Dave's Corner, The industry through the eyes if a working technician.
by David Conlin
, Contributing Writer
The summer of 2003 has been good for Sirius Radio. Their sales have been growing during a time of downturn in the economy. Customers seem to like their commercial free channels and seem willing to pay the extra $3 a month over the competition. They also seem to have found several niche markets for some of their channels including "Out Q" which directs their programming - to the alternate life style gay community. Some retailers have found selling to such groups can be profitable. Sirius Radio has added and plans to add additional new channels.
New hardware has also been introduced by Sirius Radio including their new line of Plug and Play receivers from Kenwood and soon Audiovox. These receivers will allow the customer to listen to Sirius programming in their automobile, as well as in their home by simply carrying a small tuner between location
The turn out earlier this year for the 2003 CES show in Las Vegas was better than many
expected. Approximately
120,000 people attended from 78 countries. This was in contrast to the
fall Comdex show where attendance was down by 50 % from last year. CES is Las
Vegas's largest convention with no sign of slowing down.
As normal with CES there where many new innovative, interesting and useful
items.
Some of the most outstanding products to shine at the show were the new
satellite radios by Sirius. Sirius satellite radio has partnered with big
industry names such as Kenwood and Panasonic to bring receivers to market.
Sirius is the only satellite radio service delivering
coast-to-coast music and entertainment, presented a variety of new products
for satellite radio, including models that enable consumers to listen to
Sirius in their homes and offices, as well as a wide selection of plug and
play portable units that can be moved easily from vehicle to home, or vehicle
to vehicle. These new products were unveiled last week in Las Vegas by the
Sirius hardware partners at CES.
Kenwood has introduced a portable tuner for Sirius so that listeners can
now enjoy SIRIUS' 100% commercial-free music service on every audio system
they own: in the car, at home, at work, or even on a boat. When used with
slide-in
cradles connected to mobile, home ,or marine audio systems, the new portable
tuner, Kenwood model KPA-SR50 brings Sirius music, sports, news and
entertainment programming to listeners wherever they are.
Available in the second quarter 2003,the tuner, with a suggested retail price
of $150.00,is also the most affordable Sirius tuner offered by
Kenwood. Tuner cradles, packaged with a satellite antenna, are available with
tuners and are sold separately.
“Once people have Sirius in their car, they want it everywhere”; said
Bob
Law, senior vice president for Kenwood USA. Since the subscription is
dedicated to a specific tuner, having a portable tuner gives listeners the
option of playing SIRIUS on any system they want;
Stylish in any setting, the new tuner features a bright, scrolling dot
matrix display that shows the satellite channel number and name, artist
name, song title and program category. The display is designed to be clearly
readable in both home and mobile environments. A credit card-sized remote
control is also provided.
SIRIUS broadcasts 60 channels of 100% commercial-free music, as well as 40
channels of sports, news, and entertainment, all in clear, quality digital
format. Subscribers pay $12.95/monthly for the service.
A subscription is
required to activate the Kenwood Sirius portable tuner, and there is no limit
to the number of systems in which one tuner can be used
Dave is a graduate, and certified electronic technician and operates Conlin Satellite with his wife Rita with locations in Dade City, Florida, and McArthur, Ohio.