Gizmodo: Starmate3

Sirius Starmate 5 Coming With XM Support?

Elaine Chow — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Sirius' update to its Starmate line, the Starmate 5, is currently in front of the FCC for testing, and it looks like it might have a little trick up its sleeve. The gadget includes the standard abilities to pause, rewind, and replay up to 44 minutes of live radio, a memo feature to store up to 30 favorite artists or songs and a wide-angle 5 line display, but it also might just have the ability to play XM radio stations as well.

Though the function to grab sweet sounds from its partner-to-be isn't listed in the Starmate 5's spec sheet, a memo between a testing firm and the FCC authorization staff hinted at Sirius XM interoperability. In a letter asking the testing firm to do another bandwidth test, the FCC said that it "used the satellite radio signal coming from either XM or Sirius."

If the hint means what we think it means, the Starmate 5 could be the first hybrid satellite radio receiver out on the market — kind of a bold move, considering the FCC isn't even thinking about voting on the merger until late May or early June. [Electronista]

SIRIUS Update: Pics, Info, More!

Travis Hudson — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 11:01:26 EDT

If you recall, last week SIRIUS had a super secret press event that, unfortunately, bloggers were not invited to. So I've been spending hours upon hours hunting down info about what went down. To begin with, the guys at Orbitcast have found some beloved high-resolution photos of a couple of the announced receivers. The Starmate4 is pictured above and the Sportster3 is pictured below it.

Other information has surfaced from this press event regarding the highly anticipated (for me, at least) Stiletto portable music players. We first heard details about the Stiletto 100 last week when some Crutchfield catalog scans hit the Interweb. The Stiletto 100 will be able to store up to 100 hours of audio, includes Wi-Fi and an antenna for live SIRIUS streaming. It will be available in September for $350.

The Stiletto 10 will store 10 hours of audio and is essentially the same as it's bustier brother except the lack of Wi-Fi and the cheaper ($250) price tag. The Stiletto 10 will be available in October. – Travis Hudson

Starmate4, Sportster3, Stiletto 100 & 10 Details [Orbitcast]

SIRIUS Drops 4 Receivers, Home System

Travis Hudson — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:57:09 EDT

In a press event today—that Gizmodo was not invited to, mind you, supposedly because some PR suits at SIRIUS don't like blogs—SIRIUS announced the addition of four new receivers to their already existing line. The have added the SIRIUS Starmate4, Starmate3, Sportster3 and Stratus. All of the players will use their new universal dock adapter.

In addition to the receiver SIRIUS also announced a new home system called the SIRIUS Conductor. Get more info on this and the receivers after the jump.

~~No pictures yet, but I'm working on it, so keep your pants up.~~

Edit: Extremely low res pictures have been found over at SSG. Hit the jump to see them.

The Starmate4 is a slim-design receiver with a large display. It is capable of replaying (or time-shifting) up to 44 minutes of content. It will be available this October for $120.

The Starmate3 is similar to the Starmate4, but it does not include the 44-minute replay/time-shifting ability. This player will retail for $100.

The Sportster3 is another slim-design receiver that includes a rotary turn knob and large buttons. It should be available in September for $120.

The Starmate4, Starmate3 and Sportster3 all also feature:
•SIRIUS GameZone , which lets users select favorite teams from each of the sports leagues, including NFL, NBA and NHL, and view scores on one screen
•SIRIUS Game Alert , which advises users when their favorite teams begin playing and when scores change
•One-touch Jump , which takes users to and from their local SIRIUS traffic and weather broadcast or any favorite SIRIUS music, sports or talk channel with the touch of a button
•MEMO with S-Seek Alert stores names of favorite artists, songs and programs, and alerts users when playing on any channel
•Program alert that allows users to program the radio to switch to a selected channel at a specific time
•30 channel presets
•Parental controls
•A built-in wireless 100 channel FM transmitter allowing SIRIUS to be heard through any FM radio
•Real-time satellite updated clock with seven time zones, auto shutdown and sleep timer

The Stratus is a lower-end receiver with an October release and a $60 price tag. It has 10 presets, three line display, FM transmitter, etc. Nothing to spectacular, pretty basic but includes the universal dock adapter.

Also announced today was the SIRIUS Conductor. This is a home system for SIRIUS listening. It includes a receiver, controller and the other basic accessories. The Conductor connects to an existing home stereo and is controlled by a wireless controller with range of 150 feet. This thing is still kind of confusing. So it is essentially a SIRIUS receiver that connects to your home stereo and is controlled with some kind of advanced controller? The confusement doesn't end there, either.

The SIRIUS Conductor supports up to two audio zones using the included radio plus an accessory SiriusConnect Home Kit, enabling listeners to play two different channels in different rooms at the same time. Separate subscriptions for this feature are required.

What the hell? I'll know more once I swangle some pictures, which I'm still working on, but stay turned.