Delphi MyFi XM2GO Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver with Home / Car Kits Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had my MyFi for a week now and I must say that it has exceeded my expectations. I do live in an urban area where reception is great (DC) but I find that I rarely use the live programming when on the run and just rely on my recorded content.
First what's great about the MyFi:
1) I'm new to satellite radio and was very impressed with the variety of music available. I've discovered lots of artists that while I had my Ipod I never knew existed. Add to that the great live events, talk radio, and other content.
2) XM2Go works flawlessly. But for the limitations (below) it works flawlessly. Pop your MyFi in the cradle at night and in the morning you have 5+ hours of content. Note, the box says 5 hours but in reality if you record any of the more compressed channels (talk etc.) you will end up being able to record more than 5 hours! I believe when I record music channels I actually get closer to 6 hours of recorded content. Once you have your content you can easily scroll from song to song. Skip the ones you don't like. Replay the ones you do.
3) It is truly portable. I go from pocket (headphones), to car (FM transmitter), to home cradle (line-in to the stereo) without ever interrupting listening.
4) It comes with everything you need, including a remote control so you can easily switch channels as your MyFi sits in its cradle across the room (you can't say that about the Ipod). Further, what it comes with is great quality. I love the swivel car cradle - not only do you not have to worry about plugging wires into the MyFi everytime you bring it into the car (they are plugged into the cradle), it makes reading the display a breeze for both the driver and the passenger (just swivel it between the two).
5) Replaceable battery. Unlike the Ipod the MyFi, like a cell phone, has a swappable battery. That means you can (eventually) either buy a replacement when the battery starts to lose strengh without conducting the surgery necessary on the Ipod (this is huge given the amount of use these devices get and the liklihood that batteries will only hold their full capacity charge for 6-12 months) or just have one handy to extend your listening time.
6) It's solid state. Unlike the Ipod you don't have to worry about a hard drive to go bad (like mine did in 8 months!)
7) Recording isn't limited to scheduled records. You can always nab a song here or there by just hitting the XM2Go button.
8) It feels solid in your hand. Yeah, it's bigger and heavier than an Ipod (think thick PDA, or perhaps the Dell MP3 player) but it's designed to fit in your hand well and works well for both left (me) and right handed people.
Now the things you should be aware of (though, knowing them I still would buy one):
1) Don't expect non-stop reception when you are roaming around. Even in metro areas you might drop a signal when you aren't using the home or car kits. I imagine it is difficult at best in non-urban areas to maintain a line of sight with the sats. Just expect that you will need to make use of the recorded content in those situations.
2) Don't expect the sound quality of a high-bitrate MP3 on the Ipod. I suspect that this has everything to do with the nature of Sat radio and nothing to do with the MyFi hardware, but, the quality is not the same. Although I would rate it great, you do notice that you are getting a compressed stream.
3) Don't expect to be able to control your content. Unless you save a recording session for days you won't likely get the same songs day to day (the playlists on XM are vast, rarely are there repeats) (notable exception is if you record the top 20 channel). That's a good thing if you like variety - that's a bad thing if you like the comfort of always having your favorite tunes handy.
4) The AV cable is a bit short (nothing an extension cord couldn't fix).
5) I would like to see a more sophisticated recording scheduler. Currently you can only schedule 2 record sessions and it limits you to recording within the next 24 hours (unless you schedule a daily recording session). With all of the great XM content it would have been nice to be able to set up a recording session several days into the future.
6) I would like to be able to lock or protect songs or even whole sessions from being recorded over by new recording sessions. Currently, the way it works is just a simple first in first out method. Fortunately, it is smart enough to merely delete a portion of an overwritten section as opposed to the whole section.
7) It doesn't buffer like a TiVo/ReplayTV. It would be nice to pause and/or rewind live content.
8) Fianlly, I would love a computer interface so that that XM can distribute updated software to fix some of the above issues.
This product is great.

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The Delphi MyFi, the first personal, portable XM2GO satellite radio that delivers XM's Ultimate PlayList? anytime, anywhere - at home, at work, in the car and now, on the go.The hand-held MyFi gives users the personal freedom to enjoy XM Radio's Ultimate PlayList of more than 130 digital XM channels in two ways: a "live" listening mode and a time-shifting "memory" mode. The MyFi's live mode enables users to listen live to all of XM's 68 commercial-free music channels, plus premier news, sports, talk, traffic and weather channels. MyFi's memory mode - called "My XM" -- allows users to store five hours or more of XM's outstanding content with the press of a button, even when the unit is not in use. The MyFi makes it possible to enjoy XM Satellite Radio anywhere, anytime, effortlessly. Large, illuminated six-line LCD display. Up to 30 channel presets. Built-in alarm clock.

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RCA RC65i Alarm Clock Radio with iPod/iPhone Dock (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The first thing you notice about the unit is the flat front, rather stark but common nowadays in i-docking devices. A slide-away dock is a neat feature if/when you don't need to dock your phone. The second thing that stands out is the drab color scheme. I'm no fan of battleship gray... The aluminum mesh front is fine but the shiny plastic panel on top calls out for a more imaginative color scheme. Maybe an unfair quibble.
I looked at a lot of units before choosing this one. At this price range most were cheap looking or worse cheap-feeling. This unit is quite solid and it works as advertised, all the features I wanted, in a tidy package that doesn't take up too much space on a bedside table. Where things fall apart a little for me is in the human interface. Nothing to make me return it but I wish I had seen/touched one before I bought it.
Pros:
1. Radio and sound quality are good. The rear of the cabinet sports a small bass speaker with a tuned port firing on either side. Volume is fine for a bedside radio and sound is good if not hi-fi.
2. Excellent iPhone (3GS in my case) compatibility. Occasionally the phone gives one of Apples patented "This device is not designed to work with iPhone" messages but I bet it's a connector-mating thing because the two ARE compatible and work as advertised. You can wake to iPhone music, to a buzzer or to radio.
3. The dock accepts Apple Universal adapters. I got an adapter (white sadly) with the case I bought for my iPhone and it makes for a nice trim fit that supports the phone well while docked. Slides away neatly when not in use too.
Cons (No deal breakers but things I feel are less than perfect):
1. The front face is blank of buttons except for 4 curious touch-activated switches top-right that select basic modes: radio, ipod etc. These are a little uncertain in operation but not bad. I imagine they could be troublesome for thicker fingers? Time-set, alarm set, station presets and other less-used controls are behind the flat front on the main body of the unit. Pretty standard stuff. The most often used controls (volume, snooze, tune etc. ) are on the top edge, in fact they ARE the top edge of the unit. They can be hard to tell apart in the dark but sense memory is a wonderful thing. Undocking the iPhone is a little awkward because your natural instinct is to undock the iPhone with a finger as a lever on the top edge just where the large Snooze bar is located.
2. Setting the wake times is easy enough but the nap and sleep modes are counterintuitive to setup and even worse to cancel.
3. The blurb boasts of "auto-timeset" but don't be fooled into thinking of atomic clock signals from Denver or sideband information from a PBS station. Basically they set the clock at the factory and inserted AA batteries to keep it going. When you first plug it in you choose your US timezone and it magically seems to know the time. Remove the batteries however and it's flashing digits like every other clock :-(
4. The clock display has two brightness levels though some may think even the dim setting too bright at night. More troubling for me is the limited viewing angle. Like most displays this one is designed for maximum clarity and contrast when viewed from above. Sadly when lying in bed most people will be either level or below the line of the display, making it harder to read.
So that's it. Not entirely comprehensive but hopefully useful. Regarding price, I think it's very reasonable for the quality of the unit but I would certainly like a more imaginitive color scheme :-)

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The RC65i clock radio by RCA is the perfect companion in the morning. The clock radio features a large LED display that makes it easy to see and read in the morning. The clock features automatic time set that will set the clock to one of seven different time zones once clock is plugged in. Simply flip the switch to select your current time zone. The iPod docking station easily connects your iPod to the clock radio and is compatible with most iPods including the 3G iPhone. The elegant design with thin undercut and chrome trim treatment complements the iPhone 3G and allows for placement beyond the bedroom. The retractable docking drawer easily tucks away when iPod is not docked on the radio, creating a clean and chic look. Enjoy the quality of the high performance sound system that plays your music with clearly with crisp sound. Set the alarm to wake you up to the buzzer, to your favorite radio station or your iPod. The programmable sleep feature will play the radio up to 2-hours before automatically turning off, allowing you to gently fall asleep to the radio. The clock radio has two different alarm settings that are perfect for couples who wake at different times or for those who need a second reminder to wake in the morning. Enjoy the Graduwake ramp up alarm system that gently wakes you from deep sleep by gradually increasing the volume of the alarm. You'll no longer have a loud, rude awakening in the morning. The nap function can be set as a quick alarm for a short interval of sleep without disturbing the alarm settings.The 'No Worry" battery backup keeps the clock radio working during power outages. You'll no longer have to worry about being late to work or needing to reset the clock and alarm.

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Memorex Mi4004BLK iWake Clock Radio for iPod (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This unit was my second try at an ipod clock radio. My first, the iHome, turned out to only have 1 alarm. This one has two, so far so good. And, I think the iWake sounds better, too. So much for the good stuff.
When you read the comment from an earlier reviewer about the volume going up, you have no idea how bad it is. It is NOT gradual awakening over 60 seconds, it is the volume going up a notch every 5 seconds to MAX. So unless you put this right next to you, expect to be scrambling so the entire neighborhood isn't calling the cops. Memorex calls this a feature in their manual ("no need to set the alarm volume"). Haha, very funny.
Next, don't plan on putting the unit above eye level, or you won't be able to see anything but a nice lit rectangle instead of the time. The display is like the old black and grey LCD's that were very directional (although this one is well lit). Trouble is, there's no adjustment for the viewing angle.
My third gripe is the remote. It's much better than the iHome remote (which was WAY too directional), but let's say you want to raise or lower the volume. To do so, you have to press the up or down volume button repeatedly as each press only changes the volume 1 bar (out of 12). In retrospect, a pretty silly thing if you try to use the remote to keep from blasting the neighbors when the alarm goes off, because the volume keeps going up every 5 seconds while you're trying to wake up and repeatedly press the correct button in the dark. Hope nobody got that on tape, I could be a hit on youtube :)
Surely a remote that can smoothly raise/lower the volume like any $5 all-in-one can't be that hard to engineer.
If you are going to have this right close by, you can probably overcome the annoying alarm, assuming you can move it so you can read the time. For me, too many compromises.

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Tired of waking up to obnoxious morning DJs or depressing world news?Turn to the Memorex iWake clock radio, which includes a built-in dock that powersandcharges your iPod. It's the perfect way to get your day started off on the rightfoot.Simply drop your iPod into the universal dock, which powers and charges your iPod4G,iPod color, iPod video, iPod mini, or iPod nano 1G and 2G. Once docked, you haveyourchoice of waking to your iPod, radio, or buzzer--whatever gets you in the mood forworkor play. The iWake also offers dual alarm settings, so you don't have to reset thealarmonce your partner or spouse gets up. And thanks to the line-in jack, you can alsoconnect other digital audio devices, such as MP3 players or personal CD players,forout-loud playback.
The iWake's sound quality is enhanced by its SRS WOW enhancement system, whichimproves the dynamic audio performance of your iPod tunes. SRS WOW accomplishesthis by providing a panoramic, three-dimensional audio image that extends thesoundfield in both the horizontal and vertical planes. In so doing, the technologylowers theperceived low-frequency response so that your ears hear more bass despite thesmalldriver size. It adds up to an immersive, high-quality audio experience that fillsany roomin the house.
Other details include a slowly ascending wake-up volume, a sleep timer that letsyou fallasleep with the music on, a super-sized LCD display, an integrated buttoninterface witha prominent snooze bar, a full-function wireless remote control, a battery backupfunction (requires two AAA batteries), and a sleek black housing that looks greatinany room, from the bedroom to the kitchen. The iWake clock radio measures 10 by2.5by 5.3 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a 90-day warranty.
What's in the Box iWake clock radio, universal iPod adapters, wireless remote control, warrantycard,user's manual.

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