Rewind up to 5 hours with SiriusXM Version 2.0 app

The latest version of Sirius XM Radio's iPhone app features time-shifting capabilities (also known as "pause" and "rewind" buttons).

If you've ever tuned into a radio station just as your favorite song was ending, or rolled into work before "The Howard Stern Show" is over, the new version of the SiriusXM Internet Radio app is for you. It gives you access to the 30 new channels without the need for additional hardware. It also lets you pause whatever content is streaming, rewind to the beginning of songs or programs, and access previously aired shows.

The iPhone app is available for free in iTunes, but the service costs $12.95 per month, or $3 on top of your current subscription fee if you get satellite radio service in your vehicle. For the moment the update is only for the SiriusXM iPhone app.

Version 2.0 of the app shows that Sirius XM is making good on some of its Satellite 2.0 plans to help it catch up to Internet radio competitors such as Pandora and Spotify. But you're still not able to schedule recordings or create channels based on your listening preferences. For TiVo-like scheduling and recording, you'll need to pony up for the Lynx 2.0 tuner that was rumored to arrive last month. As of this posting, it's still not available for sale, but you can preorder the SiriusXM Lynx from Crutchfield for $250.

No additional announcements have been made as to when personalized stations will come into play. However, with the new SiriusXM iPhone app you can set alerts for your favorite shows using the "Find Show" feature, and presumably you'll be able to access popular and special programs on demand when it launches next year along with, hopefully, the new satellite Lynx 2.0 tuners.