PioneerInno
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XM and Warner settle, it's a Festivus miracle!
Well, not really miraculous -- this was totally and completely expected when we saw XM and Universal kiss and make up a couple weeks ago -- but now XM and Warner Music Group have finally found some common ground over the XM Pioneer Inno player song recording issue. The terms of the settlement are undisclosed, but we're sure they include stipulations of heavy DRM and various feats of strength.
Pioneer inno lookin' pretty in pink
With the Pioneer inno's brushed metal stylings, we're almost getting an iPod mini vibe from this new pink edition, though the masculine look of the inno is also giving us bit of a drag queen feel. Yeah, so that's... awkward. But luckily it's for a good cause! Pioneer, XM and Circuit City are teaming up with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for a bit of breast cancer smack down, donating $30 from each sale to the foundation -- up to $150,000. Hopefully you don't have the same problems with psychotic anthropomorphism as we do, and can pony up for the cause in our stead. In other, less exciting news, Pioneer is forcing a software "upgrade" on users that disables the inno's FM modulator when the device isn't placed in its car dock. Apparently the change is due to regulatory issues, and Pioneer is offering a full refund for your device -- for a limited time -- if the feature reduction doesn't exactly float your boat. Battery life is supposedly extended considerably by the firmware update as well, along with numerous other bug fixes, so holding off from updating doesn't seem to be that attractive of an alternative.Read - Pink Pioneer innoRead - Pioneer inno firmware "upgrade"
Sirius CEO reveals portable receiver/DAP
While XM is already offering its customers live feeds on-the-go through the well-received Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix, rival Sirius has been rather slow to the starting gate in this department, as its flagship S50 portable only plays back content that was recorded while it was docked. Now, however, it looks like Sirius is finally on the verge of releasing its first DAP with built-in satellite receiver, and Tech Effect even managed to snap a picture of the device when CEO Mel Karmazin briefly flashed it during his keynote at this week's Convergence 2.0 conference. Unfortunately Mel only broke out the chunky-looking player to illustrate a point he was making about the iPod ("I wish it didn't exist," he said, probably only half-jokingly), so all that's known about this unit is its size and the fact that it sports a headphone jack. Still, Mel promises that he'll have the product in stores by the end of the summer, and since it's reportedly in the midst of beta testing, we're expecting to see some leaked specs and photos sooner rather than later -- much sooner if any of you testers would be so kind as to drop us a line.
XM will "vigorously defend" Innos against industry suit
XM is firing back against the recording industry's lawsuit over the Pioneer Inno's ability to temporarily store copyrighted material, stating rather boldly in an open letter to its customers that "we will vigorously defend these radios and your right to enjoy them in court and before Congress, and we expect to win." Claiming that the record labels "don't get it," XM argues that consumers have always been free to tape over-the-air content from a variety of sources, provided that they restrict those recordings to personal use. What's more, the Inno doesn't even let you transfer recorded content to other devices, and deletes all of your tunes if you drop your XM subscription, so it's already much more restrictive than the recording devices faced by TV and terrestrial radio broadcasters. Instead of actually expecting XM to pay $150,000 for each song recorded by Inno users (which would probably amount to at least several billion dollars), it's more likely that the music industry is using this suit to coax XM into joining rival Sirius in coughing up additional licensing fees. Also, a note to XM PR: despite your suggestion that the record labels are attacking sat radio owners at the expense of a war on the "real" pirates, we think that the industry is both well-prepared and well-equipped for a multi-front conflict.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
