Free Sat radio!

As discussed in a few recent threads, XM is apparently running a promotion...

 

I read that the promotion was to end on 06/07/2010 which was accurate, I discovered the service was gone this morning.

 

Oh!!! Ok, I was wondering the same thing. I am subscribed but not to the traffic. However, the other day my Navi got a traffic notification and altered my route. I suppose that is gone now though.

 

If the radio owners don't know about it then it can't be a very successful promo. If their marketing is relying on posts by Priuschat members to spread word-of-mouth it appears they outsourced their Marketing Dept. to India.

 

I received a letter offer Sat for $77 a year or 19.99 for 6 months with no activation fee.

 

I just got a letter saying about $24 a month to continue the audio and nav service.

Wow, that's a lot. If it was half that I would consider it.

 

haggle it down.

 

I just got the $77 per year. They don't say it when you call to activate but if you ask for it they are still offering it. One catch there is also a $11 music license fee which they wouldn't wave or suck up, but I $8 or so per month I can live with as I hate regular radio now.

 

I will renew the music part when my 3 months is up. I have a long commute and the more music the better. It's worth $77 a year.

 

Licensing fee? What the hell? So that is an extra $11 per year right?

I found this little article about the music fee. Be careful, don't whistle the happy birthday song in public, otherwise you'll have to pay a fee. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-licensing5.htm

 

It is too bad that you can't get just the Traffic...i have no interest in the radio because reception and sound quality are not that great.

 

I would consider traffic also but not the music portion. I have an iPhone and between my huge music library, podcasts, and Pandora, I'm set.

 

My free trial XM on June 8th, (for audio) and June 17th (for traffic). I have not heard a word from XM about extending (other than a letter a month ago with no deal at all). Talk about bad marketing! I really only want the Traffic....I only listened to Stern, and I'm not paying for XM & Sirius Best just for one station I only sometimes listen to. So I'll wait for a deal...!

 

Agreed, the cost of the XM is WAY too high. It's radio. It's free elsewhere. HD radio gives similar quality and is completely free. Sprint has 3G service along most major highways and Pandora is only $30 a year for unlimited streaming. So instead of picking the SAT tab on your Nav system, pick BT or USB depending on how you hook up your phone and pick what ever music you want to hear commercial free.

XM is a good idea, but they need to rethink their business model. Technology is out pacing them and it's far cheaper.

 

I called in to cancel mine and they transferred me to someone and I ended up with a 1 yr subscription for $65.00.

 

I Got transferred around as well. I ONLY wanted traffic...and they best they could do was $80.00 for the whole year. Oh well...I tried.

 

Actually HD radio gives "better," not similar sound quality to XM. However, it's not the same thing because your local HD stations can't follow you on a cross country trip and there aren't as many stations to choose from.
On top of that, the Prius doesn't receive HD radio anyway, so it is moot.

 

Did everyone register for the free trial? I am a six year Sirius subscriber and have not done anything with the XM in my Prius but seem to get a decent selection of the available channels. I am guessing it is running in a demo mode. Any idea, for how long, that will last?

More often than not, I just stream Sirius from my iPhone over Bluetooth.

 

The dealer activates it. Now that I'm using the USB port I don't even check to see if the radio works.