The Sirius Stratus 5 has hit retail shelves and is available for sale now, but it won't pack many surprises for most Sirius-fans.We first saw the Stratus 5 hit the FCC back in May, and since then, there's no surprises. It's essentially a standard plug-and-play satellite radio receiver with a pretty blue screen. But a lot of people are fans of the blue screen, so it ain't all bad.
The Stratus 5 is also an entry level devices, coming in at $69.99 - for now.
It's sure no Starmate 5, nor is it meant to be. It's also not an A La Carte radio either, so the "Best Of" packages will be all that's available. But for many people, that's all they need.
[TSS-Radio]
(Disclosure: Yes, TSS is a sponsor, but I'd still post this anyway, and you know that.)
$69.99. That might attract maybe 100 new subscribers.
But the long time fans know it will be in the $20-30 region soon.
It doesn't add up. Why roll out a standard radio at the same time ala-carte radios are coming out? All existing radios can get "Best Of" packages. Why have this at the FCC during the merger process?
I am going to go out on a limb here and speculate. Could this be an entry-level free ad-supported radio? A cheap radio that gets a limited number of satrad channels for free? Does it have the advertising chipset?
Could be a normal radio, but the timing of it all makes no sense to me.
Why does it not make sense? There won't be dual radios for a while still and they will not be cheap. Both XM & Sirius are going to continue to operate as separate entities for a few years. Many consumers, myself included, have no interest in an a la carte capable receiver and don't want to pay for it. I would have loved an updated Inno w/a micro-sd slot but now that Sirius has crippled the recording function even the XMP3 seems useless. I can't think of a single new radio that is better than the very 1st one I bought. The cheap Roady 2 that has an FM transmitter than the whole neighborhood can enjoy.
Not at Best Buy or Circuit City today. The store staff had no idea of the new radios due out this October 6th or the plans.
Yikes.
Does anyone else have a lot of static with this radio? I had an old Xact radio without static! Good move or not? Feedback welcomed.
My guess is that it is an entry level designed as a give-away for those wanting to add Best of XM to receivers that will not accommodate it. It is an attempt to keep subscribers from moving over to XM in their frustration.
Recently purchased a Stratus 5 and after 3 days I am very unhappy. Static on any unused FM band is the norm. Antenna placement does not matter. This unit is clearly inferior to my 3 year old XACT that was stolen. Siriuisly considering dropping the service if the direct wire to the receiver does not solve the problem.