Sirius-ly cool product: The Stiletto 100

I am a fan of Howard Stern. For two years, I was driving 80KM back and forth to work and having the show during my commute really lessened the boredom.

Yes, he’s lewd and crude, but more than that he speaks his mind and frames his opinions in an intelligent way. Sure, there were times (many in fact) when the show would turn a “dumb corner”, but that’s when I would just tune to another station for a while.

When Howard left terrestrial radio on December 16, 2005 for Sirius Satellite, I gave serious (pun intended) thought to purchasing a satellite receiver for my car. Until I realized that Sirius Canada would not have Howard on the Channel roster until Feb 2006 (The US had him on Jan 9). I ended up shelving the idea, especially since I now live and work in Toronto.

For my birthday, Heather bought me the Sirius Stiletto receiver and I haven’t been this excited about technology in a long time. The device is larger than the iPod, but very portable. It has 2GB of memory to record satellite radio (1GB can be used for my own MP3s). In fact, the features are impressive:

• WiFi support. Listen to Satellite radio over WiFi, when you don’t have satellite reception
• Easy to use interface
• 1GB to store your own songs (I use Windows Media Player to sync)
• Pause, rewind, store satellite radio broadcasts
• Record broadcasts on a set schedule
• 2 headphones (one has a special antenna built in, the other is your standard earbuds)
• 2 Li-ion batteries (slim and larger)
• Stylish looking car kit.

The Stiletto is $450 at Best Buy, with a $50 rebate available from Sirius (with 6 month activation) and monthly fees are about $15.

The FM transmitter was a bit static-y, but I have an iPod (headphone) jack in my car that I’m going to use anyway.

So now I have the best of both worlds: My favourite MP3s and Howard Stern… not not mention another 109 commercial free channels.

UPDATE 11/30: I’m not sure what it’s like in other areas, but using the device in Toronto with the built-in FM transmitter produces a lot of static.  Fortunately, I have an iPod connector in my car, so I used that instead… crystal clear.  If the FM transmittor is your only option, I’d go see somebody and get them to hardwire the device in your car instead.

Technorati Tags: Howard Stern – Stiletto 100 – Sirius – satellite radio – cool technology – MP3 – iPod