Rating: 
Summary: one of my best acheevments
Review: if you get this item make sher you by an extra memery card/only holds 12 songs with out
Rating: 
Summary: Good for what its supposed to do
Review: the rio 500, nearly impossible to get now, is one of the best rio mp3 players out since of its smartmedia card design, apart form the expensive memory backpacks for the rio 600 & 800. Not speicla about it, no extra features on it, just a simple mp3 player, but it plays mp3's well, very satisfied with the product...shouldn't have discontinued them. gets loud, usually mp3 players are bad in that area and batteries last twice as long as a cd player...looks good too
sincerely
BOB
Rating: 
Summary: Not great but better than most
Review: Not the smallest or best built, but not that bad. I'm not disappointed. That is more than I can say for many MP3 players.
Rating: 
Summary: Looks like a brick, plays like a champ
Review: I actually got this player free with an offer at audible. I had every intention of using my Pocket PC to play the books, but I ended up using this little guy more than I thought I would. At first glance, it seems far more bulky than it is. It slips easily into your pocket or similarly sized space making it perfect for travel. I use it almost everywhere now to listen to audiobooks: in the car, riding my bike, when I work out, etc.One customer complained about the batteries, but the MP3 player takes maybe 1/4 the battery power used to operate a portable CD player. You only need one battery at a time and the battery display lets you know how much juice you have at all times. My only complaint is that the 64 megs of on-board memory isn't enough for music. It's more than enough for audiobooks however. I managed to fit the entire unabridged Black House by King and Straub on the little feller and listened to it the whole way through. Also, it has the ability to upgrade with memory cards, which I've yet to do. I always thought MP3 players were a bit of a scam, especially with the high prices of some players, but after owning this one, I'll definitely upgrade when and if this little guy ever gives out.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but not so good
Review: I have a love hate relationship with this item. I love it when its playing I hate it because it takes 50 batteries a month to use it!!
Rating:
Summary: Tiny!
Review: This is one of the greatest things; the Rio 500 is teeny-tiny, which means you can fit it in any pocket easily. Some devices claim to be able to be carried in a pocket, but doing so would cause said pocket to tear and rip to shreds. Also, 64MB is just built-in memory; you can add even more with the SmartCard module attached. Lotsa lotsa good music, and great for working out, cause it doesn't skip. Ever. Even tapes skip if you abuse the player hard enough, but solid-state electronics don't. :)
Rating:
Summary: Great until !!
Review: I was enjoying listening to books and occasionally music but mostly books. Suddenly it stopped and now it doesn't work at all. Put in new battery - no go. What do I do now?
Rating:
Summary: Feature-rich and versatile MP3/audiobook player
Review: I've had my Rio 500 for about 6 months now, and I've had absolutely no problems with the player. Battery life is about the same as my old Rio 300, but it's shorter if you use headphones with in-line volume control. I've upgraded it with a 64meg smartmedia card, and at 32k/sec bitrate I can have over 130 songs available. At 32k the sound quality is satisfactory and I'd rather have a large variety than CD-quality. The Rio 300 allowed a 24k bitrate but the lowest on the Rio 500 is 32k. The backlight, bookmarks and random play modes are also great features. I don't use the equalizer very often. I also listen to audiobooks from an online site, where I got my Rio 500. The sound quality is usually okay, but due to a slow modem I have to download the lowest available quality. The higher quality files are huge but would probably sound much better. The bookmarking feature on the Rio is great for audiobooks as it allows you to easily resume listening after an interruption. I do have two complaints about the Rio. One is the plastic carrying case which makes it difficult to use the side controls for bookmarking, volume, etc. But it is move convenient to just slide the clasp over my jeans pocket instead of putting it inside a pocket. Secondly, the RioPort software is very clunky when compared to MusicMatch Jukebox or WinAmp. But there are several replacements available at another online site, I usually use Riorio or Riositude. You can search for either name and find the software.
Rating:
Summary: No dissapointment. The best sounding MP3 player
Review: I had my rio 500 for 2 years now, and it served me well. I also bought one for my brother. The sound quality is better than other mp3 players. I actually compared it to the Rio 300 and the Rave MP220. The rio 500's sound processing was very near cd quality, and much much better sounding (even low quality mp3s sound great) than the other mp3 players I tested out. If you want an mp3 player this one will not dissapoint. But it is not a multitasking player (no voice recorder or fm radio like the Nomad) But still the sound quality, and ruggedness (I dropped my rio 500 countless times and the music never skipped, and the memory never ever corrupted), and the power stamina (one AA battery lasts me a More than 13 hours of continuous play). Other mp3 players drained the battery in a few hours, not 12 like they advertised. The Rio 500 is an efficient, beautiful, strong, ergonomic, hi quality mp3 player. That is why the price of it hasn't come down that much. The cheesy mp3 players' prices drop to bargain levels, while this one still stays up there. Basically you get what you pay for. And this one does not dissapoint.
Rating:
Summary: Rio 500 mp3 Player
Review: This mp3 player is by far one of the best on the market. I hav had it for about 2 months now and have had no trouble with it. It has many features that can be used easily even without using the manual if you just play around with it. The software it comes with is very easy to use and quick. The USB connection allows it to transfer songs at 4-5 seconds per song. However, I did have to adjust the software settings a little before I could start transferring. Although it does not have a FM tuner or Voice Recorder, I still find it very good compared to the Rio 600 and 800. You can use SmartMedia Cards to expand your memory instead of going through Rio to by the "Rio Backpacks" to expand the 600 and 800.
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