OTHER TECH

Sirius S50 satellite radio/MP3 player in Directed Electronics Executive Dock

Sirius and XM are the two (and only) fish in the satellite-radio pond. Each can connect you to well over a hundred channels of music, news, and talk. But even that many disc jockeys can't read your mind and know what song you'd like to hear right now. To address that defect, and acknowledging that mass-storage MP3 players are their greatest mutual competitor, both companies have introduced portable satellite radios that can store both broadcast music and your own ripped files. In other words, this is the integration of satellite radio and MP3 players.

Pioneer Inno portable XM Satellite Radio receiver/recorder and MP3 player

Jumping the gun to catch the holiday season, Sirius launched its S50 ($360) in October. This sternly glossy black portable has an unusual two-piece design. It functions as a receiver only when it is docked (the tuner is in the dock) and an external antenna is connected. In that mode, it works like any other Sirius radio. But you can keep a running temporary buffer of up to an hour of programming and also store up to 50 hours. The radio will even keep track of your three favorite channels and automatically go into recording mode when you tune to one of them, so you can pick off favorite songs later on. When undocked, it operates like any MP3 player, playing the stored broadcasts or MP3 or WMA files you've downloaded from your computer. Other perks: a beautiful color screen and voice-assisted channel navigation (a woman's voice announces each channel as you tune to it). Various docking stations are available, such as Directed Electronics' Executive Dock.

Not to be outdone, XM showed an entirely new lineup of radios. The Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix (both $400) are essentially the same device. Both are XM receivers, very sleek with great-looking color screens. Importantly, they are also handheld receivers that don't need a docking station (though they come with docking stations for convenient home use). Even better, instead of a tangled wire leading to an antenna, these have stubby built-in antennas, like those on many cell phones. Coolest of all, they can store up to 50 hours of XM programming. For example, you can tune to your favorite XM channel, record a big chunk of music, then go back and pick out the songs you want to save. If you want any song at a higher audio quality, you can bookmark it for purchase at XM+Napster. They also function as MP3/WMA players; you can move your own files to them for portable playback. They even have built-in FM transmitters so you can listen through your car radio.

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