Review of Rio MP3 Players

Below you will find some useful information andnote: some users have had problems getting the
comments about a few of the most popular MP3device to accept 3rd party memory cards). Also, it
players by Rio, including the Nitrus, Carbon, Cali, andseems that the player may not be able to play
Forge. None of these MP3 players are perfect, butregular mp3 formats you may have on your pc hard
each offers a unique set of strengths anddrive. Rio admits that these mp3 files need to be
weaknesses that should be taken into considerationconverted through their own software in order for
before you purchase any one of them. Be sure tothem to work. These, and other odd quirks,
compare price, usability, and the overall performanceundermine this particular player quite a bit. On the
of each.Rio Carbon 5 GB MP3 PlayerManufacturerspositive side, the device has good battery life, plays
Description: The Rio Carbon is capable of holding upclear, crisp music, and has a good radio feature as
to 80 hours of MP3 (160 hours WMA) music, andwell.Price: $120Rio Forge 512 MB Sport MP3
with up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge,PlayerManufacturers Description: The Rio Forge series
music lovers need not worry about running out ofis our latest generation of flash based sport players.
juice.Sporting an ultrathin and tapered design and withThe Rio Forge was designed for people that like to
25 percent more memory than iPod Mini, this tinyplay hard and use music to play even harder. The
MP3 player--about the size of a business card--willnew design integrates the grippy, protective rubber
slide into any pocket, virtually unnoticeable. The Riofrom previous models with a new shiny stainless steel
Carbon is capable of holding up to 80 hours of MP3face plate for added durability. Up to 20 hours of
music (160 hours of WMA), and with up to 20 hoursbattery life allows you hours of non-stop work out
of battery life on a single charge, music lovers needtime. Comfortable Sport Clip earphones and a newly
not worry about running out of juice. Supporting USBdesigned case with armband keep your player and
2.0 and a host of file formats, users can downloadmusic secure and accessible. Simple menus and
music efficiently and easily from most of theirintuitive controls make for easy one-handed
favorite online music sites. The Rio Carbon alsooperation. Stopwatch and Lap Timer make the Rio
includes voice recording and provides seamlessForge the ultimate gym or running companion. Plus,
integration and support of both the Windows andthe new FM record feature allows you to record
Mac platforms.Features:- 5 GB of memory stores upradio content onto your player to listen to at a later
to 80 hours of MP3 music or 160 hours of WMAtime.Features:- Holds 16 hours worth of Music
music- Storage capacity may be upgraded up to 1 GB
- Plays MP3, WMA, and Audible audio formats- Durable Stainless Steel Face
- Built-in microphone for voice recording- 512 MB of storage
- Easily drag and drop data and music files onto your- Stopwatch feature for work-outs
player- Up to 20 hours of battery lifeComments: This
- Rechargeable battery offers up to 20 hours oflatest generation of sport mp3 players by Rio is
battery life on a single chargeperhaps the best so far. What we really liked about
- USB 2.0 for faster downloadsthis device is the easy to use and intuitive user
- Charge from USB or the included power adapterinterface and clear LCD screen. The one downside is
- Windows and Mac compatiblethe 512mb upper limit in storage (although technically
- Includes Rio Music Manager, the most intuitive wayyou can upgrade to 1GB), which is a little low
to create and manage your digital musiccompared with the market average. Even so, the
libraryComments: Users tend to agree that this is onefeatures like the FM tuner and stop watch make this
of the best mp3 players Rio has developed. It's reallya really cool little sport mp3 player. It's about as
quite small and slim, and can actually fit in yourdurable and user friendly as they come, plus the
pockets. 5GB of memory really doesn't sound like allbattery life is friendly for those long work-outs.
that much any more, but I think most new user willThumbs up on this one.Price: $180Rio Nitrus 1.5 GB
find that that is plenty of space. The long battery isMP3 JukeboxManufacturers Description: The
nice (20 compared with iPod's 12), and the interfacerevolutionary Rio Nitrus packs 1.5 GB into a stealthy,
is easy enough to work with. One littlerazor-thin design. With the ability to carry over 375
dissapointment is the inability to hit any buttons onsongs, never before has this much capacity been
the device when it is in its carrying case. Also, it doesoffered on a player this small. Fast USB 2.0
have some compatibility issues with Mac musicconnection loads the player quickly. Simple menus,
programs like iTunes. If you really love Mac, you maythoughtful controls, and a clear display make
want to consider iPod or Shuffle instead (this goesnavigation instinctive. A 5-band adjustable equalizer
for all Rio products).Price: $230Rio Cali 128 MB Sportprovides a custom listening experience. Quality
MP3 PlayerManufacturers Description: Wrapped incomponents throughout yield a player without
grippy, protective rubber, the Cali 128 is built to playcompromise.Features:- 1.5GB HDD plays back over 25
hard. Solid-state electronics carry over 30 songs withhours of MP3 or 50 hours of WMA music (over 375
no skips -- ever. Comfortable Sport Clip earphones,MP3 or 750 WMA songs)
case with armband, and integrated stopwatch with- USB 2.0 for fast transfers
lap timer make the Cali a functional sport accessory.- Transfer content between multiple PCs
5-band adjustable equalizer gives more control over- 16-hour continuous playback with the rechargeable
your sound than most players. Onboard FM tunerLiIon battery
means you always have something to listen to. An- 5-Band adjustable equalizer with
empty expansion slot allows you to add up to 512pre-setsComments: This is an overall fairly solid mp3
MB of additional SDTM or MMCTM memory. Simpleplayer with a few design and engineering defects
menus and intuitive controls make for easythat should be mentioned. First, the buttons are not
one-handed operation.Features:- 128 MB of memoryquite as easy to use, or as well laid out as some of
plays back over 2 hours of MP3 or 4 hours of WMARio's other players. Specifically, the volume buttons
music (over 30 MP3 or 60 WMA songs)*are smaller and closer together than they should be.
- Expansion slot to add up to 512 MB additionalAnother thing is problems with the battery life, some
memory using SD or MMC cards (sold separately)users getting significantly less time out of their
- USB 1.1 connects to almost any computerbatteries than they are supposed to. And you really
- Transfer content between multiple PCscan't expect to get the full 16 hours. Also, the
- 18-hour continuous playback using one Energizerscrolling feature doesn't seem to help much. On the
AAA Batteryplus side, the device is big enough in storage size
- 5-Band adjustable equalizer with(1.5GB), and small enough in physical size to appeal to
pre-setsComments: Anyone considering buying thisalot of potential consumers. The sound is also quite
device should be aware of some odd functionalgood and just about every volume level.Price:
issues that may be frustrating. First of all, when$175Bradley James is a senior editor at SciNet.cc, a
changing memory cards, many users have had towebsite containing many helpful consumer electronics
actually take out the batteries in order to get thereview articles. For more information on Rio mp3
device to recognize the new memory card (anotherplayers, please visit our Rio mp3 webpage.