XM On Your Cell Phone

FMQB Reports:  XM Satellite Radio CEO Hugh Panero told Reuters that he believes cell phones and satellite radio will converge within the next five years. And with ringtones, ringbacks and all of the other music technology being incorporated into cell phones, why shouldn’t it be possible?

"Obviously, our core base is people who listen to radio in the home and car and now in the mobile market, and I think that as other distribution points present themselves, whether it be cell phones or other mobile devices, we obviously can have a place in that," Panero said…

Panero said that XM has had discussions with various service providers and hardware manufacturers, and that those companies "have a need to efficiently provide content that will help motivate people to buy their hardware and we’re a natural place to go as we have become a more important player in content."

XM has already debuted a wearable portable music device, the Delphi XM MyFi, so that people can hear satellite radio when they’re away from the home or the car. A cell phone could be a logical extension of that. Panero also said he thinks portable satellite radio players will eventually be combined with a digital music player.

"Clearly, convergence will occur at some point," he said. "It will happen even without our effort because people are beginning to build MP3 capability into a lot of consumer electronic devices."