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An excellent start to the satellite audio age
Pros
Great automobile reception, menu navigation, music selection, setup.
Cons
Somewhat bulky, lots of cables, tape adapter not ideal.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This is a solid introduction to portable satellite radio. It does what it advertises and is easy to hook up and use.
I've only had this product for a week, so I can't vouch for its longevity, its durability, or its performance over time. I can, however, vouch for the fact that it performed flawlessly over a 1,000-mile drive.
First of all, if you're considering getting XM, stop considering and get it. The variety of music is excellent. I hear and like things on XM that I would never consider purchasing on CD: African music, American standards, etc.
Size: The AirWare is by no means small or lightweight. It's definitely too hefty to wear on an armband while you're jogging. (I suspect that future models will be smaller and lighter -- look, in the '70s, a basic computer took up an entire room.) However, it's small enough to hook onto your waistband for a walk or mount on the dashboard without obscuring your line of vision. Once you get your home and car systems set up (easy if you read the directions), it's simple to transport from one to the other.
Sound quality: It's not CD quality yet; I would say it sounds more like AM. The instructions say that using the tape adapter in the car gives you the clearest sound, but we found that using the built-in FM transmitter gave us much better results, comparable to FM radio. (But it never fades out.)
Ease of use: I've had no trouble learning the menus and functionality of the machine. I've found that it's very intuitive and it's easy to learn. The systems, which include docking stations galore, entail lots of wires and cables, which can be messy-looking. I'd like to see future generations go completely wireless.
Reception: We drove from Albuquerque, NM to Austin, TX (about 1,000 miles) and never lost the signal. That includes having gone through some massive thunderstorms in west Texas for about 4 hours. We were extremely impressed.
If you're inside a building, or if you're in an urban area with lots of tall buildings, you'll be out of luck. The unit has to have a line of sight to the satellite, otherwise you'll get a big fat goose-egg.
Instructions: If you buy this unit, do yourself a huge favor and read the directions that come with it. They include tips that make the experience easy and give you the best chance of getting your system up and running quickly.
Sum up: This is an excellent first-generation portable satellite radio. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, and you have to be ready to lose the signal indoors and around tall buildings (but that's a limitation of satellite radio right now, not the unit). I have no doubt that future generations of these machines will be stuffed with features and will get smaller and lighter. I just didn't want to wait.
First of all, if you're considering getting XM, stop considering and get it. The variety of music is excellent. I hear and like things on XM that I would never consider purchasing on CD: African music, American standards, etc.
Size: The AirWare is by no means small or lightweight. It's definitely too hefty to wear on an armband while you're jogging. (I suspect that future models will be smaller and lighter -- look, in the '70s, a basic computer took up an entire room.) However, it's small enough to hook onto your waistband for a walk or mount on the dashboard without obscuring your line of vision. Once you get your home and car systems set up (easy if you read the directions), it's simple to transport from one to the other.
Sound quality: It's not CD quality yet; I would say it sounds more like AM. The instructions say that using the tape adapter in the car gives you the clearest sound, but we found that using the built-in FM transmitter gave us much better results, comparable to FM radio. (But it never fades out.)
Ease of use: I've had no trouble learning the menus and functionality of the machine. I've found that it's very intuitive and it's easy to learn. The systems, which include docking stations galore, entail lots of wires and cables, which can be messy-looking. I'd like to see future generations go completely wireless.
Reception: We drove from Albuquerque, NM to Austin, TX (about 1,000 miles) and never lost the signal. That includes having gone through some massive thunderstorms in west Texas for about 4 hours. We were extremely impressed.
If you're inside a building, or if you're in an urban area with lots of tall buildings, you'll be out of luck. The unit has to have a line of sight to the satellite, otherwise you'll get a big fat goose-egg.
Instructions: If you buy this unit, do yourself a huge favor and read the directions that come with it. They include tips that make the experience easy and give you the best chance of getting your system up and running quickly.
Sum up: This is an excellent first-generation portable satellite radio. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, and you have to be ready to lose the signal indoors and around tall buildings (but that's a limitation of satellite radio right now, not the unit). I have no doubt that future generations of these machines will be stuffed with features and will get smaller and lighter. I just didn't want to wait.
