Related Resources •  XM Gets Serious, Sirius Gets Panasonic •  Mine Is Bigger Than Yours •  Freewheeling On Satellite •  Portability Has Been Redefined For Radio •  Satellite Radio For Your Car, Home or Anywhere •  XM Users Turning To TV War Coverage Via Satellite Radio •  XM Radio Comes To Your PC •  SIRIUS Unveils Here2Anywhere Portable Satellite Radio Tuner •  XM Radio Summer Programming Specials •  SIRIUS Sets A Standard •  "XM Roady" to be Unveiled Mid-September •  SIRIUS Satellite Radio Not Fazed By Recent Blackout •  XM Radio Now Dealer-Installed Option On Lexas •  XM Satellite Radio Kicks Off Sweepstakes and Stunt •  Veteran Liberal Talk Show Host Lynn Samuels Joins SIRIUS

Compare Prices on XM, SIRIUS Hardware • XM Receivers • SIRIUS Receivers

If you wish to upgrade your present car radio, you will need an FM Modulator or XM receiver, depending on what hardware and brand you already have. At this writing, the prices range from $80 to $299.

For portable XM Radio reception, the Delphi product at $129 is the ultimate in channel choice. It works at home or anywhere else but in addition to the the SkiFi unit, you will either need the XM Home or Car Adaptor kit, each one being $69.95.

XM and Delphi have also introduced the "Roady". The Roady ($119.99 MSRP) has several unique features, including the new ultra-thin XM Micro Antenna, the smallest satellite-radio antenna on the market. The compact, customizable Roady unit comes with three interchangeable faceplates and seven different options for screen-display colors.

Weighing just five ounces, the Roady is nearly 40 percent smaller than previous portable models. Roady's small size makes it simple to integrate into the vehicle's control panel with a wide range of placement options. The easy-to-install Roady receiver plugs into the cassette player of a vehicle's stereo system. For vehicles without cassette players, a wireless adaptor for the Roady will be available next month for only $29.99 (MSRP).

XM also offers a hardware/software radio combination called XM PCR that hooks up to your PC so you can listen through your computer's sound system. The price is $69.95.

Sirius

Sirius Satellite Radio offers 100 channels of programming that includes 60 channels which are 100% commercial-free. In addition there are dozens of audio refeeds from various news, talk and sports sources (Fox News, ESPN Sports, CNBC, etc.). The cost is $12.95-per-month.

The Sirius website offers a comprehensive list of Sirius-ready car radio models. Prices start as low as $320 for Kenwood products and go as high as $2499 for a Kenwood AM/FM/DVD unit!

As with XM, you can chooose to upgrade your present auto radio, but to do so you will need an FM Modulator. You can find a list of your options at the Sirius website, as well. Prices will range fom $179 to $229.

For a portable solution, Sirius offers the Kenwood Here2Anywhere radio. It's designed to work between both the car and home using the optional docking kits. The unit retails for $100.00 and the docking kits run $69.95 each.

Click HERE to view a RealVideo story on the growth of Satellite Radio. (1:35)

- Corey Deitz

Previous Articles