This article is part of a series called “What to Buy This Christmas” and you can find parts One and Two here. This series of articles goes over this season’s biggest items and their competitors. Helping you, the reader, make informed purchase decisions this holiday season.

You only have a few shopping days left before Christmas so I suggest you get yourself to the store and pick out that perfect gift for that special someone. If you have a music fan on your list, there is probably no better gift for them than satellite radio. While I realize that some folks find it a bit absurd to pay for radio, just remember these same people probably have cable or satellite television.

Satellite radio currently comes in two distinct flavors and while similar in nature are two different products. The two major satellite radio companies in America at this time are XM and Sirius. While both of them will bring you hundreds of channels of commercial free, uncensored music they have two very different sports packages and overall music selection.

Let’s look at XM first. The XM satellite radio network is currently the largest satellite radio network in the nation. It has the larger subscriber base and some good talent. Home to the Opie and Anthony radio show the talk side of XM has a lot going for it. Where I think XM is lacking is on the hardware side. The XM hardware is dated and only supports 16 on screen character displays (as opposed to Sirius’ 32 characters). XM also lacks a slick portable device for live radio on the go. But how does XM spec up on the music side? Well, if you like artists but do not want to hear the hits all the time, then XM is your best bet. XM has a reputation for playing more of the lesser known tracks by your favorite artists. That can be a good thing if you are sick of the typical hit driven radio that you are probably used to.

There are two sides to every coin and on the reverse side of the satellite radio coin is Sirius. Sirius satellite radio offers similar specifications to that of its competitor XM. Boasting 100% commercial free music channels, 3 comedy channels, and two Howard Stern channels, Sirius is making a serious (pun unintended) play for market share. Sirius music channels are more hit based then XM, but that does not mean that the lesser tracks do not make their occasional appearance.

When it comes to radio, you can not go without sports coverage. The sports coverage on both networks is similar but there are a couple of differences. Both offer some level of college sports coverage as well as NHL coverage. Where you will find the distinct difference is Sirius has the NFL, NBA, and starting in 2007 Nascar exclusively. While XM has Major League Baseball, PGA Golf, and even Indy Car coverage. If sports are your thing, I would go to each company’s website and review the sports offerings further.

Both services offer online only subscriptions that allow you to stream several of the channels over the internet. Both XM and Sirius also offer 3 day online trials so that you can see what it’s like before you purchase a subscription for that music lover.

So which one did I go with? Well for about 2 years now I have had Sirius radio and I can not live without it. I will personally never go back to listening to regular radio again. I picked Sirius because I was able to listen to both services frequently (thank God for friends) before making a final decision and Sirius just had more of the stuff I want to hear. But do not take my word for it, try both services out, find the one the works best for you. No matter which one you pick though, the person you give it to is going to be so glad you did.

[Technorati Tag: Technology]
[Technorati Tag: Satellite Radio]
[Technorati Tag: Christmas]