The Delphi MyFi fun continues, with Steve explaining how the portable satellite radio integrates with your vehicle: a set of connectors and a nest of wires. The unit draws power from your cigarette lighter and the magnetic antenna is meant to stick to the roof, though in the interests of not strangling your passengers with that cable, Steve notes that in urban areas the reception's fine if the antenna stays on the dashboard.
After all that, you'll still need to get the sound out of the MyFi. In theory, the built-in FM transmitter can move the music to an empty channel and on out through your car's sound system, but as Angela points out, that's a poor bet. Steve ended up adding yet another wire to the nest--this one to a dummy cassette that popped into his (older) car's deck.
Angela grouses that even when that system's up and running, there are still a few odd glitches left with which to contend. Songs saved to the MyFi can't be organized, only viewed in the order in which they originally played; you also can't reverse or fast-forward within a song. Steve discovered a truly annoying problem: The unit cuts the first few notes of each song and tacks them to the end of the preceding song. Want to hear an entire song? You're on the hook for two. (And unlike with TiVo, if you hear something you like and want to record it on the fly, the unit can't "go back in time" and pick up the first part.)
Steve points out one last problem: That FM transmitter, to be used in your car, only shuts off when you've got the headphones in. FM's a major problem for planes' navigation systems, and Steve glumly imagines major mayhem in the air if someone's headphones pop out. That said, the Duo find the concept promising and the unit likable--as long as you're not what Steve calls a "record person."
SAVE/DELETE
Steve: SAVE
Angela: SAVE
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