Rating: 
Summary: Great player, shiffy support
Review: The Rio 500 was way before its time. It has 64 MB of onboard memory. It plays well and only takes one AA battery since it has no moving parts. That's the good part. Well....The problem lies in the fact that the manufacturer has dropped the ball on customer support. I have upgraded to Windows XP, just as most people have. Rio refuses to put out software which enables you to connect your Rio 500 to your computer via USB port if you have Windows XP. I have tried many solutions, including those found at Rio user sites, trying to come up with an answer to this. The outcome: the same songs are on the player for over a year. In other words: YOU CANNOT PLACE MUSIC ON THE 500 IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS XP. Unbelieveable....next...
Rating: 
Summary: Good player but doesn't support WMA
Review: Nice MP3 player.
Don't get it if you want to play WMAs and it doesn't support generic drivers and isn't supported by Windows XP (something I found out AFTER I upgraded my PC to XP)
Rating:
Summary: don't bother
Review: it's an ok MP3. it did it's job while it worked. The software is [is not good], and it could use a cradle or at least let it recharge via USB. Anyway the #1 reason why not to buy this product: NO customer support. It broke after a year, and the company wouldn't reply to any emails for help. Never again will I purchase a product from them.
Rating: 
Summary: All you need is some software
Review: ... It is definitely worth its keep, especially when you are able to add a 128MB SmartMedia card. Here's what you need to know for upgrading your player before you irrationally take it apart and use it as a paper weight: 1.) If you upgraded or have Win2000/XP, upgrade your firmware to 2.16, the latest one... 2.) Also, upgrade your driver... 3.) Get rid of RioPort Audio Manager and RealPlayer RealOne... 4.) Get yourself a 128MB SmartMedia card... Now everyone should be giving positive reviews for this product...
Rating: 
Summary: And Oldie but a Goodie
Review: I still prefer my Rio 500 and have yet to "upgrade" to any of the newer MP3 players. It is light, smaller than a deck of cards and easy to use. I used it primarily to listen to Audible (audio books) while commuting and it has been flawless [with the exception that one time it refused to boot up properly, with a checkerboard screen]. A quick search at Rio's website (rioworld.org) revealed a recovery utility, which I ran and recovered my Rio's firmware. Whew!
Rating:
Summary: A benchmark, other manufacturers should take note
Review: This is a discontinued model but still reigns supreme. Ergonomically very little could be improved. It fits the hand perfectly. Not too big, not too small. It has an easily read backlit lcd display. The controls are easily reached and intuitive to use. There is a bookmark button on the side for audiobooks and long spoken word programming. The bookmark feature is not to be overlooked. I own a WinPod as well and it's worthless for audiobooks (no Audible support yet) because there is no way to bookmark. An amazing oversight by Apple and other brands. The Rio 500 is an officially supported player for Audible content. It has an expansion slot for more memory. There's a lot of aftermarket software available for the Rio 500. My favorite is RIOsitude 3.12. It serves as an interface to transfer content to the Rio 500. Very stable, clean and easy to use. The build quality is high. It has a look and feel not commonly found in this type of device. The only shortcoming is memory type and limited amount of memory it can use. This is the only reason I don't rate this product a five. The latest firmware update unofficially supports the internal 64 MB's and an expansion card of 128 for a total of 192. Not bad but I wish they had used Compact Flash. Currently Compact Flash cards support up to one GB I believe but there are 4 GB cards in the works. I have two Rio 500's. Both have survived drops, moisture and vibration. The soundquality is excellent. Lots of features including a nice equalizer. Bottom line is that I can unconditionally recommend this player assuming 192 MB's is enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy it
Review: In less then a year after I bought this it already broke. A simple tap to it and it will turn off and back on. This makes it useless, if I am able to get it on at all. RIO provided no customer support, a bad and outdated product.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent small mp3 player
Review: I picked up one of these players used... It has worked flawlessly for me. I use it when I go running. It is very light, has no moving parts so it won't skip, and can handle getting sweat on a little. I didn't need a multiple GB storage player, I just wanted something small I could take out to work out, and this is perfect. With an expansion card, it can hold a couple hours of music, which is more than enough. There is also support for it in Linux -- I got it, plugged it into my Linux box, and was off and running, very easy (the kernel module is in the 2.4.x series stock kernel, plus Hotplug for automagic USB support, and I have been playing with the graphical interface grio500, which can be found on SourceForge). Overall, no complaints, I am very happy.
Rating:
Summary: Rio 500 works great
Review: I have had this product sitting on my bookshelf for over a year, never opened. I finally got a wild hair to try and see what it was about and have been pleasantly surprised. I never thought I would use a MP3 player, but now I am hooked. In the time my unit sat on the shelf Diamond was bought out by SonicBlue...making for some issues, but easily resolved. First, the software included with the unit only works on Win9X...of course I have already upgraded to WinXP and Win2K. I thought this was going to be a major problem, but a quick Google search found me a driver for Win2k/WinXP and a great software package called Riostude. Installed both of those and in about 10 minutes I had loaded the player up with a few MP3s and was happily listening to my tunes. The problems I ran into were easily resolved, the unit works great and the only complaint from me is that I gave away my 128MB SmartMedia card so I need to buy a new one. If you need you can find the drivers and software to work on Win2k/WinXP at http://www.rioworld.org/rio500.htm
Rating:
Summary: Rio 500 Mp3 Player
Review: Out of all the mp3 players that i've owned, this is by far my favorite. Its the perfect size and shape for taking everywhere b/c it slips in your pocket well unlike a lot of those funky designs i've seen. Its sturdy, i know because i've dropped it so much. The display is clear and backlit and it shows the title and all that stuff you want to know. The sound is pretty good, especially for it being so small. If you like a lot of songs, get another 128 expansion card and you can carry a lot. This is a very nice mp3 player.
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