New York – Sirius Satellite Radio launched its first transportable plug-and-play tuners with a universal docking connector that enables different tuners to dock with the same home, car or boombox docking station.
A quartet of new Sirius-branded Universal Plug and Play tuners, available in September and October, will be followed by tuners from other brands, giving consumers the flexibility to add more Sirius tuners to their household without replacing their existing docking stations or buying additional docking stations, the company said.
In another launch, Sirius unveiled the Conductor, a $149-suggested home tuner with included RF remote that displays song and channel names, artist names and other programming information from up to 150 feet away. The remote also controls up to six more audio and video components in a connected home entertainment system.
Subscribers can also use the remote to select two different channels for simultaneous playback in two different rooms if they use an optional SiriusConnect Home Kit accessory to connect a second Sirius tuner to a second home audio system.
Conductor consists of an integrated Sirius tuner/wireless transceiver with integrated display, IR blaster, weatherproof indoor/outdoor antenna and AC adapter. The remote lets users preset up to 30 of their favorite channels and search by programming category. It also contains parental controls and channel lock.
For its universal dock program, Sirius will roll out four models in September and October with included car docks, but the first universal home, car, and boombox docks will be available in August.
The tuners are the Starmate4, Starmate3, Sportster3 and Stratus. The recently released Sportster4 will also connect to the universal docks.
The Starmate4 is the slimmest of the new models and fits into smaller vehicles and tighter mounting locations while offering a large wide-screen display, which is capable of displaying longer artist names and song titles in five lines of text. The Starmate4 replays up to 44 minutes of content with pause, rewind and fast-forward functions. The Starmate4 package includes the tuner, vehicle power adapter, remote, vehicle antenna, vehicle dock, and vehicle mounts at a suggested $119.
The less expensive Starmate3 delivers the same features but lacks replay capability. It will retail for a suggested $99.99 with vehicle power adapter, remote, vehicle antenna, vehicle dock and vehicle mounts.
The Sportster3 features a slim design, rotary tuning knob and large buttons. The $119-suggested package includes tuner, power adapter, remote, antenna, dock and suction-cup mount.
All three models also feature GameZone, which lets users select favorite sports teams and view scores on one screen; Game Alert, which alerts users when a favorite team begins playing and when scores change; One-touch Jump, which takes users to and from a local traffic and weather broadcast to other favorite channels; and Memo with S-Seek Alert, which stores names of favorite artists, songs and programs and alerts users when those are playing on any channel.
Other features include 30 channel presets, parental controls, built-in 100-channel FM transmitter for playback through any FM radio; and real-time satellite updated clock with seven time zones, auto shutdown and sleep timer.
The Stratus will be the lowest priced universal tuner, at a suggested $59, including vehicle power adapter, magnetic antenna, and dash and vent mounts. It offers 10 presets, direct-entry tuning, a three line display, push-button controls, One-touch Jump, direct channel access, parental controls, a 100 channel built-in wireless FM transmitter and a real-time clock.
The Universal Plug & Play Home Kit SUPH1 at a suggested $49 consists of a home dock, windowsill antenna, audio cables, and AC power adapter. A separately available universal car kit, the SUPV1, is also due in August at a suggested $49. That package includes the vehicle dock, low profile car antenna, windshield and vent mount, and power adapter.
The AC/DC-powered Plug and Play Boombox SUBX1 features three- channel amplifier, aux input, headphone jack, battery operation, windowsill antenna, and AC power adapter at a suggested $99.
