Portables fit in the palm of your hand, so they're easy to take along with you.

Portable satellite radios let you listen to satellite radio just about anywhere you go.

Portable satellite radios are very similar to standard portable music players — they're designed for music on the go. Portable satellite radios feature built-in antennas that receive the satellite signal, and come with rechargeable batteries. All you have to do is plug in headphones (a set of earphones is usually included in the package with the radio), and you can listen to and carry them around easily. Reception can be tricky sometimes, though. It can be blocked by surrounding buildings and tall trees, and sometimes even by your own body (depending on which way you're facing and how you're carrying it). You'll get the best reception outdoors, in the open.

Most portable satellite radios not only receive live satellite signal, they'll let you save up to 100 hours of content, depending on the model, which you can listen to anytime you want. They also let you store and play back your MP3 and WMA files. When you plug in the included headphones and use one of these as a portable — out of its car or home dock — you can listen to a mix of your music files and your recorded satellite radio content. Keep in mind that you can only use up to half the portable's memory for digital music files, and that MP3s and WMAs take up more memory than songs saved from satellite radio broadcasts. In a portable with a 50-hour memory, for example, if you split the memory evenly between digital music and satellite radio content, you'll get 25 hours of stored satellite radio, and 8-12 hours of digital music files.

Portables also work just like plug-and-play satellite radios. Most portables come with either the car kit or home kit you'll need to play the radio through your car and home stereos. Some include both kits. Best of all, you'll be able to use the radio as a portable, listen in your car, use it with your home stereo, and pay only one subscription fee.