SIRIUS ST4-TK1 Starmate 4 Plug-and-Play Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Kit
By: Sirius Satellite Radio Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 37
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 On: 2008-11-05
The product arrived on time and brand new. The price was very good and it has operated very well as expected. I chose this specific model to match the docking in a few other cars so I was limited in what I wanted but I am very happy with it and its performance.
 On: 2008-10-29
After having my Sirius Starmate 2 for 2 years, I made the purchase of the Starmate 4 after I had the Starmate 2 stolen out of my car. The biggest improvement of the S4 was the docking station, which makes taking the receiver with you a snap, which was a drastic improvement over the Starmate 2, where you had to unplug/plug in the power and antenna cords, as well as fumble with locking/unlocking the receiver into place on its mounting bracket. I also liked the inclusion of the vent holders, although they could have made them a little sturdier. But since I usually use the remote, its not that big of an issue as Im not physically handling the receiver and can knock it around.
I have noticed that it takes longer for the receiver to establish a signal, although I dont know if the fact that I have it plugged into my aux port to create a better connection as opposed to the wireless option, which lets you get your signal over a radio frequency, as I had with the Starmate 2. As with the Starmate 2, the jump button on the remote/receiver seems to serve little to no effect, and would seem to have made more sense to turn that into a recall/last channel option.
At any rate, Im happy with the product overall. Ill never go back to listening to terrestrial radio again, thats for sure.
On: 2008-10-14
Nice radio for a decent price. It works well and I am very satisfied with it.
 On: 2008-10-07
We had major problems with our after-market radio. The installers tried a new radio that Sirius sent and a new antenna that they sent. Neither helped. My wife then called customer service and that was a huge mistake. She spent 2 hours being bounced around and hung up on. It was as if they didnt care about our business in any shape or form. Then they would say things like "I dont see any orders on your account so I cant help you." What does that even mean? They wanted to send another of the same model but we had already been through all that.
In the end it was easier to cancel the service and eat all the money wed put into it so far than to deal with them. Customer service/retention/tech support would not do anything for us. The radio service is great if it works, but if it doesnt, may the gods help you because Sirius wont.
On: 2008-10-01
This is a nice radio that works great. The FM transmitter is nonexistent so they should not advertise it at all. I had the starmate3 just 3 months ago and the FM transmitter worked fine (it was built and bought after they reduced the signal strength). It was stolen and could not find another one so i replaced it with this one. Mounted 12 inches away from the FM antenna in my truck it was nothing but static where the starmate3 transmitted just fine. Wanted to get the FM direct connect anyway so it was no big deal. As far as the rest of the radio i think it was well worth the money. I use it in a boom box also and it works flawlessly as well. Hooked up the FM direct connect and now no static and works great. I would buy this again for this price.
On: 2008-08-18
I love Sirius but Im not 100% happy with this product. The Starmate suffers from the same issues as all the newer Sirius products. They had to turn down the power of their FM transmitter to comply with FCC regulations. The problem is that now unless you have the Sirius unit connected to your radio; your radio will pick up interference from older units that pass you on the highway. The older units were so powerful that I could pick up the Sirius signal in my house from my car parked out side. The new units are not powerful. Sirius has tried to compensate for the weaker signal by providing an antenna that can be feed into your radio. The problem is this makes the unit permanent to your car. I switch cars a lot and so I dont have the unit mounted in my car. Unless the unit is on top of the radio it will not work. Plus when ever Im in traffic my unit is over powered by all the other satellite radios around me.
On: 2008-08-17
5 stars only if directly wired to car radio. make sure u buy a transmaiter for 50 dollars, and directly wire the sirius to the car radio, but unless you do this the sirus radio is absloutely worthless, and has more static coming out of than music.
On: 2008-07-12
I was initially discouraged by reports that the FM rebroadcaster on these satellite radios did not work, but I went ahead and bought the Starmate anyway. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked, contrary to other reviews the unit will overpower all but the clearest FM signals even without hooking up the rebroadcasting antenna.
I have encountered some areas where the satellite signal cannot be acquired; as my job requires me to drive all over New England, I assume that this is when a mountain is between me and the satellite. I have also noticed some static, but nothing like as bad as a radio.
I would recommend this product to anyone who is stuck driving a company vehicle with no CD player, it really makes the long trips bearable.
On: 2008-07-06
The Sirius Starmate 4 is loaded with features, and though I have some experience in installing auto electronics, was relatively easy to install myself, despite doing so on a big truck with its additional problems. It is easy to use, and sounds great!!
On: 2008-07-02
I have had this radio and associated service for a year now. I have docks in 3 cars, a cradle for my home stereo, and the boombox on my desk at work. I listen to it about 10 hours a day.
Pros:
presets! 30 of em! I cant fill them up, but that keeps me going back to the station directory and checking out new stuff.
Adjustable brightness on the display. Used to keep it at full brightness (default from factory) but that was too bright at night. Dimmed it down and its fine now.
ease of use. Sure a dial would be nice, but navigating by button isnt bad and you can surf categories as well as move up and down a channel at a time.
Good sound quality - with a direct connection. Audiophiles have dissagreed on this, but I have it in a 95 convertible where CD quality sound would be unnoticed due to noise from wind and loose car parts. Headphones on the boombox sound just fine to me, and I can crank the home stereo and it still sounds good to me.
Durability. It has neatly withstood a year of daily switching between multiple docks and the plugs are not worn or loose. A carry case to protect it in my bag would be a nice accessory though.
Song Alerts. Always nice to be able to catch my favorite songs/artists no matter what channel they are on.
Cons:
Build quality. Some of the buttons are quirky. The "Down" button initially didnt work at all, but later kicked in and has been intermittent since.
FM transmitter. Useless. Shouldnt even include it as a "feature". In the cars I use tape adaptors in two and a direct AUX connection in the third and sound is great.
Now that I have had it for a while, I can say I am happy to have this unit and the service.
On: 2008-04-13
I had the original starmate, worked great except the plug wore out. It Then I bought this Starmate 4. It doesnt transmit. The new improved, "joke" antenna wire is set next to my car antenna & it still works poorly. Im bringing it back. Dont know what to try next?
On: 2008-04-12
Ive had Sirius Radio for almost a full year now. It took a couple weeks to grow on me, I prefer it over terestrial radio for the most part, but I still have some issues with it.
Pros:
1. Less commercials, always good.
2. Lots of music and talk options. Theres even comedy stations.
3. BBC News; no frills, straight news
4. "Left of Center" and similar channels can help introduce you to music you may not have found otherwise.
5. No more losing a good station as youre travelling!
6. The "Radio Classics" station!
Cons:
1. Despite having less, the comemrcials are pretty stupid.
2. While good if you like basketball, football, or baseball, Sirius sucks for Hockey fans.
3. Theres a lot of weather stations by city, but you have to memorize the station, or scroll for a long time to find yours.
4. If youre in a big city with lots of radio, youll find yourself having to keep selecting a different frequency... sometimes youre always plaqued with interference.
5. While there is a lot of great talk, theres no local talk which is considerabley more interactive and accesable to the audience (well, in Pittsburgh at least).
6. I find myself staring at the screen trying to find out who, or what, Im listening to... might eb hazardous to your driving. I recomend buying the windsheild suction mounter.
7. Some of the music stations are no different than regular radio (i.e. repitious, only plays the hits, etc.)
I do love the Sirius, especially for longer drives. I really hope the merger goes through... Id be irraet if it didnt. In the meantime, Im glad to have Sirius, cons and all.
 On: 2008-01-23
Though this Sirius receivers hype seems to assure the convenience of the car installation, its a more "serious" issue than one is led to believe from the promotional hype. When I ordered it, I assumed that it had an internal satellite antenna (as my Garmin boat and car GPSes have), and that the fm wireless transit to the car radio does not require wires. WRONG.
The satellite antenna must be magnetically attached outside the car, and a wire run through the car to the "dock." Moreover, wireless transmit to the FM car radio requires another major piece of wire to be stuck to windows near your car radios antenna, then run back through the car to the docking unit.
It is true that the docking unit attaches easily to either a vent or to the windshield, but the vent installation (which Im using) sticks way out and gets in the way of the radios own controls (on the drivers center vent in a Camry, so that its visible to the passenger). I had to mount the satellite antenna on the front edge of the trunk, and run the wire up to the dash from there. But the Camrys car antenna is a mesh at the top-center of the windshield, and my efforts to "stick" a long FM Transit broadcast antenna (a wire with sticky points and a tail to be led off and around the windshield and back to the dock on the vent) did not work, either for aesthetics or performance. So I gave up and and using the classic cassette-loaded connection into the car radio.
Dont get me wrong. With one wire running to the cigarette lighter, and another coming-in from the satellite antenna mounted on the trunk, and another wire running up to the adapter that plugs into the radios cassette slot, the performance is great -- just as promised. Its just that now I have a docking device sticking a few inches out from the dashboard vent, with three wires leading in and out, and (because the wireless FM transmit is unacceptable (both performance-wise and beause I dont like a long wire stuck across my windshield, where my radion antenna is) I have to do the casette adapter "thing" to get good, reliable sound.
Because it is winter here in Buffalo, and therefore "cold" I havent yet spent time to try to run wires in an acceptable fashion.
At $60 or $70 plus Sirius service, you get what you pay for, I guess. But I naively presumed that all I would need is a 12v dc outlet. Like my Garmin Nuvi GPS in my car, and my Garmin GPS Map 76CSX for my boat, both of which depend on satellites, but need only 12v or battery power.
I bought the Sirius really for my boat. I dont drive enough to make the monthly service worthwhile. So the real test will come in the Spring when I try to substitute the magnetic attachment for the satellite antenna for stretching the antenna out belowdecks. (My boat is fiberglass, not metal. The "Home package" for the Sirius wont work because boats, like cars, spin around. Whatever my issues with the car intallation of this Sirius, if it works out well on my boat next spring performance-wise, then I will be happy beacause the programming is good.
As an aside, I do like the Blues channel, but would very, very much appreciate a "folk" channel, with 50s, 60s, and early 70s folk and crossover folk.
Michael
Buffalo, NY
On: 2008-01-19
I bought 2 of these for Christmas presents. Installed 1 day before Christmas. It was very easy. Then I tried the other on Christmas Day and it took 2 days from all the traffic. It must have been a popular present this year. One would work with out supplied antenna, the other would not. I guess it depends on the vehicle. Vent mount is not the greatest. It would be better with a few more overpaid engineers trying to put in their car.
On: 2008-01-02
DISREPSECTFUL AND DECEPTIVE -- I purchased a Sirius Radio for my husband for Christmas. The company offered a promotional package that included the radio and a $50 gift card to be used towards the monthly subscription cost. When my husband called to activate the radio the sales Rep immediately began to sell us $400 subscription packages, quote exorbitant activation fees ($50). I was appalled that the entire gift card was going to the activation!! There was absolutely no mention of the fee when I purchased. When my husband began to question the charges, the supervisor was consulted and suddenly the fee disappeard. I am sure that if we had not protested we would have been charged..... Then after he decided on a subscription plan, additional enhancements were suddenly suggested to get "optimal service". The Rep basically suggested that the basic service was inadequate and we would have to pay additional charges (above and beyond the quoted subscription rates) to really enjoy the radio. That was the last straw and my husband decided to cancel everything. He felt very taken advantage of and the victim of a Rep that did not know what she was talking about. The process took about 45 minutes and we hung up with the intention to return everything.
Here is the kicker! Because the Sirius Rep asked us to scratch the $50 gift card during the activation process, it is now void.... When I called to see if we could get the full amount refunded, since it was due to their very poor customer service, incompetence and deceptive practices, that we canceled, the customer service supervisor gave me attitude. He even agreed that the $50 was never used and was sitting in our account. However it was our fault...... When I asked for his name so that I could write a letter of protest to management he told me it was pointless and that I could not "bend the company to my will" simply because I was upset. I told him that maybe everyone up the chain would deny my request, but that I had a right as a consumer to complain if I wanted to. He refused to give me his name, as my case did not "warrant" divulging personal information. I was insulted by his direspectful and condescending tone. He did even see fit appologize for our initial negative experience with the company...
Bottome line -- I think this company is deceptive and disrespectful. I am stuck with a $50 gift card I can never use and a terrible opinion of this company. I feel that in each instance our complaints should have been dealt with professionally and with respect. Please think twice before doing business with a company who treats their customers this was
On: 2007-12-31
The radio is great, set it to the lowest setting on your radio it works much better than what customer service will tell you.
On: 2007-12-17
Theres a lot of value for the dollar with this one. At times it gets staticy, but not being the purist, connectivity is what I most desire. Recommend.
On: 2007-12-14
This radio is great, however the remote doesnt work and Sirius customer support is terrible!!! When the radio was brand new and the remote was removed from the box and the battery installed, the remote did not work properly. The red indicator light stayed on constantly and the remote would not turn the radio on and off. When I called Sirius customer support they told me I would have to buy a new remote. Wait a minute! I just did that! Then they transferred me to warranty and they told me I would have to return the entire system for a replacement. Wait a minute! I just paid $100 to have it installed! With customer support like this, if I were you Id buy XM radio! Radio gets a 5-star, but Sirius customer support/warranty doesnt even deserve a 1-star!
On: 2007-12-13
This radio is great, however the remote doesnt work and Sirius customer support is terrible!!! When the radio was brand new and the remote was removed from the box and the battery installed, the remote did not work properly. The red indicator light stayed on constantly and the remote would not turn the radio on and off. When I called Sirius customer support they told me I would have to buy a new remote. Wait a minute! I just did that! Then they transferred me to warranty and they told me I would have to return the entire system for a replacement. Wait a minute! I just paid $100 to have it installed! With customer support like this, if I were you Id buy XM radio! Radio gets a 5-star, but Sirius customer support/warranty doesnt even deserve a 1-star!
On: 2007-12-06
This receiver constantly has static noise coming through. If the music is loud enough, it is not a problem. Sometimes I can hear talking / music in the background as it is picking up radio stations. It does this in the car and on our home set up. Also, the preset buttons started going out immediately after we got it. The 6 button doesnt work at all, and the 5 is starting to act up.
K
On: 2007-12-01
Alright so I decided to finally upgrade to the starmate 4 from the stratus. Im happy with it. It does have some cool features like the pause, rewind, ffw abilities. As well as the memo feature so you know when your favorite song or band is on. Also, I love having more presets and more display information. The remote is nice but can prove to be more of a hassle since its IR meaning it takes a sec to work and its easy to mess up all your presets on accident. Overall the radio is great. Now the bad. The reason I knocked it a star is because it sold as a kit is a joke. In order to make it work you have to have a direct connection. I got a fm direct connector and it works great. Needed some antenna adapters to make it all work perfect though. Thank goodness I had the car cradle that came with the stratus. Im not a fan of the suction cup or ac vent options. However the one I had happens to work great with it. Anyways thats my take on it. Overall I love it but sirius needs to rethink what their including with it. It would make the perfect product if they included what you actually need. Especially considering the fm transmitter isnt allowed by the FCC to be powerful enough without the direct connector.
On: 2007-11-30
Alright so I decided to finally upgrade to the starmate 4 from the stratus. Im happy with it. It does have some cool features like the pause, rewind, ffw abilities. As well as the memo feature so you know when your favorite song or band is on. Also, I love having more presets and more display information. The remote is nice but can prove to be more of a hassle since its IR meaning it takes a sec to work and its easy to mess up all your presets on accident. Overall the radio is great. Now the bad. The reason I knocked it a star is because it sold as a kit is a joke. In order to make it work you have to have a direct connection. I got a fm direct connector and it works great. Needed some antenna adapters to make it all work perfect though. Thank goodness I had the car cradle that came with the stratus. Im not a fan of the suction cup or ac vent options. However the one I had happens to work great with it. Anyways thats my take on it. Overall I love it but sirius needs to rethink what their including with it. It would make the perfect product if they included what you actually need. Especially considering the fm transmitter isnt allowed by the FCC to be powerful enough without the direct connector.
 On: 2007-11-01
I bought the Starmate 4 to repalce an older, larger unit. I had heard that the FM transmitter on the newer Starmates and Sportsters were useless (and that turned out to be true), but that didnt really matter to me because I hook it up directly to my car stereo via an aux input. However, I noticed right away after setup that the fidelity from the Starmate 4 wasnt as good-- it sounded tinny and lacking in bass. Thinking it was just my imagination, I then compared the sound from the Starmate 4, alternating with my cars FM radio and CD player, and then with my older Sirius unit-- and the Starmate 4 sounded lousy compared to all of them. Almost like an old transistor radio in comparison. Dont know about the new Sportster 4, so I am going back to an original Sportser or Replay, which on second thought isnt a whole lot bulkier.
On: 2007-10-23
Excellent product and an easy install. Installed it in my wifes car and now both of us fight over who is gonna drive her car. The ironic thing is that I have a factory installed satelite radio in my truck but we like the Starmate so much more. You wont be disappointed.
On: 2007-10-01
I like the music -- when it comes in.
If you live in an area with good reception, good for you! If you dont, youre pretty much out of luck.
Ive spent hours trying to find a place, any place, where I dont get frequent dropouts. The reception is intermittent. Ill find a place with a good signal, drill the holes and put up the antennae and an hour or so later, it starts dropping out again.
I wont be drilling any more holes! Ill just move the antennae around inside the house and listen whenever it comes in. Too bad there was no try before you buy. I wouldnt have bought it.
On: 2007-09-06
easy to assemble, works great and has lots of nice features including 30 preset channels and a remote control!
On: 2007-08-11
Had for a few months and I havent had any complaints! I have it directly hooked up to my car stereo though so I dont know how good the FM transmitter is. Wold definitely tell my friends to buy this! I listen to Howard Stern so its nice to be able to pause it when I get a cell phone call and dont have to miss anything.
On: 2007-08-08
I dont drive a car, but this radio, combined with the Sirius Boom Box is an excellent combination for listeners of satellite radio
On: 2007-08-07
Sirius is a good service and the receiver works well in most weather conditions. The store where it was purcahsed was prompt and accirate with shipping. Would defintely buy the receiver and it from them again.
On: 2007-08-06
Sirius is a good service and the receiver works well in most weather conditions. The store where it was purcahsed was prompt and accirate with shipping. Would defintely buy the receiver and it from them again.
On: 2007-07-23
I took the plunge and got the Starmate 4 right after Christmas. Radio in my area is real bad with old music and too many commercials. Immediately, I was pleased with the music selection and features of the Starmate. I dont really listen to Howard much but the sports selection is great. NFL, NBA, NHL, soccer...you name it. The only thing they dont have in MLB.
You can store artists and their songs to indicate when they play again. Also, the 45 minute memory allows you to pause or rewind which is real handy. Installation was easy (took about an hour) and I was able to hide the wires under various panels in the car to make it look good.I opted for the vent mounts because Im not a big fan of suction cups and wires hanging from my windshield and its pretty much out of the way. The remote control that came with it is a little small but real handy.
The only drawback is the FM transmitter. When visiting big cities we spent more time finding a clear channel than listing to music so we opted for the aux. input cord ($5.00 at walmart in their auto section) and now it works great. No static.
The best feature is the Internet option. Its free with the subscription and I can listen to the music, Howard, and news stations at work. A minor drawback is that the sports (NFL, NHL, NBA, etc) games are not available online.
We liked it so much we bought another Starmate and put one in my wifes car in July. You can get discount subscriptions (up to 4 units I believe) on one account so my wifes radio is half the subscription price.
Overall, if youre looking for an alternative to local radio or CDs then I recommend the Sirius Starmate. My wife and I have been extremely happy with our purchase.
On: 2007-07-15
HAD A GREAT TIME WITH THIS ON MY VACATION, EVERYONE, DAUGHTER, SON IN-LAW, AND GRANDSON, ALL HAVE THEIR FAVORITE ARTIST AND MUSIC, I HAD NO IDEA THE VARIETY OF MUSIC OVER THE YEARS THAT I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO MISS. SO I HAD TO GIVE THEM REAL MUSIC, SENATRA, ELVIS, AND OLD TIME STORIES, THEY WERE IN AWE AND IM SURE IMPRESSED. THANK YOU SIRIUS FOR YOUR VARIETY AND WONDERFUL MEMORIES,FROM THIS TRIP. I ALL SO LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING TRIPS TO THE STORE NOW. 40 MILES TO NEAREST.
On: 2007-07-15
Before I had this one I had the Original Sportster. The reception was great and I rarely lost signal. Because it was bigger it was easier to take off the cradle.
My radio was stolen from the car so I ran out and got the Starmate thinking it would take up less space. Once I hooked it up I realized it took just about the same and if I chose to hang it off the A/C vents the hooks were so long that it would just look too far out. You have to use a little bit of force to remove the unit of the cradle (I dont want it stolen again) which normally ends up moving the mount off place. The suction cup however is very strong.
The Starmate seems to have worse wireless FM as I get almost no signal into my cars factory radio. I went to a local professional to have the FM antenna cable routed outside and next to my car antenna to see if that improved things but no luck. By the way, I had to figure out that cable was an FM antenna because strangely enough it wasnt in any of the diagrams or the list of parts included in the box. I just ordered the FM Direct Adapter from Amazon which is how I ended up here. Hopefully that will improve things.
One final complaint I have is that I miss the classic tuner knob. I thought buttons would be cooler but they are so hard to push that I end up moving the mount off place.
On: 2007-05-25
Installation was easy, activation was amazingly fast! Great product. Particularly in rural areas where radio reception is sketchy, or almost nonexistant, this satellite radio is a must have!
On: 2007-05-17
Great radio. I saved over $40 buying it here instead at one of the big box stores. If you buy this product and dont have a direct connection to your car radio, I suggest that you get the Sirius FM antenna switch as well. You will be very happy with this radio.
On: 2007-05-13
I purchased this as an upgrade from my Starmate 3 receiver. UGH! I am really disapointed in the unit. Its good for home use, where it can be connected to a stereo, and have not FM reception problems.
But, the FM reception is TERRIBLE in my cars...I agree 100% with the other person who talked about direct connection option, as I think thats the only way to get clear reception from this unit. Sirius added an extra FM Modulator to the unit, to try to improve the reception, but in my opinion, its useless!
I LOVED my Starmate 3, and now, I only wish I still had that unit. I had heard from Sirius customer service people that they had to lower the frequency strength in the new Starmate 4 and new units to meed FCC regulations... what a shame, as it makes listening to the radio a drag sometimes....
Bottom line, the unit is Okay, but I only can hope the Starmate 5 will be a better unit than the 4....
On: 2007-05-09
The unit has a good design and price. The first one I got would go for about an hour before overheating and freezing up. I sent it back to Amazon, got a new one that works perfectly.
On: 2007-05-08
The unit has a good design and price. The first one I got would go for about an hour before overheating and freezing up. I sent it back to Amazon, got a new one that works perfectly.
On: 2007-02-02
Sleek new design, replay ability, better display, IMPROVED UNIVERSAL CRADLE DESIGN ... Im very happy with this one.
Clearly the one-star review is some disgruntled XM stockholder who is just looking to mock Howard Stern and Sirius. I dont know about the CD-quality music claims, but if the signal is full of static, the installer did something wrong. Not sure how that can be blamed on this model.
In response to the other reviewer - the cradle design is MUCH improved over previous models. Why would you want the input jacks on the BOTTOM of the cradle so they are hanging out and visible??? Having them mounted behind allows people using the dock to mount it correctly and HIDE THE WIRES. If you want to hillbilly rig your setup with stickum, velcro and superglue, maybe you sould invest in a cassette player and not satellite radio. I will admit that the suction cup is not a great method - although plenty of people use it and like it. I bought an aftermarket mount that allows me to swivel the receiver, but thankfully the wires are mounted out of site. Hanging down would be ridiculous. FYI, this is the STARMATE version not the SPORTSTER. They are different model lines and they are not the same, hence the differences. If you wanted a Sportster, why didnt you buy one. No point in buying the Starmate and complaining that it isnt the Sportster.
Too bad I can not upload a picture, but I installed my docking cradle and it looks great - wires hidden from view and not hanging down - that was a complaint a lot of people had in the past.
To sum up ... my wife has had this device for about a month now (since Christmas) and she loves it. Just like TiVo, it is hard to understand how you lived without it. The improved display and replay abilities really push this over the top.
On: 2006-12-30
Are you kidding me? Nothing but static! Sirius claims to have CD quality??? I get better sound from regular FM stations. I had to return the Starmate 4 after becoming completed aggravated with all of the static and interference from the wireless connection. If you dont "direct connect" the Starmate 4, you are wasting your time. I am amazed that Sirius is even selling these inferior products. I was on hold with Sirius for 32 minutes today, trying to cancel my subscription. I was told that I wasnt the only one doing so.
On: 2006-10-15
Overall, the Starmate 4 is OK, but it has some significant design flaws that some thoughtful engineering could have easily fixed. I wish I had bought the Sportster 4. First, unlike the Sportster 4, this model does NOT incorporate the Auxillary Input feature for plugging in your MP3 player or other audio devices. Many of the online merchants advertise this, but it is not present on the Starmate 4 car dock. The addition of the Starmate 4 dock increases the size of the Starmate, which is thinner than previous models, but is now functionally larger in size because of the addition of the dock. A major design flaw (in my opinion) is that the antenna, power and auxillary output from the car dock are located on the back of the unit, rather than the bottom or sides. So, although the unit is physically thinner than previous models, by the time you install it, it is functionally thicker than previous models. In short, the footprint of the new Starmate is larger than previous models when you factor in the docking cradle and the location of the antenna, power, and audio connections. Since I bought this unit for a smaller footprint than the Sportster 4, I am dissappointed. I had hoped to install it flush with my dashboard by attaching velcro to the back of the unit similar to the way you could with the Starmate Replay.
The positive is that it DOES have a docking cradle which makes it much easier to move from the car to the home. If you dont need to move the unit around, then the Starmate 4 does not have any functionality that doesnt exist in the Starmate Replay. The addition on an auxillary input jack similar to the Sportster 4 would have offered a significant upgrade. If the designers for the next generation of radios are listening, Id suggest spending time thinking about how people actually have to install these devices. Place the connectors on the bottom or sides of the docking cradle or provide a method of giving the user options. My 2006 Prius does not have any smooth surfaces for using the suction cup except for the windshield which slopes too much to allow conveninet installation. Likewise the air conditioning vents dont work well in my vehicle for installation. Frankly, Im sorry I spent the extra money for this unit. But, if you want a unit that can be moved easily from car to home, this is a good option. For flexibility, the Sportster 4 might be a better option since it does supply additional functionality for the same price.
Update: Oddly enough, I just looked at a Sportster 4 in a COSTCO that did not appear to have the auxillary jack for MP3 players. The SPORTSTER 4 at Amazon clearly has the jack in the photo online. Not certain if all Car kits have the option.
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