Inno-vative pre-order restrictions on the XM Inno

CES 2006
Originally uploaded by gadget.

The XM Store is offering pre-orders of the Pioneer Inno player today, which will ship in April. They will hold a $1 charge on your credit card until it ships, then send the radio pre-activated by billing you for 3 months of service @12.95 plus $399 for the unit, minus $25 off in the form of free ground shipping and a waived activation fee. Did you follow that? Me neither. The real bad news is that they put a boatload of restrictions on the purchase of this device and no visible way to add it to an existing account. Rather than my paraphrasing the rules, here is a copy from the "account protected" website:

• All orders and purchases made through this website cannot be combined with any other promotions or offers including rebates.
• Orders are cancelable prior to ship date only. Your credit card will be preauthorized for $1.00 at the time your order is placed.
  Your credit card will be charged in full at the time that the product is shipped to you without any other prior notice.
• At the time of order, you acknowledge that you are required to purchase three (3) months of service, which will be charged at the time your radio ships. You also acknowledge that your XM service will renew on the same payment terms and billing frequency after initial three (3) months. A six (6) month minimum service commitment is required for each radio. Failure to maintain six (6) months of continuous service on any of the radios purchased via this offer will result in a $65.00 early cancellation fee on said radio(s).
• Radios are shipped pre-activated. XM service billing automatically begins on the day your radio is shipped.
• The credit card number used to activate your XM service via this promotion will be added to your XM account for future billing.
• Responsible billing party may not be changed or transferred until the 6 month service commitment is fulfilled for any radio(s) purchased through this offer.
• The terms of this offer shall supersede the terms of the Customer Agreement with respect to the cancellation of the XM service.
• Returns are not accepted. Exchanges are accepted for defective equipment only and within 30 days of hardware receipt. All sales are final.
• Ground shipped orders usually arrive within 8-10 days. Adult signature is required on all deliveries. There is no charge for ground shipping & handling.
• Shipping Carrier will not deliver any packages to a P.O. Box. Please use a valid street address.
• This Website may not be used for commercial purposes and radios purchased through this website cannot be resold.
• Offer is available to customers within the continental United States only.
• Limit ONE (1) pre-order per customer email access code.
• Limit ONE (1) Pioneer Inno.
  Please read our Customer Service Agreement (www.xmradio.com/get_xm/customer_service.html) for more information about XM`s service and subscription terms and conditions.

So, that all being said, and the discount being only about $25, I think I'll hold off. My original XM2go and iPod Video work fine for my needs... This thing is going to be discounted this summer like you wouldn't believe - especially with Samsung fighting for market share too.