I have to admit it. I really do. I have largely left the realm of AM/FM radio behind for the beautiful simplicity of my iPod. WABC radio in New York still retains a certain appeal due to some interesting personalities, and WCBS does have the top stories, but pretty much everything else is either identical top-40-radio, inane DJs, or classical stations where even the "talent" seems to be struggling to stay awake. (I am blessed to be in a part of the country with absolutely NO country music on the radio. For this, I am eternally grateful to a merciful creator.) Thus, more and more I am gravitating to my own preselected series of songs on my iPod.
Thing is, life is about more than just the music I already know. I am big fan of the Christian rock genre, but while PETRA and Michael W. Smith are great... they are - how do you say - not exactly the latest and greatest. Plus, in an election year, and in an age where politics is coming to dominate our lives more than ever, is it healthy to only be getting your information from the Net? (Unless you are surfing the info smorgasbord that is Mod-BLog, of course.)
So recently, I have started looking into alternatives to AM/FM and static MP3 players, and Satellite Radio has reappeared on my radar. When satellite radio first appeared a couple of years ago, I remember laughing out loud. They charged a premium for their equipment (which was incompatible with just about everything), they only installed into cars, then they charged a sizeable monthly fee, and most of what they advertised was the same top-40-radio but with less or no talk. Basically, they wanted to establish a cable-TV-style market for the radio world, without offering much that was different from free radio. The two providers - XM and Sirius - did not offer interchangeable technology, and seemed rather clueless about what mainstream America would want from them.
Well, now my needs have changed and luckily satellite radio has changed a bit, too. The hardware has come way down in price - for about $100 you can get everything you need. It is no longer simply focused on your car - there are now boom boxes, home stereo connections, and a walkman-style kit is due out before the Fall. And the quality of the satellite offerings have improved and deepened. So suddenly, I find myself tempted.
According to my research, there are a few quick facts that might help any of our readers dealing with the same issues. XM is the cheaper per-month alternative at $9.99, while Sirius charges $12.95 a month. Sirius offers a larger talk selection and better DJs, while XM has a larger selection of interruption-free channels. (I should mention that XM has all of the talk options I am really interested in - CNN, FoxNews, C-SPAN, etc.) XM has a larger selection of hardware, but Sirius has plenty of it including bargain options from AudioVox. Finally, one point which seems worth noting. While both Sirius and XM sites are clear about their monthly fees, both are a little less up-front about the fact that there is an initial setup fee. So keep that in mind when doing any cost-benefit analyses for your life.
What am I doing? Not sure yet. If I go satellite, then I think I am going XM. But I am not yet convinced 100% that satellite is inherently better than AM/FM or that it really will fill my most important needs than my trusty iPod.
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