BY KURT HANSON
Satellite radio may have taken a major step toward being a significant force this week as XM Satellite Radio announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that Sony Electronics has entered into an agreement allowing it to build XM-capable radios -- and not only for automobiles but also for the portable and home markets!

Until now, both satellite radio firms (XM and Sirius Satellite Radio) had positioned themselves primarily as targeting car radios. However, the company's planned terrestrial repeaters would theoretically allow listening on home and Walkman-like devices as well.

XM is the satellite radio firm backed by General Motors, which Clear Channel has invested in, and which will be programmed by Lee Abrams and Dave Logan. XM Radio intends to offer up to 100 channels of digital-quality music, news, sports, talk and children's programming, which will be uplinked to XM Radio's satellites and offered to listeners for a monthly subscription fee of $9.95, with a launch in the first half of next year.

It seems this capability might raise a problem with licensing -- if you want to listen to XM channels in your car, on your home stereo, and on your Sony XM Walkman, would you pay $9.95/month per radio? Or would each $9.95 subscription come with one car, one home, and one portable license?

Furthermore, I think I can see one loophole in the language of the press release (here):

According to the press release, the deal "allows Sony Electronics Inc. to design, manufacture and market XM-Ready(TM) audio products, including radios for the portable, home, aftermarket and OEM car stereo markets." The fact that Sony is allowed to build portable and home devices does not -- if you take the language literally -- mean that Sony has committed that they will build such devices.




In one of the first such instances I'm aware of, a radio format that was dropped from a broadcast station is returning to life as an Internet-only radio station.

According to an item in today's All Access, "Swedish Egil (aka Egil Aalvik) has returned Groove Radio to the public via the Internet at www.grooveradio.com beginning January 11th. Egil is known to the Los Angeles market for his time at KROQ, MARS-FM, and most recently Groove Radio (103.1)."

The website currently hosts a stylish "countdown" screen (below) showing how many seconds, hours, and days remain until the launch of the format.

The 103.1 frequency that was Groove Radio a couple of years ago under GM Jeff Wyatt is now owned by Clear Channel and programs an adult-alternative format, "Channel 103.1."

This seems like a clever notion -- it's possible that a radio station might not have enough listeners to support an on-air broadcast yet might have enough to support an Internet-only version. And it would have a built-in potential audience that totally-new entrants would not have.

Click here to read the item in All Access's "Net News" (registration required).


USADR dubs its system 'iDAB'
"USA Digital Radio is hoping the new moniker for its IBOC DAB technology will catch on with consumers the same way CD, DVD, and HDTV have. USADR unveiled the new brand name today at CES..." . Read the item in R&R here (subscription required).



From the Chicago Sun-Times: "Motorola Inc., the Schaumburg technology company, is combining new Internet-based technology with its 70-year-old roots in car radios. The company introduced the prototype for the iRadio, an Internet-based car radio that makes it possible for drivers to have e-mail read, listen to voice mail, get reports on their stock holdings and obtain local traffic and weather information--just by talking to their radio.

"'We are reinventing the car radio,' said Bob Denaro, Motorola vice president of telematics, the technical name for communications into and out of cars.

Although the Sun-Times article notes that the actual device may not become commercially available for "several years," the fact that the prototype is already out seems like it's on a timetable ahead of anyone's guess.

"The iRadio will use broader-band communications that make possible information and entertainment services, including radio broadcasts from anywhere in the world and downloads of audio books. Voice commands will be used to obtain information. 'You don't want people to be dialing little buttons. All iRadio communications can be done hands-free, which means drivers can keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road,' Denaro said.

Read the article from the Chicago Sun-Times here.


Wristwatch MP3 player
debuts at CES
From CNET News: "Borrowing a page from the Dick Tracy character, Casio today unveiled an MP3 playback device that can be worn like a watch. Called the WMP-1V Wrist Audio Player, the device lets users transfer downloaded songs in MP3 from their computer hard drives onto the WMP-1V. Users can then playback the tracks and listen to them using headphones. The WMP-1V stores 33 minutes of music and comes with a rechargeable battery and USB port. The watch weighs 70 grams, and is water-resistant. Read CNET News here. See tech details on the Casio site here.


Farrell joins eMusic.com
From All Access: "Former GEFFEN exec RAY FARRELL joins EMUSIC.COM in the newly created position of Dir./Music Marketing." Read All Access here.


SpikeRadio introduces custom
Internet player at Mac World
From eRadio: "Unlike other Internet radio stations that have ignored the huge Mac market, SpikeRadio is now a Mac-ready Internet radio player that offers a selection of music mixed by renowned DJs. The proprietary third party desktop streaming application for Mac users heralds a first for both SpikeRadio and Tribeworks.

"'Other companies in the arena of Internet radio and streaming media have largely ignored the Mac audience, specifically in the area of providing custom built players,' said C. Chris O'Hanlon, the Los Angeles-based founder and CEO of Spike Networks.

"'Now Mac users can listen to our live radio stream as well as playback archives of our guest programs at their leisure and send us song requests directly from the desktop player without opening a browser.' Read the full story in eRadio here

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