A Big Upgrade...

Let me start by saying I love XM Radio and would never consider switching to Sirius. Now, my old XM receiver in my car broke, and I was under warranty at Best Buy. After the guy assumed I had Sirius, I got the equivalent of my Delphi SkyFi2 (http://www.epinions.com/Delphi_SKYFi2_SA10126_XM_Radio_Receiver). The equivalent is the Xpress RC, a full color, multi-function car kit radio receiver that I couldn't really be happier with. The Xpress RC is also removable so when you are in certain areas or in broad daylight you can take it out and hide it in your center console. It might not be worth $1,000 but it looks expensive.

My SkyFi2 was very good but very basic. It was a blue backlit screen with black text. It got the job done but was obviously an early model (although the best of the early models). I assume the next generation of satellite radio displays will be touch-screen, and the Xpress RC seems to be one step below it.

DISPLAY
It is a full-color display that is mainly a black background but with white text, very easy to see even at night. Every channel has its own picture, as well. Nothing crazy, but for example XM Home Ice (204, the hockey channel) has a goalie in net. The country stations have either music notes, a big acoustic guitar, or a microphone. One of the love stations has a big heart. The uncensored comedy channel has 2 comedy masks (and no tragedy masks). Nothing special, but they are nice touches.

There are a bunch of different displays available, but I keep the regular one, which is the whole screen taken up by the song name/artist, with a lot of extra space and the channel name/number up top. You can change it to scrolling words, you can add a ticket on the bottom for sports scores and stock prices, or you can make it a "split screen." In split-screen mode, 65% of the screen is song title/artist, etc. The other 35% is a list of channels near the one you are on and the current song or artist they are playing.

It's a good touch, but I think it would make it too cluttered for me, and I would constantly be switching stations when a song I like pops up. Too much going on that way, personally.

FUNCTIONS
There are only 10 pre-sets available with the Xpress RC, as opposed to 30 with the SkyFi2. With both models, there are 10 buttons, but with the older one you could set each one 3 different times. Here, it's just once each. I have about 15 stations I would like to set, so 30 was too much, but I would rather have the option then have too little preset memory slots.

What I like here is the saving a song function. If a song comes on that I want to save, I hit FAVE then the receiver saves it in the first available slot. It saves 10 songs. Very nice feature.

There are also Next Song, Pause, and Previous Song functions. You can easily go back and forth between things you have listened to, and if you are in Replay mode, you can see a list of the last songs you have listened to and easily select one. However, fast forward and rewind are NOT options, so you can't go back only a minute in a song, you have to start at the beginning. It's not a problem with a song, but if I'm listening to the hockey channel or Opie & Anthony and I miss something, I don't want to go back 15 minutes to the start of the segment to hear one or two jokes. But, beggars shouldn't choose, right?

PRICE
This was $179.99 when I got it, although I had a warranty on my old set and thus got this for free. Even if I paid $179.99, I would be happy with it. This is one of the best looking, easiest to use receivers out there for XM.

Definitely get the warranty, though. Best Buy gave me a 4 year warranty, and even though I might have broken my old set myself (possibly actions I did caused it to no longer work), I got this one for free. I've had the Xpress RC for about 6 months now, and have had no problems, but who knows what's in store for me 3 years from now, you know? Better save then sorry.

There are also no extra charges on this receiver except monthly service. Very reasonable price for this system.

XM SERVICE
Let me just complain a minute about XM. I do enjoy it, I do. I love the hockey channel, I like the 7 or so country stations (while Sirius has 1 modern country, 2 bad country stations, and no hockey station). There is a good selection of rock music, O&A, and a complete weather service encompassing the latter channels.

However, the commercials are getting out of hand. Don't I pay $12.95 a month so I don't have to hear advertising? I switched from regular, free radio because 20 minutes of every hour on talk radio was commercials. Well, it's no different sometimes on XM.

A lot of stations have no commercials. Highway 16, the best country station, has none. Yet Nashville 13 has tons. The hockey channel goes on air for 15 minutes, then takes a break for 5 or 6, sometimes 7 or 8. The comedy channel has about 15 or 20 minutes of commercials every hour, also. I can see XM-related commercials - new products, advertising different channels - but when you are shilling for Geico and hair-regeneration products, it is out of control.

OVERALL
Overall, this is a very good receiver. I don't think it's the top of the line that XM offers, but for its price, the Xpress RC is fantastic. If you have an older receiever, you might want to wait a few months to see what else comes out, but if you are just signing up for XM, you might want to get the Xpress RC.