Pioneer Inno

Price: $199 - $349.87

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Great little device, but you need to read06/29/06

Pros:

portability, features, sound, XM

Cons:

battery life, portable reception

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.