I was looking for an XM boombox the other day and the cheapest one seemed to be around $100 – WITHOUT a receiver. Which would come to around $170 with a receiver (then of course there’s the subscription fees.)
And on top of that, I was told by a workmate that “portable” XM receivers are actually “stationary”, that is, they don’t receive well traveling in the car. That doesn’t fully make sense to me and I can’t find any documentation or complaints about this.
I won’t shell out $170 if I’m not going to get something I can listen to in the car AND at home. So what’s up? If a normal boombox is $30 and an XM receiver is $70 shouldn’t an XM boombox be $100 out the door instead of $170?
You want the simplest answer? Get an XM portable. The MyFi/AirWare/TAO are fully portable, and if you need MP3 playback, the new Inno and Helix do that too. They don’t have integrated speakers, but they do have built-in FM modulation, so any FM radio will work. They have built-in antennas, which are not the best but do work in most cases, and you can always plug in a full-size XM home antenna.
The MyFi/AirWare come with home and car kits, but the Inno and Helix only come with home kits, so you’d need a separate car kit for the cradle and mobile antenna.
Unless you really need the MP3 playback, I’d grab an AirWare, since it’s got everything you’ll need to install XM into your car and home, and it’s only $119 at my preferred online retailer (myradiostore.us) which is a fantastic deal. You’ll still have to have access to an FM radio, but at the same time you’re not limited to just one radio.
brianjedi: well it works very nicely for me. The antenna seems quite well-built, what exactly is your concern? I don’t even understand why you would need to be unplugging the antenna on a regular basis even if you’re moving the radio to different locations.
