The Spin Sirius is at a major crossroads right now, as it tries to seal its merger with XM—a merger which still awaits that all-important regulatory approval. Part of Sirius's rationale for why the merger should go forward is that there's plenty of competition nowadays from a myriad of sources—a satellite radio monopoly, the company argues, won't be harmful because consumers can also get their music fixes from online music vendors and portable devices. Sirius wouldn't mind a bit, however, if it had a healthy share of that portable market, which is currently dominated by thin rectangles that store files. The Stiletto 2 can do that, too—though the internal memory is piddling at 2GB—but the product's real hook is the Wi-Fi streaming of Sirius programs. There's also the nifty ability to store 100 hours of shows, a feature which makes the Stiletto 2 resemble an audiocentric DVR. Good stuff, though your mileage will vary according to how much you value Sirius's core properties—Stern, of course, but also the NFL and NASCAR.

Counterspin Aside from the lack of memory in which to store MP3s, the Stiletto's chief fault may be the fact that its radio capabilities are tethered to Wi-Fi. Isn't an appreciable amount of portable music listened to while on the go? So while you're roaming, if I understand things correctly, you're basically stuck with your stored music; it's not until you settle down in one place that you can listen to the satellite channels.UPDATE: My bad, I misread the specs. The 802.11g capabilities are only for when you're out of satellite range. Thanks to all the commenters who noted my goof. Pretty neat, but is that enough to convert non-subscribers? Especially seeing as how Sirius doesn't seem to be subsidizing the Stiletto 2 very much—just $30 off the MSRP, plus a month free if you sign up for a one-year subscription. That just doesn't seem like the kind of deal that's going to lure folks into giving portable satellite radio a try, now, does it?

Mission Accomplished? Sirius is right in one sense: the future of music may well be rental. The current 99-cents-per-song model is going to have problems once access to the celestial jukebox goes under $10 per month. What Sirius is offering is a step in that direction; the only problem is that with radio programming, you're still at the mercy of the DJs. On top of that, does Sirius have any plans to stream via 3G networks? That seems like a mammoth technical challenge, seeing as how we're only just now getting reliable web access for mobile users. But until Sirius can cut itself free from Wi-Fi,UPDATE: See above. Wi-Fi is backup only; my error. Apologies. In any event, Sirius is probably going to be preaching to the choir with the Stiletto—a choir that, more often than not, is going to have first encountered satellite radio as an automotive feature.

Hype-O-Meter 6 (out of 10). The Stiletto 2 is still too expensive and too light on internal memory to break big. But it's an interesting step in the right direction, toward the next generation in portable entertainment. My hope is that, at the very least, this will push Apple and Microsoft to move more quickly on perfecting mobile downloading of media. When I hear a song I like while out shopping for sneakers, by golly, I should be able to download that song right then and there—and I don't want a service provider telling me, "Sorry, we don't have that one." Someday...

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired, a columnist for Slate, and author of the forthcoming Now the Hell Will Start. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

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We've already given you a rundown of the specs, but probably the coolest new attribute is its MicroSD card slot. There's no limit (yet) as to the capacity you can use to amp up the onboard storage. The slot is stashed under the battery, because Sirius doesn't think you'll be passing those tiny memory cards around. Also new are 802.11g for Sirius' internet audio stream up to 128Kbps, and redesigned car and speaker docks, shown with details in the annotated gallery below.

* SIRIUS and more on the go: enjoy SIRIUS radio PLUS your own personal MP3 music library anywhere
* Radio Replays: automatically stores hours of fresh programming
* Schedule recording: record up to 100 hours of your favorite shows or programs
* Wi-Fi connectivity: listen to SIRIUS Internet Radio over almost any accessible Wi-Fi network
* One-touch recording: quickly store up to 10 hours of individual songs from SIRIUS
* Expandable memory: add micro SD memory to accommodate your MP3 music collection
* Bookmark songs: tag favorite songs to buy using a compatible online music service
* SIRIUS Replay™: pause, rewind and replay up to 60 minutes of live radio
* Easy navigation: surf channels or media files on the fly
* Advanced audio processing: improved bass and customized listening environments
* Personalized Sports Ticker: real-time updates of your favorite sports
* Sports Alert™: track your favorite sports team and race driver
* My SIRIUS Studio™: upload and manage your MP3/WMA files
* Parental controls: easily lock and unlock channels
* Custom performance: add accessories to maximize the experience
* Complete kit includes radio, earbuds, headset antenna, battery, AC power adapter, PC cable and My
SIRIUS Studio™ software

We are preparing for the launch of some new after-market products, including a new wearable product, Stiletto 2, and a new Sportster SP5. Stay tuned for more details on these exciting new products next month.

We now believe that Sirius has reached market share parity in the wearable category and we expect to be the leader with the introduction of the new Stiletto 2 this fall.

Seeing as there haven't been any announcements, featurewise or otherwise, on the Sirius Stiletto 2, Jim's mention of the player is probably an unintentional slip. We just hope that the second edition fixes all the horrible headphone requirements the first version had. [Orbitcast]