Rating: 
Summary: Pretty, sexy and stylish MP3 player
Review: Just bought this little player from Amazon.com in an unbeatable price...
I like its good workmanship, stylish and most important...high qualily sound! The case fit nice and tight with a belt clip on the back. It is cushioned to protect it from dropping accidentally.
Installing the software is easy and when you register it online you can upgrade to a new BASIC version for FREE.
The only thing I don't like is it uses it's own back pack memory.... that means high price tag. It would be perfect if it takes smartmedia card.
One more thing I don't like is the ear phone. My ears hurt after wearing them for awhile.
Rating:
Summary: Rio 600, a nice little MP3 player.
Review: I bought this MP3 player a few months ago. I think it is a great little device. I would recommend that you purchase one, except that it isn't perfect.
The main problem with this cute little thing is that it doesn't take a standard (and cheap) memory format. If you want to expand its memory, you have to spend way too much money buying proprietary 'backpacks' instead of something cheap like MMC's.
The second problem with this player is the small carrying case. The neoprene case with belt clip... is a welcome layer of protection and convience. However, the plastic 'window' is of no use whatsoever and and actually damages the MP3 player. The case is very snug, which isn't a problem. The problem is that the snug neoprene pulls the clear plastic window down too firmly onto the buttons of the player. Specifically, the 'Menu' button can become damaged and then is super sensitive. What you do is stuff two or three socks into the case and let it sit for a couple days. If it doesn't seem like they'll fit, keep trying (I am not responsible if you blow up your case, haha). This stretches out the case and prevents damage to the player. Also, the window is a source of frustration, as if you try to change songs or volume without taking the player out of the case, the menu will pop up first. Also, you can only see the bottom 1/5 of the display while in the case. So, it would have been better if they had just left the window out of the whole thing, but no one asked me...
Finally, 32MB of memory is enough. The only catch is that you have to just shove that CD that came with the MP3 player up the constricted hind-ends of whomever wrote it and use Windows Media Player, which does a fine job of interfacing with the Rio 600. WMP is availble freely for download for Windows users. WMP even converts to WMA on the fly at whatever bitrate you desire, so you don't have to 'convert your whole collection'. Finally, WMA does sound better at 64kbps than MP3 does. However, songs that are heavy in percussive high pitch noises can be slightly distorted. I've found this isn't an issue with about 80% of the music I listen to. You'll have to find a song (I suggest Hail, Hail by Pearl Jam) and convert it to 64kpbs WMA. If you don't mind how it sounds, you'll be fine with the stock 32MB that the player comes with.
If you are still reading this, and I haven't scared you away, here are the good things about this player.
Dirt cheap (I got mine for $[money] after a mail-in rebate).
Beautiful and somewhat sturdy (except for that poor, abused menu button).
Lots of cool accessories (like different colored faceplates, inline FM tuners)
Lasts about 8-10 hours on a freshly charged Nickle Metal Hydride battery (forget Nicads, this thing eats them for breakfast. Also, if you use alkaline and throw them away, I hope you have to drink water contaminated with used batteries).
Beautiful and easy to use interface / display. Tons of information, lots of cool little screens. Hi-res (for an MP3 player!).
If you want to listen to tons of music on a small player, get something that costs $[money] and takes MMC. If you want something to replace your cassette walkman (holds about 60 minutes of music, convert and transfer music quickly) then get this.
Rating: 
Summary: Just got one...
Review: I just bought one of these at a local electronics store. I can't say for the device (since it hasn't worked, yet), but the software is trash. If you get one you should know that you will:a) have to register it with the manufacturer with unique ID codes and your email before it will run. (before that, it will just crash anytime you try to send data to the device. But, SURPRISE, once you register it, it works perfectly! Or, at least, it starts working at all...) b) pay them a monthly fee to use the software. You are allowed a free mode, disabling several features, including storing data on CD's, but to use the rest of the features, you have to pay a monthly [fee]...P>Just keep these things in mind, when you're considering the low upfront price of this device.
Rating:
Summary: Defective product and insulting service
Review: I purchased a Rio 600 for my son's Christmas present. It became defective after a couple of weeks. I spent more weeks getting to tech support and running through tests before they would issue an RMA. Their RMA process says that if the unit is defective, they will replace it, provided they have replacements in stock in their service center. Guess what? They don't have any in the service center, even as they sell them on-line. They have no expectation of getting any and require that customers wait indefinitely for the replacement units. I get the impression that there is a high defect rate and it is clearly compounded by awful service.
Rating: 
Summary: Great... if its free!
Review: I received my Rio 600 for [price] (a refurbished one) when I signed up for a years [store]. I use it exclusively for [store] books. It holds about 6 hours at a time. For back and forth to work, its great. My Rio does not restart every time I shut it off. It resumes from where I was. Setting a bookmark though proved to not work. It does set me back to zero, so I just shut off. Two major complaints. The foldup headphones look good, but hurt my ears. I'd prefer something softer. Secondly, the single AA battery compartment is shabby. Occasionally the Rio won't turn on, although I get no low battery warning. I just open the case, and reinsert the same battery. Voila! Doesn't happen too often. The battery lasts about 6 hours, which is good for me. Wish I had a cassette player in my car! Mine came with the adapter, but I only have a CD player. Like I say, if its [price], the quirks are quite livable!
Rating:
Summary: better to burn your money than buy this product
Review: This was the worst purchase I have ever made. My pet rock has gotten more use than this techno ... I returned two of them within the first month of purchase. The darn thing just would not work. Wait until the price drops ... just not worth the money, time or trouble.
Rating:
Summary: VERY Disappointing - BROKE at first battery change...
Review: mp3 players are wonderful! And I was in love with this unit - until the first time I tried to change the battery. The battery is attached thru the memory "backpack" and sliding this unit off and on is difficult. When the pins for the memory chip failed to line up perfectly, they broke - rendering this product useless. Make sure that the mp3 player you end up with uses Compact Flash cards for memory, is upgradable, and has more than 32mb of memory (32mb holds 6 to 8 songs). Good luck!!
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this if you have XP
Review: I bought the unit to use with my Win XP platform and could not get the software to recognized the unit. There were no Website updates to download, no tips on using the unit with XP and documentation was terribly lacking in troubleshooting the unit. I reinstalled a virgin copy of XP with no luck as well as a Win98 with USB support and had the same problem. Emailing manufacturer resulted in no reply after 10 days and calling them kept me on the phone for 45 min on my dime. I was forced to return the unit before the the return warranty period expired. I suggest this unit not be used if you use XP and need manufacturer support.
Rating:
Summary: It's a shame they can't make one that works
Review: I really wanted to like this gadget. It does just about everyting a portable MP3 player should. It's display is easily readable. The menu functions are intuitive. It supports id3 tags, playlists, and bookmarks. It remembers where I was in the playlist if it powers down. The sound quality is great. The earphones are decent. It is fully supported by iTunes and my Mac. And the price was right. My only real criticism is the skimpy 32MB and the use of non standard memory for upgrades. But..... In three tries, I could not get one that functioned properly. The first one would "wink-out" from time to time. The second one had a defective display backlight. The third wouldn't power up at all. I finally gave up. Fortunately, [...] exchanges and returns were fairly painless.
Rating: 
Summary: Inevitably, everything comes to an end
Review: 13 months, 12 days. This is exactly how long my RIO 600 worked for me. And yet according to many reviews, I lucked out...I think that by eclipsing the one-year mark I broke the record! So now what do I have? A purplish plastic thingy that refuses to turn on when I give it that very command. I'm not asking it to factor 200 digit numbers. Nor am I asking it to draft an economically feasible flat-tax proposal. I am just asking it to turn on, and yet it can't. This seems to be easily, the most common defect among RIO products, particularly their portable MP3 players. I think that they might have to start advertising these things as disposable, we should be able to buy them in six-packs. Anyway, I am going to avoid the temptation of getting another one of these stylish numbers, and I am recommending that anyone thinking of buying one look at another brand. Intel is looking better and better, but I really wish that Sony would get in the MP3 game. Bottom line: if this gizmo could last longer than a hockey season it would be great. Features are wonderful, great sound, yada yada yada. Sadly though, it just aint gonna last, and that's a fact.
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