Satellite Radio...anyone know anything...I don't

Don't know if this is the right forum to ask, but I'm looking to give satellite radio for a gift this Christmas and was hoping someone could shed some light. I'm not looking for anything special, just a very basic receiver that can be plugged into both a car and a home stereo. It's not for anyone with an interest in technical things, so ease of use is the biggest factor. I can set the thing up however needed, but once its set up, it needs to be really straightforward. Not too concerned about sound quality issues, just a bare bones, functional thing that's easy to use. Not sure whether to go XM or Sirius, so suggestions or arguments for either would be welcome.

Thanks.

Well I'm not sure how to get an easy setup into a home system, but I have used sirius a fair amount. I have used the sirius one, Sportster replay, Starmate Replay, and the Streamer GT. I have been impressed by pretty much all of them, but i had serious problems with the Sirius one. It just stopped working one day, and Sirius would not replace it or even cancel the subscription.

Check out the Sirius Connect it might help
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/Conten...=1156176852099

Check out both Sirius and XM websites and choose based on programming content. If you're trying to keep the hardware installation as transparent/simple as possible for the end-user, I'd have the unit installed professionally. Also, a lot of oem and aftermarket receivers have been 'satellite ready' for quite a while now. You might take a look at the car this is going in and see if it is. If so, you might only have to have a module installed that uses the existing hardware. If you're lucky, the hardware might already be there which will mean you'll only need to activate it and start the subscription. If the person this is for spends a lot of time in the car, this will be a good present. Virtually no commercials, nfl games, deep cut radio, lots of talk shows, etc. I've had Sirius for over a year and while I'm not completely comfortable with the idea of paying for radio, I'm a satisfied customer.

Nope...no existing hardware...old car and old stereo to hook it up to.

I'm handy enough with hook up. I just want it to be easy for my wife to use. And, yes, she spends a lot of time in the car.

Basically, she needs to be able to plug it into a dock either at home or in the car and work the thing from there. Do they usually come with a remote? She'll have to change the input on the pre-amp, but I should only have to walk her through pressing one button maybe 6-8 times, and she'll be fine. Once the gadget's hooked in, she needs to be able to work the thing with a minimum of fuss is the real consideration...and cheaply is my consideration...and she's not really much of a stickler about sound quality, so there's the why's for the criteria.

Content she's been studying for a while and finding them a toss up...Underground Garage and looked good on sirius, but she hates that they grouped the punk with hard rock and rap on a channel. XM had a couple she liked and a couple not as well. So, really without getting to hear one of the other for a while, I doubt she's gonna have a content preference either way.