siriusxm.com
Sirius XM is a big name in satellite and online radio. When you buy a car, one of the things the dealership offers you is a free trial subscription to Sirius XM. Sirius has done an amazing job of making AM/FM radio obsolete.
Sirius XM is available to users in many places. The company has an online website, an app for phones, it can be hooked up to your card, and you can also purchase a stereo-like radio system. The main radio is transferable to a couple of other bases, like car bases and stereo bases.
Website Design
The website design appears to be a giant advertisement, which it is. From the very beginning, the company is trying to get you to sign up for their radio service. Their approach is very aggressive. It is difficult to find where the real streaming section of the site is.
It is slightly disappointing that the company relies so heavily on these ads. The colors used are off-putting and the forceful tactics are unfortunate. The product is a very good product, so their marketing is confusing. The product speaks for itself. It is very good radio.
The website's design is much sleeker and easy to navigate. White backgrounds are used to match the look of the website, with colors sparingly used in the channel blocks. The organization could be better, but it's not the worst.
Content
SiriusXM offers a wide variety of content. There are over 140 channels available, each with its own specialty. Some channels are dedicated to music, while others offer talk shows or comedy programming. The choices are endless, so there's something for everyone.
Another cool thing about SiriusXM is that they offer exclusive content on their app and website. One of my favorite channels is the Alt Nation. They occasionally borrow playlists from an exclusive internet channel for an event called Emo Halloweeno in the month of October.
The streaming menu has the "Discover" tab, favorite's tab, recent tab, and the search bar. The secondary menu has a "personalized for you" tab, music tab, sports tab, news tab, talk tab, and Howard Stern's tab. I don't like how the primary and secondary menus are bunched together. It's a con to me. The "personalized for you" tab has a music, sports, news, talk, and Howard Stern tabs.
Desktop & Mobile Accessibility
The initial desktop login screen is poorly designed. It feels like you are being pressured to sign up for a trial and the menus are hard to find because of ads. Once I figured out where the click to listen button was, it was smooth sailing. I chose not to create a profile at first to check out the available free content. The official streaming platform's website is much cleaner and more pleasant to look at. Searching google lands listeners on the wrong page for streaming, so that is confusing.
The vehicle version of Sirius XM is a very good experience. I have had the subscription for many years and find it to be very reliable. The only issue I have personally had with the vehicle version was the start-up process. After installation, navigation generally depends on your vehicle's make and model but generally speaking it is very simple. Hands down, Sirius XM is the best radio service for vehicles.
The Sirius XM app is wonderful, but users cannot access the app without a paid membership. This is unfortunate but understandable; the application is a scaled-down version of the website optimized for cell phones. All three versions of the service are good options, but my personal favorite way to listen remains in the vehicle.
Positives
Many people enjoy using Sirius XM as a radio service provider and streaming service. The company has paved the way for other radio streaming websites, and it is one of the best radio services I have encountered.
The pricing for the product received is a fair price. The company typically offers free trials, often for 3 months or longer. After the free trial runs out, the subscription price differs according to your preferences. Outside of the car, bundles range from as little as $8-$13 per month. The bundles that include vehicles are around $17-$19 per month.
The variety of channels offered by the company is amazing. Approximately 300 or more channels are available to premium members and there are tons of options for music, sports, comedy, news, and talk shows. The company provides very niche genres like The Coffee House for indie/ acoustic fans as well as many other options.
Another great advantage of SiriusXM is its high audio quality. Even if listeners choose to stream content from a variety of devices, the sound quality remains high. Some of the live special features SiriusXM does with artists sound like you are in the studio with them.
Although the paid subscription is nice, not everyone can afford to pay for the service. Fortunately, there are so many special offers and discounts SiriusXM is affordable for most. If you decide you would rather not take the plunge and subscribe yet, free listening is available on the desktop browser.
I found that Sirius XM maintains high sound quality while navigating their website, and there are no issues with leaving the tab open and multi-tasking on other web pages.
Sirius XM's personalized listening experience is unparalleled. The company, Pandora, purchased the popular radio streaming site in 2013. By utilizing user-based history technology, Sirius XM has created a unique listening experience for its listeners. This differentiated service is worth the price of admission alone!
Negatives
I am glad to report that the Pandora website and streaming service are not very negative. The radio company has put together a unique product with few flaws. However, there are a couple of features that could be improved.
The amount of ads on the first-page Google search results is frustrating. It is difficult to figure out where to go to get to the real streaming webpage. The banner on the first page is distracting and almost completely covers the primary menu.
It has a more current look, but it can be hard to distinguish one track from another.
Another thing I am confused about is the branding of the company. It feels like each website/app, and other listening options the goal is not unified. The first website is a billboard for new users to sign up and try free trials. This webpage is very colorful and distracts from the content. The colors are bright and loud, making it hard to focus on content. When it comes to the listening portion of their website, it is designed much differently. The streaming page is more modern with subtler pops of color. The app has a more current look, but it can be hard to distinguish one track from another.
One of the few complaints I have is that the signal in rural areas is poor. It's almost impossible to listen to the radio in a car when traveling there, and it's frustrating for people who live in those areas.
Improvements Needed
I would recommend making the landing page more appealing to the eye, reconsidering the size of the large banner, and sticking to a color scheme.
Summary
Since streaming services like SiriusXM and Spotify emerged onto the market, they have been quickly gaining popularity due to their unique technologies. SiriusXM's technology takes into account users' past listening habits and preferences in order to create customized suggestions. Although their website features a lot of advertising, the quality of the music and overall service is still highly praised.
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