Review: Sirius S50 Radio + Car Kit

I've been listening to XM Radio for over a year, and there are many things I enjoyed about it, but I wanted to find out how it compared to Sirus. So I finally got my hands on a Sirius S50 Personal Satellite Radio + Car Kit. The kit comes with everything you need to get started such as a Sirius portable player, earbuds, belt clip, remote control, car dock, and software. What's great about the portable player is that it can save up to 50 hours of Sirius content so you can listen to it anywhere outside the car. You can also use as much as half of the 1GB memory storage to save MP3 or WMA files from your PC with the Sirius Studio software included. Attach it to the wearable belt clip, and you're ready to take Sirius programming anywhere. Although, it's important to note that the portable player will only play recorded content, and not live programming on-the-go.

Satellite radio is nothing like FM radio. I remember listening to my favorite talk show during my morning commute, and wishing there was a way to save the rest of the show. With Sirius you're able to do that. You can record or pause shows if you don't want to miss them, and what's even better is that you can fast-forward through advertisements. Commercials don't play in the music channels, but they do play during some talk shows. If you're anticipating certain shows, like Martha Stewart's Wedding Week or Howard Stern shows, you have the ability to schedule recordings on a daily or weekly basis. Searching by genre, by channel or by playlist is easy using the Media Dial which is a center knob that allows you to easily scroll through content. You can also pause, rewind or fast-forward through live broadcasting at any time.

The detachable S50 portable radio itself is beautiful. The face of the radio is sleek, shiny and when powered on, the colored TFT display looks amazing. I couldn't stop staring at it ,and I loved how every station has their own logo and wallpaper. It's great to see this type of detail on a radio display. When you press one of the radio modes, a icon flashes on the screen, which is a great visual confirmation while driving. The S50 portable radio itself has all its controls on each side of the radio, leaving the front of the radio smooth.

I like to test how intuitive navigation is on any gadget before cracking open any manual. Most of the time I don't have to read how the controls work, but that wasn't the case with the Sirius S50. There were some new icon symbols to adopt like playlists, love (save), setup, and mode, so you have to pick up that manual to read a bit. I think the remote control could be a little more intuitive. None of the buttons are labeled, except for the mute button, so trying to figure out what the symbols stood for can be frustrating for those who like to get their hands-on experience first. Minor frustrations included the placement of the power button, no words on buttons, and the circular controls located at the top of the remote. For some reason, it was natural for me to want to operate the remote control upside down with this wheel in the palm of my hand. If you have one, you'll understand what I mean.

Parent's might want to use those handy-dandy parental controls. For one, Sirius hosts shows like Howard Stern Uncensored and the Playboy Radio, and I can assure you that you don't want your kids or your mother listening to those explicit talks. But don't worry, Sirius has over 125 channels that deliver 100% commercial free music channels. Their diverse lineup has something for everybody, starting with Eminem's Shade 45 as well as Martha Stewart Living, Margaritaville Radio, CNN and even traffic reporting. One thing I noticed about the music selection is that they play tracks I had completely forgotten about, which was a pleasant surprise.

I listened to Sirus all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and the reception was clear, programming was entertaining, and I rocked out to music I hadn't heard since high school. If you're thinking about getting a satellite radio, this is definitely a great choice. Also check out this "brotherly discussion" on XM vs Sirius on CNN.