Rating: 
Summary: A superlative product!
Review: I just got the Diamond Rio. It is a wonderful product, here's why : What do you strive for in a MP3 player ? Good sound, Space for music, compactness, cool look, competitive pricing, and I can honestly say that the Rio 500 meets each of these qualities. The sound is barely distinguishable from a true CD. Unless your are a true audiophile you will not be able to tell the difference, UNLESS you like listening to music REALLY LOUD, then you might be able too find a small distortion in the MP3 version. The 500 can also hold a lot of songs, because it is 64 Megs and also you can transfer your songs because of its USB connection. It looks great! It is also the size of a pager. AND IT DOESN'T SKIP! This product is worth its price. This maybe the last "pure mp3" model available because after christmas the SDIC will be putting a detector which won't let you download free mp3's unless explicity stated by the musician. SO GET EM NOW! It only takes one AA batteria for 12 hrs of playback which is pretty good. The LCD is a very nice neon blue. The only problem with this product are the bad earphones. Contrary to one of the reviewers I believe it is quite easy to install. I didn't read the manual. Just plug it into your USB port ( IMPORTANT YOU NEED A USB PORT TO RUN IT )and then windows automatically asks you for the driver cd, then you pop it in restart your computer and Viola! Don't ponder the value of this product too long because before you know it they will be Sold OUT! Happy Listening! Cheers
Rating:
Summary: Rio 500 MP3 Player: A real treat
Review: I received my Rio a few weeks ago as a birthday gift. What a pleasure it has been! With 64 MB I am able to store over an hour of CD-quality music. Transferring songs from my computer to my Rio is extremely fast, thanks to the USB connection. The software is simple and intuitive and easy to install. I highly recommend this product.
Rating:
Summary: Better than expected
Review: This is my second plunge into the world of MP3 players and the experience has been considerably better than my first. The Rio 500 offers about as much as you could expect from an MP3 player these days (outside of the cheap headphones). The USB upload is considerably faster than the parallel ports that most MP3 players utilize. The sound is good and the software program that is included makes transferring audio from CD to the player a snap. Transferring downloaded files is just as easy. My only real complaint is the terrible directions/manual. Instillation of the drivers (Windows version) was not adequately explained. I'm somewhat of a computer geek so I figured it out in short order, but somebody unfamiliar with plug and play instillation could easily find themselves stuck with the player unable to communicate with his/her computer. Outside of that this player is, in my opinion, the best available.
Rating:
Summary: Great hardware. Software is a bit buggy.
Review: Compact with plenty of features, the Rio 500 is an impressive machine. USB makes downloads simple and fast. The software, however, causes lots of Windows 98 "General protection faults" (even with the newest version 2.1).Overall, I like the machine and would recommend it to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Device Terrible Technical Support and Documentation
Review: I just purchased the Diamond Rio 500 and after you get it working it is super but don't look to Diamond for any kind of support. The technician I spoke to didn't even seem to know what a MP3 player was much less how it works. He referred me to a manual on the CD that doesn't exist and provided nonsense answers to my questions. I purchased the Diamond Rio 500 for both music and Audible books. The Diamond technician stated it doesn't and never would work with audible books. I was ready to return the Diamond Rio 500 to the store for a refund but I decided to call Audible first. The Audible receptionest was very helpful. I found out that the firm ware to run Audible books on the Diamond Rio and other MP3 portable devices is expected to be out the 2nd week of December. They have a prototype Diamond Rio 500 and Audible's receptionest said the quality was excellent better than thier own player which can be purchased from them for $99.00. The receptionist at Audible knew the answers to all of my questions about the Diamond Rio 500 even the ones unrelated to the Audible books. THE SAME QUESTIONS THAT THE DIAMOND TECHNICIAN COULDN'T ANSWER. Thanks to Audible I have the Diamond Rio up and running and it is fantastic. I am anxiously waiting for the firm ware upgrade so I can listen to books while I exercise or do housework. Due to the lack of documentation and support, I would not recomend this player to anyone without a lot of patience. Anyone who just wants to just "plug it in" and start using it is going to be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: buggy, rushed out product...
Review: Does not work at all on my brand new PC (98se, usb), very bad software, support is helpless... Advertised Audible format is not actually supported ('yet' they say...) Don't buy now... this is a rushed out (though late) buggy product...
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Little Gizmo
Review: Wow. This is a really cool toy. I was iffy about getting an player MP3. When the Rio 300 came out and a friend of mine got it. I relized how I needed to wait. I wanted it to work with both my PC and Mac, I wanted it to move files faster, I wanted it to have the song titles, repeat, random and replay functions.I wanted it to be just the right weight and not to be too light and feel like a cheap AM radio. I wanted it to have more memory and sleek design. I'm glad I waited. I love this Rio 500! I just got it today. Oh and thanks Amazon for sending it to me real fast! I just ordered it yesterday.
Rating:
Summary: Fast, slick device missing built-in belt clip.
Review: So if you're like me, you have destroyed your fair share of portable CD and tape players. Though I'm sure this one will get wrecked, I know it won't skip or eat the audio media while I'm working out. It is a must buy if you: a) use and enjoy MP3s in any way. b) rather a tiny, reliable device for music that you can shake around and not worry about. c) have Windows 98 or Mac OS 8.0. d) can't stand slow parrallel port speeds. e) can live with the cheesy mesh/belt clip. f) like the idea of memory expansion Some say the clip was not built in to prevent broken ones from coming back as defective, and it makes sense, but they could have made it more pager-like than how it is now. Regardless, it is still a great product I have recommended to others, including you ;)
Rating:
Summary: IT IS A WASTE OF MONEY
Review: It is less for more. Even though it is a name brand I own it and a rave mp player and I would say by a large amount that my rave is better. It was cheaper had a built in mic and had the same amount of space. Also it looked better you cant do much better then that. oh and the headphones are actually good. plus it has a audio in and out port along with a computer connection. The rio 500 needs it price brought down I mean is a name brand worth more money?
Rating:
Summary: This is well worth your money.
Review: The Diamond Rio 500 is a wonderfull contraption. I bought it and I can't think of what my audio was like before that. Diamond has really outdone themselves this time. I wholheartedly recomend this product to anyone who is addicted to mp3's.
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