8 Reasons why the new Sirius XM iPhone app is rip

Some of you may have noticed that today Sirius XM, with some exuberance, released a streaming radio application for the iPhone. Apparently it’s such a huge event that both Sirius’ and XM’s web sites are plastered with the news. While I don’t have an iPhone I don’t need one to know how awful this application is.
1. You already have all of the music, and more Chances are your iPhone is already filled to the brim with music. Whether through a store like iTunes, ripped from your CDs, or a illegal sources, you’ve already found the music you want to listen to. Why instead would you want to listen to a glorified FM channel? Sirius XM’s iPhone app may offer over 120 channels of content but the average listener doesn’t frequent more than five or six channels. Even when you do tune in you’ll find a rather shallow playlist. The vast majority of tracks you hear are the big name groups and their big name songs. If it’s popular, it’s there. No depth, no creativity, and the days of brand spanking new music are simply fond memories. The best part about listening to your own music? You’re in control. Don’t like a song, skip it. Want to hear a band? Play it. You have zero control over what Sirius XM’s channels are playing. 2. The fucking DJs Anyone who has heard my opinion on Sirius XM knows that this is my biggest gripe. Since the merger my poor XM music channels have been filled with the sound of shitty DJs. These DJs rival those of the FM world in their amazing ability to interrupt the music with inane gibberish. Nothing sucks more than having your musical grove interrupted by someone who sounds like a chatty 10th grader. Awful people like "mAdiSoN" who babble about the most unrelated shit going on in their life. No, I don’t give a shit about what you saw on TruTV last night and no, I don’t want to hear your fucking voice every 5 god damn songs! I have often felt like kicking the shit out of my car’s radio after hearing some of these people. I can only imagine the pain an iPhone would endure. 3. It’s music channels are commercial free* *except for the channels that aren’t and DJs advertising other channels. What advertisements don’t tell you is that there are a bunch of channels featuring advertisements. While these channels are still few in number Sirius XM is in a big money crunch and it wouldn’t be beyond the leadership to start adding commercials here and there. Beyond the traditional commercial there’s what Sirius XM refers to as "sponsorships" and "promotions." DJs, with their well honed abilities to interrupt, will decide to babble about other channels and services in the Sirius XM world. Instead of just playing music on the channel they’re running they’d rather let you know about the 24/7 Grateful Dead channel that might be playing music right now. Or that you can give them more money to tune into other shows they’re too spiteful to offer under your already outrageous price tag. Another thing a lot of consumers don’t realize, talk and news channels have commercials. Yes, the advertisements make note that they’re "commercial free music channels" but a lot of consumers just aren’t that bright. 4. Radio Tags Terrestrial channels have the habit of announcing what channel you’re listening to. This stems from the days where all you had on your radio was a couple of digits letting you know the frequency. It made sense in the days before they started pumping information along with the music. For whatever bloody reason Sirius XM has decided to do this. I don’t think they realize that 99% of listeners are sitting right next to a receiver, now your iPhone that displays song and channel information. Imagine if you were listening to your iPhone and every four songs they interrupted to let you know that you’re enjoying music on an Apple iPhone. Throw in some really bad skits, hack sound effects, and poor catch phrases and you’ve got the Sirius XM iPhone listening experience. 6. Some of the worst customer service Having an issue listening in your iPhone? Would like to cancel your account? Will in the most polite terms, you’re fucked. Sirius XM has a long history of some of the worst customer service in the industry. Many iPhone users will likely give the Sirius XM application a month or two trial. After which canceling your subscription will likely be a chore. Horror stories are abound from listeners trying to cancel their radio service. Unfortunately it’s likely that this will continue and drive some iPhone listeners to the brink. There are already a fair amount of people complaining about the app not working. You’re SOL if you think calling Sirius XM is going to make a difference. 7. Not all channels are available The iPhone application comes with a nice little disclaimer, "SIRIUS & XM offer all of the channels for which we have mobile performance rights. For that reason, certain channels which may be available on your satellite radio or online radio service may not be available on a mobile device like the iPhone." If you’re still considering getting the iPhone app at this point do yourself a favor and research the channel availability. Stuck in 1991 and want to listen to some cutting edge radio? Well you can’t listen to Howard Stern. (Granted, that’s probably his fault, greedy bastard is most likely holding out for more money let his 4 day a week show be heard on the iPhone) If anything you should be turned off by the lack of streaming music. 8. The Price Some of you are going to shout, "$3? That’s nothing?" Valid point, unless you’re one of those poor saps like me already paying for satellite radio. It doesn’t matter to Sirius XM that we’re already paying upwards of $17 a month for services. Since the merger they’ve already decided that it should be another $3 to listen to an online radio that doesn’t sound like complete shit. If you’ve avoided the extra charge thus far, and want to use this app past seven days, so much for that. If you’re really interested in listening to streaming music, even Sirius or XM channels, there are much better ways to do so than this app. Instead of paying a monthly fee you can put down $10 once to get Pocket Tunes by NormSoft. Not only can you listen to Sirius XM but it also opens up thousands of other stations to mobile listening. Too much for you? How about Pandora, which is FREE. Or last.fm, or...

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