Well folks, 3,000th post, I figured I should make it a substantial one. Here is my take on my newest toy, Delphi’s MyFi, xm2go. (for those wondering where my review of Sony’s stand alone DVD recorder…UPS sent it back to Sony and I need to re-order it, as soon as Sony refunds my money 
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Background:
XM radio had a deal before Christmas, sort of a friends and family thing, where for $39 you got a MyFi + 3 months XM service, and you agree to pay for another 3 months @ $9.99. MSRP of the MyFi is $350, this was too good to pass up.
For those that don’t know MyFi is the first portable XM radio. It also has built in memory to store up to 5 hours of music and around 8-9 hours of talk radio. It has a built in FM Transmitter as well.
Pictures:
First, let me show you some pictures of the unit…and yes, it comes with a ton of accessories, which IMO, is the reason for the steep price.
Accessories:
Let’s start with the accessories…
1. Remote control
2. Belt clip/stand
3. Case
4. Car Kit - {vent mount, flush mount, swivel mount}, cradle, antenna, tape-adapter, cig. lighter adapter,
5. Wearable antenna
6. Home Kit - stand, antenna, a/c power, RCA cables
7. Headphones
Basically they give you every part you could ever need or want with this device. Technically, for the car, you don’t need a kit at all, it can pick up the signal without the antenna and can transmit via internal FM transmitter, however, using the supplied accessories you get much better signal.
Unit:
Now, as for the device, I put it next to my iPod, 4g 40GB, to show you just how big this device is. It’s hot heavier, it’s mostly plastic and has flash memory, but it is bulkier.
Display:
The display is nice and crisp, light blue backlighting, and several shades of grey. You can see the display from fairly great distances. You have the ability to change the way the song is displayed…it can be very large, or smaller with more content. I suppose if you change it to the large font you can see it from a distance in your home kit. You also have the ability to scroll sports or stock quotes on the bottom of the device at all times.
Control:
You can control the device via the remote control or use the buttons on the face, or the scroll wheel on the side. The unit responds quickly but for the sound to come out when changing a station takes a few extra seconds. There is also a bit of a buffer, you can tell because if you remove the antenna it plays for a few more seconds before dropping. At anytime you can hit the record button and begin to record the station.
Recording:
You can only record onto 3 folders…so basically you get 3 times to record up to 5 hours, its not meant to record individual songs. Once it is recorded, you can skip complete songs when you hit next, so it’s like your listening to an Mp3 player, not like your FF a tape player. The artist info displays during playback as well.
Battery:
Battery life is good enough for about one day of solid use. The more you use the antennas that you plug in the more battery you get. So far i’ve recorded 3 hours and played back 2 and still had some battery left. I assume playing off pre-recorded vs live will get longer battery life as well.
Reception:
Reception on the handheld is a mixed bag. I’ve heard some people get reception inside the house, I don’t. I am on the top floor of my apartment complex, and it doesn’t help. For the home kit, you need a direct sight to the Southern sky, and I don’t. This means that my house reception, even with the house antenna, is a bit spotty. In the car, if I put the device on my dash I get reception, otherwise I don’t. In more urban places they have repeaters on the ground to help reception…in rural Michigan, we don’t. When walking around I get reception if the device is out, if I want to put it in my pocket I need to use the portable/wearable antenna, which is sort of like a Sony MD remote control.
Conclusion:
Overall, the device is unique and delivers what it promises without any major hickups that I can see thusfar. I can’t see spending $350+$9 a month…the most i’d pay would be around $150 I guess, but to have one in your house, in the car, and portable…maybe others can justify the price.
Thanks,
Erik
