Will Sprint Instinct Get Sirius XM?
A lot has been discussed about the new iPhone application that allows subscribers to access their accounts and listen to Sirius XM Radio right over their iPhone. It is a great concept, but without a push from either Apple or Sirius XM, it will have to grow organically which may be slower than many people hoped for.
The other hot new phone on the market is the Samsung Instinct being offered by Sprint. This feature packed phone comes at a price point that is far more budget friendly, and has capabilities that rival, or in some cases outpaces the iPhone.
The problem here is that while Sprint has a relationship with Sirius, it is not what many users would have hoped for, and at this point should be updated to not only reflect current times, but consumer demand.
The Sirius service on Sprint offers a very limited selection of channels for $5.99 per month. That is $5.99 on top of your existing subscription service. Not something that many people will pay for, especially in today’s economy.
Users of today’s devices want to not be impeded from accessing certain areas of the Internet. Sprint as well as other cell companies purposely limit music sites that users can visit, and for many users, that is not only a frustration, but a poor value.
The new Instict has a lot of potential. However, it needs to be freed of the ties that bind users to specific sites. In fact, all cell phones need to lighten up on the restrictions, and let the music flow.
As far as satellite radio goes, Sprint and the new Instinct have a potential advantage over iPhone. That advantage is the relationship that already exists between the cell phone company and Sirius XM. Sprint has the Simply Everything plan for $99.99 per month. Unlimited talk, no roaming, unlimited text, video, and access to 150 music channels. However, you can’t log into your existing Sirius account.
Whether bringing this deal up to pace with today’s consumer is on Sprint, or on Sirius XM, the deal should be redone so as to allow consumers who want everything, to get it. With the iPhone application from Streamsmart getting ready to launch, Sprint will loose the satellite advantage it currently enjoys.
The Instinct is a capable competitor to the iPhone, but because it has less cache, it needs every advantage it can get. A cell phone company that is satellite friendly may quickly win over the hearts of the passionate fans of satellite radio.
Does sprint have the instinct to go satellite? Only time will tell
Position – Long SIRI, No Position Sprint
I have this phone and think that is fantastic. Sirius would be a great addition.
No WiFi.
NO Sprint is no smart enough to get it. They can not get the stuff they already offer to work right. And if they were to offer SIRIUS XM, it would be half-assed, and customer service would be rude to the point one would give up their service. Most people with sprint already want out of their service.
Good article. The instinct is an excellent product and its owners deserve to have an official interface app with the full sirius internet programming. Hopefully the current sprint relationship will help it movr along.
instinct owner
I have the instinct and my only wish is that it had a legitimate browser. There was a rumor when I purchased it 2 years ago that Sprint was going to introduce Firefox as the new browser. That never happened. Also I wish that the viewing screen for everything could be adjusted between 16.9 and 4.3. Other than that I like the phone but will be switching to the iphone 3GS later this month. I prefer the internet service in Apple’s phone and I love the apps. I purchased a 32 gig ipod touch and fell in love with it. I’m tired of carrying 2 devices around. I don’t listen to music on my instinct. I prefer to have my own music and in my opinion the apple products offer a better service.
I have the Instinct. Only problem I had was getting sprint radio to play through my car speakers. My downloaded music plays? I Purchased a Motorola T505. This is a FM transmitter. Technical support has told me this phone is not capable of picking up live streaming radio from sprint because its not a smart phone. However,i have found this not to be true. My last phone wasnt a smartphone. This was explained to the rep.I called back to speak to another rep. Advised them of the problem and was told this phone does not have a AM,FM transmitter. Told them thats what i have purchased? They simply dont have an answer.Someone please help!