Sirius XM held a shaved apes-only media event in New York Wednesday morning to unveil the first-ever radio dock for the iPhone and iPod touch. The rumored SkyDock, leaked by various sources last week is a $119.99 peripheral that uses iPhone's OS 3.0 support for third-party hardware, transforming Apple's wildly popular handsets into full-blown satellite radios powered by a car's cigarette lighter.
Stern Fans will be giddy as school girls to learn that SkyDock will enable users access to all XM and "The Best of SIRIUS" channels, including those the company dubiously excluded from their online feed, like Howard Stern, NFL Play-by-Play and MLB Play-by-Play. That omission of premium programming whipped up a storm of controversy when Sirius XM finally released their official iPhone app back in June. An epic disappointment that left most Stern zombies drooling for a meatier solution.
The clunky looking SkyDock was designed to integrate with an existing vehicle audio system carrying a built-in XM tuner controlled by a free App that users download from the App Store. SkyDock charges your iPhone through the car’s cigarette power adapter and also supports the ability to tag songs for download from iTunes. The press release offers no details on how SkyDock will handle incoming calls via iPhone, or using the device hands free while docked. Details about the app itself have not yet been released by the company.
SkyDock is compatible with (1st and 2nd generation) iPod touch devices, iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. All models will require iPhone OS 3.0 or later. Sirius XM are saying that their Sky Dock (strap-on iPhone dildo) and iPhone app will be available in fall 2009. The company did not offer a specific launch date, leaving that one up to random media leaks and speculation. The future of radio is here... again.
Wow, very informative! I am a Sirius subscriber and was just about to buy this product. If it means a RE-subscription...ill just wait.
Posted by: Eliot Davignon | January 04, 2010 at 06:21 PM
I just received this device for a Christmas present. The givers knew I had an existing account with Sirius and assumed this device worked on their network. After installing and trying to activate, I learned this is XM only and could be activated with a new XM account and an additional $13.00 a month. This is a complete deception in advertising that the FTC should investigate. I asked the tech rep at Sirius when to expect this device to work on the their network and he did not have a clue other than saying it might take 3 months or 3 years. This is complete BS.
Posted by: Scott T. | January 02, 2010 at 07:42 PM
This ALL a load of BS this is only an XM Skydock -- if you are a Sirius subscriber this will not work for you.
FALSE ADVERTISING!!
I am a Sirius subscriber and was excited to see this product for my travels on the road but when I purchased it and tried to activate it I found that it is all a lie. This product only works for XM radio -- how they can get away with calling this a Sirius XM skydock is unbelievable?!!
Posted by: Jason S. | December 14, 2009 at 02:40 PM
Fast phone lots of great features. The camera is good the internet is fast. There are lots of great aps that use the new features well.
Posted by: tarjeta r4 nds | November 10, 2009 at 03:51 AM
Brian,
This would be more for people who do not have an XM Recerver buil-tin their car, or they are looking to replace that current external XM Receiver that they already have. When I did have my SkyFi3 working, it did add alot of clutter and the dock was not very nice. I hope this dock helps keep the clutter down. Luckily it charges your phone, so you are not taking up an extra port. However, how it handles calls remains to be seen. If it was hands free and worked like a speaker phone, that would be ideal. If it doesn't, might be better to get a used iPod Touch and use that for the SkyDock as a dedicated receiver.
Posted by: Goodtime | August 27, 2009 at 02:30 PM
So let me get this straight. Sirius wants me to spend 120$ on a dock, when i can already listen to it on my car, and my computer but still can't listen to stern on my iphone by it self. This is so ludicrous i think i may just cancel the whole account and go podcast willy jones.
Posted by: Brian Festa | August 27, 2009 at 07:04 AM
It would suck if someone stole your Dock. 120.00 for a Dock. Would gradly pay 50 since the iPhone 3G is only 99.99
Posted by: Goodtime | August 26, 2009 at 02:32 PM
I wonder what the Antenna for the Dock looks like. My XM Radio broke last month. Using Pocket Tunes in the Car for now.
Posted by: Goodtime | August 26, 2009 at 02:31 PM
Has it been confirmed that Stern will be available in the SkyDock?
Posted by: Goodtime | August 26, 2009 at 02:26 PM