Associated Press Not Impressed By MyFi

prostoalex writes "Michael Regan from the Associated Press started reviewing MyFi, a portable satellite radio receiver, by treating it as a competitor to iPod, but then admitted the two devices are quite different. For $350 and a $10-a-month subscription the buyer gets access to XM satellite radio stations and ability to record the stream to 128 MB of built-in flash. There's no way to transfer the recorded content to the computer or vice versa. The review recommends waiting for lower price and better features."

Comments

Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[Dancin_Santa]

In any urban area, the number and variety of free radio stations (supported by volunteers or commercial sponsors) is staggering. There really isn't any reason to splurge on an expensive device when a twist of the dial can tune in just about any type of music that an individual would be interested in. If you can't find a station that interests you in those areas, perhaps it's time to turn the radio off altogether.

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[Eric Giguere]

Aren't most satellite channels commercial-free? That would seem like a good reason to me. Besides, even if there are dozens of channels in your area, there may not be any you really like.

Eric
How to make money with Vioxx

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[fimbulvetr]

You're area may be. But every station in the areas I've been to recently(Kansas City, Denver, Minneapolis) plays 2 crappy songs, then 4 minutes of commercials, followed by a good song, then 1 crappy song. In fact, most stations "brag" that they have 30 minute "rock blocks". Great, 30 minutes of junk followed by an equally long commercial break.
As far as I'm concerned, I'll pay $10 a month to not listen to BS.
On my trips across South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Minnesota, I usually give AM a shot, but not with one of these:)

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[Chrontius]

Really? I live in Disneyville, Florida and I can only think of one radio station (NPR excluded) that's not owned by ClearChannel.

With all the formats, there's only 3 palatable commercial stations between them. (again, NPR excluded)

Two of them are rock stations, and have irritatingly similar playlists at times. Down to those times when they're playing the same song at the same time.

Sure, there's 40 odd stations I can recieve, but if they all suck...

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[Guppy06]

"There really isn't any reason to splurge on an expensive device when a twist of the dial can tune in just about any type of music that an individual would be interested in."

That's just it, though: you need to hit the turner and hope you'll find something you want to listen to. If nothing else, satellite radios will tell you when something you want to listen to is coming on and let you tune in automatically. And you also don't have to hit the dial to avoid commercials.

When was the last time you actually sat down and listened to your radio, as opposed to using it as a noise-maker while focusing on something else?

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[geoffspear]

Actually, Clear Channel owns exactly 7 of the 35 radio channels in the Orlando market. But feel free to make up "facts" to fit your argument.

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[CatOne]

Except radio is AWFUL... a typical playlist is 15 songs per day, repeated over and over and over. And many radio stations out here in NorCal take 4 1/2 minute commercial breaks... how annoying is that when you're working out? There's way too much blather... I never hear what I want and when I'm somewhere other than home, I can fish on the radio for 15 minutes before finding a song I like... which cuts out 30 seconds later and goes to... commercial.

With satellite, you can have 5 or 6 commercial-free stations that you like, and "in theory" get them anywhere. In concept it sounds great -- my DirecTV has digital radio stations and I listen sometimes when I'm tired of what I have on the iPod. But in practice, satellite radio reception is a bit spotty (as noted in the article).

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[randomiam]

People need to remember that radio stations are in the business of delivering listeners to advertisers, not music to listeners.*

I gladly shelled out for Sirius service when it became available. To my mind, it seems preferable to pay my music provider directly and have them worry about my happiness rather than some advertisers.

* paraphrasing Doug Adams

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[LoadStar]

It must've been a while since you listened.

Both Sirius and XM's music streams are both completely commercial free. The talk, news, and informational channels on both services carry commercials (partially because many of the channels are simulcasts of TV audio).

XM had originally tried having some of their music channels carrying commercials, but it's been almost a year since that point.

Re:Maybe useful for Flyover-country

[Desert Raven]

Um, OK.

I live in one of the largest metro areas (Phoenix) and only know of one such station. Some truly awesome individual who owns a few small stations took one that was failing and turned it into his own private station.

No commercials, no DJs, just non-stop music from his own (huge) playlist, randomly chosen by an automated system. He's got a serious following, even though it's a low-power station. Funny thing is, he could care less.

But even so, it's an anomaly. He's rich enough to run it at a loss just because he wants a station he likes. And, he's got the license to run it, because he was wealthy enough to buy it, license and all in the first place. Not too many folks out there with that kind of money, influence, skills and devotion.

See also

He dosn't get it.

[mkmoose]

As a XM user I am drooling over the features offered by this device. I owend a first generation sony PNP and now an XM Roady. This device is light years ahead of the first generation. Comparing this to a I-Pod or MP3 player confuses what the device is. It more correct to compare this to a tivo with cable.

Recommendation??

[fembots]

The review recommends waiting for lower price and better features.

So when is the right time to buy if people take this kind of recommendation seriously?

Price will be lower than the lower price you saw yesterday, features will be better than the better features you thought that are already better.

Re:Recommendation??

[MBCook]

Both would be nice. But the thing is still a great deal. For the $350, you get the device, a car kit, a home kit, earphones, etc. If you take the little Delphi XM radio I have now ($99), buy the car kit ($99), the home kit ($99), the boombox so you can listen anywhere ($99), you're already over the price (those numbers may be a tad high, like $10 each).

So for the same or less, this little thing is smaller, portable, AND CAN TIMESHIFT.

As an XM radio reciever goes, this is THE DEVICE unless you only want to ever listen in your car (which, by the way, would change).

It's not cheap, but it's a good deal relative to other solutions. Plus you can use it anywhere like a walkman and it could tape Art Bell or This American Life or any other show for you to listen to later.

I'd LOVE one. I'd suggest that they offer it stand alone (no home/car kits) to lower the price, but I think we all know that would only save maybe $50 bucks because the little device is by FAR the most expensive part.

Uhh

[fredistheking]

>There's no way to transfer the recorded content to >the computer or vice versa.

Except to connect the headphone jack to your linein. Why is the analog solution usually overlooked so quickly?

Re:Uhh

[EvilSporkMan]

The analog solution works at 1x - it takes as long to transfer the content as it does to listen to it. This can easily be construed as inconvenient.

Re:Uhh

[iocat]

This continues to kill me. People will listen to tinny, compressed, MP3s all day long and then recoil in horror at the lossyness of a *gasp* analog-to-digital conversion.

Yeah, it may be a 1x process, but who is out there who will be able to do this and already doesn't already have most of their music digitally anyway. XM is awesome, but I don't usually hear tracks I've never heard before, or old tunes that I simply *must* have. I'd probably only want to grab a couple tracks here and there anyway.

Re:Uhh

[MBCook]

All the sibling replies to this are right. Analog works, but it's a hassle.

It's Analog. That means that you go from Digital->Analog in the radio (which introduces imperfections). Then it goes from Analog->Digital in the computer (which introduces imperfections). While the quality may be close, it's not the same and without knowing exactly HOW it was compressed origionally, you can't get the same quality to filesize of the origional.

It's SLOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW. I can fill my 40gig iPod with music in a few minutes. But to copy all that off though analog would take days. While it's not as bad when the thing only holds 4 hours of stuff, that's 4 hours of my life that I'm wasting (compared to the 30 seconds to a minute 128mb of stuff should take).

You lose metadata (didn't see this in siblings). When it's on the XM thing, it knows how long each song is and the title and artist (I assume, XM broadcasts this info so it should be easy to save). When I copy that 4 hours to my PC through analog, I get one 4 hour file. No song names, no track marks, no artists, NOTHING. So you either have to do it manually or try to autodetect (like with silence) which has its own flaws.

And that's not to mention things like the soundcard on my laptop (the only PC I really use) is noisy (so the analog solution would require me to buy some kind of breakout box to get decent quality) and things look even worse.

Analog can work for a handfull of songs, but more than that... it's just too hard.

Now, wouldn't it be great if you could get a license to transfer stuff off this device ONTO your iPod? If they could work that out (say make it get automatically deleted, or you can't have any more than 12 hours of content recorded max or something) that would be FANTASTIC. Think how many of these things they could sell (even if they charged an extra $1 or $2 per month to do that).

Either way, a DVR for satellite radio (DAR - Digital Audio Recorder?) is an interesting development. Let's see if other recievers start adding these kind of features.

hmmm...

[loid_void]

There's no way to transfer the recorded content to the computer or vice versa.

not yet, that is...

Re:SIRIUS IS WAAAY BETTER

[roche]

Sirius play more "hits" while XM has more of a diverse playlist.

I prefer XM myself.

Re:SIRIUS IS WAAAY BETTER

[solowCX]

Except in order to get Opie and Anthony you have to pay a monthly fee of $1.99 per radio in ADDITION to the monthly fee.

I have one

[Texodore]

Random notes:

Everyone keeps saying the iPOD holds more music, has better battery life. I don't seem them competing. Maybe it's just me. The limitations of satellite radio mean you have to have an antenna and specialized hardware that sucks the juice down. But you get a 2,000,000 song library.

You can record and playback, and it has an alarm. It also comes with a home and car kit. Note that buying a SkyFi2, home, and car kit will almost cost as much as the MyFi.

I have the MyFi so I can listen while I'm walking my dog. Yes, I like XM that much to want to listen to it over MP3s or something like that. One thing your MP3 collection can't do is turn you on to new music. I wouldn't have known about many new bands (or old bands for that matter) without XM. I don't know if I would know who Muse, The Faint, or Franz Ferdinand were, and I wouldn't have found out how much I like Echo and the Bunnymen and stuff like that.

I don't think it needs more storage space. The idea is to listen to radio, which is mostly live. I think the recorded feature is for programs you can't pick up when you aren't available (a timer feature will record something for you) and if you can't pick up a signal. It's basically 5 hours of music programming.

Did I mention the talk radio and the ACC/Big 10/Pac-10 games?

I like not having to cue up playlists, pick what I want to listen to, listen to new music, etc. XM seems to want to play their deeper library more than Sirius, one reason I like their service more.

I've had it for 2 days and like it. I need to play with the wearable antenna some more before I say I love it. The signal is spotty outside at times while walking around. I have no problems in my car or at the office. Speaking as someone who is upgrading from the original Sony Xm radio, this is also a huge upgrade.

Finally, to the editors, stop knocking XM an satellite radio. Half the satellite radio stories seem to denounce it somehow. The AP review doesn't really say anything bad about it. Some of you that knock satellite radio need to try it before worshiping your iPOD again.

Re:I have one

[beerits]

Did I mention the talk radio and the ACC/Big 10/Pac-10 games?

And iPod does not? Last I checked iPod has brick, parachute, solitaire, and you can download text games on from the internet.

The ACC/Big 10/Pac-10 are American collegiate athletic conferences, not video games.

Re:SIRIUS IS WAAAY BETTER

[Triumph The Insult C]

O&A the best? best at coming up with unoriginal shit maybe =)

Stern's show, OTOH, will be included in the monthly fee, along with being able to listen to a stream over the net ... another additional fee w/XM

I have XM now, but am planning on getting new stuff for xmas (by way of selling my xmpcr for a highly marked up price)

also, sirius has 3 satellites vs xm's 2. both use repeaters, so same difference

AM and FM are so out of business in 5 years. i've driven to lake tahoe and denver (from phoenix), and with satellite radio, it was nice. if i didn't have it, i would have gone nuts ...

Re:Neuros did it better...

[Sottilde]

Problem: It runs on every platform. You just need to look harder. It's completely open-source, which means that tools have been written for linux and mac. NDBM and Sourne are great multi-platform tools for the Neuros.

Disagree

[Anonymous Coward]

Had Sirius, now with XM. Why? Because (a) Sirius is stuck on endless self-promotion. Why do they keep advertising their own service on their own channels? Christ, you have to already be a subscriber to listen. (b) They have a less variety of music channels than XM - compare the lists of music offerings between the two and you'll see what I mean. (c) Sirius would rather spend its money on stupid jocks than decent music - yes now we get all those NFL games. Great. In the meantime good luck finding a good punk station, ska station, whatever-your-taste-is station.

What does Sirius have going for it? NPR. But in the music genre, they are far behind XM in my opinion.

Re:Disagree

[Concerned Onlooker]

What does Sirius have going for it? NPR.

They may have NPR but XM has Bob Edwards. Bob Edwards rocks. NPR blew it when they let him go.

Re:SIRIUS IS WAAAY BETTER

[UniverseIsADoughnut]

How clueless are you, Chevy is GM. Furthermore nearly all car companies are going with XM, the only one that i can think of right away that is with Sirius is Ford.

Opportunity for Apple?

[PapayaSF]

Combine satellite radio reception with an iPod and you'd really have something! Much cooler and more useful than the much-rumored "video iPod". Of course, there might be licensing issues with this idea as well: will satellite radio services be upset if their broadcasts are recorded and saved?

I don't think you do, either.

[shaneh0]

If XM sold these units to every single one of their subscribers and nobody else, this unit is a failure.

XM's real value will be growing the supplier base, and this device is designed to do that. I'd say it's competing more in the "portable music" segment then the "satellite radio delivery options" segment, although there is of course overlap there.

But yes, I do think for a lot of consumers that are considering digital music--especially those considering these devices as gift options this holiday seasion--this device would be compared to the ipod mini.

hearing music that you had forgotten about?

[pbjones]

you spend how much to get access to music played by 90% of FM radio stations?? bah! TripleJ FM and web cast, ROX! www.triplej.net.au

Re:SIRIUS IS WAAAY BETTER

[jratcliffe]

XM has exclusive arrangements with Honda and GM, while Sirius has exclusive deals with Ford and Daimler/Chrysler (including Mercedes). BMW is effectively exclusive to Sirius (albeit not contractually). Toyota's still a tossup, and it looks like Nissan will split between the two.

explaination needed

[solosaint]

can someone please tell me how xm radio knows you have a subscribtion or not, i dont see how it works since its one way wireless...

Don't know what your missing till you try it...

[moronicidiot]

When Satellite Radio (SDARS) first hit the market, I was among those who swore up and down that I would never pay a subscription for radio service. Radio service, one of the easiest obtainable free services around, was fine the way it was.

It stayed that way until I happened to see a good deal on a receiver and decided that I would go ahead and give it a try, subscription numbers were growing (although this was still while XM was sub-1,000,000) and popularity was increasing. It was one of those things, I had no idea what I was missing until I gave it a try.

That was about 2 years ago. I am now paying about $25/month for SDARS, as I subscribe both to Sirius and XM and pay the premium fee for Opie & Anthony on XM. The commercial free music is great; the sound quality is superb and the list of choices is endless. I can drive cross-country listening only to music that I enjoy and without commercials with runtime longer than the songs. Although I rarely listened to broadcast radio opting instead for CDs, that has completely turned around and I find that I rarely listen to CDs and even listen to SDARS over watching TV or Movies a lot of the time.

If I am out of the house all day, I can get my fill of FoxNews, MSNBC, or CNN. The Right-Wing and Left-Wing channels offered by each service allow me to see each viewpoint as harshly as those contesting it feel when it comes to political issues.

You don't know what you're missing till you try it... As for the MyFI specifically, yes it would be nice but not for the price they want. You can get a receiver, car kit, and home kit all for about $100-120 after rebate or using Friends & Family promos. I would really like a MyFI, but will not be getting one until the price comes WAY down or there is a competing product with a much lower price.

Early adopter device

[DarthWiggle]

This thing isn't perfect. Hell, the first personal computers (as we would recognize them today) were heavy, loud, ugly, and could barely calculate a square root. I won't buy this thing, but I will step back and recognize that it's a pretty extraordinary little device: a Walkman-sized box that receives significant and complex information from satellites floating way up in space. Think about that in the context of, say, 1960 ... or 1980. GPS does, broadly, the same thing, but think about how much more limited the bandwidth requirements are for a GPS unit.

Absolutely amazing.

I am a Sirius subscriber

[WCMI92]

And here's why:

1. No commercials on music channels. EVER. Never have had them. XM had to change from commercials to non commercial BECAUSE Sirius wouldn't air commercials.

2. Lee Abrams.

Lee Abrams runs the programming at XM. He is the architect of Clear Channel's "cookie cutter" formats.

3. Cost.

XM is $9.99 a month.

But you don't get:

1. All the channels (some are premium)
2. Internet streaming access (costs you $5 a month extra)
3. No discounts offered if you pay annually OR add other receivers to your account.

Sirius is $12.95 (or $9.95 if you pay annually)

For EVERYTHING.

No wonder Sirius is the service that TALENT seems to be gravitating to. Such as Mel Karmazin. Howard Stern.