Even though satellite radio has improved since it’s launch and content has gotten better since the merger of Sirius and XM, Mike Elgan at the IT trade publication Datamation predicts that "Satellite radio will come crashing down to Earth within the next two years."

This is not good news for me, being a Sirius/XM subscriber and avid Howard Stern fan. The article discusses six trends that will kill satellite radio in the years to come:

1.) The rise of MP3 phones.

2.) The rise of MP3-compatible cars.

3.) The coming wave of mobile broadband dashboards.

4.) The rise of podcasting.

5.) The rise of live podcasting.

6.) The economy is "cratering.""

Other factors hurting satellite radio is the $3.4 billion of debt that they have accrued as well as the 45% reduction in sales of GM cars, which is the main Sirius/XM channel for new subscribers. I guess the next step for the "King of All Media" is retirement.

As a huge fan of satellite radio (and Howard Stern), the newly merged Sirius/XM company is starting to irritate me. Now that the merger is over, the company is punishing early adopters by making them pay for new content after about one year of listening to all kinds of complaining and ranting by DJ’s and Howard Stern about hold-ups on the merger.

I want to start seeing XM content on my current radio and if not, at least a dual-tuner option that won’t make me go broke. According to CEO Mel Karmazin, the merger didn’t "merge" satellite capabilities. Oh yeah, and according to Automotive News, we are 15 years away have XM and Sirius installed in new cars?! Give me a break!

I say, if they can launch frickin’ satellites into outer-space, why can’t they give me dual content on one receiver? Give us what we want!

Okay, I’m going to go ahead and make the assumption that I’m behind the times, and that both XM and Sirius are designing radios that will work with both systems. Or, that when the merger’s complete, there will be only one system. Because they both continue to release new, competing radios. This one, the Stiletto 2, has been talked about forever, but it’s finally been introduced. Some nice specs:

• Capture up to 100 hours of programming
• "Love" button to capture the current song
• Wi-Fi
• Also plays MP3 and WMA files
• microSD slot
• 2.2 inch color display
• Up to 20 hours of use

It ain’t cheap, at $349.99. But it’s sure purty!

XM’s new XpressRC unit does seem like a nice piece of gear, but one has to wonder if it will support just XM or both XM and Sirius. At least, until all that’s sorted out. In the meantime, it has a nifty color split-screen, 60-minute buffer, and the ability to save up to 10 songs with their "Songsaver" function. $170 when released sometime later this year.

It appears from a letter written to the FCC by a certain Michael Hartleib that satellite receivers may already be capable of receiving both Sirius and XM with a simple firmware update. That would be a good thing. I would renew my contract (my car has an XM receiver) if true.