June 18 - 7:50am EDT   Sirius XM early today launched its promised Sirius XM Premium Online app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The free software gives either of Apple's devices access to almost all of Sirius' and XM's stations as long as they have an active Internet-enabled subscription to one of the two. Songs can be tagged to buy through iTunes; channels can also be tagged as favorites or browsed while still listening to a single feed. [full story]

June 17 - 1:50pm EDT   The long-awaited Sirius XM app for the iPhone and iPod touch is finally ready to go, according to The Motley Fool. The company allegedly has sent e-mail notifications that the app will be available tomorrow, although the service will only be available to premium subscribers paying $12.95 per month for Internet-only access or standard subscribers that pay an extra $2.99 per month for the additional web playback. [full story]

February 11 - 11:05pm EST   Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin has reportedly established talks with DirecTV Group and Liberty Media, in what is viewed as a last ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy or a loss of control, according to Reuters. The satellite-radio provider has held preliminary talks with Liberty Media, while another report suggests the executives asked DirecTV to purchase the company. Liberty Entertainment, a division of Liberty Media, holds a controlling interest in DirecTV Group. [full story]

January 28 - 9:50pm EST   NiceMac is preparing to submit the uSirius StarPlayr for the iPhone to Apple for approval, unnamed sources have told Orbitcast. Although the approval process can take hours or months, the process allegedly will begin on January 31st. Customers thus far have been able to stream Sirius XM radio content online for free, but that is about to change very soon. The company on Tuesday confirmed the rumored price changes, justifying the move by explaining that the audio quality will be enhanced by March 11th. [full story]

January 27 - 12:10pm EST   Sirius XM today confirmed rumored price increases with notices for subscribers to the individual Sirius and XM networks. Either satellite radio station will no longer offer its Internet streaming component for free and will instead charge $3 per month extra for individuals listening to the stations. Sirius XM justifies the move by noting that the audio quality will go up by March 11th and is giving existing users a chance to "lock in" free listening before that date. [full story]

January 2 - 5:40pm EST   Rogue Amoeba has unveiled Pulsar, a desktop client for listening to XM Radio Online and SIRIUS Internet Radio. Subscribers to the satellite radio services can use the program to access both corresponding web-based versions, without using extra hardware or a browser. Listings are continuously updated with station and current song information, while users can also save any favorite stations. The client can work with Audio Hijack Pro and Airfoil for recording streams or distributing the audio via AirPort Express. [full story]

November 18 - 10:35am EST   AT&T today added a second full touchscreen phone in as many weeks through the LG Incite. Unlike the earlier Samsung Eternity, the Incite is a full Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone and comes with an LG-customized front end that both encourages more use of finger input over a stylus and takes advantage of an accelerometer to provide a landscape keyboard when tilting the phone on its side. [full story]

November 13 - 11:15am EST   Alltel announced on Thursday that the LG Swift handset is now available for purchase at the wireless provider. The handset is the first from LG's line-up to use a next-generation keypad with what the company calls Fastap Press-to-Experience keys. Comprised of six raised one-touch access Quick Keys that act as shortcuts for Alltel Navigation, Alltel Shop, Email, Alarm Clock and Image Library features, the keys sit atop a traditional numeric keypad. [full story]

November 11 - 8:20am EST   After repeated leaks, AT&T today finally but quietly launched the HTC Fuze. The carrier's adaptation of the Touch Pro brings a customized version of HTC's TouchFLO interface with an AT&T icon as well as support for several of AT&T's services over its tri-band HSPA Internet access, including HBO Mobile video as well as Napster Mobile and XM Radio for music purchases and Internet radio streams. [full story]

November 7 - 4:10pm EST   Directed Electronics announced earlier this week that it will leave the satellite radio market, ending its agreement to act as Sirius satellite radio's exclusive retail distributor as of January 31st, 2009. The company says this is due to the softening market for the subscription-based service and, along with Sirius XM's more than $1 billion in debt, is calling the agreement an unfavorable "risk-reward tradeoff." [full story]

October 15 - 10:55am EDT   Pioneer today officially took the wraps from the XMp3, the company's first portable satellite radio since the long out-of-sale Inno. The new handheld is unique in its ability to record five separate XM stations at once, guaranteeing that listeners can preserve more than one show at the same time. It also takes a cue from Slacker in an automatic buffering mode that holds as much as 30 hours of programming at any given time to keep radio going when a subway tunnel or other interference cuts out the satellite signal. [full story]

October 2 - 10:10am EDT   Sirius XM drew a quick close to speculation today by announcing the availability of the A La Carte and Best Of radio features promised with the merger of the two satellite radio stations. The former service debuts with the equally new Starmate 5 radio and lets users custom-pick their stations in blocks rather than having to accept Sirius XM's default options. [full story]

September 30 - 4:05pm EDT   As promised when the merger between Sirius and XM satellite radio was finalized at the end of July, Tuesday’s reports have some Sirius satellite radio subscribers beginning to see XM programming on their existing radios, with at least one report of an XM subscriber already receiving Best of Sirius programming on his XM radio. Others, while seeing XM headings on their Sirius receivers, cannot yet listen to content. [full story]

September 15 - 3:50pm EDT   XM's XMp3 handheld satellite radio has surfaced today in a Best Buy listing that confirms much more about the device. The device is now known to have been made by Pioneer, which made the preceding Inno, and will work as a traditional MP3 player as well as a tuner. A microSDHC slot should hold at least 8GB of MP3 or WMA tracks, including those recorded from XM itself. [full story]

September 14 - 1:55pm EDT   XM's in-development XMp3 portable radio has been confirmed along with one of its key features, courtesy of a new Popular Science issue that has inadvertently revealed the device in advance. Apart from its reduced size versus the Pioneer Inno and earlier handheld satellite radios, the XMp3 will have the unique option of capturing five separate channels and downloading a song from each of them at the same time versus the one of past devices. The feature would let the owner listen to a live event without missing favorite broadcasts on other stations. [full story]