Back in 2010, the Internet radio provider had partnered with Pioneer, an electronics manufacturer, to offer Internet radio in cars. This year, the company is planning to launch its radio services in 135 different car models from 26 auto manufactures. With existing cutthroat competition in the free music space, Pandora has decided to take on terrestrial radio services and satellite radio provider Sirius XM in the car market. A couple of months back, Pandora’s stock took a hit after Spotify reported that it crossed the milestone of 10 million paid subscribers. Earlier this month, the company’s stock plunged by more than 10% after Google revealed that it has acquired music curation app Songza. Both these instances indicate that the market is considering these services as a serious threat for Pandora. While the company’s active user count has increased at a robust pace historically, it is likely to slow down going forward due to growing competition from Sirius XM and emergence of free music streaming services such as Spotify, Google‘s Songza and Apple‘s Beats. The Sony DSX-S310BTX and DSX-S210X will retail for $280 and $200 respectively when they hit 12-volt retailers in fall 2011.Pandora Media is one of the largest Internet radio providers in the U.S. However, older Sirius or XM tuners can still be used via the units' S-Bus connection. Interestingly, neither receiver is compatible with the new unified SiriusXM Connect module as Sony's new CDX line of CD receivers is. As "mechless" receivers, neither of these units features a CD player instead their internals have been replaced with a Tune Tray storage space with an internal USB connection for your iPod, iPhone, or other portable media player. Joining the DSX-S310BTX in Sony's new mechless receiver lineup is the DSX-S210X, which loses its Bluetooth connectivity and as a result Android and BlackBerry Pandora connectivity-it still has iOS Pandora control. Likewise, the Bluetooth wireless connection allows the DSX-S310BTX to serve as a speakerphone for hands-free calling thanks to its own microphone and the car's speakers. That USB connection also gives access to media stored locally on the iPod, iPhone, or other USB storage device. Of course, iOS users will still be able to take advantage of their Pandora apps through the DSX-S310BTX's one-wire USB/iPod connection on the front panel. From the DSX-S310BTX's four-line OEL display, users will also be able to browse their custom Internet radio stations and view the title and artist of the currently playing song, and, if they wish to, tag the artist or song for later retrieval and purchase. Users get the standard Play, Pause, and Skip controls in addition to the Pandora-specific thumbs-up and thumbs-down rating of songs. The DSX-S310BTX communicates with a paired Android or BlackBerry phone via Bluetooth, taking control of the Pandora app and streaming audio wirelessly. That's about to change with the announcement of the Sony DSX-S310BTX, the first aftermarket car stereo to offer Pandora integration with Android and BlackBerry devices. However, with the exception of one OEM implementation, it's mostly been an iPhone-only affair, with Android users being left out in the cold. Pandora Internet Radio app playback and control are old hat for car audio receivers-that tech's been around since CES 2010. The Sony DSX-S310BT will be the first aftermarket receiver to control the Pandora Internet Radio app for Android and BlackBerry over Bluetooth.
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