Michael York

uSirius StarPlayr, an iPhone application developed by NiceMac, LLC., has created much fanfare in recent days. The application allows you to listen to both your SIRIUS and XM subscriptions on the go, utilizing the iPhone’s network connection.   Today, the developers released uSirius StarPlayr Beta 1 to 200 Beta Testers, and I’m lucky to be one of them. Check out the gallery below!

Setting up uSirius StarPlayr is a quick process. Just enter your username and password and you’re on your way to listening to your favorite satellite radio stations. When connected via cellular networks (either EDGE or 3G), the bitrate is 32kbps for both SIRIUS and XM channels. However, when connected to a WiFi network, you can listen at a maximum 64kbps for XM and 128kbps for SIRIUS (subscription required.)

After a few hours of continuous usage, I’ve determined the application to be extremely stable and robust. The only drop-outs I experienced in the playback were when the phone switched from EDGE to 3G and back. The interruptions didn’t last more than a few seconds, however, due to the fact that the app buffers a portion of the music ahead of time for such network issues. Hopefully, this issue (and the only one I’ve encountered) can be resolved with a larger buffer.

uSirius StarPlayr will be available in the App Store soon, following its beta testing. Its pricing has yet to be decided. Big thanks to Jason Millard and the rest of the NiceMac, LLC. team!