Sirius Stiletto 100 live sat radio discovered

Between leaky catalogues and the FCC it's a wonder anyone's products are kept under wraps for long, but that obviously wasn't the case for Sirius's unfortunately named Stiletto 100, which went out with the usual Crutchfield catalogue before being officially announced. Besides having a you-know-what like clickwheel, the Stiletto appears to be their first live portable sat radio player, finally catching up to the tech XM introduced at CES earlier this year with the Inno and the Helix. It should have PlaysForSure support with 100 hours of storage for Sirius programming, and another 50 for the stuff you've downloaded; the device should also have WiFi, and apparently 4 hours live reception (and up to 22 hours recorded), and will go for $399 when Sirius officially acknowledges its existence. Psst, guys, cat's out of the bag, just go ahead and announce it, ok?

[Via OrbitCast, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[chris moran @ Aug 15th 2006 9:20AM]

4 hours live reception? does that mean that i can only use it portably for no longer than 4 hours thats gonna make it suck if it does. i wanna get one but for longer than 4 hours.

[LC @ Aug 15th 2006 9:47AM]

If the battery is user replaceble then I don't mind 4 hours live. I usually timeshift content on my S50 and on XM with my Inno, so the 22 hours is more than enough for me.

[Nick @ Aug 15th 2006 9:52AM]

Actually, XM has had a live satellite portable unit for over a year with the MyFi units before the Inno and Helix.

[Scott @ Aug 15th 2006 10:01AM]

Four hours of Live satellite reception, 14 hours via wifi, 22 hours of recorded playback. Four hours of live reception is good enough for me! The XM portables get approximately 5 hours, but they lack some of the great features of this one (not to mention the better content on Sirius).

[Cody Carpenter @ Aug 15th 2006 10:02AM]

Wow! They're only two years too late.

[Brian from Texas @ Aug 15th 2006 10:06AM]

Yep, four hours is going to be more than enough for me... I'm never outside for that long. ;) It's the 22 hours of recorded that I really like. I could download 4 days of, dare I say, Howard Stern. :) Yeah!

[bc_canada @ Jun 7th 2007 2:52PM]

can i use the stilleto outside with the ear bud headphones and not the antenna? Lanlgey BC Canada

[GaBoYnFla @ Mar 10th 2008 9:36PM]

Mine is intermittently recording my daily Stern shows....aggrivating?????

[Kurt @ Aug 15th 2006 10:11AM]

One of the features the XM unit lacks is crime deterrent. I like the bricklike characteristics of this unit it will make for some great throws.

I like the WiFi but I don't think it is useful for me for the same reason the XM unit isn't useful for me. No reception in KS without an antenna on my head.

[chris moran @ Aug 15th 2006 10:54AM]

the battery should last longer than four measly hours for reception especially for the people like me who dont have wifi or even cable for that matter. i listen to howard and howards show alone is more than 4 hours.

[pinchy @ Aug 15th 2006 11:14AM]

Can it prevent stuttering when calling in to my favorite talk shows??

[PEZ @ Aug 15th 2006 11:58AM]

Nice device, stupid commentary :-P

Otherwise, who knew? Everyone.

[josh @ Aug 15th 2006 2:32PM]

how often are you going to be away from a power cord and outdoors for more than 4 hours? because this thing will not work as a live satellite tuner unless you are outside or tethered to an antenna anyway... at least not in any area where i have been. satellite tuning doesnt work unless you have a clear view of the sky.

[Scott @ Aug 15th 2006 3:00PM]

Lol, not many are pay 399 to listen to Stern. Thats where all the subs come from, he has said it himself dozens of times. Those people look for the cheapest way to hear his revolutionary show. 400 bucks. Good luck.

[Leper Messiah @ Aug 15th 2006 3:34PM]

I do technical support for Sirius, and I signed this NDA when I started working 3 weeks ago, but I doubt theyll find this or even care if they did. We get lots of news working there, and I just read a few nights ago on the internal news database, basically just the sirius news page that cant be accessed outside of the building, employees of Sirius are being given or sold beta Stilletos to test out. I personally do activations, so the reason I needed to know this was just so I could document the few times when an employee would call in to activate a stilleto.

I dont really think this is very important news, but you guys have got an informant that can tell you all the news that the little pissants who work for sirius at just above minimum wage get to know but not the general public.

[Jon Himself @ Aug 15th 2006 4:05PM]

Not to really start any sort of Stern discussion on here or to sound like too much of a fanboy, but have the ratings (the ones that look at the income, job, etc) not shown that Stern has a high percentage of listeners who are wealthy and have jobs as doctors and lawyers? Sure there are many people in his audience who can't afford 400 for a receiver or there are others that have the money but have no use for a 400 receiver but is it not a little unfair to say that "those people look for the cheapest way"?

[LordJohnWhorfin @ Aug 15th 2006 5:12PM]

Rumor? You can already order the damn thing! http://www.sirius-radio-satellite.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3525

[Frankenstein Black @ Aug 15th 2006 6:47PM]

SWEEEEEEEEEEEET! WIFI STREAMING IS IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!
That means streaming via 802.xx when there is no SAT or Terrestrial Repeater signal. I MADE IT HAPPEN!!
http://portableaudio.engadget.com/2006/08/01/sirius-poised-to-release-stiletto-portable-receiver/
SO MEL PLEASE SEND MY CHECK TO PAYPAL (Ebay user tech-ninja). Thank you ;^)...

[Frankenstein Black @ Aug 15th 2006 7:04PM]

Oh, and one more thing. Hey XM, WELCOME TO YOUR DOOOOM! I will be able to listen portably any where in the world there is WiFi. Sniff, sniff :^(... Love it...

[XMFan @ Aug 15th 2006 7:40PM]

This is Garbage. You need to find a wifi Hotspot. Goodluck. Ever hear of repeaters? Xm has and thats the reason XM has the edge when it comes to portable. Doom for XM, unlikly. Alot of angry Sirius customers? Very likly. The Inno can get reception ANYWHERE. garbage radio for a Garbage company.

[XMFan @ Aug 15th 2006 7:43PM]

Hey, Xm has hadt he ability to listen anywhere for TWO years. Sniff Sniff. Good luck finding a reception without repeater coverage. Who's crying now. We all now how Wifi is. BLAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Check out the Pioneer , Thats right PIONEER INNO. Thats technology. Not some paper weight by Directed Electronics. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Jeff @ Aug 15th 2006 8:27PM]

"Yep, four hours is going to be more than enough for me... I'm never outside for that long. ;) It's the 22 hours of recorded that I really like. I could download 4 days of, dare I say, Howard Stern. :) Yeah!"

Ew, why would you want to download 4 days of that washed up lying hack? Go listen to O&A, you'll be happy you did.

[Frankenstein Black @ Aug 15th 2006 8:37PM]

Um, what? It uses 3 sources for content reception;
- Satellite
- Terestial Repeater antennas (yes, Sirius has those too).
- AND NOW WiFi (i.e. worldwide coverage where ever there is Wifi).
With this baby you wont be stuck with only having portable SAT radio in the US and Canada (and if XM thought of WiFi you know you would be all over it). DON’T HATE! Because I have WiFi at home and will be able to get my SAT Radio here and at the house in the Caribbean ;^)...

[John @ Aug 15th 2006 8:38PM]

The wifi thing is cute, but I believe subscribers to either platform (I've only tried it with XM) can use a laptop or even a pocket pc (with software) to listen to the streams via wifi, and have been able to do so for awhile.

At least it appears that they have finally built a live portable, I guess... unless they're being deceptive like they were with the S50 in making that one seem as if it was live too. If this thing only works on wifi, then they should be ashamed of themselves. But then again, they should be ashamed for Howard too.

[Stephen Carr @ Aug 16th 2006 7:08AM]

Inno & the Helix are better models.

[cecilia @ Aug 21st 2006 11:24AM]

LOL. I just love how the O and A fans even come here to rain on people's parade.

I love my Sirus - great content. The music as well as Stern. His show has never been better, and I've been listening since he first came to NY.

There's no reason to listen to terrestrial radio ever again (and I haven't since last december). Devices like the Stiletto are simply the beginning. More and better radios are on the way.

and, btw, I've never had a problem getting reception.

[Chas Pretzinger @ Aug 21st 2006 4:20PM]

Cody wrote: Wow! They're only two years too late" What could this possibly mean: Howard has only been on for 8 months.

[XM Hater @ Aug 27th 2006 12:52PM]

Inno and Helix are better?? XM Fan, obviously you don't own one..Poor kid!! Inno and Helix's battery is so short that it's useless, one day without charge the crappy Inno Helix is dead.. haha, it's like a portable device that can't leave the dock.. and YOU CALL THAT PORTABLE???

[hvacigar @ Aug 31st 2006 12:54PM]

For XM users that complain about the need for MyFi, I agree, Sirius should pony up more for repeaters, but at the same time, why knock the implementation of Wifi. Will your XM portable work in ...umm Moscow, Russia?? Yeah, didn't think so...with the WiFi built in, you can be anywhere in the world where you can find Wifi and get great radio programming.

[pockpie @ Sep 5th 2006 8:36AM]

XM is doomed because of their Management, not because of their units.

[tiny @ Sep 5th 2006 8:05PM]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN IT IS SUPPOSE TO COME OUT. AND IS IT GOING TO BE WORTH BUYING

[Evan @ Sep 6th 2006 4:24PM]

@ tiny

From what I've read, it's suppose to be released sometime this month. Is it worth buying? I personally think it's totally worth it, but opinions differ. It depends on what you need in a portable sat. radio.

[Steve @ Oct 2nd 2006 11:16PM]

I think allot of the players from both xm and sirius do the same things. Both of the xm live radios look the same and have the same features. Why do they need 2 players that do the same thing with the same amount of memory. Now the Stiletto has 2gb of memory, a big jump from the xm's 1gb. You can only store 25hrs of your own mp3s with the helix and the inno. Some one at the beging of this post sed the Stiletto can hold 100hrs of sirius programes plus 50hrs of your own mp3s. I think he misred the crutchfield mag.

[Rootless @ Sep 26th 2006 11:59AM]

Woohoo! It is officially released on 10-1-06. First off to all those gay O&A fans that are ripping... Don't be a hata cause you don't have any taste. With the WiFi ability, you can now listen to more then just the music stations online. You can get howard and most of the other talk stations using wifi. You don't have that on XM. Sirius also is now alowing you to listen online to these talk stations for an added $2.99 a month. They turned on the option yesturday and it coincides with the anouncement of the offical sales date of the Stilletto. XM, is now FM. A radio that was cool for a time and now its not even worth listening to. Sirius has better content and now have not only caught up to XM on equipment, they just took a huge LEAP Frog over it! hiii fred! (for all howard fans)

[Paul @ Oct 13th 2006 4:08PM]

Inno & Helix don't need WiFi as you can actually get a live signal with the antenna. Mine works better than FM even in the subway. Oh, and XM has been giving us free high-speed online service for about a year. FREE. Anywhere I'd be in a hot spot wanting to listen to satellite (such as work) I can listen on my laptop - for free. Or I could just use my Inno, it can get a live signal anywhere - my office has no windows but I have no problem pulling in a signal. The stiletto only gets 4 hours with the brick sized battery. Try only two lousy hours with the slim battery and the unit's still bigger than Inno.

[bc_canada @ Jun 7th 2007 2:55PM]

can i use a stiletto outside with the ear bud headphones for bike riding, without the antenna headphones?

[docsharp01 @ Mar 4th 2008 8:13PM]

Excellent article! Sirius satellite radio is the future of satellite radio communications.
http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com/Satellite-Radio.html

[Mike @ May 30th 2008 1:31PM]

I love this product, but i cannot get the Wi-Fi to work. Is there someone out there that can help me out. Sirius Customer Service department is useless in this matter. Someone PLEASE respond!!! [e-mail] Thanks