Sirius S50 to Store Broadcasts, Needs Dock

Sirius Satellite Radio has announced the tiny S50 portable player which, with a separate dock, can store radio broadcasts as files which can be transferred to PCs or CDs.

Satellite radio provider Sirius today announced its forthcoming portable S50 player which measures just 1.9 by 3.9 inches by 0.7 inches thick (49 by 99 by 18 mm) and which can store up to 50 hours of Sirius content (or a mix of Sirius shows and MP3/WMA files). Although Sirius is billing the S50 as its “first wearable satellite radio,” the portable S50 unit isn’t a satellite radio at all: it’s just a playback device. To receive and capture Sirius satellite radio programming, the S50 needs to be connected to a home, car, or “executive” docking station.

The SIRIUS S50 is expected to ship in October with a retail price of $359.99. The basic package will include a 6-hour rechargeable battery, earbuds, USB cable, an AC adapter, and a car dock with an adhesive mount, cigarette lighter power adapter, remote control, antenna, DC input and line-level output. Sirius will also sell a separate $100 home dock (with remote, antenna, USB and audio cables, and a power supply) for the S50 which will connect to separate speakers and a PC while allowing computer-based sounds to pass through.

The SIRIUS S50 categorizes content as:

• My SIRIUS Channels includes content automatically gathered and refreshed from the user’s three most-listened-to Sirius channels
• My SIRIUS Songs where users can store favorite songs or (confusingly) non-musical programming with one button-press
• Scheduled Record, where users can set up one-time or recurring recordings of favorite shows
• My Playlists where users can store MP3 or WMA content from their Windows-based PCs.

The S50 home and car docks feature channel presets, a text-based sports ticker, a rotary “Sirius Media Dial” to select, pause, fast-forward and rewind content, and voice-assisted feedback speaking channel names allows users to make selections without taking their eyes off their screens (or the road).

At $360