Apple car play or XM radio

Actually as a child I would listen to CBC Radio on the am band--it was, at the time available from a quite powerful transmitter. It would drop out somewhere in Nebraska. (about 1000 miles)

I do listen to radio on my cell phone--which has unlimited data. I have a booster, but that has only been used twice in 12 years.

Apple is via the cell phone? If so, your comment applies to it, too.

pianotuna wrote:
Why would one pay for apple car play when there are thousands of free radio stations already available on the wobbly wide web.


BBC
CBC
NPR

Come out here to the middle of nowhere and see how many of those "free" radio stations, on the web or via antenna, you can pick up. (Your cell phone will be useless most places also.)

I used to have two Sirius/SM subscriptions but gave up on them due to the constant battle over subscription prices. Now all the music I want to hear is on a flash drive so I hear only what I like to listen to.

Oh boy, everybody grab their morning glass of Metamucil and listen for a sec.
XM, obviously, is a set of “radio” stations that play whatever you select.
Apple car play is not. It is just an interface to make your car stereo more IPhone “friendly” and a means to operate your iPhone through your car stereo. (Similar to Bluetooth but not with the Apple “apps” appearing on your stereo screen.)
With it you can stream music or play your downloaded music. But Car Play doesn’t have its own music.
Car play doesn’t require phone service to work but it only plays what is already on your phone or streaming music (when you have internet service).
Car Play is either wired or wireless (through Bluetooth) depending on the features of that stereo.
No subscription required for CarPlay.
Bottom line, replacing a 20 year old stereo with features from the last decade is an upgrade if you want to use your phone with your stereo.

Why would one pay for apple car play when there are thousands of free radio stations already available on the wobbly wide web.


BBC
CBC
NPR

Many modern mobile stereo's have Bluetooth which can pair&play music from any Bluetooth enabled device.

Weather the content your listening to is on the device itself or simply streaming from elsewhere you can always have music on the road.



- Mark0.

I’ve used XM in my 2001 Toyota for the last 16 years. I had Best Buy install it. I pay around 9-10/month for it. The big reason for us having it is it allows us to listen all the MLB(Dodgers) games while on extended trips in the mountains. I have the base mounted on the floor of the truck below the radio on the carpet of the transmission hump, right up against the lower dash plastic. There is a magnet antenna on the passenger front corner of the truck, close to the regular antenna. For camping trips, I have a separate portable base for the RV and it has its own separate antenna the I put on top of the camper. I can move the small XM receiver back and forth between the truck and camper as needed. Always having to change stations on a long trip is no fun. Good luck

I have XM and it works everywhere except tunnels. Expensive however. I also like local radio and use the search feature to find a signal when the current station fades.