CES 2007 is soon upon us next week and the excitement is building (not mention that MacWorld is going on the same week, building it's own level of excitement for our favorite "competitive" device).
So here's a bit of a breakdown of what both XM's and Sirius' presence at CES 2007 will be, as well as other related retail manufacturers.
First off, like last year's CES, Sirius will not be having their own booth but will instead be sharing a section of the Directed Electronics booth (North Hall, Booth #301 - that's the green highlighted booth on the right in the map pictured above).
Last year Sirius held a private showing at the Bellagio (which later became the lovable nickname for the now Sirius Stiletto), but they didn't have any significant public announcements that year. It's possible that the same may be the case for this year, although the Sirius Stiletto 100, Stiletto Antenna Headset, Sirius Conductor, Sportster 4 and the SiriusConnect Home were given CES Innovations Awards so they will probably be on display. It is important to note that Mel Karmazin will be in Vegas next week as well, so who knows what's to come.
XM on the otherhand will be exhibiting at CES in their own booth (North Hall, Booth #4606 - the green highlighted booth on the left). XM's booth is flanked by Honda (to the right) and Delphi (to the left), not to mention iBiquity/HD Radio (upper-right... which is somewhat entertaining). It's hard to say exactly what XM will be doing, but we do know that the XM Mini-Tuner, the Delphi SkyFi3 and the absolutely incredible Bushnell ONIX 400CR were awarded CES Innovations Awards so they will most likely be there.
XM will also have their XM "Infotainment" vehicle on display, showcasing the first-ever personal weather tracking system. But as for any other announcements? We will soon find out.
Other exhibitors of note are Delphi (North Hall, Booth #5206), Audiovox (Central Hall, Booth #11006, and #10506), Xact Communication (Central Hall, Booth #9817), Humax (Hilton, Booth #2665 and #2765), Wistron NeWeb (South 1, Booth #20919) and of course WorldSpace (The Venetian, Booth #209).
Of course, if you're not attending CES this year - have no fear - because you'll be able to get obsessive in-person coverage of CES right here on Orbitcast.
Any news as to whether XM will debut the Audiovox Portable?
That was shown off at the Audiovox booth at SEMA in November. Nothing really to write home about. Just an Inno with no home kit.
No word, but the Audiovox X2G-100 does have a tentative release date of February 2007. The timing is so damn close that it wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption.
The Year of the Passport, i hope