Delphi SKYFi3 XM Radio Receiver with Car Kit
- Usage: Car
- Design: Compact
- FM Transmitter: Included
- Service: XM
- Compatible Brand: Delphi
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Tomorrow's Radio... Today
Pros
Lots of variety, high "coolness" quotient.
Cons
Check www.xmradio.com to make sure the available channels interest you.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Do a little research on xmradio.com to make sure the channels interest you. If so, buy it. You'll have no regrets.
First, an overview...
XM Satellite Radio provides over 100 channels of music, news and talk from a pair of satellites. Channels run from classical to broadway to Latin to pop to news to talk to... You get the idea. XM is a subscription-based service costing $9.99/month. Each radio you own must be individually subscribed but there is a price break for additional radios.
As for the SKYFi itself. It's an odd sort of product in a way, both convenient and annoying in its design. First of all, by itself it will do absolutely nothing. You can't even turn it on without buying an addon. The reason for this is that the SKYFi itself has no speakers or audio-out and no electrical connection. In essence, it's like buying a TV without a power cord. This is annoying, obviously, because if you don't understand this you are going to get home and find that you have purchased a very cute doorstop. The convenience, however, is that you can buy the addons to allow you to use the SkyFi in your car, with your stereo or away from home and then simply carry the tiny SKYFi receiver around with you.
And when I say tiny I am not exaggerating. The unit itself is smaller than a paperback book and includes a miniature remote control. It would slip with relative ease into your pocket.
Now, as for the addons... To my knowledge there are three at present: a car kit, a home kit and a boombox. They are fairly self-explanatory. The car kit includes a power adaptor, cradle to snap the XM into and a tape deck adaptor. The home kit includes a power adaptor, cradle and cables to hook the unit into your stereo. Finally, the boombox is a speaker/power unit that your SKYFi snaps into to provide use on the go.
All in all, the SKYFi is easy to use and the sound quality is great.
Enough about the hardware... Let's talk programming...
I'm a big talk radio fan and there is a lot on XM to be a fan of. Among major talkers, at present you can get Sean Hannity, Art Bell, Phil Hendrie, Michael Reagan, Dr. Dean Edell, Bruce Williams and Glenn Beck along with a few others. There are also some local talkers. A few things probably stand out from this list to any fan of talk radio: no Rush Limbaugh, no Dr. Laura and no NPR. All of that could change at some point, but that's how it is for now. I would advise you to visit http://www.xmradio.com in order to see if your favorites are available.
Now, as for music, there is a wide variety available on XM serving almost every taste. If I had to complain, and this is based on my personal tastes only, I would say that there is not enough Christian music (two channels as opposed to 5 or 7 in some of the other categories). That said, however, there is something on XM for pretty much everyone.
All in all, I'd say XM is great for anyone who travels long distances in their car, lives in a market with relatively few quality radio stations or just people (me) or like cool toys.
XM Satellite Radio provides over 100 channels of music, news and talk from a pair of satellites. Channels run from classical to broadway to Latin to pop to news to talk to... You get the idea. XM is a subscription-based service costing $9.99/month. Each radio you own must be individually subscribed but there is a price break for additional radios.
As for the SKYFi itself. It's an odd sort of product in a way, both convenient and annoying in its design. First of all, by itself it will do absolutely nothing. You can't even turn it on without buying an addon. The reason for this is that the SKYFi itself has no speakers or audio-out and no electrical connection. In essence, it's like buying a TV without a power cord. This is annoying, obviously, because if you don't understand this you are going to get home and find that you have purchased a very cute doorstop. The convenience, however, is that you can buy the addons to allow you to use the SkyFi in your car, with your stereo or away from home and then simply carry the tiny SKYFi receiver around with you.
And when I say tiny I am not exaggerating. The unit itself is smaller than a paperback book and includes a miniature remote control. It would slip with relative ease into your pocket.
Now, as for the addons... To my knowledge there are three at present: a car kit, a home kit and a boombox. They are fairly self-explanatory. The car kit includes a power adaptor, cradle to snap the XM into and a tape deck adaptor. The home kit includes a power adaptor, cradle and cables to hook the unit into your stereo. Finally, the boombox is a speaker/power unit that your SKYFi snaps into to provide use on the go.
All in all, the SKYFi is easy to use and the sound quality is great.
Enough about the hardware... Let's talk programming...
I'm a big talk radio fan and there is a lot on XM to be a fan of. Among major talkers, at present you can get Sean Hannity, Art Bell, Phil Hendrie, Michael Reagan, Dr. Dean Edell, Bruce Williams and Glenn Beck along with a few others. There are also some local talkers. A few things probably stand out from this list to any fan of talk radio: no Rush Limbaugh, no Dr. Laura and no NPR. All of that could change at some point, but that's how it is for now. I would advise you to visit http://www.xmradio.com in order to see if your favorites are available.
Now, as for music, there is a wide variety available on XM serving almost every taste. If I had to complain, and this is based on my personal tastes only, I would say that there is not enough Christian music (two channels as opposed to 5 or 7 in some of the other categories). That said, however, there is something on XM for pretty much everyone.
All in all, I'd say XM is great for anyone who travels long distances in their car, lives in a market with relatively few quality radio stations or just people (me) or like cool toys.
