A choice to make.
I'm thinking of purchasing a satalite radio for the car. I have seen advertisement for a couple of brands, but beyond that I know nothing. So the research begins. I think what I would like to have is something that can be in the car but also be portable so that I can bring it into the house. I want to also have access to a variety of stations, including talk radio. But I think I would also like it to be like an mp3 player where I can download a variety of music. So maybe an Ipod would be good. It can go in the car and also be attached to a speaker system to have in the home. But I would only have access to the music a place on the system, right? Well, as I journey through the internet to get facts on all the variety of satalite radios, and mp3 systems I will share what I learn. And you can share any wisdom that you have on these products.
posted by Laurie | 11:35 AM
2 Comments:
Well...I think you should plan on two devices for now. There's no single device that does what you want to do - at least one that you'd be happy to hassle with.
I have an XM satellite receiver that I carry back and forth between the car and the apt. Mine is a little fancier than the entry-level model that I gave Steve (he pays me $7/mo to glom onto my Family & Friends plan - much cheaper than the $13/mo that a standalone subscription costs). The XM receiver I use is called the SkyFi. I have a dock installed in the car that is hooked up to power, a teeny satellite antenna that sits in the back window, and the transmitter that sends the sound to my FM radio (you can also use a cassette adaptor if you have a deck in the car - that will give you much better sound than FM). The SkyFi pops into the dock and that's all there is to it. When I get home I pop it out of the dock and place the SkyFi into a 'boombox' on my nightstand that also has a dock and is connected to an antenna that sits in my bedroom window (and attaches to the boombox so it's completely portable). There is another dock available for use with a home stereo.
A better solution for a newbie would be the Roady (that's the one that Steve has - Karen has one too). No dock needed for that one - you would have to plug/unplug the three cables everytime you switch from the car to the house. They're pretty cheap (older models on eBay are even cheaper) and identical in sound and function to the SkyFi and other receivers that are out there.
This only explains XM options. The other satellite company, Sirius, has its own hardware, in my opinion not as wide a choice as XM. Programming is very similar between the two except Sirius has NPR and pro football and XM does not - XM has major league baseball and NASCAR and Sirius does not - otherwise they're basically the same.
iPod is not the only choice for MP3 - there are players out there that are FAR cheaper and work just as well.
hey did you know you can get a free ipod pretty easily?
just go to www.getipodsforfree.com, sign up and do an offer
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