They’ve tried before, they’re trying again.  Rumors circulate today that XM and Sirius are planning a merger (Updated to include Mark Evans and Ars Technica.  Updated again: it’s official).  The two companies together would represent about 13 million subscribers (6 million from Sirius, 7.6 million from XM), with a ~$8B market cap ($615/subscriber today), about $2B in debt, and roughly $600M in cash on hand (source: financial stats for SIRI and XMSR).  Interesting, as Echostar has roughly the same subscriber base, more profitability (and more room for profitability), yet only twice the market cap.
Another interesting thought is on room for growth. 13 million subscribers represents roughly 6% of the ~240M cars in use around the US, or 10% of households, depending on which model you think is more successful (I vote car).  So I ponder how much of a real growth opportunity lays ahead?
Apparently Howard Stern believes 30-40M households in the next couple of years. Bridge Ratings predicts 50 million subscribers by 2020. That’s 1 in 5 drivers paying for satellite service. This sounds high to me, from industry, professional, and personal experience. I don’t see enough factors driving consumers into “dissatisfaction” with standard radio, especially when compared to the option of consumer more of their own content via iPods and other players.
Some predict podcasting and integrated car-iPod adapters may kill satellite radio. That doesn’t really sound right either. Talk to the average XM or Sirius subcriber, they seem quite satisfied with their service. I think satellite radio has a “TiVo effect” where the product is quite good, and once in, you are hooked, but until you get there, you scratch your head a lot about paying extra money for something you seem to already have in your life.
Unfortunately, unlike a DVR, which makes the entire TV experience leaps and bounds better, satellite radio doesn’t have as broad an appeal. If you don’t commute for long hours, you’re hard to hook. If you work long hours at a desk and want more variety in radio, odds are good that Internet services have even more appeal (not to mention the fact that if you aren’t near a window, you aren’t getting a satellite signal).
We’re about 5 years into the satellite radio business. I believe there’s still a little growth ahead, but it’s going to be slow, and may cap out very soon. I believe the companies benefit from a merger, as it leaves less FUD for a prospective consumer. I believe it’s an industry doomed once pervasive Internet services become available and consumers get anywhere-access to services such as Rhapsody, Pandora, Last.FM, and their own personal media collections.

























The 
I’ve used SPM (as we were known to call it) to kill time on the tarmac.  I’ve programmed my DVR from the long lines at Starbucks.  I even watched some of the NHL Playoffs last year on my commutes home (yes, my wife drove, I’m not that bad).  Funny thing is, 





By the time you’re reading this, all the top tech/mobility blogs have already mentioned the fact that Motorola announced today they are buying Good Technology.  If not, find a source you like and read about it: 
So for a small business, let’s say an individual like myself (or doctor, attorney, etc) or a small startup, what kind of mobile email needs do they have?  They probably do not have a dedicated Exchange server, so they have hosted POP3 accounts.  Furthermore, odds are pretty good they want to save costs on infrastructure buildout, so ideally they can purchase the phone(s) they need without buying huge servers or other back-end technology.  Also, they really need a solution with minimal IT requirements as they are probably handling this themselves, or have a friend or cheap consultant.  Either way, my hunch is they need solutions that work out of the box with as little maintenance as possible.  While I was a huge Palm fan back in the 90s, the OS has lost its way in the broadband era.  This leaves RIM and Microsoft as the other players in the space.  Motorola ships the Q phone, which runs Windows Mobile 5, which is an ideal solution for the above scenario.  While they’ve bundled the Good application with it, it seems like one of those things that doesn’t get used very much.  In my opinion, Good doesn’t seem to add value in this equation.
For those of you who don’t know 
Integrated music.  All my MP3s/WMAs should also be ringtones, alarms, etc. 
In an interesting alliance, Nokia, the government of Finland and Red Herring have come together (it’s gotta be the herring) to offer a competition to who can put together the most compelling mobile Web business plan.  This is excellent timing in my opinion (