The highly anticipated uSirius StarPlayr iPhone application aimed at finally bringing Sirius XM Satellite Radio to iPhone has been pulled from development. The developers at NiceMac, LLC announced early Sunday morning they are discontinuing their efforts to keep the app alive for both iPhone and Windows Mobile customers already enjoying the service on their hand-held devices.
"NiceMac has decided it is in our best interests to discontinue the StarPlayr project. NiceMac will be issuing refunds for purchasers of StarPlayr for Windows Mobile on a first come first serve basis until corporate funds have been exhausted." NiceMac wrote on their home page.
We reported at the end of February the StarPlayr application for iPhone failed to gain approval by Apple due to copyright issues with Sirius XM, putting the NiceMac operation in limbo. Though members of the NiceMac team remained optimistic that talks with the satellite giant could keep their ship from sinking, it's obvious no forward progress has been made since. Evidenced by their recent decision to abandon any further hope that uSirius StarPlayr will ever be released via the iTunes App Store.
While anxious iPhone fanatics are desperately clinging to hopes that an official Sirius XM app for iPhone will soon be released, the concept is still only a rumor. If "Something big" truly is coming, as the satellite giant has hyped up in recent marketing, I suggest they produce more than what looks like a cautionary tale of the three hundred pound gorilla squashing 'the little company that could'. That's just not quality entertainment. Neither is Oprah on satellite radio, but that's another story all together.
If I've learned anything from beta testing the epic uSirius StarPlayr app for the past four weeks it's this, the application was flawless. It packed more bells and whistles on board than I would have ever expected in a 1.0 release. It will be difficult to replace. The app never crashed, delivering on the promise that real satellite radio had finally arrived on my iPhone without a hitch. It was a true visionary effort.
I would expect Sirius XM to pound their hairy chest and produce something that rivals the stellar vision the NiceMac team produced being underfunded and wildly ambitious. Heck, Sirius XM are the big boys, so their app should easily best the entrepreneurial excellence of StarPlayr. Right? I'll be holding my breath hanging out with the Blue Man Group waiting for that answer.
Cydia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: dj Bandido | March 10, 2009 at 09:14 PM