IPods in cars raise questions for satellite radio
An article in today’s Washington Post online details plans for a new Apple iPod car kit that may threaten satellite radio. Although you can already jam out to your iPod in the car in a couple ways, the new kit would be differant. While the existing system, iTrip, lets you broadcast your iPod to your car stereo (or plug into your stereo’s line-in if it has one), the new kit must be installed in the car and allows you to transfer data through a docking station. This results in better sound quality and the possiblity of storing songs on your car system.
Of XM’s 4.4 million subscribers, one half currently listens to satellite radio in their cars. So what does this mean for satellite radio? That depends on a few things.
First, price. The iCar (or whatever they’re going to call it) has been estimated anywhere from $150 to $400. The upper half of that spectrum would price it above XM car recievers, while the lower pricetag would undercut. If you can indeed store a good deal of downloaded music on the drivePod (or whatever they’re going to call it), and it’s cheaper than sat radio recievers, auto manufactureres may choose to install Apple’s product over Sirius or XM.
Although the iPod does have several advantages over satellite radio, chief among them being total control over your playlist, it’s not a completely one-sided fight.
-
“It could be a slight threat to satellite radio but I would expect they’ll coexist,” said Kit Spring, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus and Co, noting that listening to a radio is a more passive activity than using an iPod and that radio has live content.
These are two major advantages, and at present, I would call the fight either evenly or slightly to the advantage of satellite. However, as the iPod generation grows up and starts buying autos, there may be a change. Steve Jobs already knows well the buying power of a generation that prizes style, image, and complete control above all else.
September 8th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
One thing the radio has over ipod is the DJ delivering new music that I havnt heard yet.
On the other hand, I dont like allot of the crap most DJs deliver.
I suppose that ipod could deliver music recomendations. When I dock the unit at my computer, it could recomend and download music that I may like.
either way I am looking at a minimum of $13 a month if I want to continue to receive fresh music.
Unless I go peer to peer.
September 9th, 2005 at 9:36 pm
Minimum of 13 a month is a lot better than 99 cents per song, I guarantee I listen to a lot more than 13 songs per month that I am happy with so I do much better with the Satellite radio.