The SKYFi3 features a slim design with a large screen and intuitive button layout.
The SKYFi3 is more than just a facelift of the popular SKYFi2, it's a total redesign. Delphi retains all of the features that made the SKYFi2 a great all-around XM radio, as well as throwing in some new features to make the SKYFi3 more user-friendly.
The first thing you'll notice is the new look that features a huge, 2.8-inch screen, currently the largest of any plug-and-play or portable satellite radio on the market. The black and silver face has four large buttons on the front of the unit, along with a directional button for easy navigation. The top of the unit features a headphone jack and a MicroSD card slot, with volume controls and a button lock on the side. A USB connection and antenna and cradle jack are on the bottom of the SKYFi3. The whole package is slim and light, only slightly smaller than newer, full-size iPods.
I immediately liked the layout of the buttons, and controls were intuitive and easy to master. Menus are simple to find and navigate, and the big screen makes all options easy to read. In regular play mode, there's plenty of room on the screen for all artist, track, and channel info, along with a handy sports or stock ticker along the bottom.
The one-button record feature was nice, especially when in the car and scrolling through menus can get dangerous. It's easy to quickly build a large library of music from a variety of genres with satellite radio, and this makes the SKYFi3 a great music player even when it can't receive a live signal. If you travel on trains or subways, or just want a music player full of your favorite songs, this is a great feature.
The screen is very bright and easy to read when mounted in the home or car dock. There is no washout in direct sunlight, but the screen does fade when viewing off axis. Any more than 20 degrees or so, and it's just tough to read. This was a little bit of a problem in the car, where I used the included vent mount to get the SKYFi3 up high, just below my line of sight. I had to lean over a little to get a clear look at the screen. Were I mounting the car cradle in a more permanent location, it would be easy to compensate for this by angling the unit, but for a quick plug-and-play application, this could get annoying.
