MUMBAI: Last week was a week of big announcements in consumer electronics and the big news in satellite radio was Sirius XM's announcement of the cutely name "MiRGE", a new interoperable dock & play satellite radio which can tune into any Sirius or XM channel.

To take advantage of the new radio, which should arrive in April, the company announced the "SIRIUS Everything plus XM Everything" subscriptions satellite radio package which will be available at a monthly cost of U.S. $19.99.

Features of the new MiRGE include: the ability to switch between Sirius and XM channels with the touch of a button; onscreen channel display and a real-time programming guide where you can view the current channel plus three other channels at the same time; ability to pause, rewind and replay up to 60 minutes of live SIRIUS or XM programming; Tune Select; Sport /stock updates, presets for ten favourite channels and the ability to lock and unlock channels.

The Mirge, which measures 4.5" x 2.5" x .78" and weighs 4.7 ounces, will sell for U.S. $250 and will come with an interoperable vehicle antenna, vehicle dock, vehicle power adapter, cassette adapter, aux in cable, vent and adhesive mount for easy vehicle installations and remote control.

The MiRGE is not expected to be sold in Canada since neither XM Canada nor Sirius Canada will offer programming from both services although that won't likely stop many Canadians from making a run to the border and subscribing to the U.S. service.