Sirius S50

Summary: Let me first by saying I've read a lot of reviews both on CNET and other websites. I will give my unbiased opinion as I was not aware of this product and all the hype as many of the reviewers were.

The S50 has met my expectations of being a portal device which plays music I record from the radio. Yes, the RIAA have set some limitations but that’s to be expected in this new age of satellite radio. One of the restrictions being you cannot record a block of a music channel. I’m not concerned about this restriction as many of the reviews I’ve read are. The reason being is because I only record the songs that I like. Some of the songs on the radio I just don’t care for, therefore I choose not to record it. The longer you use this radio and record the songs you like the bigger your library. Eventually you wont care that you can’t record a block of music because you’ll have enough music to keep you happy anyway.

If you’re looking for a device to record specific songs you like when you hear it on the radio then this is the device for you. If you’re one of those people who like having 60gigs of memory to fit songs you wont even listen to, then you should stick to your ipod. It’s like those people who live in the city and have 400 horses in their engine but can’t use it cause they live in the city. Personally, I use this device at work and on plane rides so 4-6 hours of content and battery life is just enough for me. I really like being able to pick and choose which songs I want to record. It’s almost like downloading songs online and uploading them to your ipod without actually going through the hassle. I listen to a song, I like it, I click a button and can hear it later in its entirety.

One of the questions I had about this device before I bought it was, “Can I select to record a song in the middle of it and still expect the S50 to record the whole song?”. The answer is yes, the S50 design team thoughtfully took this into consideration. The S50 has a buffer which remembers the start of the song and will record the song in its entirety even though you select to record it after the song has been playing for awhile. I really like how the S50 starts and stops the recording at the beginning and end of the song.

The S50 unit itself is very light. To me it doesn’t seem like it was built flimsy. I tend to respect my electronic devices, especially at a $330 price tag. With regular use I cannot imagine breaking the device. However, I can see a teenager getting it for Xmas and breaking it through disrespect and abnormal use.

As with ANY new electronic device or software that is pushed out the market quickly, it have its little bugs. First off, when I try to record a song after switching to a new station it does not allow me to save a portion of the song. The S50 should let me just record a portion but it seems like a little glitch that was overlooked by the testers. Then again, I don’t know if I would really want to save a portion of a song anyways. Also, I left my device on the whole night to figure out how to record a talk radio station back to back to get around that 2 hour time limitation set by the RIAA. Howard Stern is more than two hours . Getting to the point, when I woke up the device froze and was unable to shut it down or reset it. Finally, I had to take the battery out and start it up. The news station did record however, so it probably froze afterwards. I haven’t been able to replicate the problem.

My recommendation is to buy the S50 from your local Circuit City or Best Buy and spend an extra $50 for the four year protection plan. The reason being is because I’m expecting this device to fail in the future either electronically or by normal wear and tear. You can return it easily and/or get a replacement with the defect corrected. I have a feeling this product was pushed out to the market a little early for the Christmas season. Much like the Xbox 360 and the IPOD Nano had their problems when it was first released. I know, it shouldn’t be like this but unfortunately the reality is it does happen. The extra $50 will buy you a new S50 when or if it fails in the next four years. Generally, Circuit City and Best Buy will honor their protection plans and will replace your S50 with a brand new one of a later model. I’ve done this with my Handspring “Palm pilot”. When Handspring was sold to Palm Pilot they just gave me a different brand of equal value more than two years later. When a newer, better, more reliable and bug free S50 comes out, I’ll probably find a way to break mine and trade it in for a brand new one. Thanks best buy!

I hope this review helped. Go Sirius!