Rating: Summary: The best solid-state player on the market Review: I've owned 4 different MP3 players, included one of the fabled Intel Pocket Concerts, and this one has them all beat, hands down. It has three major advantages over the competition. First, it can support both MP3 and WMA file formats. For those of you who may not be familiar, WMA files are roughly half the size of MP3 files of the same quality, which means that you can fit twice as many songs onto a WMA player. With a cheapo 128 MB Secure Digital card installed, I can easily fit over 200 tracks on this player. When 512 MB SD cards come down in price, you'll be able to better than double that. You do have to go to 44Kbps WMA format, but when you're using earbud headphones you won't notice any difference between 44Kbps WMA and 320Kbps MP3 files, since the speaker just isn't up to a fully faithful reproduction.Second, it has a -working- radio. The big thing the Pocket Concert had going for it was its dual functionality. I found that the radio in the PC wasn't all that great, the reception was lousy, and the volume level was biased so far that you had to crank the sound all the way up to hear anything. Then, when you switched back to MP3s, you'd deafen yourself by mistake. That's not an issue here. This radio, while not perfect, works pretty well, and the volume levels are the same across both formats. Third, this player is very speedy. Files copy very quickly. This player isn't USB 2.0, but with the latest firmware you can dump a song on in around 15 seconds, much faster than most models I've had in the past. Songs also advance quickly, meaning you can skip past a song without a 5 second pause while the player looks for the next track. On top of all this, you have all the advantages solid state players have over hard drive based designs like the iPod- enhanced durability, small size (this thing is about the size of a flattened walnut), light weight, lower power consumption (1 AAA battery will last you around 8 hours, I've found) and real sport functionality. I can have this player in my pocket while running and forget it's there, which is great for people who don't like to be encumbered with things in their hands or strapped to their arms. Still, the design isn't perfect. If I had to nitpick, I'd mention that there ought to be an actual "hold" button instead of having to press the enter and menu buttons simultaneously. The play/stop/forward/back buttons should be seperate as well instead of the large white directional toggle in the center. It's easy to hit the wrong direction by mistake. Lastly, there's no good way to shuffle through your entire library quickly. If you're on song 1 and want to get to song 100 out of 200, you need to skip through all the intervening songs manually. A scroll wheel would be nice in this situation, akin to the Pocket Concert's. Still, all things considered, this is a great player, and a real step forward for the industry. We haven't arrived at the perfect player yet, but we're getting close.
Rating: Summary: Good Music, No good Radio Review: The Music on this is great but dont expect to use the radio. The radio doesnt come in well at all so i never use it. You can see the date and time and it is really helpful. Its great for long trips since it can hold over 100 songs. Just get a big memory chip and then you can hold 100 songs. Just take out the songs you dont want and its perfect for you. I know i love it so you should too.
Rating: Summary: Durability issues? Review: I have had my Rio S35S for about 4 months and use it pretty much strictly for jogging. It holds anywhere from 15-22 songs, which is fine for me. I use a Mac, and I can't complain about how simple it is to get songs on and off with ease through iTunes. The first thing I noticed when I got this out of the package was how cheap it felt. Compared to my friends Nike player by Phillips, this seemed light and plasticy, rather than rubbery and solid. Whatever, it worked so who cares. Anyway, now four months later, it shuts off on me once and a while, and I have to give it a smack to start it up again. It could be because it has fallen once or twice while running, but as a "sport" model, it should be designed for a little jarring here and there. Anyway, I can sense this baby is on its last legs, so I'll be in the market for a new one - not another Rio! ..., they should build something a little more solid and it should last longer than 4 months!
Rating: Summary: Excellent MP3 player Review: Excellent MP3 player, does exerything your could want, and easy to use. Why not a 5 rating?? 1. Radio reception is poor 2. Headphones are poor. Still more that worth it. Excellent for athletes.
Rating: Summary: My First MP3 Player by Fisher Price Review: The first question I have the ask the people who gave this POC a favorable rating is where the heck do you work out--the Boca Breeze rec center? I worked out with my old Nike PSA MP3 player for the past 2 years without incident. I have pulled 10,000 meter ergs, lifted weights, and run without a hitch. I tried to strap this thing to my arm and discovered to my chagrin that I had to slide the pathetic band through the clip of the belt attachement. Now I'm not claiming to have the Guns of Navarone for arms--although they are pretty buff--but my pumpitude soon had the strap straining and the player bobbing around like the ridiculous toy that it is. I'm not kidding when I say this should be rebranded the Fisher Price My First MP3 Player--the only thing missing are the birds and lambies on the ridiculous red casing. I'm trading this thing in for a real sports player--the Nike player by Philips. HEAR ME NOW AND BELIEVE ME LATER, if you wear this thing to the gym, you are going to be laughed at as the puny girlie man you truly are.
Rating: Summary: Great Product...I found the Hold button! Review: I just got the Rio s35s and found it to be a great player. Plays all of my MP3s and WMAs. The FM is a nice alternative when I've gotten tired of the music on the player. The sw that came with the player was really easy to use. It found all of the music on my computer and made it really easy to download to the player. I read several of the reviews that said the player didn't have a hold button. I found in the manual that if you hold down the menu botton on top of the player and push the "enter" button on the front of the player it locks the player. You unlock it the same way. My cell phone locks and unlocks like this. It's easy to use and works well.
Rating: Summary: Not bad ... but it doesn't have hold button!! Review: The player itself is very good, ie, good sound, small size, upgradeable with MMC or SD cards, handy ... But there is something that really bothers me, it doesn't have a hold button! Whenever you put it in your pocket, in your hand or anywhere else you will easily (and accidentally) press the big round set that has the Play and so on. It's very frustrating to put it in your pocket and press the buttons with any minimal movement ...
Rating: Summary: My husband says buy this! Review: I bought the S35S for my husband, a runner. He tells everyone he knows that this is the best gift he has ever received, but he's easy!!! It comes with 128 MB but can be upgraded to 512 MB with a firmware download from the sonicblue.com site. I bought an extra 256MB for $ so just keep looking for good buys. The radio reception is the only drawback, but chances are you aren't buying this for the radio! Songs are very easy to download, the sound is terrific, the menu lists the song, artist and time of the song you are listening to and the random play makes it even better. It's light enough to stay clipped to his nylon running shorts and he hasn't had any problems with the clip as other reviewers mention. We take it with us everywhere.
Rating: Summary: Good Sound Quality, Easy to Use, But Not a Sport Player Review: I found this product and software easy to use. The sound quality was great. The big disappointment is it is market as a "Sport Player" and it is not. The clip needs to stronger. This player cannot withstand any WATER contact. Mine got wet after 5 months of use and has not worked since. Customer service said that would not replace it.
Rating: Summary: Durable! Review: I am very happy with this purchase. Not only is this player easy to use, but it is very durable. I use it while working out and it has survived several falls and one time a bike ran over it...and it's still going strong!! Great for workouts.
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