Sirius, do we need it?
 

With the advent of BMW apps, and the ability to stream internet radio from all over the world, and Pandora radio. Do we really need to spend $400 for Sirius satellite radio?


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$400 - hell no... let alone $700+ I was quoted by a dealer when asked how much to activate it in my '10. Frankly speaking, considering the hardware is already there, it should be free, and any costs to BMW should be recovered via revenue sharing with SiriusXM, like what cell phone co's do with subsidised phones & two year contract.

If you only want to listen to music, probably not.

If you want to listen to sports, weather, news, comedy, or talk, then probably.

Yup. Agreed. Sirius is however useful if you like Howard or live sport.

I just plug my Iphone in and stream it

I get every baseball game on my iphone with the mlb package. So no need for sat radio for that.
Can't you sub to Sirius/XM and get a player on your phone to stream the content? I guess only if you need Howard or Mad Dog.
Say what you will about the sat radio music content, the quality of their bitrate is for the birds. Radiotime on droid or iphone is many times better and real stations. Especially nice if you like local talk radio or just want to listen to bbc world service, etc.
I guess all of this helps if you have an unlimited data plan which is rare now as VZN has even let it be known that they plan to cap data usage.
+1 for grandfathered at*t iphone users.

The problem with Pandora is it drains your phone battery while you are just driving + it uses up your data plan as well when listening while driving. If you are on an Unlimited plan (which I got grandfathered in on with AT&T) no problem but there is a large population that is just on one of the smaller data plans. I love Sirius-- you can get the basic channels for like $12 a month it's not that expensive--if you love music.

Cell phone companies are going to eventually price themselves out of the market with these data plan gimmicks. It's almost impossible to find a decent looking, functional, normal phone that doesnt require a data plan. The unlimited ones are at least a reasonable deal if you are a heavy user, but the bills that become possible with pay by MB are going to scare people away. Pay/go cell plans are looking more and more attractive.

I have Sirius on all my cars and feel it is worth it to have the variety of channels I can listen to.

a must have for me!

Was part of my Premium Sound Package - I've had Satellite on my 2004 and it was a requirement for me to have on my new X5; I like the integration into the stereo.

I've also streamed Pandora through my iPhone on trips (since my X5 missed the BMW Apps by a few months) and it works pretty well. I was grandfathered in on AT&T's unlimited data plan. I do have my Sirius App on my iPhone too and we use it and Pandora in the 325i as it never had Sirius b4.

FWIW: I had also read a recent article about the cost of text messages to cell phone carriers and it's a big rip off as well. This blurb mentions data plans too. From a recent Wall Street Journal article notably:

"Carriers, such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, charge fees ranging from 20 cents per text to $20 a month for unlimited texting. The texting business has low costs and high margins. A dollar of texting revenue produces at least 80 cents of profit compared with about 35 cents of profit from $1 in wireless data or voice services, according to analysts at UBS."

Have you looked at the radiotime app in the BMW apps iphone app or radiotime for android? Basically every radio station in the world is available to you. The variety is 5000 times Sirius.

I Love Howard Stern!!!! Everytime i got a car, i had Sirus installed.

I like Sirius and have the lifetime subscription. While you can get other stuff pumped into your car using your phone.... having Sirius is just so easy and always there.

If you plan to keep the car for 3.5 years... the subscription is paid for. I have had mine for over 4 years now and plan to keep it a while longer.

And if you sell the car.... it stays with the car. It CANNOT be moved to another radio. Sucks! But it is a selling point. Just be sure to charge enough to cover the cost for your new car. ha-ha

I had Sirius for many years. My 2011 is the first time I have bought a BMW without it since it was an option. Main reason was the sound quality, it is brutal for music. Second reason was the short playlists on most stations. Too much repetition.

I now listen to the HD alternates in town (including an awesome commercial free 80s station). I also listen to Pandora which sounds great at 192K.

Nobody "NEEDS" Sirius satellite radio. It's an issue of what someone may want. ;)

I hear what you are saying but like many others my phone is for calling and using as a phone and I am not a fan of having it in my center console. I know there are a lot of other options available to me and I guess I like the convenience of using the integrated approach. Equipment was here as part of premium sound so what the heck I might as well use it.

I agree 100% I literally get angry and then sad when I am in any car without it. I have had it for about 6 years and will continue to do so. Worth every penny, imo. Especially if you spend a lot of time in the car or take road trips.

I have it and bought the lifetime service. I especially like Sirius on road trips. I don't need it though, I just wanted it.

Chuck

I like the Sirius because I can get things like CNBC, and when traveling out West in the mountains it will work where my cellphone cannot get a signal.

I do wish the fidelity for music was a bit better though.

Sirus BPM is a must for me.

:thumbup: