So, I have been a huge fan of satellite radio for a while now. I have had XM in the wifes car since 2007 and Sirius in mine since 2008. I also had several radios around the house and the office. When the iPhone app was released last week I was pretty excited. I saw it as an oppurtunity to drop at least some of my radios, possibly all of them. Having used the app for only a day or so I have to say it feels like more of a novelty than anything else. While they did a great job for an intial effort it is still lacking in a couple of key areas.
First, the information displayed is too small. The artist, track etc is in small print ant the bottom of the screen. You have the option to show the station logo basically full screen, but the track info still stays small at the bottom. To me this is a huge miss. Especially for use on the go. It's hard to read at a glance if you or the iPhone is moving.
Next, and this is more a problem with Apples restriction on background apps but still, when someone calls your phone the app closes and you have to re-open it and navigate back to the channel you were listening too. That is a huge issue since you can't know when a call may come in.
Finally, the audio quality, while generally good, seems erratic. It appears that the initial 2-3 mins of listening is at a much lower bitrate, then as you maintain the stream it abruptly changes to a higher quality.
The second issue is why I consider the app a novelty. How can you use it for anything if the app can be closed at anytime? You couldn't effectivly use it to work out or connected to your stereo for a party. I guess I'll have to stick with the iPod functionality for that.
