The XM Snap accessory has endured FCC testing and has now been officially revealed, no worse for wear. Sadly, it will not support Android devices but simply be an in-car satellite radio receiver that’s much easier to install than a head end unit. The device plugs into your vehicle’s power outlet and includes a stem that will hold up the control panel.

The panel includes a rotary knob for changing channels, some preset keys and arrows and a high-contrast display. The bundle also includes a magnetic mount antenna for attaching to your roof, hood or trunk, though it is wired. There’s also an auxiliary input cable for plugging into a vehicle’s aux-in jack.

XM’s XMp3 portable radio has been leaked along with one of its key features, thanks to a new Popular Science issue that accidentally revealed the device before showtime. The size has been reduced compared to the the Pioneer Inno and other previous handheld satellite radios, but the big news so far is that the XMp3 has the option of capturing five separate channels and downloading a song from each at the same time. The user could listen to a live event without missing broadcasts on other stations. Details are scarce, but we know it has a color display of unknown resolution and a dock. We’re guessing it also sports typical mp3 storage as well. No pricing info yet or launch date, but expect it by year’s end.

XM Satellite Radio wants to make sure it can get its product beamed into as many cars nationwide as possible. To that end it announced today the XM Direct 2, priced at around $130.

The XM Direct 2, developed by Audiovox, is a universal adapter solution for satellite radio compatible car stereos. This means it should work with more than 100 satellite ready car stereos on the market today from manufacturers such as Alpine, Clarion, Eclipse, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic, and Sony. The unit, which is programmable by retailers, lets one use the car stereo’s controls and display screen to interact with XM channels.

The XM Direct 2 kit “comes with a universal adapter kit, a car stereo connection cable and the XM Mini-Tuner, a portable subscription that can be used in the car or in compatible XM-Ready home stereo products and the Nexus XM2go portable radio.” …

XM has announced the release of the XpressRC satellite radio receiver as an upgrade to the XpressR we showed you in June expanding on some features, adding some features and now in color.

The XpressRC’s most notable feature has to be its display. Now in bright colors you can customize the display to show the information you’d like to see with the super-convenient option of splitting the screen. With the display split you can see on one side what’s currently playing and the other side lets you browse as many as 3 other stations to see what else is on without changing what you’re listening to.

The buffer time has been doubled now giving a 60 minute rolling timeframe of recorded playback letting you pause and go back to listen to a sporting event, song or anything else on the station. They’ve also added the …

With over 170 channels of satellite radio through XM it can be difficult to choose a favorite station to listen to, much less switch back and forth between stations to pick up your favorite song, program or sporting event. The new XpressR satellite radio receiver from XM comes with a few features that allow you to take more advantage of what’s on the other channels and helps you avoid missing out.

The most noticeable new feature of the XpressR is the multi-view of stations. The display can be changed to split down the middle. The left shows what’s currently being played and the right half shows 5 other stations of your choice. The display can be set to show the name of the channel, the current song or the artist so you can see (when your not driving of course) if there is …

Sirius Satellite Radio and rival XM Satellite Radio have announced a $13 billion all-stock merger of equals. Press releases on both companies’ Web sites confirm the merger.

The terms of the agreement state that XM shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 4.6 shares of SIRIUS common stock for each share of XM they own. XM and SIRIUS shareholders will each own approximately 50 percent of the new company.

The merger is expected to provide greater programming and content choices for subscribers as well as accelerated technological innovations. Subscribers will now have ready access to entertainers such as Oprah Winfrey and shock-jock Howard Stern.

The name newly merged company and the location of its headquarters has not been disclosed. Media executive Mel Karmazin, the current Sirius CEO, will lead the new company as CEO, while Gary Parsons, now chairman of XM, will …