I'm a radio girl.  I grew up listening to the radio and I enjoy listening to a variety of music, not just my private collection of CDs.  Unfortunately, since radio stations nowadays waste so much time on commercials and senseless yakking and devote less time to playing music, I've practically stopped listening to the radio.  Lately, I've been thinking about giving satellite radio a whirl.

Last weekend, I installed SiriusWM5, developed by GeeksToolBox, to my Pocket PC.  SiriusWM5 does not circumvent the required subscription to Sirius - you still must subscribe to Sirius before you can listen to the radio, but Sirius provides a 3 day, free evaluation subscription.  After 3 days I was sold, so I signed up to subscribe to Sirius' $12.95/month internet radio.  Now I can listen to commercial-free radio from any computer or from my Pocket PCs whenever I have a WIFI or GPRS/Edge internet connection.  Both the WIFI and the GPRS/Edge connection worked very well on my hw6925. If you use a GPRS/Edge connection, you'll definitely want to be sure you subscribe to an unlimited data plan through your cellular provider. 

SiriusWM5 includes the following features:

• Sirius Canada Support (Option)
• Channel Artist and Title Display (Option)
• CDQ Streaming (Option)
• TCPMP (Option)
• Channel Graphics
• <70K footprint with no other support software required to be installed.
• ~90K Physical Memory Usage
• A single version Supports SmartPhone, PPC, and PDA platforms
• A single version supports WM 2003 OS or newer including WM5
• A single version supports all screen sizes and modes, as well as auto senses landscape to portrait changes (PPC.)

I know there are quite a few choices for FREE internet radio, but most of the internet radio I've listened to is not commercial-free, and I've not been very impressed by the quality of the music or the user interface.  They also haven't streamed well to my Pocket PC.  At 128 kb, Sirius' internet radio provides a premium, CD-quality listening experience both on my computer and on my Pocket PC! (Don't I sound like a commercial?)

Start Listening Now!

To start listening to Sirius internet radio on your Pocket PC:

• Download either the Pocket PC or SmartPhone version of SiriusWM5 from the GeeksToolBox website.  You'll need to create a username and password before you'll be able to download the software, but signing up will also give you access to GeeksToolBox's forum which allows you to interact with other users and to provide feedback directly to the developer.  The software works on Windows Mobile 2003 and WM5.0 devices.  SiriusWM5 can work with the Windows Media Player on the Pocket PC, but you'll probably have a better listening experience with TCPMP, so install TCPMP on your Pocket PC (if you don't already have it installed) - GeeksToolBox includes a link where you can download TCPMP.
• If you don't already subscribe to Sirius Satellite Radio, go to the Sirius website to sign up for your 3 day trial.
• Install SiriusWM5 to your Pocket PC and set it up:
  • Tap Start > Programs > Sirius WM5
  • Tap File > Settings
  • Input your Sirius login & password
  • Tap Save
• Get your Pocket PC on the internet, either through WIFI or GPRS/Edge connection
•  Open up SiriusWM5, tap Connect.  Since you've already entered your login and password, you will be prompted to enter a CAPTCHA
• Select a channel and ENJOY!
• Of course, having stereo headsets produces a much nicer sound on a Pocket PC, but even through the little Pocket PC speaker, it sounds pretty good!
  

Already Subscribe to Sirius Satellite Radio?

Sirius' standard internet radio (32 kbs) is freely available if you already subscribe to Sirius satellite radio, but you can upgrade to the 128 kb, CD-quality premium service for an additional $2.99/month.  Sirius internet radio includes many of the same channels as Sirius Satellite Radio - you can review their channel guide to see the channels that are included with internet radio versus the channels that are included with satellite radio.

Enjoy!

Useful Links included in this article

• SiriusWM5, developed by GeeksToolBox:  this link takes you to the GeeksToolBox where you'll create a username and password and then download the software.
• Sirius1:  Sirius home page
• Sirius2: this link takes you to the specific page on Sirius website where you can sign up for a 3 day trial
• Sirius channel guide

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