Sirius XM Rolls Out New MiRGE Radio

Newly combined Sirius XM satellite radio has rolled out the not-so-cleverly named MiRGE, its first interoperable radio combining Sirius and XM service.

Sole U.S. satellite radio operator Sirius XM has announced its first radio that can operate on both the Sirius and XM services, the new MiRGE. With the MiRGE, subscribers will be able to receive content from both the Sirius and XM services…bearing in mind, of course, the services have been consolidating their holdings and channels since the merger of independent operators Sirius and XM.

"MiRGE is the first interoperable radio designed to receive 100 percent of Sirius’ and XM’s dynamic programming and is a major advancement in satellite radio technology," said Sirius XM’s president of operations and sales, Jim Meyer, in a statement. "Sirius XM Radio delivers more value than ever—enabling subscribers to hear everything available without the need to buy multiple radios and pay two monthly subscriptions."

The MiRGE radio switches between XM and Sirius service with one touch, and displays station and programming information on a large, customizable color screen. Users can pause, rewind, and replay up to 60 minutes of live programming and save up to ten channel presets for quick access. Users can also choose to lock and unlock channels using parental controls.

Sirius XM will offer the MiRGE for a suggested price of $249.99 in early spring 2009. Sirius XM will also offer a "Sirius Everything plus XM Everything" subscription package for $19.99 a month, which represents "a savings" on the cost of subscribing to both XM and Sirius services separately—typical satellite radio packages run about $13 a month, with plans from one provider and the "best of" the other typically running about $17 a month.