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Cellular and Slacker Connectivity Question

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Ok, so my wife and I are planning to order in the near future (Model S 60), but we just realized that XM requires the high fidelity audio package and the pano roof. As neither of these options interested me in the first place, I'm not willing to shell out an extra $4K just for satellite radio.

How is Slacker as a replacement to XM? Does it cache music so that if you lose cellular connectivity it will continue to play? If so, how long does that last?

I've also seen that the car comes with 3G service for 4 years, but I've also seen a thread about an LTE upgrade. Is this now standard on new models or is it still a custom upgrade at a service center?

Thanks!
 
Although I think there is some caching that goes on with Slacker it seems to be just the current song. The sound quality of Slacker is better than XM. Less compression as I understand it. If you are not interested in the pano roof and the upgraded sound system I agree $4k is too much to pay if all you want is XM. Also, if you lose satellite signal you'll lose XM too.
 
I can, but if my phone loses service, I lose XM. I'm just concerned about having music on road trips where we go through areas without cell service. I was really hoping that there was significant caching on Slacker.

I don't think there's much caching on Slacker.

I know it's kludgy, but you can always use a handheld SXM receiver and a bluetooth transmitter. Another option is to load up your music collection on a USB drive, and use that in the cellular dead zones.

Or pay the $4k upgrade. :(
 
I thought I wouldn't miss Sirius/XM but I really did so I bought a Sirius/XM Stiletto 2 handheld receiver on Ebay with a lifetime subscription (since both can no longer be bought) shortly after I got my car 2.5 years ago. I also bought the car kit but with the aluminium/glass roof it became a challenge to mount the antenna. I have the pano roof and I ended up putting a screw in the roof rack holder slot that works great to hold the antenna. It only takes me a minute to set it up in the car and I only use it when I drive to my cabin and back - which is most weekends - or on other road trips. I also bought the house kit for it and I mounted an antenna outside my cabin. I'm listening to it now. It's one of the best purchases I have made.
 
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