iRadio -- Crippled at Birth?

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Motorola unveiled some new details about its iRadio service. I first heard about iRadio back in April 2005 at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Day -- Motorola's Dave Ulmer was on a panel and let some details slip (shortly after giving this interview to Engadget). 

Moto is promising 435 channels (music, talk, etc.) at launch, initially served via USB download to the new ROKR E2* (successor to the ROKR E1, a/k/a the iTunes phone) through a Windows XP computer.  This first iRadio-enabled phone will hold six channels at a time and updates the playlist at each sync.  Eventually, Moto will allow live feeds via cellular data service to the phone... with Cingular likely holding the inside track on being iRadio's initial wireless partner, once they get 3G broadband data rolled out across their whole network (as opposed to the current 16 business markets).

The first iRadio promo/commercial is either misguided or clueless. The closing visual says "We got tired of changing stations. So we changed radio." I'll concede that iRadio represents a change (as opposed to claiming false advertising) -- it locks users to only one device manufacturer, presumably only one cellular provider, and only six available program choices at one time.  What's the use of over 400 content sources if you can only get to 1.4% of them before needing to reconnect to the computer?

One of my very few complaints about XM (that likely extends to Sirius as well) is the narrowcasting of its 100 music channels.  Perhaps my tastes are broader than the general public, but I routinely flip among nine music channels just to remain entertained during the workday -- four flavors of independent rock (XMU, Ethel, Fred, Fungus) plus five other "variety" stations (60s, Soul Street [classic R&B], The Joint [reggae], Deep Tracks [lost 60s-70s rock], and The Move [techno-dance]).  Why would I trade 20 presets and access to all 200+ channels (including the critical traffic-weather combos while driving) for six stations that (for now) I'd need to have downloaded in advance using my (non-existent) Windows XP box?  The three-to-four minute dropouts somewhere like the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel are a minor inconvenience -- the current iRadio restrictions are a death-knell.

Honestly, I want to see iRadio work -- I want more diverse content and more creativity on and over the "airwaves."  I want XM to have to innovate further in the face of competition from Sirius and iRadio and whatever else might follow (mobile streaming Internet stations?).  I understand the "first mover" advantage and technology lock-in -- but Moto isn't the first mover in the "FM radio replacement" game (XM was) and Moto doesn't bring enough of a technological advantage to the table (for the time being) to be a serious player in the game.