UPDATE: NiceMac Developers Discontinue iPhone App
CHARLOTTE, NC - It's been no secret of late that the imminent launch of the uSirius StarPlayr application has been teetering on the edge of an App Store debut. uSirius is the wildly anticipated app created by an ingenious gang of iPhone fanatics to deliver Sirius/XM Satellite Radio directly to iPhone via 3G, Wi-Fi and Edge.
I spoke to NiceMac co-founder Todd Bruss, about making his January 31st deadline for submitting uSirius to Apple. Bruss was unable to contain his excitement over the phone when confirming that his epic StarPlayr app is finally in Apple's hands for review.
"We had it ready by 9:00 PM EST Saturday night but then we started hammering out some bugs," Bruss said, "This morning at about 1:00 AM Cupertino time we submitted uSirius to Apple. You can tell everyone we submitted it to Apple at 12:00 midnight Hawaii time."
Bruss confirmed that uSirius pricing will be set at a one time fee of $12.99 in the App Store for Version 1.0. Point updates will be free but any major upgrades will cost extra. You must have a Sirius or XM subscription for this iPhone app. Sirius Internet-only subscriptions are available for $12.95 per month, and do not require a radio. All Internet subscriptions will feature a 128k “premium” feed starting on March 11th.
"3G is gonna work great. I tried it here in Charlotte, and I had no drop outs. We set a larger buffer on Wi-Fi increasing the buffer for 128k feeds." Bruss said, "Auto-play works now too, when you re-launch the application it remembers what station you were on when you exited. You can also rearrange channel presets."
I asked Todd Bruss about iPhone battery life while running uSirius via iPhone. While he admitted that the NiceMac team have yet to run final testing, Bruss was confident that recent code optimization in the new build has bested previous battery life results.
"With this brand new build we simplified the code so battery life now should be better than the previous version," said Bruss, "We were getting 6 hours at 32k using Wi-Fi and about 4.75 hours with 3G. That was with the screen turned off 80-percent of the time. We think we can do better than six hours now but we have to run tests having our phones fully charged."
NiceMac's uSirius StarPlayr app will also be functional for iPod touch users and capable of being sold internationally pending Apple's approval. If Apple approves this app will sold worldwide as long as Sirius provides a convenient way for international users to subscribe for their online-only service.
The application is currently available for Windows Mobile users with similar functionality created for iPhone. StarPlayer.com is selling the Windows Mobile version for $9.99. As long as you have a premium Sirius account there's no limitations on bit rates for the feed.
"We've been going non-stop working until 4:00 in the morning on this all week," said Bruss, "We have a really great programming team, very innovative and creative. Without any one player we would not be able to do this. That's why we're all co-founders, NiceMac is a very flat organization."
It's expected that Apple will clear the uSirius app for sale into the App Store in short order. We will let our readers know the moment it goes live. This might be the perfect place to quote the immortal words of Tom Petty; "The waiting is the hardest part".
this is so retarted.... i need howard... ba ba booey...... and my little robin.... where the heck is this ap.... this is such a horrible wait
Posted by: jason gillman | April 06, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Is there any update on this? I just got the iphone because I heard Stern say the Sirius app was going to be available. I cannot wait; using usirius and orb works about 10% of the time for me. I NEED this app.
Posted by: Chris | March 03, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Apple sucks and denied it.
The one app i really wanted, not some dumb gimmicky game.
Apple...you suck. You dropped the balls on this.
Posted by: Greggotron | February 27, 2009 at 07:20 AM
Apple is stalling, why?
Posted by: unome | February 26, 2009 at 09:47 AM
I type "Sirius" in the AppStore multiple times a day to see if it's available.
I can't believe they're quick to release 99c apps when they can make so much more with this one? :S
Priorities? Farts or Tunes? (Sometimes they're one of the same ;) )
C'mon Apple!!!
Posted by: Rick | February 25, 2009 at 05:21 PM
Any updates? I'll buy it the second it comes outs.
Posted by: APE | February 25, 2009 at 12:10 PM
I can't believe they haven't approved it yet. I almost hope they deny it and release it to jailbroken phones only so more people jailbreak their phones.
Posted by: Ricky | February 23, 2009 at 07:33 PM
I have the same question Peter had back on 2/18. Will it fade out for a phone call then come back on once the call ends? I NEED this app.
Posted by: Robert | February 23, 2009 at 06:57 AM
Hey Apple....you want to put this in the app store already? Its been about 2 1/2 weeks now. Lets go.
Posted by: Brian | February 18, 2009 at 09:50 PM
want it want it want it want it want it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Danielle F. | February 18, 2009 at 02:07 PM
Will Starplayr fade out to receive calls when they come in and fade back in when phone call is done?
Posted by: Peter | February 18, 2009 at 09:12 AM
waiting... what is taking so long?!?!
Posted by: ineedthisapp | February 18, 2009 at 07:42 AM
Pat, no I don't think there will be an extra charge for lifetime memberships.
Posted by: Todd B. | February 14, 2009 at 02:42 PM
Todd, I have a lifetime membership to sirius. Will there be any additional charge to listen per month? thanks--pat
Posted by: pat | February 13, 2009 at 07:28 AM
That sounds like a 2.0 feature 2 me.
Posted by: JJ | February 12, 2009 at 06:07 PM
No. Not for 1.0.
Posted by: Matt | February 11, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Will you be able to store any of the shows or songs like you can with the S-50?
Posted by: Linker | February 10, 2009 at 02:01 AM
HURRY Apple! This is THE app I have been waiting for since getting the iPhone. I am checking the nicemac site multiple times a day...
Posted by: Dan | February 09, 2009 at 04:24 AM
2-4 weeks.
Posted by: Goodtime | February 06, 2009 at 02:35 PM
Any idea of the average approval time? Will it be a couple of weeks or as soon as a couple of days?
Posted by: JeffG. | February 05, 2009 at 06:58 AM
Apple is reviewing v1.0. It has been submitted to the AppStore and must go through their approval process. It is out of our hands at this time.
Todd
Posted by: Goodtime | February 04, 2009 at 03:32 PM
When???????? *Waitng*
Posted by: BryanB. | February 04, 2009 at 04:50 AM
CONFIRMED: StarPlayr works with both US and CA account for Sirius and/or XM
Posted by: iPhone Savior | February 03, 2009 at 08:08 AM
Will this work for XM receivers that are activated at xmradio.CA ( Canada's XM )?
Posted by: Yurasis Dragon | February 02, 2009 at 07:25 PM
Awesome! Thanks for getting back to me, I can't wait to use it!
Posted by: Ryan Hilton | February 02, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Yes. it should be able to handle 128k over Edge. We will be testing it soon before the switch.
Disclaimer: YMMV
Todd
Posted by: NiceMac LLC | February 01, 2009 at 08:43 PM
Todd,
I can't wait for this!! I've been watching the nice mac site for so long!
One question, now that Sirius is forcing the 128 stream, will star player be able to stream that over the EDGE cell network? Because I live in Maine, and there isn't 3G coverage (and I'd like to use star player at my gym.)
Thanks, and I can't wait to use Star player!
Posted by: Ryan Hilton | February 01, 2009 at 07:38 PM
Pandora does not have live radio, talk, and Howard stern.
It also does not stream but cache mp3 files one at a time.
StarPlayr streams live Sirius and XM radio. pandora and slacker? Can't.
Todd
Don't be a slacker. Be a starplayer.
Posted by: NiceMac LLC | February 01, 2009 at 03:58 PM
Pandora is FREE!
Posted by: Joe | February 01, 2009 at 02:17 PM