One of the best ways to hear metal nationwide is via SiriusXM’s “Liquid Metal” channel. Soon there will be a newer and better way to listen if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch and a car. The Wall Street Journal reports that the $120 Skydock will plug in through a car’s cigarette lighter and play through the car’s audio system.
This is separate from the iPhone app that was released this summer, as the dock receives the satellite signal, not an Internet signal. Plus, it also comes with all the channels, including Howard Stern. You’ll still need a subscription to use the dock, but you won’t need to buy a radio. It will be available this Fall.
This could be good news for SiriusXM. The company is continuing to lose money, even though it’s doing better than it has in the past. And with 12 million Americans with iPhones and 16 million with iPod Touches, that’s a pretty high untapped audience that might not mind buying a dock they can use in multiple cars as opposed to a radio they’ll need wired into their car. An anaylst told WSJ that the dock “plays to [SiriusXM’s] strengths.” It is pretty interesting, in that the iPod was seen as a threat to satellite radio when both technologies were new. Now they’re working together.
