Sirius Unveils Portable Radio
Sirius announced today that it will release a portable radio called the S50, the company’s answer to XM’s MyFi portable. How do the two shape up? The two portables are similar in concept but different in execution. For one, Sirius’ portable must be connected to a home or car dock to play live programming, while XM’s doesn’t. Meanwhile, Sirius’ portable can store 50 hours of satellite radio programming and music files, while XM’s only stores 5 hours of programming and no files. So if you want to listen to satellite radio as you walk around, XM’s the way to go, but if you love your MP3s but don’t want to carry both a radio and your iPod around, go with Sirius. The MyFi sells for $299.99, while Sirius asks $349 for the S50.
The fact that the S50 can’t play live Sirius content without being docked is a major setback, in my opinion, especially considering that while the MyFi allowed users to listen to satellite radio anywhere for the first time, the S50 isn’t really doing anything new. Sirius’ portable is pretty, but I’ll stick with what I have.
