It appears like I'll be getting one of these satellite radios from my wife this Christmas. I could really enjoy listening to the radio without the static and interference I always get driving through the Ohio countryside.

Does anyone have information or experience with either of these that could point us in a particular direction?

I tend to listen to talk radio moreso than music, as a rule...

Thanks-

Bill in Dayton

Hi Bill

I just received the XM Radio with my new Cadillac in May of this year. It came with a 3 month trial, and I went and purchased a 2 year plan.

I absolutely LOVE it! I have not listened to regular radio since. The main difference between the two are XM will have Major League Baseball next year for FREE!!! Serius has the NFL as a premium add-on.

Check out the program listings to see which covers your favorite Genre's the best.

Me personally, I'm sticking with XM Radio.

Al

Lets get Sirius
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1018209032790

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-29-2004).]

Depends whether you want or don't want Howard Stern

Hey Bill,

I sell both, any specific questions? I'll give you the sale pitches I use.

XM is the older company, (not by alot) they have the better equipment selection.

Sirius has some catching up to do , bit with the signing of Stern it looks like they will get close very fast.

One last thing, check out www.timetraxtech.com

Sirius HAD the NFL, but I think they lose it after this season.....in case that's a factor for you. I don't know any musicians that are up early enough to listen to Howard Stern. I also don't know WHY any thinking person would WANT to listen to him....but that's just me. Carry on.

That hurts UD, I've been a Stern fan since 85' He is actually quite smart, got to give him a chance, but I guess we all can't appreciate the same thing, it's like music, not all of us like the same kind of music.

Sorry, not much of a Howard Stern fan...I think he likes to take delight in embarrasing people, who are often already fairly embarrasing.

News talk, sports, nice variety of music, that's what I'm looking for from this. Each seems to be a quality product...

Bill

My wife and I really enjoy listening to the two comedy channels on XMRadio during our long drives home from gigs (jobs for UD).

My ears are very sensitive to music so we put on some comedy on the way home and some of those segments are funny as hell. Keeps me awake and is entertaining.

Everyone in our family has a favorite XM Radio channel my wife loves New Country, My teens love alternative, metal, and Pop rock. I just wish we could play 5 different channels at the same time with headphones!!

Hey Frankie - no offense to you, my friend !
I just don't like the whole "shock jock" thing. I find him tasteless and crude, and no ammount of "inherited" intelligence will forgive that "learned" behavior.

Chocolate and Vanilla again!

XM is the leader in it's field, with something like four times the number of subscribers that Sirius has. Every gig I play at now features XM radio. I enjoy XM's smooth jazz channel 71, aka "Watercolors" and some of the music I play comes from listening to that program. I would recommend XM.

My two cents:

I do believe that Howard Stern is intelligent, however I find him to be devoid of talent. He doesn't sing, play, dance, tell jokes or act. His only talent is making crude remarks about the female body.

I think Sirius has Air America. You can listen to that mental giant Al Franken.

Tom

Chocolate/Vanilla... thats why we have a channel select button.....why pay for radio when there is So much on the air for free. cell phone bill,
cable TV bill, cable internet bill, tc etc etc when does it end? Oh Yeah I know ......when I hit the lottery right?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-30-2004).]

Yea Donny!!! XM and Sirius are just another way for companies to make money on a society that has too much. Radio has been free since its inception. Fidelity, using a good receiver, is as good as the ear can handle, so why PAY for the same music you can get over the airwaves? Here in Detroit I listen to Dick Purtan every a.m., but would I pay to listen, NO!! Howard Stern is no different and I can hear Steely Dan and Yanni anyutime I want on regular radio.
Unfortunately I'm hooked on basic cable TV, and cable internet, but I certainly hope I don't fall for PAY RADIO.

Sorry, it's hard to answer when I'm listening to Stern.

As for XM and Sirius, they both have their pros and cons, I've had XM for 3 years, and never listen to regular radio except for Stern in the morning.

I am switching to Sirius for Stern of course, I love the comedy channel, the 80's channel, which Sirius has also,

XM does have the headstart but there is allot of money being put into Sirius, so I see the gap closing fast.

Long live Stern!!!

Actually, the most common description of Stern from people who really aren't listeners are that he just says stuff about womens private parts.?

Sounds like the stories I heard of when the Beatles and Elvis first came on the scene.......

We mock what we do not understand!!!

A friend of mine put it just right
"The Howard haters need to stop being disingenuous and start listening with a sense of objectivity."

Now who can get me a G70 fast?

Remember we are all friends

Regarding H Stern, he's definitely not my cup of tea. Some people will do anything for $$$ (maybe most people?), and he sure knows how to milk his $ making nitch... and THAT'S the reason he does what he does.

Frankieve,

I listened to Howard every morning for about two years. I also used to watch him on the E channel. I got bored. Rather than attack those of us who listened and turned off as "Howard haters" why don't you tell us exactly what his talent is? I don't hate Howard. At first I thought he was funny but after while the novelity wears off.

I do support his right to be on and your right to listen even though I find him talentless.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I apologize, but I don't think I attacked any Howard Haters, just like everyone voiced how they didn't like Howard, I voiced how I liked him. For someone who is not liked, 8 million people should check the staion they are on...,

I've been listening for a long time, and I have the pleasure of being able to listen for multiple hours at a time so I feel like part of his "radio family"

I guess it might be something that people will either learn to like or love to hate

Bababooeey!

NICE!!!

Ok...My preliminary search has produced the following:

*Both products are very comparable

*I'll be able to enjoy more NPR broadcasts via Sirius than XM.

*Each offers plenty of news & sports talk choices

*The music choices are also broad and don't really differentiate themselves that much IMO

*Sirius is more expensive monthly, by $2 or so...no big difference

The unit I'm looking at most seriously is called the (Sirius)Orbiter 4000 which sells for $100.00 The vehicle kit runs another $50 bucks. Much less than I expected to pay...

Any specific comments from our electronics retailer (frankieve?) about this unit?

One thing that does appeal to me is ease of installation. Apparently all I have to do is install the antenna, plug my base unit into my cigarette lighter and turn my FM dial to a certain frequency...Other units, mostly XM ones involved alot more wiring ...which I'm not interested in.

Regarding Stern...I'll give him points for self promotion, but I think he's more style than substance...and I don't think he'd argue the point either, lol..

Thanks for all the feedback

Bill in Dayton

The newer XM units now have built in FM mods also.

The newer Delphi piece have built in memory of up to 30 minutes,

Most of the units are similar, I carry all of the products, I haven't had any bad expereinces to give you an thumbs up on one or another.

The one thing is to make sure all you bases are covered, home kit, multiple car kits, boom box, and the look, make sure you like the look, cause you will be looking at it alot.

Give me some model numbers and I'll get you some prices

Frank-

See previous posting for model I'm looking hard at...

Let me know on your prices...

email me at corfieldb@aol.com

Thanks!

Bill

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117881,pg,3,00.asp