Rating: 
Summary: This is a real nice toy. I love it!
Review: I ordered overnight, and receive my Rio 500 the next day. If your thinking about one, it's awesome. Here's my feedback. Don't bother using the software on the CD that comes with in the box. It works, but the latest version on the rioport website is much better. There is no software for anything other than Windows 98 or Mac right now. It will not load on Windows 2000 becasue of that, and will not work on Windows 95 do to lack of USB support in Windows 95. The earbuds fall out of my ears easy, but this is not a Rio problem. I'm sure there are better listening devices to make this product sound even better. I had no problem installing it or figuring out how to work it, but I work with computers for a living. It was pretty straight forward for me on Windows 98. Be sure to have your Rio connected when installing the software, and register the software after it's installed to get the full functionality. The easiest way to do all this is to be connected to the Internet when installing this product. Once your up and running, I highly recommend News Rover to get MPG files from the net. Hope this helps.
Rating: 
Summary: Nightmare Scenario
Review: If I could actually get it to work, this might be a great product. After spending two days upgrading my computer (bios, drivers, Win98SE, etc.) I installed the Rio500 software and drivers. The Audio Manager (interface software) kept crashing, so I downloaded the latest update. Still crashed, but slightly less often. After a week, the player died. I returned it for a replacement. The Audio Manager will not recognize the new player (even though Win98 seems to have no problem). Diamond seems to have no interest in customer support. Try a year or two from now when they get the bugs worked out.
Rating:
Summary: MP3 PLAYER vs. MINIDISC
Review: Look, if you are anything like me, u have spent what seems like hours comparing mini discs and mp3 players you'll fine this advice useful. To me, haveing both the Rio and a Sony Mini Disc, the MD is much much better. It's quality is GREAT, can also get mp3's off any computer with a sound card, and it has unlimited space(each cd cost 1 to 2 dollars. So, go with the MD, don't make the mistake i did, in buying the rio first. Happy shopping.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely fantastic little player!
Review: This is an awesome gadget. Yes, some of the reviews highlighted some 'problems' with software, documentation, loading drivers, and support. I had some minor difficulty loading the drivers (you need the rioport software cd in your CDROM drive before you click 'next'), and I had to update the software on their website to the most recent version 2.1.16). Once done, this is absolutely fabulous -works great, easy to use, sound is unbelievably good. True, documentation is sparse (a company like Diamond could do better - with all these little bugs), and Music Match may have the software edge, but overall, this is a great product. Incidentally, as far as support goes, using the emial option was great - I got a fast response and the advice covered all bases and worked fine to solve the problems. So Email may be better than a 'real' person! Would have been 5 stars without the bugs; the teal 'see through' (mac-like) color is way cool!
Rating:
Summary: I sent this product back
Review: Be warned. The software for this product is so bad and filled with bugs I was forced to return the product. Software compatibility with Win 98 is very poor. On top of that, the customer support at Diamond is virtually non-existent. I got no assistance. I would stay away from this product.
Rating:
Summary: The rio500 is an excellent product
Review: Despite what others have said about this mp3 player, my view is totally the opposite. I am a senior in high school and, with one of these players, you will have a very good day. At first the software seemed quirky and i had to reboot every now and then to get the USB to work. After I did some "spring cleaning" to my computer and put a fresh version of windows on the HardDrive it now works without any flaws. Also the software seems to be a pain because it attempts to add every mp3 it can find on the main harddrive to the library and then it selects every mp3 in the library, so when you go to send files to the rio500 you have to deselect every file you don't want. Or delete the mp3's one at a time from the library. There is no deselect all and the delete and backspace buttons don't do the job. If you are lucky enough to have a "Drop down menu" button on your keyboard you can remove files rapidly. No compliants about the player whatsoever. Documentation was very very poor for the player itself. They didn't come right out and tell you that you can press IN on the scroll button to select accessory menu command such as backlight. I figured this one out on my own. I've had no problems with battery life mainly due to the fact that I can get slightly used batterys for free.
Rating:
Summary: A major improvement
Review: I just got my Rio 500 in the mail, and I must say I am very pleased with the latest model. The button placement has improved, it seems more rugged, the backlight display is great, the display overall is better, the USB connection is lightning fast, double the on-board RAM (plus I can use the 32MB flash memory from my Rio 300), the bookmark feature is great.Some gripes, however. The software is not the best, and the need to make folders in order to download is kind of annoying. The 500 doesn't support VBR encoded MP3's; it will convert it to a constant rate before downloading it. The unit needs to be on to download, erase, which wastes battery life.
Rating:
Summary: The best mp3 player in the world
Review: This is the best. I mean i love to have the songs that i want when i want them. It is soooo easy to load the songs onto the player. The upload time is really, really, really fast! And with the 64 mg (upgradeible to 96) you can hold over an hour of music. Plus since they are mp3 songs the are all for free! Withing the first 15 min. of opening it i had it ready to go. And it has awsome sound! PLus a customizable equalizer. Dont forget the preset sound functions. The buttons are easy to use and it looks really cool! It is the best. So for all of you who want an mp3 player, you need this one. Better than all others!
Rating:
Summary: Great product, bad battery
Review: I recently purchased the Diamond Rio 500 just because I'm a "new gadget freak." Upon opening it i immediately loved it. It's tiny enough to conceal and simply looks really "cool," for lack of a better word. The software was easy enough to install, although the instructions are extremely vague. I had to try a couple of times before I even got the USB driver installed. The software is very easy to use and the USB connection allows for extremely fast music transfer. The 2 downfalls of the Rio 500, however, are, of course, the lousy ear buds, and the poor battery life. If you don't intend on changing the music often, then the battery life is just fine. However, if you like to have a little variety now and then, plan on purchasing a lot of AA's. I recommend this unit to anyone who always wants music with them but doesn't want the burden of having to carry around all their cd's or tapes in those big, clumsy cases.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad but needs a bit more..
Review: The rio500 still does not support Audible.com spoken books and the software doenst support windows NT , WTF is that? You would think that as we move into the 21st Century that a Name Brand Company like Diamond would get their act together. Otherwise its a good product, seems to be made well.
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