1. Just to kind of hit on a couple key points that were said. For one Sirius had this in the works TWO years ago. Yes, it has a built in FM transmitter, it allows you to store up to three different FM frequencies. The point about the WiFi getting a Live feed, thats a little hard to believe. For one small reason it's a little hard for satellite radio to go through bodies of water (i.e. YOUR HEAD).So, maybe we shold put a study group together and find out the facts before we comment on this page. I work for SIRIUS, I don't read the comics in the paper. I just read this page.

Posted at 12:08AM on Nov 13th 2005 by BigDog

2. Posted at 3:28 PM ET on Oct 12, 2005 by Wes: Just to give you an answer. It has a 30-60 minute buffer on it. If the S50 is buffering at that time yes you could get the program.

Posted at 12:08AM on Nov 13th 2005 by Big Dog

3. All I really wanted was a unit that can record live, like the XM-to-go unit...but this one obviously cannot do that. How much recording time does the 1GB give you? Can I record the entire Stern show, or can it only handle smaller recording limits?

Does anyone out there know of any other brands (like maybe XACT Communications) that will be launching a portable unit that can listen live while on the go? Xact was supposed to launch theirs months ago, but I have not seen it hit the stores yet...so they must have hit a snag (original release date was Father's Day).

Posted at 11:45AM on Nov 8th 2005 by Andy

4. In deciding between the S50 and a cheaper unit (maybe the Sportster Replay) I would like to know what the Sirius policy is on upgrades? Someone mentioned that with a lifetime subscription you get 3 upgrades...but what about with a normal monthly/annual subscription.

What if, a year down the road, I want to buy a new unit to replace my existing one. Are the prices advertised online/in stores similar to the way cell-phone upgrades work, where you only get that price for a new subscription/annual renewal...and you have to pay much more if you are just upgrading?

Posted at 11:58AM on Nov 8th 2005 by Andy

5. In deciding between the S50 and a cheaper unit (maybe the Sportster Replay) I would like to know what the Sirius policy is on upgrades? Someone mentioned that with a lifetime subscription you get 3 upgrades...but what about with a normal monthly/annual subscription.

What if, a year down the road, I want to buy a new unit to replace my existing one. Are the prices advertised online/in stores similar to the way cell-phone upgrades work, where you only get that price for a new subscription/annual renewal...and you have to pay much more if you are just upgrading?

Posted at 12:04PM on Nov 8th 2005 by Andy

6. Listening to Sirius on the receiver I already have in my car, I thought that this S50 was going to be exactly what I wanted next...that is until I researched it a little more. I will not be able to use this receiver to listen to live Sirius, I might as well keep my iPod for my morning jog. Until Sirius comes out with a portable live feed receiver, I'll just stick with my current plug & play.

Posted at 10:13AM on Nov 14th 2005 by Nickole

7. I am truely disapointed that Sirius has not given this unit an internal antena for listening LIVE on the go. XM has two units out now (delphi, and Panisonic) that have all the features of the S50 AND they can play live broadcasts...very important for sports fans and joggers on the go. You mentioned "all of the wires" when refering to XM's units but I don't know what you are refering to...I find all of the wires necisary for the docking attachments required for the Serious unit to be the detering factor. I don't want a glorified iPod, I want a truely portable Serious satelite radio. I won't pay for XM's subpar programing but I won't subscribe to Serious untill they start selling non-plug & play units either!

Posted at 4:57PM on Nov 16th 2005 by Dan Vermilya

8. Well said! I feel the same way.

Posted at 10:00PM on Nov 16th 2005 by Geek

9. Question about the S50 Boom Box:

Where can you get one?

Your picture is the only one I can find on the whole Internet.

I have seen a brief glimpse of one in the video clip advertisement, but that is all...

None of the stores know anything about it... (Radio Shack, Circuit City, et al...)

What do you know about the S50 Boom Box and its portability? (Is it the same as the Sportster Boom Box?)

I would “spend” to get an S50, but I don’t want to pull the trigger until I’m sure it can be “portable” with a Boom Box…

Posted at 10:24AM on Dec 9th 2005 by Sean Brennan

10. In the caption from the last picture, you say:

"Plug-in via USB to your computer, record Sirius content and just drag-and-drop it onto the S50."

Is that right? It sounds like you have to have the unit connected to a computer to record streams. I thought the unit could record on its own (assuming it's connected to a dock antenna for reception). do you have to interface the unit with a computer before playing back recordings?

Posted at 9:48AM on Aug 26th 2005 by Jeff

11. Jeff, you're right. I wrote that wrong. You can record direct off the cradle onto the S50. While plugged-in, you can move your MP3s over. You can also listen to Sirius on the computer and choose to buy the album directly from there.

Thanks, I'll edit the post to clear that up.

Posted at 10:15AM on Aug 26th 2005 by Ryan Saghir

12. Ryan,

Thanks for clearing that up as it sounded a little off. I was wondering about a few other details I hadn't seen posted around the web. Perhaps you could fill us all in about some of these if you wouldn't mind:

- Do you know if the unit allows you to transfer Sirius recordings off the S50 to be archived on your computer?

- I've heard that it can record streams from 3 differnet stations. Is that simultaneous?

- You say "The total capacity is 1-Gig...". That would lead me to believe that there are multiple memory modules. Is that cinfigured as internal memory and a slot for card based memory modules. If so, what format is the the external module?

- Is the recording quality adjustable?

- How configurable are the recording options? As in, can you set recordings for certain days/times and can you make those recurring, only on certain days, just once, etc?

- Did you happen to notice if the display supports album cover art? Are there pictures associated with different channels or is album art displayed for a particular song while it is playing on a channel (that one seems unlikely but I figured I'd ask anyway)?

Thanks for any additional info you may have.

Jeff

Posted at 10:32AM on Aug 26th 2005 by Jeff

13. Awesome questions. I was playing with the beta of the device, and the PRE-ALPHA of the software, so wasn't really able to mess around with it too much. So let me try to answer you as best I can.

1. I don't think so. I believe it will be protected from transferring to your computer.

2. I wish I knew. I'll follow up with Sirius on that one.

3. I didn't see a swappable card. They said it was "Flash based" and were reluctant to give out a definitely size. Whether they have two separate storage areas, or the Sirius content is seperated through the firmware, is hard to know.

4. I think the recording quality is based on the satellite stream. I dont think it's manually adjustable.

5. They actually do have plans to have cover art display, but it won't be ready at launch. Once the coverart component is developed though, it opens up a huge number possibilities of things they can do. MY WISH LIST would be to be able to stream in-studio photos from live appearances and guests. I *assume* that will be possible, but it's all just speculation right now.

Posted at 11:34AM on Aug 26th 2005 by Ryan Saghir

14. Since you have the beta version, I was hoping you could answer this: Can you record or listen to live programming while undocked (walking around or on a bike, like the picture shows)?

Posted at 3:04PM on Aug 26th 2005 by RalphJohnston

15. Since you have the beta version, I was hoping you could answer this: Can you record or listen to live programming while undocked (walking around or on a bike, like the picture shows)?

Posted at 3:16PM on Aug 26th 2005 by RalphJohnston

16. Nope. Not with this unit. No word on whether there will be an "on-the-go" kit or anything either.

(I don't actually HAVE the beta version... just played with it)

Posted at 3:30PM on Aug 26th 2005 by Ryan Saghir

17. Is the receiver portion of the unit built into the wearable component or the docks? Or is it a mixed set up?

Posted at 6:01PM on Aug 27th 2005 by bla392us

18. nice little article

Posted at 1:41AM on Aug 28th 2005 by Sirius S50

19. Do you know who manufactures the S50?

Posted at 12:26AM on Aug 28th 2005 by Gary Meyers

20. Do you know who manufactures the S50?

Posted at 12:41AM on Aug 28th 2005 by Gary Meyers