My hopes are to answer everyone's questions with this article, and to give some insight into the philosophy behind the new XM2go units. I also want this to be the single place you need to go to find out everything about this unit.  I truly feel this is a revolutionary device. The iPod is only as good as the content stored on it, and while I have respect for the iPod, it doesn't compare. The level of simplicity merged with the incredible amount of control, truly makes the Pioneer Inno a disruptive piece of technology.

But enough of this palaver, onto the features:

• Record and store up to 50 hours of music and XM programming when 100% of memory is allocated to XM content. I'll explain more on this shortly.
• Store and Mix individual XM Tracks with your own MP3s & WMA digital music files
• Create instant playlists (no PC required)
  Browse, purchase, get recommendations, and manage playlists with XM + Napster
  Includes home kit & earbuds

So what comes in the box?
Aside from the Pioneer Inno itself, you get a Home Docking Station, Home Antenna (which is smaller than the previous generation XM2go antenna), a set of in-ear Earbuds with various sizes of plugs, Carrying Case/Holster, a remote, AC Power Adapter, standard USB and RCA cables, a Travel Power Cable for charging away from the dock, a removable Battery and the XM+Napster software.

Form Factor
The first impression you get is how "solid" the Pioneer Inno feels when you hold the device. Compared to the previous XM2go units - which sort of felt "hollow" - you can tell that the engineers used up every bit of available space. Even with that said, it doesn't get hot after hours of use. I have the backlight on permanently and have been playing with it straight and it's only slightly warm to the touch. I don't know how they do it.

The actual feel of the unit is very comfortable as well. Not too big and not too small. Weight is comfortable at 4.5 ounces. The buttons are laid out very ergonomically - no more thumb cramps as you're trying to scroll through channels. Everything is handled through the XM Button and Arrow buttons. Those migrating over from previous XM2go units may need to reprogram themselves a little (volume is on the side now) - but those who are used to the iPod's click-wheel will be right at home.

When you plug the Inno into the Home Dock, or the Car Dock, the display automagically flips horizontally and the Arrow controls switch over as well. All very seamless and natural.

Anyone with a previous generation XM2go has accidentally shut off the unit with the power button on the side, now instead of it being a button, it's a switch that doesn't protrude out and takes a concentrated effort to manipulate. And of course, if you want to lock it down, there's a "Hold" switch.

Sound Quality
The next aspect to point out is the sound quality of the Earbuds that come with the Inno. These things have an incredible level of depth, especially for "stock" headphones. If you hated the MyFi headphones, you will not be disappointed with these. I do have to warn that these can get pretty loud, and since they're in-ear earbuds, they cancel out a lot of background noise - if you'll be listening in an area where you need to hear things around you, I'd opt for using the smaller ear inserts.

Signal Reception
Reception seems very much improved from the old XM2go units. I commute from NYC to New Haven, CT, and the number and length of dropouts what signficantly reduced. There were areas where my AirWare would dropout consistently (going over a drawbridge with no terrestrial signal and lots of interference overhead is a great example), and the Inno didn't drop out AT ALL. I was very impressed. Read more info on the Sarantel SkyTune antenna used with the Pioneer Inno and Samsung Helix. I'll do a more scientific comparison of reception strength shortly.

FM Modulator
As with most satellite radio receivers nowadays, the Pioneer Inno comes with a built-in FM Transmitter. One really nice thing about it though, is that you have 100-frequencies to choose from.

Recording and Managing Content
Recording is an extremely intuitive process now. There's absolutely no limit to the number of scheduled sessions you can record. Don't want to miss Artist Confidential or a concert coming up in a couple weeks? No problem. Just specify a date, time, and channel directly from the unit or, if you prefer, through the XM+Napster interface.
 

The "complex simplicity" really shines through here. The ability to take complicated tasks, and simplify them is truly an artform. Managing content is one of those types of tasks and XM pulls it off perfectly. All the managing abilities are completely contained within the unit - you don't ever need to connect to a computer to get the full use any features. If you want to record an entire channel, without limit, you simply select "record channel" and you're done. Simple as that. Each song is separated into an individual track, and you can go through an delete songs you don't like. You can also "lock" songs you want to protect so you ensure you can never overwrite them with a scheduled recording.

Tip: as a shortcut, you don't need to go through the menu system to start recording a song, just press and hold the XM button until you see "Recording..." and you're good to go.

Scrolling through your recorded content isn't a chore either. When you click and hold the Down-Arrow, the longer you hold it, the faster it scrolls down.  

Fast-Forward and Rewind
Ah, finally the XM2go lets you fast-forward and rewind within your stored content. Click and hold the Right-Arrow and it begins fast-forwarding, the same with the Left-Arrow to rewind - skipping along in 5-second intervals.

10-Minute Buffer (yes, 10 minutes)
Holy moly, I almost forgot to include this. If you're listening to a single channel, and you forget to record a song from the beginning - no worries. The Inno will capture the entire song up to 10 minutes after the song has started.

"Virtual Keypad"
You'll obviously note a lack of numeric buttons on the Inno, that's because everything is controlled by the XM button and the Arrow Buttons. But if you rather just enter in a channel number instead of scrolling around the place, just hit the Left-Arrow (think the "Back" button in your browser) and the "Virtual Keypad" pops up.

If you're in the car driving, no worries, the remote has a full numeric keypad already there.

Organizing it All
The Inno doesn't just let you record separate tracks. It also allows for separating of content into different Playlists within the device. Want to keep your Rock separate from your News? No problem. If that wasn't good enough, it lets you Search for tracks according to artist, category, channel, or recording session. All from within the device.

XM+Napster
This was an important aspect for me. While working soley within the device was completely natural, I was concerned that the interface with the computer wouldn't be. I was pleasantly surprised. I've always been a fan of iTunes and it's approach to managing MP3s (of which I have a fair number of) and XM+Napster is actually very similar. Very nice and important as iTunes has become the defacto standard for managing digital audio content.

After installing the XM+Napster Light software (XM+Napster Light is free and lets you completely manage your own and XM's content, no additional subscription is required), just plug-in the Inno through the USB port, and the device is instantly recognized. Through this, you can mix your own MP3 library with the XM Tracks recorded on the Inno. I had XM+Napster import in my existing library of MP3s (5,000+) - be warned, if you have a huge library, this may take some time.

One big plus about XM+Napster is that you can access XM Radio Online through the interface. I don't know whether it'll time-out like the web-based version though. Will update when I know more.

Viewing "All Tracks" shows all the content on the Inno, with icons to indicate whether it was recorded off the satellites, copied from your own library, or Bookmarked off the Inno and purchased through Napster. Copying songs to the Inno is simply done by dragging and dropping songs from your Library to the corner.

Bookmarking and purchasing songs is a piece of cake. You actually don't even need to "Bookmark" the song - just recording it on the Inno also allows the option to purchase it through Napster. Cost is $0.99 per song - again, no subscription to Napster To Go is required.

Aside from copying and sorting, the XM+Napster interface lets you control recording sessions on your Inno - just for those control freaks who would rather schedule things on their computer instead.

Is there any DRM?
Yes there is. All XM content is available to you, for an unlimited amount of time, as long as you're subscribed to XM. The Inno needs to connect to the XM Satellite Radio signal for at least 8 hours each month to verify that you are in fact a subscriber. This obviously is some RIAA mandated "feature" - but for most of us, we're not looking to drop our subscriptions anytime soon. :)

Obviously any content you buy from Napster is subject to Napster's own DRM scheme (which allows for three computers to have access to songs), and any content that's recorded off of the XM Satellite stream is contained within the Inno alone. You're free to delete and organize it, but I'm told it's "impossible" to hijack the content off the device.

There's one thing to I need to point out about the storage of your own content versus XM content though. The unit has two modes - the ability to dedicate 100% of the storage capability to XM recorded content, or the ability to partition a 50/50 storage. In a 50/50 partition, you get half of the units storage dedicated to your own content. Considering the level of control given for XM recorded content, this really isn't a bad thing. You can dedicate half of the device's storage to your absolute favorite songs that you always want to take with you, while the other half is downloaded from the birds. Switching from 100% to 50/50 will wipe all the content stored, so make the decision early or be prepared to lose your stuff if you change your mind. For testing purposes, I'm sticking with 50/50 right now, but as a more permanent solution I think I'll want to be at 100%.

Battery Life
No where in the documentation can I find an indication of battery life. So I'm going to have to come back and update this part once I know for sure. I can say that after 3 solid hours of playing with the Inno, I was at maybe 80% battery strength. Not too shabby at all, but not scientific as I've been plugging and unplugging the unit from the dock.

UPDATED: 5.5 hours live playback battery life and 15+ hours recorded playback battery life.

What Accessories are there?
I only got the chance to play with the Belkin Leather Folio Case and the Antenna Headphones. A funny thing about consumer electronics is that even after plunking down hard earned cash on a device, we all want to accessorize it. The Folio Case is pretty damn cool. It's very classy, made with real leather (smell included) and a slick magnetic fastener. All the buttons, including the volume/power buttons and the plug-in port on the sides, are fully accessable, while the screen is protected. The Carry Case that comes with the Inno is nice, and definitely does the trick, but the Folio Case just takes it to another level.

Then there's the Antenna Headphones. Oddly comfortable, though they don't look like it. The antenna is integrated into the top of them, so for those situations when you want to keep your Inno protected in your coat pocket, you're sure to get clean reception. They include a longer cord than the standard earbuds, with inline volume control as well. Nice. One weird thing to note: if you plug in the regular earbuds, they override the Antenna Headphones. You'd figure it'd be the opposite, but hey I found it interesting.

Is this an iPod Killer?
It's been nearly 5 years since the iPod was first introduced, and it has yet to be
"killed" yet. I really don't want to call this an iPod Killer, because it's like apples and oranges.

The Inno isn't about just listening to hoards and hoards of music like the iPod is. This is an evolution in audio engagement. This unit will be attractive to the novice who just wants to listen to "something," to the intermediate who has a small library of digital music but is sick of listening to the same content repeatedly, and finally to the digital music aficionado who wants absolute control. The key here is discovery. And the Inno is an enabler for this discovery.

Ok, I think that's everything I can think of for now. Any questions?