SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player
by Sirius Satellite Radio
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player
Customer Review: Long Term Update - Problems, Problems, Problems
Summary: 5 Stars
After eight months of use, this device started crashing multiple times a day. I had to restore it several times and then repeatedly program my favorites and recording information (like a DVR). It ultimately wouldn't boot. The final failure occurred before the 12 month warranty period but I didn't have time to contact Sirius. Ultimately, I had to cancel the service. SiriusXM has some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. Poor English, weak technical skills and no follow-up.
Original Review:
As a person who owns an iPhone, Blackberry, and iPod, I have no shortage of gadgets or portable entertainment options. While I am personally not a sufficiently enthusiastic fan of Howard Stern to purchase a satellite radio in order to listen to his show, I do enjoy listening to CNBC financial news during my brief commute to my job in the financial sector. Much like I would record a TV show on my PVR (personal video recorder), I record a four hour block of CNBC every morning and then begin listening to the recording an hour after it started. If I have a free hand, I fast forward through the commercials. Oddly, the commercials on CNBC radio are quite a bit worse than on the television channel. The TV version of CNBC pounds users with repetitive commercials for a variety of investment products and services, generally from legitimate companies such as Scottrade and Ameritrade. The radio version has even more annoying ads with questionable services such as back tax negotiation services, debt relief, and small business marketing services - most from obscure enterprises.
The music selection on Sirius XM is great, even if one already has a significant iTunes collection. Personally, I listen to so much music on my iPod, I often run out of music that I still enjoy. So, I really like Sirius stations such as Alternative Nation, The Spectrum and Lithium with fairly large track lists. For some hard-to-describe reason, I enjoy having a live DJ make a few comments occasionally. These comments are far less frequent than on traditional terrestrial radio and there are no commercial messages. While iTunes and Internet radio have their advantages, listening to Sirius makes you feel somewhat connected to the outside world especially when working late or when on long bicycle rides. In addition to using the Stiletto 2, I enjoy logging on Sirius Internet radio when at home or work even though I have access to a number of Internet radio options.
As anyone considering the purchase of satellite radio should already know, there are certain limitations in obtaining a satellite signal. Specifically, it can't be received more than a few feet from a window. Fortunately, those of us living in metropolitan areas can receive the terrestrial broadcast signals. Getting a signal even in an urban canyon is not a problem when on a street or in the bus. Moving far into the interior a commercial building can be problematic, however. Recently, I purchased the Stiletto 2 home kit, which has a small antenna the user can put close to a window and then run an included 25 foot cable to the cradle that holds the radio. I would highly recommend the home kit if you want to listen to the radio indoors. Incidentally, Sirius provides a rather large set of headphones with an integrated antenna, in addition to a smaller set. I have never needed to use them as I pick up the terrestrial broadcast.
While I have been quite happy with my purchase, I did find the screen extremely easy to scratch. By accident, I placed the radio in an inside pocket with my keys, which led to several scratches on the screen. While I should have known better, this situation never caused such severe scratches on my BlackBerry or iPod. Other oddities with the Stiletto 2 include what appears to be its significant power consumption. The device gets warm when recharging and even gets slightly warm when listening to and recording a station.
The user interface is quite a bit more colorful than your typical mp3 player. With bright blue, white and orange colors clearly outlining a collection of icons for selecting Satellite Radio, Internet Radio, Recording, etc, it is rather easy to navigate where you want to go. On occasion, it seems to slow down much like a computer that has too many programs running simultaneously. On one occasion, it has crashed. Even with such limitations, the UI is a nice alternative to my iPod UI. All pros and cons considered, the Stiletto 2 is excellent addition to my gadget collection that allows access to important news and appealing music selections like no other device.
Pros
Portable access to content unavailable elsewhere (CNBC, Bloomberg)
Allows recording of radio, allowing the user to skip commercials
Commercial-free music
Compact, fully portable
Significant amount memory for recording radio or loading mp3's
Excellent sound quality
Two pairs of headphones - one with integrated satellite antenna and one regular compact model
Cons
Screen scratches easily
Power hungry
Optional satellite headset a bit bulky
Customer Review: Given a choice, I would leave my iPod at home at take this instead every time!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a frequent business and pleasure traveler and I am always looking for things that will improve my quality of life while on the road (driving, waiting in airports, on long flights, etc.). This is it for me! Along with my Kindle I can now relax and feel that I am not just wasting time. Instead of giving this receiver a technical review (which others have already done here and much better than I could) I will explain how I use it and what I like about it:
* Home Docking: I have been a Sirius subscriber for over seven years. I replaced an older "Plug and Play" receiver with the Stiletto 2. During those rare times when I am actually at home I listen to Sirius (and now the Best of XM) through my home stereo. I run the antenna through the window and onto the roof. If you follow the directions most people should get at least 2 bars of signal strength. I have used it like this in both St. Louis and now in San Antonio and even get a pretty strong terrestrial signal as well. This is where I record my programs for travel.
* Air Travel: Although an iPod (I have the Touch model) is nice for music and video, I like to listen to NPR, comedy and some of the other talk and entertainment stations on Sirius. I simply record the ones that I want and listen to them while on a plane, waiting in line, etc. I have several 8+ hour flights coming up and I can have as many as 100 hours of recorded programs to chose from (I love Terry Gross' interviews on NPR). Plus, I can listen to music, recorded books, blogs, etc. all on this little device.
* Car travel: When driving rental cars in cities that you are not familiar with, finding a radio station that you enjoy might be a problem (I should mention that many of the better rental cars have satellite radios already installed). With this radio and can listen to broadcast sat-radio and recorded programs at will. I usually don't bother to set the whole thing up (car mount, antenna, FM transmitter, etc.) if I am on a short trip but some of them require quite a bit of driving and I am always glad that I have my favorite stations with me.
* Hotels and Airports: Most hotels and just all airport clubs have Wi-Fi. Here I can catch up on the latest news with NPR, BBC, CNN, what have you. It connects very easily as long as you have the proper log-in code. I have the premium "internet" service from Sirius so the sound quality is great.
* Distant Travel: Both my business and my hobbies take me to areas where satellite radio is not available (Alaska, Hawaii, South America, etc.). With my Stiletto 2 I can feel at home while I relax to hours of recorded jazz and classical music (my favorites) and, unlike an iPod, I can hear things that I didn't know about simply by recording whole blocks of programs from my favorite Sirius channels. Since I have to pay for each song from iTunes I only download the things that I know I will like. Not so with Sirius and the Stiletto.
I don't pretend to think that this is the best receiver for everyone. I can get broadcast satellite through the included headset (which I don't like) when I am on walks or at the pool and the reception and sound quality are just O-K, but that isn't what I bought it for. For me, someone who has always traveled a lot, this is a must have device.
Customer Review: Excellent device!
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought about writing a review for some time now. I wanted to make sure I was out of the honeymoon phase before I wrote about this device. I have had it for over a couple of weeks now and feel like it's time.
I purchased the Stiletto 2 as a late Christmas present to myself. I had signed up originally for the 3-day trial and loved the radio selections. I live Montana and our radio stations are pretty decent, but we have a lot of commercials. So, being able to listen to music without commercials is fantastic.
I wasn't sure what device to purchase, so I started reading. I had read a number of reviews (particularly the poor ones) about the Stiletto 2, but I liked the portability aspect, so I purchased it.
I now understand their complaints. They want better reception from the device itself, better/more comfortable headphones, etc. I agree the reception on the device isn't the best when indoors, but I purchased the home kit and that significantly improved reception.
When I am away from my home dock, I connect through Internet radio and it works just fine.
I also bought the car kit, but haven't had a chance to install it yet. I was able to get reception in my car without it though, so I imagine the car kit will only improve upon that.
The user interface is quite easy to navigate and the controls on the device are fairly intuitive. I like to test devices without reading the manual first to see how easy it is to figure out and the Stiletto 2 was pretty straightforward. I had to refer to the manual to understand the recording options, but otherwise, it was simple.
The recording option is fantastic. I set up a number of recurring sessions in the middle night. In the morning, I can then listen to them when I am working out, running errands, etc. I think this is probably one of the best features of the device. I have 15+ hours of recorded content and have used only 35% of the internal memory. Replay is fantastic. You can skip through songs just like your MP3 player and for me, that's a great option.
The size of the device is just right. It fits in my pocket, but it's not so small that I am afraid it's going to get broken or lost.
The battery life has been more than adequate. It's rated at like 4+ hours for Satellite or Internet radio and 20+ for recorded or library selections. I can attest that I have listened to it for many hours without running out of power. I wouldn't mind having a spare battery, but it's probably overkill.
As for the additional SD card slot. It's too bad it's under the battery. When you install an SD card, it's like you are putting in RAM in your laptop. This is not simple or intuitive for a lot of people (thinking of my mom here). I am sure there was an architectural reason, but it's too bad it's not just inserted on the side like a number of cell phones.
I have owned a number of musical devices in my life, 5+ iPods, a Zune, Rio, CD players, Walkmans, etc, but I can say this device has really reminded me of how music can be such a wonderful part of your life. I listen to my radio non-stop, and I wouldn't have it any other way now.
Customer Review: Awesome Unit
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a Gadget junkie...you name it, I've bought it and tried it, from the latest PC's...HD TV's,, Sling TV, TIVO, HD DVD players, Blu-Ray players,I-Touch, Zune, X-Box 360, PS3, Blackberry, XM radio & Sirius players...etc...etc...etc...
If your looking for he Ultimate portable music device, the Stiletto 2 is the answer...This unit does it all, you need no other portable music device...
First: How much money do you spend on downloading songs???
Possibly hundreds of $ a year? With Stilleto 2 you can download up to 10 hours of indiviual songs from Sirius...and it's no additional cost, just the monthly subscriber fee you're already paying, and you can replay them at any time with the built in memory.
Second: It automatically records the stations you listen to, up to 100 hours, so when your in a no signal area, you can listen to hours & hours & hours of music during this time.
Third: Not only does it have 2GB of built in memory but you can add a Micro SD card to increase your music collection. You can transfer / import music files from your PC...it will replaces youe Zune, Ipod, MP3 player, and using the Yahoo music site (software included) you can purchase music online and continue to add to your colection.
Fourth: It has not only satellite reception capability, but WiFi as well, and both work excellent! So if you have WiFi at home, no need to worry about a Satellite signal, it connects to your Wifi...and if you'e in a free hotsspot...wala, connetion!
Fifth: The reception of a satellite signal is very good even without the antennae earphones...anyone who complains that they can't receive a satellite signal indoors with this unit needs to remember "IT'S SATELLITE", that means you need a clear view of the sky to receive, if you got a roof over you, it will block the signal!!!
The only option I would like to see added is being able to load photos for viewing...
I say BUY IT! You'll throw away every other portable music player you have after you do!
Customer Review: Know what you are getting! It's great if you know what you are getting.
Summary: 5 Stars
Read all these reviews. This is a great product for taking Sirius to work, home or in the car but make sure you get the home and car kits.
This is not a self contained portable satellite receiver that will work anywhere with just the antenna head phones. It does work outside with the headphones but if that's all you are planning on then I would think twice.
In my opinion this product is best suited for being able to bring Sirius to multiple places that still have external antennas. Meaning, if you want it for two cars, great, buy two car kits and just move this between them.
Things I didn't see in other reviews that I think are worth noting:
Radio start playing immediately when I attach it to the car port. This is really nice. I thought I would have trouble with it acquiring signal or have to change from one mode to another by hand. Nope, just plug it in, select a preset, if you want and it start instantly. (Assuming your car isn't in the garage).
REMEMBER: You have to have line of sight with the sky. This does NOT work inside unless you are listening to pre-recorded shows.
Recordings are really simple. And it even wakes up if in sleep mode to start recording so you don't have to leave it on.
I think most other things are in other reviews but I will say that I completely agree with a previous user's post when they said the best way to use this is to records several shows or hours worth of your favorite stations so you have the ability to listen to them while inside.
I would think if you want live talk shows all the time then, of course, this recording idea won't work.
Another nice feature. If you record several hours of a channel (I record 6 hours every night from 12am to 6am) you can skip songs while listening to the 6 hour block. Even though it shows the recording as 1 title, while you are listening you can skip forward and backward a song at a time. You can't even do this live. This is awesome!
Hope this helps!