MP3 Players : Pioneer Inno

This unit is superior in just about every conceivable way to the MyFi. Everything from reception to size to features to portability is improved. I can now slip the Inno in my jeans pocket and use the antenna headphones when outside to pick up a signal, whereas the bulky MyFi wouldn't fit very well. It also comes with a very nice leather carrying case, but the belt clip faces the wrong way. Rather strange. You can set the recorded content to all XM recordings or half recording XM and half mp3s. This I kind of didn't like, but a future firmware update hopefully will allow the user to bea bit more flexible with the partitioning. The battery life is very good, getting about 5-6 hours in LiveXM mode and 15 hours with your recorded stuff.



The color screen is a very nice touch, along with the additions of a background on the screen unique to each genre.



The internal antenna in the Inno is leaps and bounds ahead of the one in the MyFi. You now only have to be near a south-facing window in order to pick up the signal. For whatever reason, I can get a signal in the middle of my house, with only a North-facing window about 10 feet from me. It's amazing how much fewer dropouts I've been having using just the internal antenna. You should be able to pick up a signal outside anywhere you can see the south sky. It's antenna is omnidirectional, so you can hold it up towards any direction and the antenna will pick up the signal from the South. The optional antenna headphones offer nearly perfect reception outside. They are $40 and are sold pretty much everywhere the Inno is sold. I didn't get a single dropout when I used it outside, and the best part is I can put the Inno in a pants poclet and don't have to hold it out in my hand.



The price may scare some people off, but you can find it online for signficantly less than what retailers want for it in-store. I bought mine online for $315 with shipping and couldn't have been happier. With the money you save buying online you could buy the car kit ($70, and this enables the Inno FM Modulator) and still have some money left over from the retail $400 price. Overall a great value, and would recommend this to anyone who is looking to upgrade from the MyFi or any XM Radio. Hide Full Review

I was excited about using the inno, but i'm on my fourth one this is getting real old. I tried contacting xm and pioneer not much help there. Also tried the firmware update it downloaded but it still locked up the inno. Save your money i tried my best to give it the benefit of the doubt, but i'm tired of playing games. Hide Full Review

The Pioneer Ino is a great little device. Its sleek and new age and packs all the power and variety of XM radio into a mp3 players shell.



However, if you are expecting an XM player that will get reception and play flawlessly everywhere you go, then you need to wait for the next generation of portable satellite radio.

I tried taking the Ino on a run and the reception went out quite often. If you are walking the reception picks up just fine. Causual outdoor use with the Ino alone is about 50/50. Sitting in the sun at the beach it will pick up fine, but if jogging down a path it might not pick up at all.



The features of the Ino make up for the lack of portable reception. If you simply set up the home kit you can set the tuner on a channel you like and record it. When I go to the gym I record a channel of my choosing for an hour or so, then I just unplug it and I'm off. No lowsy reception, just XM radio, however, not live XM.



When you record a channel you can sort the music by channel in your Ino's memory. It makes it really easy to switch between genres without having to upload new songs. If you decide you want to record a song after it is half way through then all you have to do is record. The Ino will record the song as long as the tuner has been on that station at least 10 minutes.



There are other features that make the Ino a dynamic device, like a built in FM modulator.



If you are planning on getting one of these puppies then it is important to realize you are not going to get the same reception you get at home while using your Ino alone on a run. The technology just isn't there yet. However, if you just utilize the record feature, then you basically have unlimited subscription music at your fingertips. A two for one in my eyes. Hide Full Review

The Inno has great versatility in use... from satellite radio, to recording directly from satellite radio to playing mp3s. If you do not have the time to load mp3s, this product is perfect for you. You can still collect music via recording directly from the satellite radio. The Inno also has an alert feature which will notify you when one of your desired artists or songs are playing on another station, allowing you to switch channels at one push of a button... making collecting music even easier. The Inno goes everywhere with me... car, work, and home. This is a fabulous product and I am highly impressed with the technology. Hide Full Review