XM's new GPS device -- don't expect it to improve sales

Once, when canoeing in the middle of an interior lake (after two very long portages), a lightning storm began. It was mortally dangerous. Someone on a campsite nearby died from a lighting strike during the same storm.

Why am I telling you this? Well, with all the excitement of the past couple of days at CES and MacWorld, especially the launch of Apple Computer Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, almost no one paid attention to XM Satellite Radio Holding Inc.'s (NASDAQ:XMSR) new gadgets that were introduced at CES on Monday. Specifically, I'm talking about the Bushnell Onix 400, a device that has a GPS system and tunes to XM's real-time local weather.

The device will only be available in the summer, but had I had the opportunity and given my past experience, would I have bought it? I'm not sure. First, at $499 it's a little pricey. Second, while the device may help when I'm out there in the wild, it also in a way would defeat the purpose of being out there in the wild. Third, how often would such a device be needed? On the few occasions I go camping?

Well, I guess that it's no wonder this announcement didn't get much attention. The other devices it introduced aren't so innovative either. I also doubt Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) will come out with any groundbreaking devices at CES.

While XM recently failed to reach the lower end of its subscriber projection, Sirius is paying Howard Stern a bonus for having 2 million more subscribers than originally forecast. However, both companies' retail sales have been lacking, and the devices they each offer haven't improved much to provide new incentives. At least as far as retail sales are concerned, I expect more of the same.

And if XM goes mobile with a cell phone from Cingular Wireless and Alltel Wireless, what's to prevent Apple from going satellite next?