Rating: 
Summary: Great product, but it needs better instructions
Review: I bought my Diamond Rio 500 a couple of months ago & I have really enjoyed it, but I have one major complaint. It only comes with one page of very baisic instructions. There were some very important functions that I didn't even know about for about a month after I bought it, until I finally found someone else on the net who was able to help me. If you have a Macintosh computer, then I would recomend this player to you over the other players available for Mac OS because of the functions and the ease of use after you get past the instruction problem, but I would not recomend buying this if you don't know anybody else who owns one who can help you learn how to use it. Overall, I have to rate this player at 3 stars, but if it wasn't for the instruction problem, I would probably rate the player at about 4 1/2 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: THIS is the one to get if you're not sure what all of the fuss is about MP3. The product was actually purchased for my 15-year-old daughter. When it arrived, it took her only 20 - 25 minutes to install the software and download a customized program thru the USB port on her PC. I agree with most reviewers that the supplied earbuds are not that good, but the problem is solved by just using those headphones from your portable CD player, or going out and getting a very decent set ... .
Rating:
Summary: Diamond Rio 500
Review: I got the rio about a week ago and have been listening to it since. I love this thing, its so small and lightweight! the headphones arent the best, so i just use my other ones. The 64 mb's is a good thing, i can fit about 18 songs on it, which is about 1 1/2 hours. the software for mac, sound jam mp, is verrrryyy easy to use. I do have 2 complaints about it though. If you listen to it alot, you will be changing batteries about every 2 days. they dont last so either get lithium batteries or rechargable batteries. also, you cant pick your order of the songs once theyre on there. if you want a song in a different place, you have to go and delete everything and put it in the new order. same thing for changing names of songs. but its still worth 5 stars cuz changing things around only takes 2 minutes. its a really good product. if your looking into it, get the rio 500 , 64mb built it but you can also get a flash card for 32. its great, very easy to use, tiny, light...etc.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore those comparing MD players
Review: Comparing MDs and MP3 players is apples and oranges. For example, how long does it take to record something to your MD player/recorder? REAL TIME. My cd rips MP3's 4x speed, and download to my USB player very quickly. Where do I keep my MP3's? On my hard drive - not in the player. I have 5000 mp3s on my HD - that would take hundreds of MDs to hold. Can you jog with a MD player? Nope - moving parts don't like constant vibrations.
Rating: 
Summary: Audible can't get it right !
Review: After way more aggrevation than this thing could ever be worth, and an apparent inability for Audible to deliver software that actually works w/o crashing, I'm throwing this thing on the book shelf. I feel taken advantage of by Audible. It seems they have established a track record with me of not returning e-mails for customer support also. Knowing what I know now, I would rely on Audible softwares ability to transfer to the RIO 500! With all the gadgets, upgrades and software I've dealt with, I have never seen anything sold that works with less reliability! My problems seems to be primarily with Audible's software!
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for better price or buy Rio 600
Review: I just recently received the Rio 500 for a Father's Day gift. I wanted one to paly audible files so I was pleasently suprised to receive it. Unfortunately I'm returning it because the device doesn't live up to it's billing. The main problems: 1) Low volume. Even max'd out the unit doesn't have enough volume to drown out any background noise when listening to the unit in a loud environment. ie. coffee house 2) Poor documentation and software. There's little documentation with the unit to describe the functions of the scroll wheel etc. you're on your own to figure it out. 3) Headphones- the very first day I lost one of the foam caps and had to have it replaced, only to have it fall off again a number of times. I called Tech support about the volume problems and they just responded that the Rio 600 has better volume. It was obvious that they were unable to talk honestly about the 500 since it is a product that is being phased out. Having said all of this I did purchase the Rio 600 and I give it two thumbs up. The volume rocks and it has more functionality to the controls and the layout. Since the 600 cost over $100. and has only 32MB of internal memory it's more expensive but in the long run I think you'll be happier.
Rating:
Summary: LEMON WARNING! DO NOT BUY!
Review: Reading the other reviews, I'm glad to know some people are having some success with this product. Obviously, if it works, then it works very well. I am not one of those lucky people. I strongly advise anyone considering this product to read all of the "one star" reviews on this site to get an idea of what you can expect from the Rio. All the horror stories you read in the other reviews are true - the lousy software (which doesn't work, crashes my system, can't sense the Rio player, tells me the empty player is full and can't accept downloads, etc.), crummy tech support, battery consumption, etc. After spending an hour with Rio tech support last week, they threw up their hands and told me to return it for an exchange. Actually, I'll be demanding a refund. From what I've read, a great many of these units are defective in some way, and the manufacturer knew it. If that is true, the Rio 500 should never have been shipped in the first place. I suppose I could exchange my unit for another Rio 500, but why should anyone have to do that? I'll try the new Sony MP3 Walkman or maybe a Nomad, then I'm giving up. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Rio really out did themselves
Review: I was sparked into getting a Mp3 player from my friends and a little peer pressure. I also really found this little piece of the tech world realy realy interesting. The Rio 500 was 270 to 280 everywhere else, and when i found that it was 70 dollars cheaper on Amazon, i jumped at the chance to get a great bargin. And What a BARGIN! at first i was fairly worried from some of the crappy reviews that the rio 500 got... i don't know what the heck those guys were talking about... this thing is great! The mp3 player itself looks sleek and cool. The software was really easy to use... you can just figure it out with out reading any help topics or manuals. although the software could use a little help, it's just fine the way it is. transfering the mp3s is really easy too. Filling up the 64 megs in the mp3 player took just a few mins. The earphones are really crappy, and the carring case that comes with it looks really crappy too, but who needs a carring case, you can just slip this in your pocket and you won't know it was there! the music sound wonderful, wit good ear plugs. The controls on the rio 500 are easy to use and you can prolly figure them out by fiddlin' with them for a day or 2. All in all the rio 500 is a great product worth the price.
Rating: 
Summary: Great product
Review: I just bought the Diamond Rio PMP500 and it's great. There are a few downsides though, the software is a little confusing at first but in just a short while I had no trouble with it, the headphones it comes with are uncomfortable and don't have very good sound, also it eats up batteries like crazy and doesn't have an available AC adapter. I suggest buying rechargeable batteries and a charger so you don't go broke buying batteries, and if you do use regular batteries make sure they're something like Duracell Ultra or another battery for high tech equipment. Other than those few downsides the Rio 500 is great, the sound quality is great its very portable and has some great features.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Product with Minor Software Glitches
Review: I have found that this little gadget is just so useful over the past months that I have owned it. It is so light that I carry it in my briefcase and it comes in very handy when I want to turn the train and airport noises off. The software could be easier to use, and of course I want more memory so that I can load up 6 CDs worth of sound on it. Right now, you will be lucky to get 15 songs, not bad.
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