Forget an iPod - get the MyFi from XM!

http://xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=31202
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6338384/



XM unveils portable satellite radio
Receiver has TiVo-like recording ability
The Delphi MyFi has a "live" listening mode as well as a "memory" mode for storing five hours or more of XM programming.
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:09 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2004

NEW YORK - XM Satellite Radio said Tuesday it will sell a portable satellite radio with a built-in antenna that can record up to five hours of programming.

The 7.3-ounce device will act as a TiVo for satellite radio, letting users record one station while they listen to another, or record a station when they're not using the radio at all.

Users will not be able to download music from other sources.

The $350 radio, which will be available in early December, will ship with headphones and a remote control and come with kits to adapt it for home and car use.

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If only you could use part of that 5 hours for mp3s...

 

For me it's going to replace my need for the SkyFi2. Now I'll be able to take it in with me to work, into my house, car, etc, without having to worry about extra adapters, antennas, etc.

I can't wait, this thing looks great.

 

Reviewed recently by USA TODAY:

Satellite radio in the palm of your hand
By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY
The satellite radio business has been generating quite a buzz lately. Market leader XM Satellite Radio recently reached an 11-year, $650 million agreement to broadcast Major League Baseball. Its rival, Sirius Satellite Radio, claims broadcasting rights to NFL Football. It also scored a high-profile coup last month, when it signed shock jock Howard Stern to what Sirius proclaims as "the most important deal in radio history." Whatever you think of Stern's on-air persona, I'm rooting for this vibrant young medium to succeed. (It's been just three years since XM launched the first satellite radio service.)

How come? The appeal of XM and Sirius becomes obvious to folks who are turned off by excessive and dumb commercials, tired formats and static on much of what passes for AM and FM nowadays.

For a monthly fee, XM, with more than 2.5 million subscribers, and Sirius, with more than 700,000, provide programming sure to tickle any music lover's fancy. XM delivers 130-plus pristine-sounding digital channels catering to news, sports, talk and — most of all — music junkies of every persuasion. More than half the channels are devoted to music, ranging from bluegrass and the blues to hip-hop and opera. I'm a devotee of Deep Tracks (album rock), XM Classics (traditional classical) and Frank's Place (standards worthy of Sinatra), among others. The basic monthly plan: $10.

Sirius dishes up a similar smorgasbord of musical, and other, eclecticism, with a $13-a-month offering that surpasses 120 channels. Both services sport mostly commercial-free channels.

It's hard to declare one better than the other. I suspect you'd gravitate to whatever comes closest to matching your tastes and sensibilities. I know, because I've got XM in one car, Sirius in another.

Gee, this seems familiar

I do the bulk of my listening behind the wheel, even though XM and Sirius offer radios and boom boxes that let you receive their services at home or while you're bopping around. None of the models to date has been designed to slip into your pocket or to be used at the gym, as with a Walkman or iPod.

Until now. Next month, XM and consumer electronics partner Delphi will begin selling MyFi XM2go. It's a handheld device, vaguely reminiscent of a transistor radio from yesteryear. The pocket-size, 7.3-ounce silver-colored gizmo, which I've been testing, lets you take in XM, more or less, wherever you happen to be. Sirius expects to unveil a similar device next year.

Aesthetically, MyFi can't match the iPod. And unlike Apple's digital darling, it wasn't engineered to handle downloadable music. The devices have somewhat different missions as they compete for a music aficionado's attention. On an iPod, or any hard-drive-based digital music player, you know what tunes you'll hear because you're carrying your own collection. What you'll hear on a MyFi is anyone's guess; the element of surprise reflects the timeless beauty of radio.

The front of the MyFi device is cluttered with more than a dozen not-always-intuitive buttons under an illuminated six-line monochrome liquid crystal display. The screen can show artist and song information for the channel you're on, as well as for other channels. It can also display a stock ticker and sports scores.

A clickable wheel on the side of the device lets you scroll through and select channels. My instinct was to try to use that wheel to adjust the volume, but other controls do that. Still other buttons let you access up to 30 channel presets.

The radio has no built-in speaker. So when you're out, you'll have to connect ear buds, which come with the radio, or headphones. In a car or at home, you'll need to use one of several listening methods, which I'll discuss below. MyFi is designed to work anywhere you can get satellite reception. But therein lies the rub. In general, XM radios need an unobstructed view of satellites hovering thousands of miles above Earth, though ground repeaters help strengthen signals in urban areas blocked by skyscrapers. That's why I have external satellite antennas in my two cars.

The good news: MyFi is the first XM radio with a built-in antenna that promises reception without having a wire with a separate antenna — at least in some places. Using the the internal antenna, I was able to receive broadcasts while walking around Manhattan, sitting in a pizza parlor, riding in a taxi and sitting in my office. To aid reception, XM plans to include a wearable antenna, but I didn't get one with my test unit.

Spotty reception

Reception was spottier out in the northern New Jersey suburbs where I live. I could get a signal in my family room, but only after connecting an external antenna and struggling to find an ideal spot by a window. Even then, the signal faded in and out. Reception proved even more challenging in my basement office.

At such times, you might be tempted to rename the device NoFi. But to ease any irritation, XM came up with a TiVo-like time-shifting feature called My MyFi. It lets you store and play back up to five hours of programming that you recorded in up to two separate sessions. Minor nuisance: For this to work, the radio must be docked in a supplied "home stand."

Through a nifty feature called TuneSelect, you can tell XM a favorite song or artist. Then, whenever that artist or title is playing on any XM channel, the radio will beep and let you instantly switch to that channel.

The unit includes a cradle, antenna and other accessories for operating in a vehicle and playing through car speakers. MyFi contains an FM transmitter that sends the XM signal to any nearby FM radio. You tune the FM radio to an unused (or weak) station. Then you arrange for MyFi to send the signal out over that frequency. MyFi lets you choose among a dozen frequencies. With this feature, I was able to listen to XM through my home and car stereos.

At $350, on top of XM's monthly subscription fee, MyFi strikes me as a bit costly. XM says pricing is reasonable because the package includes a remote control, antennas, audio cables, spare rechargeable battery (which lasts roughly five hours) and other gear necessary to exploit satellite radio.

Despite my quibbles with the cost and design, the fact that I can enjoy XM in places I couldn't easily before makes me willing to overlook MyFi's shortcomings — until something better replaces it. Who knows? Maybe we'll see some sort of iPod/satellite radio combo some day. I imagine XM and Delphi are looking skyward as they contemplate the device of the future.