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"Innovative product with some huge shortcomings" on by cplusc99
Pros: Lets you take XM on the go
Cons: Will only play PREVIOUSLY RECORDED XM on the go, plus other problems
Summary: You have to get used to one big hurdle to like this product: NO, it does NOT receive live XM radio unless connected to the base at home. However this isn't as big a limitation as you would think at first. No matter how much you like XM Radio you no doubt won't like every song your favorite channel plays. (XM Radio itself has HUGE limitations, not the least of which is its practice of infuriating yakking over the beginning and end of most songs, just like 'old fashioned' FM which they claim is so inferior. I digress...).
The trick to success with this product is to get into the habit of setting up your device to record long stretches of XM broadcasts, then to use your PC and the XM/Napster software to get rid of the between-songs yakking and the songs you don't like. (You can also delete songs on the device itself but this gets cumbersome and getting the 'delete' option to appear on the device menu can sometimes be elusive without a restart of the device). As mentioned above, you'll still be left with your favorite songs partially ruined by XM DJs who won't shut up, but this is the ugly side of XM their ads don't tell you about.
Editing your recorded songs is accomplished via the provided software, 'XM + Napster Light.' If you need help, you're on your own as both Napster and Samsung customer service ranges from nonexistent to totally clueless (Napster tried to tell me the XM/Napster software will only manage content you bought from Napster... who would want this thing if that statement were true? It's not true).
One secret neither Napster nor Samsung will tell you is that if you have great difficulty getting your XM/Napster software to recognize and synch up with your Nexus 50, it's probably for two reasons: 1. You must turn on your Nexus and connect it to your PC BEFORE you fire up the Napster software. 2. This can be impossible to do unless you realize the Napster software is set to remain on (even when you think it's off) unless you either modify your program settins to prevent this, or you right click on the Napster tray icon in the lower right of your task bar to turn Napster off before a synch session.
As you can see, Napster can be as infuriating to use as XM, but the Nexus device itself is pretty nice.
One further issue... Nexus will only record XM content at 128 kbps (unless you can find a way to change this, which I haven't). However, you can transfer MP3 or WMA files that have been recorded at 256 kbpx to Nexus and enjoy much higher audio quality. This all means, sadly and oddly, that the content you put on Nexus from other devices will sound much better than the music the Nexus itself records.
All these limitations add up. You are tied to a base station to capture content. There are non-XM internet radio choices that don't have that awful XM-style yakking. You can record internet radio and manage the content with freeware on this site. All this begs the question, why bother with this product at all? I'm still mulling that one over.Updated
I'm in Europe and the charging cradle will not work with AC adapters. Your only option is to recharge it by connecting it to your computer. Another bummer for this product.Updated
Be careful not to confuse (as someone I know did) that the "50" in "Nexus 50" means 50 GB. Far from it. It means theoretically 50 hours of content. Remember, however, this assumes 128 kbps, which to me sounds lousy. I rip/record music at 256 mbps and you can definitely hear the difference. Theoretically the Nexus 50 allows up to 25 hours of non-XM content. If you want to put content on it that's recorded at 256 mbps, however, that 25 hours becomes LESS THAN FIVE. The more I look at this product, the more convinced I am that buying it was a big mistake. -
"Excellent for the money" on by xraytls
Pros: XM Receiver and MP3 Player
Cons: Cumbersome and battery life
Summary: I love that you can use this for multiple purposes, but it is a little inconvenient to setup in the car and then setup at home. I have both the car kit and home kit to keep it as simple as possible. However, when using recorded music away from the cradle it seems a little difficult and outdated now. I love XM Radio and the idea of the combination machine is an excellent. Just needs to be streamlined a little and offer bluetooth capabilities.
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"works great for me" on by jim1310
Pros: small light weight works verry well for me
Cons: not live out of the cradle but it is still good for me
Summary: The nexus works really good for me.for the price i don't think you can beat it. I listen to it live in the cradle and record when i am asleep when in doctors offices or appointments in side building i don't worry about a signal i listen to my old radio programs audio books are great. just go on line for the lineup and record what i want.when i am in bed asleep verry nice
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"Very inexpensive and very, very, good!" on by dps17881
Pros: Small, versatile, reliable.
Cons: Screen is small, requires dock to get XM
Summary: I got mine via an XM promotion and it was pratically free. While it does need to be attached to the base to receive XM, as other reviewers have pointed out, you can record tons of XM hours on it and them skip past the songs you don't like. Plus, my experience with "portable" XM radios is that trying to keep a constant signal is very frustrating. I got mine with a house cradle and a car set-up. I bought another home set-up for my office (that was rather cheap, too.
I recommend this highly. -
"Very, very happy with this item" on by rasmuss_in_pa
Pros: easy to use, inexpensive
Cons: Home antenna is a pain
Summary: My wife, who is decidedly not a technophile, told me she wanted to get me a satellite radio for Christmas. I chose XM because of Major League Baseball and immediately began shopping. I wanted something that could easily go from car to house and the Nexus 50 is very much that.
Now, you must carry the XM Passport along with it and you cannot listen to XM, say with your headphones on at the gym, but the Nexus's ability to record up to 50 hours of programming means you'll never miss that much.
I set the player up on my home dock and program it to record and hour or so from my favorite music channel and then an hour or so of sports talk. That way, when I get to the gym, I'm prepared for whatever mood I might be in.
The recorded content is broken up so that songs and actual content are separate from commercials. You can use the Napster software that comes with it to weed out the crap, or you can simply skip past it as you listen.
I also got a fantastic deal where the player ended up free when I bought it with the car kit (there was a rebate.) I also purchased a home kit right away, then later another home kit for my office. (I'm listening to like 8 -10 hours of XM a day!) Another neat feature that I found was each kit came with an identical looking remote. These proved to be identical in function, too. I could choose to carry just one, and also, if one gets lost, I have 2 spare!
If I have to point out a drawback, it's the home antenna. If it is not truly facing the southwest sky, the reception can be choppy. And it's weirder than that. I'll be listening to XM before sleep and I'll be getting an uninterrupted signal. Then I'll shut it off and hit the hay, having set it up to record something. When I listen to the recording, I find that the signal suddenly stopped halfway though. Now I know I could fix this easily if my bedroom had a window that faced the right way, but it sort of tricks you into thinking it's got enough signal.
I seriously recommend this for anyone who will use it clipped to their belt for exercise or whatever. It's very, very cool!
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