Category: Broadcaster's Lounge
Hi,
I'm trying to decide whether I want to get xm or sirius. I would like to get a portable radio that I can take with me. I was wondering if anyone here has an xm radio like that, and if so, how accessible is it? Also, does it have an earphone jack? I really don't want to buy it if it is touch screen. lol
Thanks,
Jen
Xm and Sirius basically have the same channel lineup. They carry different sports and I think a few other things. Sirius has NFL, NASCAR and College Sports. XM has NHL, NBA, MLB, NBA and some college. I could be remembering this wrong, but I think Sirius has Howard Stern while XM has Opie and Anthony. There might be a few other differences but as far as the regular music channels go, they offer the same thing. If you care about sports, you can pay extra to add all of the sports offerings from Sirius to XM or vice versa. The only exception is that the only way to get MLB is through XM. You'll want to check both websites for the channel listings to compare and see which one suits you better. From my experience, the Sirius website is more screen reader friendly than XM, but it has been awhile since I checked and things might have changed. Neither website was perfect. I haven't looked at the portable radios in several years, but when I was looking, I ruled them out pretty quickly because there didn't seem to be any that were anywhere close to blind friendly. Also, they basically don't work indoors. They'll work by a window if you're lucky. I ended up getting one of the faceplate style radios that can plug into boomboxes or the home kit. I have one box at home and one at work and just carry the faceplate back and forth. Keep in mind that even these need to be near a window to work and obtaining a solid signal can be tricky. The best location for the antenna placement depends on where you live. In my case, I have to point my antenna to the North. I have a good spot at homeand I never lose the signal. But at work, my windo faces the West. I can kind of get a signal from this West window if I angle it right and have a little luck. There are days where I get a solid signal all day and some days where I can't pick it up at all. Satelite radio is cool if you have a good place to set it up or use it in a car, but I personally don't think it's a good portable option because the signal is too hard to pick up. Unless you're just a big sports fan or something, I really wouldn't recommend satellite radio at this point. It's my understanding that the industry is struggling and many experts believe it won't be around 5-10 years from now. I have Sirius and enjoy it, but I mainly got it because I like the NFL and enjoy being able to listen to any game I want instead of being stuck with the 2 or 3 games in my market. Also, when I signed up, Sirius still had the lifetime subscription where you paid $399 for the right to use it for as long as your radio lasts with the ability to transfer the subscription to 3 radios. If it weren't for that lifetime subscription, I don't know that I would've continued to pay for the service because of the signal issues. I've been using it for about 3 years now and will continue to use my lifetime subscription for as long as Sirius is around, but if I were paying monthly, I really don't think I'd still be with it. Unless you've got some particular reason for getting it or have money to blow, I don't really think it's a good value. JMO. Hope that helps.
Jen, we had XM for a couple of years. It was somewhat accessible in that you could rotata a knob to select channels. I think there's a cirius that's been out for a couple of years. Check the podcasts on blind Cool Tech at www.blindcooltech.com. Someone did a review. I can't speak to the websites. As post 2 said, the offerings are similar, and from a purely content point, I could be happy with either, as they both offer all kinds of music.
Good luck,
Lou
Thank you. I know it sounds simplistic, but I do really only want to make sure I'll be able to turn the channels. lol
I've allways liked xm even though sirius has basically the same channel line up. I'm looking for a portable boom box myself and haven't found one. I've seen xm portable radios that play mp3's as well but they run at least 300 dollars. As another poster said I think satellite radio in general will be a passing fad. Hope this helps good luck.
Lol. Changing the channels is about all I can do with mine and it's enough to make me happy so I know what you mean. Good luck.
thank you. <smile>
Jen, you might be able to check out some display models at Best Buy. I know Radio Shack used to have some of the cirius ones on display. Personally, I was always happy just flipping channels also.
Lou
Thought they were merging?
That's a good idea, if they have them on display. lol. Thanks, lou
And they did merge, but you still can get either or. Apparently, some of the channels that are exclusive to one or the other, you can get for a few bucks extra a month.