A Satellite Radio Reciver For The Car Collector (or the Frugal)
By Ian Austin, The New York Times, July 20, 2006 (Link: Here)
The outstanding feature of XM Radio’s latest receiver, the Sportscaster, is its price: $60. Unlike most satellite receivers, this unit is not meant to be permanently installed in a car. Instead, it comes with a magnetic rooftop antenna and a power source that plugs into a cigarette lighter. It links to the car’s audio system either through a built-in FM radio transmitter or a supplied cassette adapter. That allows users to move the radio to rental cars or other vehicles without bringing a professional installer into the picture.
The Sportscaster can also be transformed into a portable radio, although not without an additional cost. An $80 accessory kit provides the necessary battery and headphones with a built-in antenna.
XM plans to introduce a portable speaker set that will connect to the Sportscaster.
David Butler, an XM spokesman, acknowledged that the name was mostly a marketing effort to highlight the large number of sports broadcasts carried by the company. The Sportscaster ships with several of its preset channels tuned to sports programming. Music lovers, however, can reset them.
