Well surprise surprise, a shiny new Audiovox XpressR XM satellite radio just arrived for me to grope and fondle it for a bit. (Sadly, I don't get to keep any review units.) Of all the plug-and-plays on the market, the XpressR is arguably the most advanced, so I can't wait to give a thorough workover and review.
But for now, here's the unboxing available for your mass consumption after the jump...
Next to a RAZR cellphone to show size.
Again, next to a RAZR to show thickness.
So how is this "arguably the most advanced plug and play"? because of a split screen? i can see whats playing on other channels while im listening to a channel using the category view on my Sportster4. plus the Sportster4 has 45 minutes of replay vs the xpressr's 30 minute. the Sportster4 display is also a lot nicer than the xpressr's (cool blue). i saw the 2 on display at my local circuit city. the sportster4 has the edge on the looks factor. if you need a smaller radio than the sportster4 but you dont want to lose any features, sirius has the starmate4. with the xpressez you lose every cool feature including presets.
it seems like xm is trying to play catch up with sirius' hardware these days. they have a looooong way to go.
When you can get something that comes close to the INNO than maybe you can talk about Sirius technology. Sirius had NO real portable unit. XM has had one for at least 3 years now. Also tell Sirius engineers to try and make an antenna that isnt as big as a toaster.
philmore wrote:
"with the xpressez you lose every cool feature including presets"
So I guess the 10 little silver buttons on the bottom of the unit are just for looks? This new unit is better than your sportster4. It may not have the looks you want but it definitely has it beat on the technology side. Philmore, I'm not sure if you read the news lately, XM and Sirius are trying to merge. This means your battle of XM vs Sirius days are over. It's ok, you can let go now.
I don't think a new 'radio' is what SAT radio needs right now. There are plenty of plug and play radios to pick from now.
XM and Sirius must come up with some killer way to get SAT radios in peoples hands to try out. Promotion is way down. They need to take that money and that energy and market the service itself.
The bored MP3 crowd will convert to SAT when they realize the new stuff they are missing, or when their discs crash or when they count the hours they put into mananging a mere 1000 MP3s (or when the kids stop stealing music).
Lately I had been listening to XM only at work at very low volume. Last night, I sat in front of my new home theater with the XM home kit and had her cranked up. I surfed the dial for 3 hours and let me tell you .... I fell in love with XM all over again. Wow !
philmore,
my skyfi 2 also has 45 min. of replay but for some reason xm puts 30 min. on the box. your little add for sirius radios only works on people that don't have it yet. the rest of us already know better.
Brad Friskyfritter, I said the xpressez has no preset buttons. the xpressez and xpressr are 2 diff radios. sirius and xm are 2 diff companies right now. right now the companies have not merged. right now there is only a 35% chance of the merger going through. right now, sirius has the hardware advantage. right now, xm wishes they had a cool device like the sportster4.
Norcalmurph, Sirius has antennas that are as small as xm's. are you trying to say xm antennas are the size of toasters? and Sirius has the SL100. it sounds like you've been sleeping under a rock lately, so heres an update on what you missed. The SL100 has 100 hours of storage, 1gb of which can be used for mp3's. the Inno only has 50 hours of storage, with only 512mb of storage. The SL100 has wifi, the Inno does not. The SL100 has a larger easier to read display. the sl100 has voice assisted navigation. the sl100 shadow records off of your favorite channels. the sl100 has 60 minutes of replay. the sl100 alerts you when your favorite team is playing. next time, do some research before posting.
According to the Sirius website you can only listen to live Sirius through WiFi. That is a joke. Why not just carry your lap top around? I am talking about LIVE SatRad broadcasts. You can't do it. But you want too.....Too bad your equipement is a joke. Today I will mow my lawn while wearing my INNO listenening to beautiful, live satellite radio. Also I have yet to see a sirius antenna the size of an xm antenna. You sir are a liar!
•NoCalMurph
Actually the Stilleto100 does let you listen to LIVE satellite broadcasts as it has a built in antenna, and when you're inside it finds a WiFi network if available, as it works in a car or outside in a park.
Technology arguements are really silly at this point. As stated by someone on this article already, the companies are trying to merge. If/when that happens, the R&D departments will be cranking out some awesome portables.
"the sl100 alerts you when your favorite team is playing"
Um, that's easy if you're listening to Sirius. Sunday.
If Sirius had baseball that would be a neat feature, but let's be honest, besides baseball, sports on the radio kinda sucks.
As far as hardware, XM has been beating Sirius to the punch on all of the products. Where's Sirius' GPS/SatRad device? XM has 3 of them rolling out this fall. One thing I wish XM had is the Conductor. The display in the remote is a great idea.
Final thought, Sirius "Cool Blue" is a joke. It's monochrome. My audiovox XR9 has the blue display and it might as well be black and white. I actually prefer the soft white backlighting of the MyFi and the new line of Audiovoxs. All the PNP's need to go to some basic color display. If every free cellphone can do it, SatRads you pay for can as well.
Mike sez:
"XM and Sirius must come up with some killer way to get SAT radios in peoples hands to try out. Promotion is way down. They need to take that money and that energy and market the service itself."
You are so right!
The "uninitiated" need to be made to realize what they are missing.
XM, and Sirius for that matter, have totally missed the (promotional) boat.
Nocalmurph, again, please do some research before posting. the SL100 IS a live portable radio. it has a built in antenna, plus a wifi receiver.
Calgoldenbear, XM uses monochrome, not SIrius. sirius' display you can see in the daylight, it does not wash out like XM's. sorry, im not a baseball fan. i could care less if baseball went away for good. i still cant believe people watch that boring ass sport. its just as boring as golf!
man, all of you xm fans really need to do more research.
"Actually the Stilleto100 does let you listen to LIVE satellite broadcasts as it has a built in antenna"
that built in antenna is a piece of shit! the only way the stilleto works is with the bulky antenna headphones that come with it. my inno works just fine indoors or out with my inner earbuds.
"The SL100 has 100 hours of storage, 1gb of which can be used for mp3's. the Inno only has 50 hours of storage, with only 512mb of storage."
the SL100 is 2gb, the inno os 1gb, and the nexus comes in 1gb or 512mb, you don't know your products very well philmore. maybe YOU should do some research before posting.
Philmore, you're missing the point. "Cool Blue" is fancy monochrome, but it's still monochome. Instead of black, you're dealing in shades of blue. Like I said, the XR9 I use in my office has the same display. While I had a distinct urge to jump up and down and do backflips everytime I turn it on, I restrain myself, because in the end, it isn't a color display and really isn't that exciting.
but let's be honest, besides baseball, sports on the radio kinda sucks.
Uh, actually you are wrong. Baseball on the radio sucks just as bad as football. XM subs that use this line really are a joke. Yes. I am an XM sub.
As far as hardware, XM has been beating Sirius to the punch on all of the products.
Don't care because I am not interested. I am interested in my Inno and my Sportster and this new Express R radio. Why? For the same reason that I passed on an iPhone. When you have one product that is trying to be a lot of things it usually does none of them well. When I want a GPS I will buy one. When I want a new radio I will buy one.
that built in antenna is a piece of shit! the only way the stilleto works is with the bulky antenna headphones
That's flat out wrong. I haven't used the antenna painphones and the Stiletto gets reception that is better than my Inno. Neither work well in my family room without the dock, but in the upstairs portion of my house and all around my property (had the SL100 for 3 days and this is as far as I have gotten with it) the SL100 is great. The Inno works well as long as my position doesn't change. When I mow the grass the reception is spotty. The SL100 didn't miss a beat on Saturday while on my lawn tractor.
Also I have yet to see a sirius antenna the size of an xm antenna. You sir are a liar!
You sir, sound like you have an issue with "the size of things" if you know what I mean. 1/4" might make all of the difference in the world to a fellar like you, but us "men" wouldn't ever notice 1/4" difference.
The SL100 is a utterly disappointing piece of shit. Sorry, the Inno wins hands down. The SL was the end of Sirius for me. Much, much worse than the first MyFi. And about the same size. It's big and even bigger when you see it up close & personal.