Circumventing the Network Operators

While the network operators and handset manufacturers try their hand at various music download and radio services, here comes a way to circumvent the carriers if you're already a Sirius subscriber and want to listen to Howard Stern on your Windows Mobile smartphone. The good folks at Smartphone Thoughts point out a forum posting that a member over at HowardForums has "rewritten the code for Sirius CE to work on Windows Mobile devices." The app is supposedly "perfectly legal" and the user "must have a subscription with Sirius Radio." You can also get a 3 day trial subscription to Sirius to check it out.

Smartphone Thoughts suggests using an EDGE capable device and that "it works great on my Cingular 2125." Also make sure to have an all-you-can-eat data plan or else the costs can get very high, very quickly.

This is just another instance where consumers can go around the multimedia services of the network operators to access their existing subscriptions and content. For example, if I had a SlingBox I could access my DirecTV and Tivo via a Windows smartphone, and now I can do the same if I was a Sirius subscriber. So why would I want to pay extra for my carrier's mobile music and video services?