Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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694 of 704 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great product!, November 30, 2004
I've had my MyFi for a week now and I must say that it has exceeded my expectations. I do live in an urban area where reception is great (DC) but I find that I rarely use the live programming when on the run and just rely on my recorded content.
First what's great about the MyFi:
1) I'm new to satellite radio and was very impressed with the variety of music available. I've discovered lots of artists that while I had my Ipod I never knew existed. Add to that the great live events, talk radio, and other content.
2) XM2Go works flawlessly. But for the limitations (below) it works flawlessly. Pop your MyFi in the cradle at night and in the morning you have 5+ hours of content. Note, the box says 5 hours but in reality if you record any of the more compressed channels (talk etc.) you will end up being able to record more than 5 hours! I believe when I record music channels I actually get closer to 6 hours of recorded content. Once you have your content you can easily scroll from song to song. Skip the ones you don't like. Replay the ones you do.
3) It is truly portable. I go from pocket (headphones), to car (FM transmitter), to home cradle (line-in to the stereo) without ever interrupting listening.
4) It comes with everything you need, including a remote control so you can easily switch channels as your MyFi sits in its cradle across the room (you can't say that about the Ipod). Further, what it comes with is great quality. I love the swivel car cradle - not only do you not have to worry about plugging wires into the MyFi everytime you bring it into the car (they are plugged into the cradle), it makes reading the display a breeze for both the driver and the passenger (just swivel it between the two).
5) Replaceable battery. Unlike the Ipod the MyFi, like a cell phone, has a swappable battery. That means you can (eventually) either buy a replacement when the battery starts to lose strengh without conducting the surgery necessary on the Ipod (this is huge given the amount of use these devices get and the liklihood that batteries will only hold their full capacity charge for 6-12 months) or just have one handy to extend your listening time.
6) It's solid state. Unlike the Ipod you don't have to worry about a hard drive to go bad (like mine did in 8 months!)
7) Recording isn't limited to scheduled records. You can always nab a song here or there by just hitting the XM2Go button.
8) It feels solid in your hand. Yeah, it's bigger and heavier than an Ipod (think thick PDA, or perhaps the Dell MP3 player) but it's designed to fit in your hand well and works well for both left (me) and right handed people.
Now the things you should be aware of (though, knowing them I still would buy one):
1) Don't expect non-stop reception when you are roaming around. Even in metro areas you might drop a signal when you aren't using the home or car kits. I imagine it is difficult at best in non-urban areas to maintain a line of sight with the sats. Just expect that you will need to make use of the recorded content in those situations.
2) Don't expect the sound quality of a high-bitrate MP3 on the Ipod. I suspect that this has everything to do with the nature of Sat radio and nothing to do with the MyFi hardware, but, the quality is not the same. Although I would rate it great, you do notice that you are getting a compressed stream.
3) Don't expect to be able to control your content. Unless you save a recording session for days you won't likely get the same songs day to day (the playlists on XM are vast, rarely are there repeats) (notable exception is if you record the top 20 channel). That's a good thing if you like variety - that's a bad thing if you like the comfort of always having your favorite tunes handy.
4) The AV cable is a bit short (nothing an extension cord couldn't fix).
5) I would like to see a more sophisticated recording scheduler. Currently you can only schedule 2 record sessions and it limits you to recording within the next 24 hours (unless you schedule a daily recording session). With all of the great XM content it would have been nice to be able to set up a recording session several days into the future.
6) I would like to be able to lock or protect songs or even whole sessions from being recorded over by new recording sessions. Currently, the way it works is just a simple first in first out method. Fortunately, it is smart enough to merely delete a portion of an overwritten section as opposed to the whole section.
7) It doesn't buffer like a TiVo/ReplayTV. It would be nice to pause and/or rewind live content.
8) Fianlly, I would love a computer interface so that that XM can distribute updated software to fix some of the above issues.
This product is great.
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81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great radio, still some kinks to work out, January 14, 2005
First let me say that I have only had the MyFi since Christmas (yes, my wife was one of
the people who actually got one). I waited until now to write a review so that I could
get a good feel for the product. Some other reviewers on this page have laid out some of
my pluses and minuses, so I may be reaffirming their comments. First, the great-
1) The programming. XM has tons of stations. I listen to a wide variety of music, and I
was able to fill up the 30 available presets rather quickly. One form of music I
particularily like is techno/trance, and there are 3 channels that play some form of it.
Also, there are 3 comedy channels, and on 2 of them they run segments of stand-up
routines from pretty much any comic out there. Very funny. Also, I paid extra for "High
Voltage", which is the "Opie and Anthony" show. In my opinion, well worth the money.
Plus, XM has all MLB teams, Big Ten Football, and many other extras. I love the
programming.
2) The actual MyFi package itself is wonderful. It comes with 2 holders - one for the
car, one for the home - which you can plug the antenna, power source, and audio connector
into so that all you have to do to switch from car to home is pull the MyFi out of one
holder and drop it into another. Very easy, very smart. Plus, you get 3 different
mounting options for your car, headphones, a personal antenna for when you are using it
like a walkman, RCA cable for connection to a home stereo, tape adapter for the car,
cigarette lighter adapter, home power adapter, and various cases and clips, plus a remote control. I was
honestly amazed at how much comes with this package.
3) Ease of use. It took me all of about 10 minutes to figure out how to work the menus
and different options on the unit. It is extremely easy to set presets, change displays,
change channels, etc.
4) Recording. This is a truly innovative feature. I have a digital video recorder, and
this works pretty much the same way. You can set up recording schedules, or you can
record whatever you are listening to just by hitting the record button. Very cool.
Also, you can record up to 5 hours of programming, so if you are indoors (where satellite
does not work without external antennas) you can listen to the recording. For me, it is
great because I can record the whole "Opie and Anthony" show and listen to it whenever I
have some free time.
5) This is a small plus, but in this world of huge problems to get anything done, the
activation is very simple. You can log onto XM's website, enter your radio code, cough
up some dough, and within about an hour maximum your radio will be active. It took mine
about 7 minutes to be activated (much like a cell phone).
Now, for some of the not-so-great features
1) First, I have to complain about the audio quality. As another reviewer said, you can
tell it is compressed. Hopefully the XM people are working to resolve this issue, but it
is sort of frustrating. I have a very high quality Onkyo THX certified receiver, and I
can pick up very subtle audio imperfections. I would say the quality is somewhere
between a tape and a CD. Sometimes it almost seems like it is "wavering". The sound
will be amazing for 1/2 a song, and then it will be like a tape for 1/2 the song. I
suspect this has nothing to do with the MyFi itself, but has everything to do with the
stream coming from the satellite. Also, using a tape adapter for the car is pretty
frustrating. I am thinking about having mine hardwired, because using the tape adapter
ensures that the best sound quality you get will be, well, tape.
2) The headphones. What a joke. These could possibly be the worst headphones ever
unleashed on humanity. They suck. The sound quality is a joke, and they are the
in-the-ear style, but they actually cause pain having them in your ears. It is an insult
that they send out this wonderful product with such abominations for headphones. Mine
have already found the garbage.
3) The recording needs a buffering system, as another reviewer said. It would be nice
if it started recording as soon as you tuned into a station, like a DVR, but... I guess
we can't have everything.
4) I am also reaffirming another reviewer's comments, but XM or Delphi or whoever needs
to make the MyFi able to connect to a computer. I find it amazing that in this day and
age we can have such a sophisticated piece of electronics released without the ability to
connect for updates and such. Maybe it is coming.
Lastly, there is the issue of reception. I did not include this in the great or
not-so-great categories because it is neither. I live in a suburb of Cleveland, and I
have had very little reception problems. However, since the stream is coming from a
satellite, I do not think that where you live has anything to do with reception. I think
that some of the reception issues raised in some reviews may be user error, as opposed to
the radio not working. XM is pretty clear about where to put antennas, and if you follow
those guidelines, you should have no problems. Now, that is not to say that the
guidelines aren't kinda dumb. They want you to put the home antenna in a south facing
window with no obstructions to the sky. My stereo is about 45-50 feet from any south
facing window, and the cable on the antenna is only about 25 ft. However, XM is happy to
provide and extension (for a ton of money I assume). I put my antenna in an east facing
window with a house obstructing the sky, and I have had no reception problems, so take
that for what it's worth. In the car, the antenna cable is more than long enough to run
from the front of my Tahoe to the back, out the liftgate, onto the roof, and still have
about 3 extra feet. There is basically no car the antenna can't fit in. It is magnetic,
and it stays put. Reception while traveling around was great about 95% of the time.
However, just like my GPS, when you are in an area that is obstructed by trees or other
objects, the reception fades. It is somewhat annoying that the people in charge of
coming up with this technology couldn't figure out a way for satellites to beam signals
through things. This has always irritated me with my GPS. Maybe in the future.
I realize this is a long review, but I hope it helped. Overall, I wouldn't trade this
for any regular radio. I love it, and I believe the technology and
sound quality can only get better, and it is pretty good right now.
2/10/05 - Update - Well, I have now had the MyFi for about a month and a half now and I have read some of the VERY negative reviews here, and I feel the need to comment.
First - Reception: I have had virtually no problems at all. I have used the MyFi in my car, my home, and as a "walkman". The only time I have had reception issues are when I am in my car and there is very heavy cover blocking the sky. I have used the MyFi almost everyday walking around Cleveland State University and I have never even had one single fade-out. I have even been able to go deep into buildings before the signal fades. Now, according to XM and Delphi, the unit will not work when a roof is over your head, but I have proven that very untrue. I have been able to listen to to the MyFi uninterrupted in a classroom with no windows. This may be a fluke, but take it for what it's worth.
Second - Audio - I mentioned this in the original review, and there have been many negative reviews about the audio quality. I have noticed, just within the past 2 weeks or so, that the quality has gotten much better. The "wavering" that I talked about is still present, but it is now only there about 25% of the time. I have been very impressed with the sound quality as of late. One reviewer said that talk shows sound like the people are talking into cans attached to a string, and I noticed this as well with "Opie and Anthony". However, both Opie and Anthony have been complaining about this problem, and the problem is coming from the studio that they broadcast from. They routinely complain about this during their program, and I have noticed a better sound lately on their program as well, most likely because O & A had a meeting with the XM engineers.
Overall, I would now give this unit 5 stars, whereas I gave it 4 before because of the audio quality. I do not have any complaints at all. Maybe I am unique in my experience, but I just don't get what any of the negative reviewers are complaining about.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I love this thing, October 17, 2005
It would have been 5 stars except the personal antenna is awful. I bought a different personal antenna from the XM Fan Store and it works great.
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