An interesting article on TWICE says exactly that. Apparently XM's contract with many suppliers prohibits the selling of XM Connect-and-Play style technology, without having some costly repercussions.

Snip:

During XM's contract period, home audio suppliers wanting to offer Sirius service are presented with what contend are less-than-optimum choices: One is offering the same product as two separate SKUs, raising the products' costs and forcing retailers to stock additional SKUs. The second is to offer an XM-ready product with built-in Sirius tuner, further raising the suppliers' costs. Said one supplier, “The cost of adding a full-blown Sirius tuner in an XM-ready product is cost-prohibitive for us given the fact that the model has to have wide appeal, and consumer pricing is critical.”

Interesting. Can anyone confirm this? They also mention possible delays of a SiriusConnect "portable" like the XM Passport because of this contract. The article is worded in a fancy fashion, with no official comments from XM or SIRIUS - but then again, I wouldn't expect one.

[TWICE] 

Blogcritics' Craig Lyndall faced off XM vs SIRIUS in terms of technology in a review today. It's a somewhat biased review, not because Craig is admittedly a XM subscriber, but moreso because he's comparing a device that has been out for months now (the Sirius S50) to the Samsung Helix and the Pioneer Inno units which have yet to be released. Yes, he mentions the first-gen XM2go units, but the article really comes across as compairing the Inno/Helix to the Sirus S50.

Now, that of course doesn't elude the fact that Craig is pretty much correct in his statements. XM is definitely ahead of Sirius in term of technology. Even the most devout of Sirius subscribers/investors has to admit to that. Even just comparing currently available devices illustrates this. The S50 is a huge leap for Sirius, but the lack of portable on-the-go listening is definitely something that needs to be addressed. And articles like these only highlight Sirius' weakness. Not to be a negative-nelly, but I'm really hoping to see some true portable Sirius receivers in the coming months.

[Blogcritics]