An easy-to-read, six-line display tells you the channel name and number, category, artist name, song title, and time simultaneously. The receiver also lets you program up to 30 presets of your favorite streams, as well as search by stream, artist name, song title, or category. And with a quick press of the One-Touch Jump button, you can instantly switch between the traffic and weather reports for your city or any of the other music, news, or entertainment channels. Other programming details include an S-Seek function that stores your favorite artists and songs and alerts you when one is playing on any of the music channels, direct station tuning via the numeric buttons, and a channel lock option. Time functions, meanwhile, include an onscreen clock, alarm, and sleep timer, as well as a program alert that allows the unit to switch to a preprogrammed stream at a selected time.

The Sportster 4 really earns its stripes, however, with its variety of enhanced features designed specifically for sports lovers. The Game Alert feature prompts you when your favorite NFL or other sports teams are playing on Sirius. The Game Zone lists all of your favorite teams in one virtual category and lets you select a different team from each of the various sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and college sports. And what sports fan could do without the Sportster's instant replay function, which lets you pause, rewind, and replay 44 minutes of live radio? As soon as you tune to a channel, the receiver automatically begins storing the audio for later playback.

The Sportster 4 also includes a built-in FM transmitter that sends Sirius radio programming to your vehicle's FM tuner, so you don't have to make a direct connection to enjoy the full array of channels. Simply set an empty FM frequency on your radio and tune the Sportster 4 to the same frequency. This function also works with other FM tuners, such as the one on your home stereo, but is easily paired with the car thanks to the bundled vehicle kit, which includes everything you need for listening to Sirius while driving. Components include a vehicle docking station, a suction cup mount, a vent mount, a DC power supply that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter, a roof-mount antenna, and mounting hardware.

Sirius satellite radio is a subscription service that provides more than 120 channels of programming, from digital-quality music to news, talk, and sports. It is available only in the lower 48 states--not in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories. The Sportster 4, which measures 4.5 by 2.9 by 0.6 inches (W x H x D), is backed by a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
Sportster 4 satellite radio receiver, wireless remote control, lithium battery, vehicle docking station, roof-mount antenna, suction cup mount, vent mount, cigarette lighter power adapter, mounting hardware, installation guide, Sirius channel information card, user's manual.