Sirius Satellite Pushes Portable Player

Sirius Satellite clutch announced a suit exchangeable musician, tout contained by forte of a wearable satellite radio that allows user to control and warehouse Sirius cheerful also as MP3 and WMA files.

The multinational -- which beam songs, collaborate and more via its satellite radio provision -- said the Sirius S50 appliance be planned to be accessible in stores in encourage of US$350 in October.

However, the company was to some extent scant next to the complete saga, equally near the storage environment or vastness of the player, which analysts said was also price plausibly as resourcefully high-ranking for best consumers considering an iPod-type device.

Nevertheless, Sirius be look to capture a flipside on its satellite radio protestation -- mainly XM -- and leverage the expansion popularity of the medium, which normally features a general sort of ad-free content for a subscription.

Sirius said its S50 device -- a 1.9-inch wide, 3.9-inch extended, 0.7-inch-thick portable player -- would endow satellite programming and channel along with the competency to store content in sundry format. The company hail the S50's voice-assisted navigation that tell users what subway they're on and a "Sirius Media Dial" for consistency. The device bag will consist of a coupe face, 6-hour rechargeable amenable, ear bud, belt snatch, armband, USB cable for PC intersection and AC adapter.

While Sirius fulfil not allow for whether the device would spending flicker remembrance, knotty disk or other storage technology, it will also tender a scholar house wharf that include clamour mixing for PC sound pass-through, diplomat links, cut off control and home antenna.

Gartner (NYSE: IT) research vice president Van Baker tell TechNewsWorld the S50 is a cavort to capture the Sirius subscribers who want to bring their satellite content with them. In mixing to the satellite programming aptitude, the device features "Scheduled project," which allows users to specific the radio to capture favorite show, like peas in a pod to a digital video recorder (DVR).

"The allure is the portability, the incident shifting aspect and the added capability to listen to both the Sirius content and their MP3 collection," Baker said.

However, the analyst question the deficit of decorum from Sirius on the technology to store the content, and said the price sticker of the S50 "sounds costly." Although he could not answer question a gooey time ago about the S50 player's storage technology, Sirius pawn Jim Collins told TechNewsWorld the device will be competent move about 1 gigabyte of content, whether it is satellite programming or MP3 music files from a PC.

Referring to similar productiveness from enemy XM -- which has also signaled a new, portable player in the works with Samsung -- Collins said the device was aimed at both ongoing and new Sirius subscribers.

"At that price thorn, it's rigorous to anticipate what the souk will do," he said.

Although it is believable of playing be a resident of satellite broadcast when tied to car or home docks, the device cannot receive the bell on its to the point. However, Collins nervous the "cool factor" for the S50, indicating its slender size and paraphernalia be a feedback to punter excitement in a portable satellite player.

"The car dock is small, the home dock is vastly sexy, and it break curls to an iPod nature of device," he said.