Popular Science Honors Delphi XM SKYFi2 Satellite Radio and XM NavTraffic with 2004 Best of What's New Awards
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2004 -- Popular Science, the world's largest science and technology magazine, has selected the Delphi XM SKYFi2 satellite radio and the XM NavTraffic service to receive 2004 Best of What's New Awards.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/XMSATLOGO )
Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year -- breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners -- The Best of What's New -- are awarded inclusion in the much- anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely-read issue of the year since the birth of Best of What's New in 1987.
"Best of What's New is the ultimate Popular Science accolade, representing a year's worth of work evaluating thousands of products," said Editor Mark Jannot. "These awards honor innovations that not only impact the way we live today, but change the way we think about the future."
The Delphi XM SKYFi2 satellite radio, which is now available at retail stores across the country, was chosen by Popular Science for a Best of What's New Award in the Gadgets category. XM NavTraffic, powered by NAVTEQ Traffic, is the groundbreaking new service that provides current traffic information for vehicle navigation systems. It received honors in the Auto Tech category.
The SKYFi2 offers the first-ever "pause" and "replay" functions for satellite radio. The unit allows you to pause or replay up to 30 minutes of live programming on XM. The SKYFi2 continuously and automatically saves the last 30 minutes of programming, including programming from different XM channels. The product also has a stock ticker, sports scores ticker, built-in wireless FM modulator, and several other innovative features.
The SKYFi2 is available at retail for $129.99 MSRP. Home and vehicle adaptor kits for the SKYFi2 are available for $69.99 MSRP. Portable boom box units are available for $99.99 MSRP and $199.99 MSRP.
"We are thrilled that Popular Science has chosen the Delphi XM SKYFi2 for this prestigious award," said Dan Murphy, Senior Vice President of Product Marketing and Distribution, XM Satellite Radio. "The SKYFi2 is a major advancement in satellite radio. For the first time, you can replay a favorite song that you hear on XM, or you can pause the programming. You can choose your favorite sports teams and see the latest scores, and you can pick up to 20 stock quotes. It's a must-have for the holidays."
Just as the SKYFi2 is a major innovation in radio hardware, the new XM NavTraffic service represents an important breakthrough in traffic information. XM NavTraffic is the nation's first satellite traffic information service that enables a vehicle navigation system to display current traffic information for a driver's personal route. XM NavTraffic is powered by NAVTEQ Traffic, a new product by NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation systems.
XM NavTraffic displays information about traffic incidents, traffic speeds, and estimated travel times based on current road conditions. Traffic flow is displayed on the navigation screen with different colors: a green roadway indicates traffic moving 40 mph and above, a yellow route represents traffic moving at 20 to 40 mph, and red means traffic moving at less than 20 mph. Icons on the screen represent accident sites, road construction and street closures. This information is delivered to the navigation system by the XM satellites, which cover the U.S. from coast to coast. XM NavTraffic currently provides traffic data for 20 major metropolitan areas across the nation.
XM NavTraffic recently debuted as a standard feature of the 2005 Acura RL. It also will be available as an option in certain models of the 2005 Cadillac CTS. Last week, Pioneer unveiled the AVIC-N2 multi-function navigation system, the first aftermarket in-car navigation unit to offer XM NavTraffic.
"XM NavTraffic is an incredibly powerful tool that helps drivers avoid traffic," Murphy said. "It is the most comprehensive traffic information service ever offered to U.S. drivers. XM NavTraffic takes navigation to a whole new level, and we're very proud that the service has been selected for a Best of What's New Award."
Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world's largest science and technology magazine with a circulation of 1.45 million and 6.5 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what's new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Time4 Media, a subsidiary of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.
About Delphi
Delphi was the first company to integrate a radio into the dashboard in 1936, the first to bring satellite radio to the vehicle in 2001 and the first to bring a portable satellite radio boombox to the market in 2002. Delphi continues to expand its in-vehicle and consumer electronics technologies. Delphi has a broad portfolio of products to answer a wide variety of information and entertainment needs. For more information, visit http://www.delphi.com/media.
About XM Satellite Radio
XM is America's #1 satellite radio service with more than 2.5 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, D.C., New York City and Nashville, Tennessee at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM's 2004 lineup includes more than 130 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: 68 one-hundred-percent commercial-free music channels, featuring hip hop to opera, classical to country, bluegrass to blues; more than 40 channels of premier sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and 21 channels of the most advanced traffic and weather information for major metropolitan areas nationwide. For more information about XM, visit http://www.xmradio.com/.