Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for athletes
Review: I started looking for a MP3 player that I could run with after I got tired of my DiskMan skipping all the time. After a ton of research, I finally decided on the S30S. It was reasonably priced, feature rich, and made with athletes in mind.I have had mine for a couple weeks now and am more than satisfied with it. Anyone who complains about problems with the TV tuner needs to upgrade to the latest firmware from SONICblue's site. Stations come in crystal clear for me. I love the fact that I can add up to 512MB of additional memory with a Secure Digital card. Like some other reviewers have said, the belt clip and armband are not the best quality. But they work fine, so I really don't have any complaints there. This is the perfect MP3 player for anyone who likes to listen to music or audio books while they exercise.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT FOR MOTORCYCLES
Review: I bought this unit to use while riding long trips on my bike. Mistake. The unit speakers do not fit into the ear canal well enough to stay in place with a helmet on. The unit itself is not very well made. The plastic case isn't very strong and a short fall from by belt to the parking lot did it in. Battery cover won't fit properly and case separated. You would expect for [this much money]something a little more durable.
Rating:
Summary: I love it and you will to
Review: I was shopping for mp3 players when the rio s30s caught my eye. Im one of the few mac users so this was perfect because it was mac compatible.When i plugged it into my computer and installed itunes i was already adding songs into it. For those of you who are a little behind on technology this is pretty straightforward.it has decent space to begin with but it is expandalbe.All you need is an MMC card or a SD card to increase the memory.To top this all off this thing is built like a tank! ive dropped a cuopple of times on stone tiles and it was fine. It could have easily ben made water proof but tkats fine.I highly suggest buying this mp3 player!
Rating:
Summary: Nice player, but it has shortcomings
Review: Pros:
- Sound is great
- Ease of use is great Cons:
- Armband and belt clip are cheap
- Plastic belt clip (which you need if you want to use the arm band) is nearly impossible to remove without scratching the device
- Radio reception is really poor (this might be because I tossed the earbuds that came with the player and used my Sony behind-the-neck headphones instead - I've never found earbuds that produce good sound) This player certainly seemed to have potential when I read about it here at Amazon. I've been on the hunt for a good player for what seems like years now. After buying this player and using it for a few days, I am now painfully ($$$) aware that the hunt continues. Can't anyone make a good player for the gym that has lots of memory, gets good radio reception, and most importantly, sounds good? This is just frustrating. By the way, the new Nike/Phillips players are great, but they don't combine the mp3 part with the radio part. I have a Nike/Phillips PSA radio. It's a really good device, but I wish it had the ability to play mp3s as well.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice MP3 player
Review: I purchased the S30S after looking at the other MP3 players, to replace my aging Nomad MP3 player. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. Compared to my older MP3 player, the S30S is better in every respect. Granted, the S30S doesn't have as much internal memory as other MP3 players, but it accepts MMC (MulitMediaCard) memory cards up to 128MB. With the firmware upgrade (available at the website), this unit will now support SD memory cards up to 512MB. The included music manager software is a barebones (and mediocre) file manager designed to get mp3s and WMA files to and from the device. It is much easier to use Windows Media Player to copy the files - it will even tell you what files won't fit when you max out the memory. Originally, FM radio reception was fair to poor, but it wasn't even a consideration when I purchased it. It was greatly improved by the firmware upgrade. I still don't use the FM receiver. I would recommend a pair of comfortable headphones. The headphones that were included were uncomfortable to me. Depending on the shape of your ear you may or may not suffer discomfort. In either case, I would recommend a higher quality set of headphones. Several other reviews mentioned that the device power cycled. Beware copy protected music files. Attempting to play a copy protected Microsoft media file will cause the device to power cycle. I discovered this the hard way and was about to return the player until I figured out that the files I had purchased from a music vendor were copy protected. There are no error messages, no errors, the S30S just quits and reboots. Since I discovered this, the unit has performed flawlessly. Also, check the firmware version and upgrade if possible.
Rating:
Summary: Too much work
Review: My brief affair with this player lasted about a week, then we broke up. I wasn't interested in a high maintenance relationship. It all started on the download. I couldn't get the software to install properly, and the single sheet of instructions provided was NOT helpful. ... The software seemed easy enough and I enjoyed the player for a while but was constantly readjusting the ear peices to get better sound. After a trip to the gym, I knew I'd take it back as the ear peices were awful. Perhaps this player would better suit a Mac user for an easier download, and perhaps the ear plugs could be replaced, but I wasn't ready to invest anymore in this bumpy ride...
Rating:
Summary: I've got it and LOVE IT - Marathon Training with it!
Review: I've got the Rio Sport (S30S) and I LOVE IT. Mine says on the package, "Upgradeable up to 576 MB using SD or MMC memory Cards - and I don't know why it says 192mb on this site... Check that out if you are thinking about buying!
Store Prices as of Mid May around all around...bucks and some refurbs are available around $... Visit [the website] for more info about all that jazz. Good luck in your purchase. I hope you will enjoy it and that it may inspire you (as it has me) to continue good health!!
P.S. The included software really isn't that great, but you can use WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER to "copy to cd or device" and just have the Rio sport as your device... that works wonderfully easy!
Rating:
Summary: Get the Firmware
Review: I got the RioS30s about two months ago and this is what I noticed. The sound quality is great, the small size is good, and I loved it overall. But I noticed it would restart itself sometimes or when I went into FM mode when the batteries are low. I also noticed that the FM reception was poor overall. With the firmware upgrade for the SonicBlue website, I think the FM reception has gotten a lot better, and the lockups and resets are all but nonexistent now. I highly recommend this product, but remember to get the firmware. The five star rating is for after the firmware upgrade.
(Plus it's really cute looking, I like to hug it, ha ha)
Rating:
Summary: Great while it lasts
Review: I decieded to get a new Mp3 player almost right after this thing came out and since I've trusted Rio in the past, I decided to try this baby out. So for four months I was the envy of all my friends with this sleek little gadget and I had no qualms. It performed just as the packaging and reviews suggested it would. Then it all started going to hell. I had noticed earlier that some times when it got bumped hard or I tossed it on my bed, couch or something it would stop playing and the internal time setting would get screwed up. This I dealt with. Then the cheap belt clip broke one day while I was putting it on my coat. This I could live with. I had some unrelated computer problems that gave rise for me to re-install my OS and when i went to put my "trusty" Rio's drivers back on I couldn't find the CD. No problem I thought, I'll just get them off the main site. Wrong! Not to be found anywhere on the main site, and it gave need for me to order a replacement CD. This I was mad about but I could live with it. But then one day I got up and was getting ready for class, when I reaced in my drawer for my "loyal sidekick" when I found that in the night it's LCD mysteriously cracked. I live alone and it was just fine when I put it in the night before. While the player still worked it was difficult to manange with and was really trying my patience. Then came the straw that broke the camels back. I don't know if it's heat expansion or what but occassionally the players casing pops appart and must be snapped back together. Excuse me but isn't this a "Sports Player?" Should it be build a little bit more durable? Or at least be build to last more than a few months? It was great while it worked but spend your $ on something a little more long lasting and worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Itemized ratings. Including info not on website.
Review: Overall rating: 4.5/5; 90%; A-.
Happiness with product: Very happy (not ecstatic) My overall rating is on the features I care about, which is everything except the included software, which needs work, and the FM radio, which I do not plan on using, but did test for the purpose of this review. Itemized ratings: 5/5 MP3 Sound Quality (did not test wma)
5/5 Screen quality and information displayed
4/5 Case Quality (Only red is rubberized)
4/5 Battery Life (Tested with Alkaline, not NiMH yet)
4/5 Navigation (Menu organization is great, but slow processor)
2/5 FM Radio (It works like a $10 radio)
4/5 Size. (H=~2.875" W=~2.5" D=1.0") Circular, not rectangular!
4/5 Weight. 2.25oz w/ battery and expansion card. No headphones. Pro's and con's: pro's: Excellent reproduction of .mp3 songs, tough case, solid buttons, small size, 10 hours + on an alkaline battery, supports NiMH (Nickel-Medal Hydride) batteries, excellent screen, upgradeable firmware, very easy to navigate options and songs. con's: Not fully rubberized. FM reception is poor and extremely succeptable to interference. Included software is mediocre. The software and computer interface:
It's a CD. Sonic Media (the included software) should rip music; they use real one player, which is also included, for this feature.
You have to use 2 different software programs to really get the device to work well. This is a poor design. I'd recommend Musicmatch, but at the time of this writing they don't have a plugin for the s30s, s35s, or s50; thus you'd have to use 2 programs still. You can not just plug the unit in and use it as a removable device, at least in XP, which forces you to either use their software, or some other software that supports audio devices to communicate between the computer and the device. XP does fully support the rio s30s as a device. Thus you can not transfer files through "My Computer" for either the internal memory, or the expansion slot, which would be a lot easier. Of course, you could always remove the memory from the expansion slot and put it into a SD reader, then access it from "My Computer". Maybe there is some way to add the browsing of audio devices to "My Computer", but I have not found a way to. The body:
Unfortunately only the red part is rubberized, which includes the side and the back. I was expecting it to be totally rubberized, except the screen, of course. When designing the device, they could have easily made it water resistant, but they didn't.
The raised plastic protects the screen, and the buttons feel solid. The unit feels like it could take many bad falls. You can not just plug the unit in and use it as a removable device, at least in XP, which forces you to either use their software, or some other software that supports audio devices to communicate between the computer and the device. XP does fully support the rio s30s as a device. Thus you can not transfer files through "My Computer" for either the internal memory, or the expansion slot, which would be a lot easier. Of course, you could always remove the memory from the expansion slot and put it into a SD reader, then access it from "My Computer". Maybe there is some way to add the browsing of digital audio devices to "My Computer", but I have not found a way to. The sound:
The sound from mp3's I've downloaded sound excellent, but ones I ripped sound flat. Is that the software I'm using, or the CD-ROM, or the sound card? The CD sounds great in a CD player.
I have to admit, I never tried using the included headphones, and they do look junky. I have a pair of Sony headphones (MDR-Q33LP/S); I researched a lot and found these to be the best for what I do; which is gym/bike/run. My 4th pair, 2 were stolen, 1 given away. Internal hardware and software:
The upgradeable firmware is a nice feature; make sure your firewall is off when you try to download from their site. I updated from 1.61 to 1.8, it added a button lock function, hold menu and press enter, and several other features. The processor in the device must be really slow, as when you press the button it takes about 1/4 of a second for it to respond, including the volume. Hold down the volume, and let it go before you get to the desired volume because it will continue to go up or down for that extra 1/4 of a second. Misc:
Device uses a non-standard USB connector to the device, but standard to the computer. I do not know whether the connector to the device is standard for digital audio devices; I have never scene it, I think it's proprietary. Comes with a belt clip and a length of Velcro to attach the device to your arm.
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