So some of you have been asking what exactly this new Connect and Play technology from XM Radio really is. I posted the original announcement from CES but really did little to explain the whole deal to many. So here goes.

The photo above is the guts of Connect and Play technology. The chip that makes a receiver an "XM-Ready" receiver. Check out a super-sized version of the XM Connect-and-Play chip photo if you really want to. So when you have an XM-Ready device, you simply need to plug an XM Connect-and-Play home antenna (pictured to your right) into the receiver and activate the service to receive XM's digital radio channels. The XM Connect-and-Play antenna is expected to cost $49.99 (that's MSRP.. it'll probably be cheaper from certain retailers).

Using XM's new-fangled chipset technology as well as their new proprietary chip and signaling protocol, the XM Connect-and-Play antenna is capable of receiving XM's satellite and terrestrial signals as well as channel tuning, decoding and audio transmission. Meaning that the antenna is the only accessory needed to get XM through an XM-Ready audio system. You really don't need any other accessories at all.

The beauty of all this, is the size of the chip. It's tiny. And cheap. Devices that otherwise wouldn't be able to receive satellite radio now can. Such as clock radios, DVD players, or even possibly a.... Skypod . :)