Rio Continues to Lead
Written: Feb 22 '01
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Pros: USB Connectivity, Easy to Use Controls
Cons: Low Memory, Expensive Proprietary Upgrades
The Bottom Line: A good, lower cost, entry level digital audio player.
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| razedvector's Full Review: Rio 600 (32 MB) MP3 Player |
The Rio MP3 player has always been the forefront of the technology is leads, the digital music realm. I was lucky enough to obtain one of these for free, winning a contest held by Microsoft when they release Windows Media Player 7.
The unit is very lightweight, and very easy to control. I can slip the unit into my pocket, and have no trouble carrying it around.
However, the drawback to the unit is the small amount of memory, 32MB, that is included on the unit. This makes it difficult to have an amount of music with you that could last the entire day.
Because of its sound state, no moving parts construction, the unit will not skip no matter how much you jar, move, or drop it. This is why is makes a great unit for working out, and I take it with me on my walks and at the gym. Being new technology, it does become the envy of your fellow workout people who are dealing with heavy, skipping CD Players.
The really nice thing about this unit is the fact that it uses both Windows Media and MP3 format music. Windows Media is a newer format, which is a smaller file, and allows you to store more music in the same amount of space. For this reason, I convert the songs to Windows Media Audio (WMA) format before transferring to the Rio Player.
The Rio Manager software is terrible. I would not recommend using it. But, the Windows Media Player does support access to the player, and connections to transfer music to the unit. I use Windows Media Player, which even automates the MP3 to WMA conversion. I simply plug the unit in using the included USB cable, and transfer the music to the unit.
The faceplates can be changed to different colors. However, the new Rio 800 includes a different shape faceplate, which I think was a mistake on the part of the manufacturer, who now has to support 2 different shapes of players.
The second drawback is the proprietary "backpack" memory upgrades. Other players use Pocket Zip, which is cheap, or Compact Flash, which is industry standard. For this reason, if you plan to upgrade the unit, you might consider other units.
More and more, the unit is losing a necessity in the ever-diversifying field of digital audio players. While it is great for workouts, the Nike Player (which is by the same manufacturer), which straps to your arm might be better suited for that task; even though it is more expensive. Even still, this is a great unit, and a transition unit for Rio into their newer units.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 169 retail
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Epinions.com ID:
razedvector
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Member: Benj Hoppe
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 2 members
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