found that of those subscribers who purchased a satellite radio at the retail level plan on renewing at a 78% rate. Meanwhile, subscribers who acquired their satellite radios from the OEM channel (new car purchase) plan on renewing at only a 54% rate.

This shouldn't be of much of a surprise to anyone as it's also the difference between push and pull. In the retail situation, the consumer actively is seeking out the radio (or is sold on the idea by a crafty salesman), whereas in the OEM situation the radio falls on their lap with a free trial.

Actually, what is a surprise is the 78% retail renewal rate. That means that, based on this report's findings, nearly 1/4 of retail purchasers are unhappy with something. Either they didn't get what they expected, the unit was too difficult to setup, or the customer service was poor. Improving in all areas would be great - but better customer service would help in both the retail and OEM side. Something to think about.

[Bridge Ratings]