SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player

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.

I was concerned by the polar opposite reviews I was reading here but decided to order the unit. I am glad I did. I suspect the polarity of the reviews results from the satellite coverage: If you are situated in a poor coverage area, you will get poor reception. Here is my experience: I found the unit itself well made and easy to operate. one caveat is that there is a slight delay between the input and the device's reaction. At first, it seemed like the device was not responding properly, but I quickly got used to it. The delay is only a few seconds. I have poor reception inside my house. Despite that, I was able to get a consistent signal everywhere but my basement. It did take a while to acquire, but once it did, it worked fine. The favorites feature, which allows you to save songs that are playing is great. I also got the home docking system, which is very nice. The docking port charges the battery and allows a connection to a home stereo. It also provides an antenna that can be mounted internally or externally. Although I was only able to get a signal of half strength, according to the signal finder function, the unit itself shows all bars and has played without interruption. The remote control is a nice feature. My only complaint is that there is no provision for auto dimming based on ambient light. I use it in my bedroom and it is fairly bright when the room is dark. (The vehicle docking unit does have an ambient light feature). In sum, I think this is a great unit. I would have given it 5 stars except I consider the home and vehicle docking features to be an integral part of the system and one should not have to pay an additional $40 - $50 for each docking system. If they offered a complete package at a special price, the unit would be much more attractive. Still, I think it's well worth it.

Bought this for wife for last XMas. Took her a little while to really get into it but she really loves it now. Installed car kit which really makes it handy, it's never low on charge since she uses it almost daily on 45 minute drives to work and back. I use it sometimes also, as do the kids, we all like it a lot. The wifi comes in handy, quite a few places (like some gyms, coffee shops, etc) where we'd have to listed to pre-recorded stuff because sat-reception isn't possible but can still get Sirius via internet. Wife also uses recording features a lot, she really likes that aspect as well. I haven't even used the memory yet, doesn't seem like that much of a point. I have thousands of MP3's but there is just SO much available on Sirius that it just doesn't seem necessary. I would like it if the player was compatible with [...] but hopefully it's just a matter of time. The headphone/antenna is fine with me though I think most people wouldn't like wearing them, but if you're in wi-fi range you can just connect that way anyway and stick with the earphones. Bottom line is that it's a bit of work to get the car kit (or whatever accessories) installed and figured out, along with figuring out all of the players features, but once that's out of the way life is much better!EDIT: Just wanted to add something after having this for almost two years now (it's 10/29/09). We've since installed a car-kit in our truck that we tow our trailer with so the Sirius is ALWAYS with us on trips. Wife uses it as a portable all the time too. We've had a little glitch here and there over the two years, where the batter had to be pulled out and then it worked fine again, with nothing lost. Other than that, no problems at all. This thing is probably still the best little piece of electronics we own.