The long-anticipated (at least by me) Sirius S50 Satellite Radio finally hit the shelves a week or so ago. It took some effort to locate an available unit in New York, but I finally found one at the Best Buy on 44th Street. The S50 is a combination satellite radio/mp3 player. It promised portability, with a catch. The mp3 player portion is indeed portable, but you need to attach it to a docking station (either car or home) to receive the satellite radio signal; this is where the mp3 player really comes in handy, because you can record Sirius programming and listen to it whenever, wherever you like. While this may seem like a big concession to make, XM Radio tried a fully portable satellite radio that was rife with problems, including the need to wear a hat with an antenna to pick up a signal. The technology just isn't there to achieve full, reliable portability.

In theory, the S50 offered some great features, such as the ability to set the unit to search for a specific song and record it to the mp3 player, and the option of setting the mp3 player to record four-hour blocks music from your favorite channel. Unfortunately, when I unpacked the S50 I found these options are no longer available. No formal reason was given for the changes; however the moves wreak of RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) meddling ... err involvement. When the options available on the S50 as a whole are examined, the RIAA's thumbprint sticks out like, well a sore thumb. For example, the user is allowed to save songs or shows onto the mp3 player, but cannot then transfer those files from the mp3 player to their computer. It is possible to download mp3 files from their computer, then upload to another computer, only Sirius content lacks portability.

While it's understandable that Sirius needs to placate the RIAA (Where would they be with no music to play?), what I find disturbing is that these rules seem to conflict with past deals the RIAA has made. Napster, the RIAA's most notable nemesis, now offers unlimited downloads, "50+ commercial-free, interactive radio stations," and at least limited portability (access to your account from 3 computers as well as the ability to download the files to your mp3 player.) What differentiates this from what Sirius is offering? It's not a cost issue; Napster runs $9.95 per month, Sirius $12.95. The RIAA is obviously on a piracy witch hunt (Take a look at the latest news section of the RIAA Web site if you don't believe me.), but we aren't talking about pirates here, we're talking about Sirius subscribers who are paying for content and being handcuffed in the way they can enjoy it. All that said, the S50 is still a great product, the first of its kind; it's just a shame that it's not all it could be. — Brian Ward