A Sirius Alternative: Slacker

[jon]

If music is what you are after, and you don't have much of a music collection of your own, buying the music (iTunes) you want for an iPod may be too expensive or just plain boring/time-consuming. Sirius is one alternative, but most Internet-based alternatives are either too expensive or don't work well inside anything but a new car with Internet radio built in.

Slacker could be interesting. Although its personal players are not yet available in Canada, you can use any of the following type of mobile devices for it, without bankrupting yourself on mobile data fees:

• BlackBerry
• Android
• iPhone/iPod Touch
• Palm WebOS
• Windows Mobile 6.5

Its trick to saving you mobile data fees is its caching technique. Like a tank of gas, you load it up when you are connected to High Speed (non-mobile) Internet at home with hours ahead of your favourite station(s) using the memory on your mobile device. The bottom end iPhone, for example, has 8GB.

But, what might be Slacker's greatest advantage is that you can build your own music channel by selecting what artists and/or genres and/or years you want to hear.

ref. - http://support.slacker.com/app/answers/ ... a/r_id/166

BUT, before you buy anything -- Slacker, Sirius, iTunes, whatever -- spend the money for a one month web-based subscription to whatever service you think you want, just to be sure. Getting out of a contract can be expensive, not to mention any installation costs for car-based solutions.

[Russ_Byth]

Just remember... anything 'streaming' such as radio, youtube etc., are the biggest data gobblers on any mobile device.

[jon]

A very good point, Russ, which cannot be emphasized too much.

Unless you have an unlimited data package with your mobile plan -- WIND has the only affordable one that I've seen in my brief look around -- Slacker only makes sense if you are 100% aware of when and what it can cache on your Home (i.e. - not Mobile) High Speed Internet, and never let it download off your mobile Internet connection.