MERRY CHRISTMAS:satelite radio or IPOD?

[lordofthesea]

I got a great gift. My old lady told me she would get me a satilite radio or an ipod for my bike.

What do you guys preffer? Ipod or satilite. helmet speakers or handlebar speakers. I'm not worried about price just performance.

[xxxrider]

I've got both but it is hard to beat XM Radio either independently or such as I have with the Garmin GPS with XM Radio with 800 MB of MP3 storage.

I also have the 30 gig IPOD with Video all wired into my Autocom Super Pro AVI Intercom System.

[HotFix]

I'm getting up there in age (31) and like XM over my MP3 player. May I suggest the Pioneer Inno XM+MP3 XM Satellite Portable Radio. Unlike most XM players, it is portable (i.e. power and antenna on the unit). You can also record XM music and carry MP3s. It has only 1GB of memory, but having all the XM channels is better than a 30GB iPod IMHO.

You can also 'tag' songs and buy them later. This is kind of cool. I have bought 2 CDs from artists I heard on XM.

Check it out at a local Best Buy and see if you like the form factor.

Check out the features online (http://www.xmradio.com/innodemo/index.xmc?utm_source=http://www.google.com/search&utm_medium=unknown&utm_campaign=innolaunch)

If you are new to XM, you can also get a great deal online. (http://store.xmfanstore.com/pioneerinno.html)
$169 AR

[Blade]

I agree with the other posters. If given a choice of one over the other I would definitely go with satellite radio. You simply cannot beat the element of surprise and never-ending selection there over a limited-capacity MP3 player.

HOWEVER, it is most ideal to have both at once. IF you were in the market for a GPS you could just get a Garmin Zumo 550 -- wonderful motorcycle-friendly GPS -- and you would then have a great navigational unit, PLUS XM satellite radio and an MP3 player to boot, all in one-easy to manage, single unit. So if price is no object....... :wink:

[HotFix]

IF you were in the market for a GPS you could just get a Garmin Zumo 550 -- wonderful motorcycle-friendly GPS -- and you would then have a great navigational unit, PLUS XM satellite radio and an MP3 player to boot, all in one-easy to manage, single unit. So if price is no object....... :wink:
You are talking about $900 to get a Zumo and an XM antenna. It will not be a portable pocket unit and it will not record XM.

Don't get me wrong, the Zumo rocks for what it is, but if you are considering a pocket sized iPod for walk around (and biking) music, the Inno is more up your alley.

[Blade]

You are talking about $900 to get a Zumo and an XM antenna. It will not be a portable pocket unit and it will not record XM.

Don't get me wrong, the Zumo rocks for what it is, but if you are considering a pocket sized iPod for walk around (and biking) music, the Inno is more up your alley.

The original poster didn't specify he wanted something portable or that would record XM. A Zumo was merely a 'thinking outside the box' suggestion in the event he wanted to consider doing everything in one fell swoop when the poster said he wasn't "worried" about the price; otherwise he might come back 3 months from now asking what a good GPS might be. That was my train of thought and it wasn't meant to compete with your excellent suggestion.

[HotFix]

he might come back 3 months from now asking what a good GPS might be.
Good point. If wanted MP3, XM, and a GPS... he will be wishing he bought a Zumo :lol:

[lordofthesea]

Thanks guys.

After hearing about the portable satilite radios I decided to get a stiletto 100 it's new from sirius. IT's the same as the nano. I just like the line up better than XM. I'm a NFL/Howard Stern/Nascar guy more so than a baseball and oprah guy. It has 2 gb worth of storage as well.

[x rated]

Im a sirus fan to, I switched over when howard went. I used to have xm and would never switch back. After using the stiletto let us now how it works. Ive been think about it. I do agree with everyone radio over Ipod.

[evilashX]

I've had Sirius for about 3 years now and I bought a Nano iPOD in September of this year. Hands down I like the iPOD better, the sound quality is much better IMHO. I've put over 500 songs on it so far and every single one is a song that I like....Having said that.... I am in week three of waiting to have it replaced with the Best Buy Replacement Warranty. ( It locked up ....and quit working) But it was hell when it was well! :lol:

[HotFix]

I've had Sirius for about 3 years now and I bought a Nano iPOD in September of this year. Hands down I like the iPOD better, the sound quality is much better IMHO.

Very good point. A lot of these new gadgets don't publish their frequency range, SNR, and output power. They found out that most people purchase based on features rather than comparative specs. It is now a hit and miss game.

On a tangent note:
I have own many MP3 players and headsets in my days. I think creative is hands down the best sounding units out there. They have been making digital to analog components such as sounds cards for decades. They are not know for user interfaces, but they rock at sound quality.

I never owned an Apple product, so I can't say if iPods are better or worse.

[dezzy7]

I have a portable XM, MYFI2GO I can walk with it or take it on the bike or in the car. I really didn't want to have to load music into an ipod, DUUUUH I'll pay the monthly fee and listen to a variety of music. Oh and I can always download up to 5 hours of music on my XM radio.

[Bob E.]

Last Christmas, I got an XM Roady2 for the bike. And while it worked great for what it was, I could never find a music channel that I really liked. I like a variety of new rock/metal/alternative/classic rock music. But all of the channels seemed to be specific to only one...and to the extreme of that genre. I listened mostly to XLSquizz, which is supposed to be a New Rock station, but it seemed that every third song was Rage Against the Machine. And I have little interest in listening to talk radio, sports, or news channels. And the comedy channels were just too hard to hear over the wind noise of the bike (I have handlebar speakers from Motorcycletunes.com). Maybe Sirius would be better...I don't know.

Anyways, this Christmas, I got a 30Gig IPOD and I'm much happier. I have about 250 CD's in my personal library and friends here at work have offered me access to their libraries as well. So I have alot of music at my fingertips. And as stated above, every song will be one I like. Now I just need to work on loading them all into the IPOD, which is a chore. But once it is set up, it is good to go.

[lordofthesea]

The stilletto 100 has been returned. It got horrible reception and was usless as a portable device. I do not recomend any one wasting the 5 to 600 clams I spent trying to make it work for me.
I'm getting a Zune or an Ipod instead. At least I won't have the reception and poor sound quality problems I got with the sirius.
Thanks for all your help.

[Jimmerz]

Well I have the Pioneer INNO and it is SWEEET! I have not used this on my bike at all, but I am sure it would be easy. It is a portable XM/MP3 Radio. You can add your favorites to it, and the best part is if you are listening to a song you like you can just record it and it will be stored in your music folder.

No antenna needed, I guess the only wiring you might want to look into is the car kit so you dont have to worry about the battery needing recharged? But for regular rides or to and from work you shouldnt have to worry about the battery dying!

I guess now all I need to get is a sweet set of speakers mounted on the handle bars and hook that bad boy up to them...

[lordofthesea]

The only drawback I can see with a cheaper mp3 player is the software.

I have music in many formats. How easy is it to reformat music to play on your sandisk?

I like the zune because it has an Fm radio too. I can still hear my talk radio when I want. But, it is new, bigger and has less accesories. The Ipod has 5 years worth of trial and error with tons of extra stuff you can get for it. So i'm still going back and forth while I wait for my refund to post back to my debit card (hmm Curcit City sure is taking along time)
I will be getting some good earbuds when I finally decide.

Once again thanks for all your help. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I start thinking about stuff to get for my true love (shhh don't tell my wife), My BIKE!

[RayJay]

The only drawback I can see with a cheaper mp3 player is the software.

I have music in many formats. How easy is it to reformat music to play on your sandisk?

I like the zune because it has an Fm radio too. I can still hear my talk radio when I want. But, it is new, bigger and has less accesories. The Ipod has 5 years worth of trial and error with tons of extra stuff you can get for it. So i'm still going back and forth while I wait for my refund to post back to my debit card (hmm Curcit City sure is taking along time)
I will be getting some good earbuds when I finally decide.

Once again thanks for all your help. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I start thinking about stuff to get for my true love (shhh don't tell my wife), My BIKE!

Just wondering what you ended up getting, I've been thinking aboutt he Zune and wondered if you got one how you liked it?