0ur opinion:

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The sleek Sportster4 includes SlRlUS Replay, advanced sports features, a large, easy-to-read display, rotary tuning knob and moves easily between your car, home or boombox with universal docking capability.

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Get in the game with the plug-and-play Sirius Sportster 4 satellite radio receiver, which sports a new slim profile while still maintaining the same great features for which the Sportster series is known. Just like other Sirius-compatible receivers, the Sportster 4 offers a large, easy-to-read display, a rotary tuning knob, and accessible buttons, but now moves seamlessly into your car, home, or boombox. More significantly, the Sportster 4 maximizes the listening experience of Sirius radio's broad sports lineup, with the ability to decode the incoming Sirius digital-quality signal from more than 120 music, news, and sports channels. lt's also easily transportable, and thanks to the bundled car kit, lets you listen to your favorite satellite radio programs while driving.

An easy-to-read, six-line display tells you the channel name and number, category, artist name, song title, and time simultaneously. The receiver also lets you program up to 30 presets of your favorite streams, as well as search by stream, artist name, song title, or category. And with a quick press of the 0ne-Touch Jump button, you can instantly switch between the traffic and weather reports for your city or any of the other music, news, or entertainment channels. 0ther programming details include an S-Seek function that stores your favorite artists and songs and alerts you when one is playing on any of the music channels, direct station tuning via the numeric buttons, and a channel lock option. Time functions, meanwhile, include an onscreen clock, alarm, and sleep timer, as well as a program alert that allows the unit to switch to a preprogrammed stream at a selected time.

The Sportster 4 really earns its stripes, however, with its variety of enhanced features designed specifically for sports lovers. The Game Alert feature prompts you when your favorite NFL or other sports teams are playing on Sirius. The Game Zone lists all of your favorite teams in one virtual category and lets you select a different team from each of the various sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and college sports. And what sports fan could do without the Sportster's instant replay function, which lets you pause, rewind, and replay 44 minutes of live radio? As soon as you tune to a channel, the receiver automatically begins storing the audio for later playback.

The Sportster 4 also includes a built-in FM transmitter that sends Sirius radio programming to your vehicle's FM tuner, so you don't have to make a direct connection to enjoy the full array of channels. Simply set an empty FM frequency on your radio and tune the Sportster 4 to the same frequency. This function also works with other FM tuners, such as the one on your home stereo, but is easily paired with the car thanks to the bundled vehicle kit, which includes everything you need for listening to Sirius while driving. Components include a vehicle docking station, a suction cup mount, a vent mount, a DC power supply that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter, a roof-mount antenna, and mounting hardware.

Sirius satellite radio is a subscription service that provides more than 120 channels of programming, from digital-quality music to news, talk, and sports. lt is available only in the lower 48 states--not in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories. The Sportster 4, which measures 4.5 by 2.9 by 0.6 inches (W x H x D), is backed by a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
Sportster 4 satellite radio receiver, wireless remote control, lithium battery, vehicle docking station, roof-mount antenna, suction cup mount, vent mount, cigarette lighter power adapter, mounting hardware, installation guide, Sirius channel information card, user's manual.

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Buyer's feedback: - * I was a proud owner...for 2 hours ...
First, let me say I would have given this product 0 stars if I could.

Going against my better judgment and the other Amazon reviews of this product, I decided to purchase the Sportster 4. The first warning I should have just returned it? A big orange card in the packaging indicating "The aux in port on this device does not function. Ignore references to it in the documentation." Note that I also purchased this product with the home kit so that I could use it in my office.

The whole point of subscribing to satellite radio for me was so that I could listen to it while working in my home office. Normal radio is too cluttered with commercials and they play the same songs over and over again. I had a positive experience with XM in my Chevy Impala. Being curious to hear an uncensored Stern led me to look into Sirius.

I followed the installation manual, pointed the antenna as instructed (west, with an unobstructed view of the sky). I verified the antenna direction with a compass and Google Earth. This radio just did not work. All I got was static and the preview channel was choppy. Checking the signal strength showed that I was only getting two bars. And, that was the best I got. It continuously fell back to "Acquiring Signal." So, I decided to try their tech support. As other reviews have noted, this was a dead end.

The first time I contacted customer service, the rep said "Um, I'm not that familiar with connecting this device without using the FM transmitter." BTW, the FM transmitter sucks on this product. I was told where I bought it "The FCC filed a suit against both XM and Sirius and the both reduced the signal strength of their FM transmitters." Um, OK. This radio had to be directly ON TOP of the receiver in order to work. When I asked why I couldn't activate my radio on-online (another story altogether) and get the offered $5 discount, her response was "On-line activation is always hit or miss. Just tell them you tried to activate it on-line and they'll give you the $5 credit." Sigh. She then connected me to tech support, who promptly disconnected my call after 2 - 3 minutes of being on hold.

The second time I called customer service, I was connected with their overseas call center. They took my information and put in the tech support hold queue. Guess what happened? I was disconnected after 2 - 3 minutes of being on hold and listening to clearer music than I was getting in my Sportster 4.

That was the last straw. It went back in the box and back to the store.

After returning it, I decided to try the Samsung Nexus and XM service. The difference was night and day. Flawless installation, crystal clear reception, instant on-line activation. And... I couldn't tell you what their customer service is like. Why? I didn't have to call them. Everything just worked. I should have just stuck with XM from the beginning. It would have saved an afternoon of frustration.

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Buyer's feedback: - Do not buy this product until Sirius fixes major problems
Most people that have the older units can use the Fm transmitter so that you can listen to Sirius through any radio. The new ones have turned down the transmitting power so low that it will not even work in a car unless you buy an FM signal booster of some kind. I bought a new one and just thought it was faulty. I got it replaced only to find out Sirius has turned the fm signal down so low it won't even work in the car and does not even come with the fm out wire like my old one did. Unless you can settle for a direct hook up to just one radio in house or your car radio has an aux. hook up save your money

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Buyer's feedback: - * Horrible Radio ...
The FM modulator on this radio does not work at all. Save yourself the time and trouble and just buy something else. I can't stress enough how bad this radio is. I live out in the middle of no where and can't pick up more than 3 normal radio stations and the FM modulator still can't broadcast a clear signal.

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Buyer's feedback: - Broke in 2 months, hideous customer service
My first unit was stolen at a car service place. I upgraded to this new one and transferred the account.

The sportster had such low FM signal that it was worthless -- I had to use a tape converter.

The unit broke in two months. You have to go to the Warranty People. Nobody knows anything, and they need proof of purchase to get the SID if you have changed your radio before they will talk to you. Nevermind that they have activated that SID already. So I faxed this to them and they never called back, as they promised to do.

They charge you for the service while the unit is broken until you have proven your purchase, and say that you have to pay a termination fee to shut it off. Convenient.

And unbelievable. Read through all of the massive criticism in these reviews of their customer service and keep in mind that you will likely fall into this trap, too.

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Buyer's feedback: - * buyer beware ...
hi i purchased this unit for howard stern. its a great unit if you connect it direct to your radio,but i needed it for work so i used the fm transmiter feature. this has got to be the worst fm trans. i ever used. i live in new york, trying to get a strong signal is a chore and if you do there is extreme static avoid this unit.