Rating: 
Summary: Nice Device
Review: I presently own both the 20 gB ipod and Rio Karma. The ipod was great. However, being a windows operator, the Rio player offers direct connect with out firewire. Also, the other big difference, the rio can be given an ip address and connected directly to your home network and accessed via multiple computers. VERY NICE. If the rio continues to perform well I will find myself getting rid of the ipod. I think the rio has much to offer it terms of competition with the ipod (for windows users that is).
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding little toy
Review: I got the Rio Karma in preparation for a deployment to Iraq. Having been to Kuwait once, I learned my lesson about CD's and sand. So I got the Karma to put all of my CD's onto. This thing is SOOOO easy to use. Within an hour I had it up and running with 90% of my (Albiet small) collection of CD's loaded. I love all of the things I can do, the Rio DJ, The random setting. I like the way I can pick songs based on the album, or the Artist, or even a certain type of music. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone needing a large storage space. It is small, compact and very easy to use. Even a dummy could run this easily.
Rating:
Summary: Does as advertised: in style. Beats iPod and Zen.
Review: I've had the Karma for about a week now, and I have one word: Wow. Originially, I was going to op for the iPod, but as I did a little more research I found that there were more options. After I read all I could find, I narrowed my options down to the Nomad Zen Xtra 30 gig player, the 10 gig iPod, or the Rio Karma. I finally decided on the Karma for many reasons:
-Loading Dock
-MANY included acessories
-Amazing sound quality, riveled only by the Zen
-Price
-Small Size (Smaller in height then Zen and Pod, but abit wider)
-Battery life, this was really a large factor in my decision. The Karma had a good 15 hour lithium battery, whereas the Zen and Pod only had 6-10 hour battery, I did not want to settle for that.
Another reason I choose the Karma over the iPod is because I would've had to buy a firewire card, or an adapter. The Karma also seemed to have a more sturdy construction over the Zen/iPod.
Yet another reason: Rio DJ, one of the most entertaining features I have ever come across, do a little research into that, it's too detailed for me to explain but a very, VERY nice feature.
I've also heard that the software included with the Nomad/iPod is very shifty and buggy, the software that came with the Karma is exactly what I was looking for, and with upgradable firmware on the player, it's a beautiful thing.My only complaint is that the player is advertised to have a 20 gig capacity although in reality it only holds 18.5. I couldn't really care less, I'll never fill 18.5 gigs, but it's just kinda false to advertise 20 gigs and give you 18.5. All in all, I'd say the best economical MP3 jukebox on the market. If you're looking to spend 200-300$ on a player, this is the only way to go.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Product
Review: I bought this MP3 player because it appeared to be a superlative product at a very reasonable price (SALE price of $284). My suspicions were confirmed; it took 5 minutes to set up and upload all my music (I had downloaded Rio Music Manager beforehand and encoded all the files into FLAC). It is extremely light, and the docking sation is a very good feature. The sound quality is faultless, and the FLAC support is very useful because it is connected to a NAD and B&W seperates HiFi system. The customer service has been very good, with all my queries answered efficiently and concisely.
I would highly recommend this as a slightly cheaper alternative to the exaltified iPod.
Rating:
Summary: Cant put this thing down!
Review: Just got my Rio Karma in the mail as a christmas gift and i have to say it is the COOLEST thing that has ever happened to my music. I originally wanted the Creative Zen extra but my father did the comparison shopping and im very glad he did.. I have absolutely no complaints about this little guy.. Sound is great, transferring songs was a breeze, cross fade is really cool! Im talking like ive never owned an MP3 player, which is totally true! So, i guess if this is what i have to compare other players to, then i feel sorry for the other guys. The ear phones are not the greatest because i want to hear full bass in my music, but oh well...that problem is easily solved. I followed other peoples advice and downloaded the updated firmware and i have not had any problems thus far. The size of this thing is probably the best part. Its not bulky or too heavy and it fits great in the hand. I agree that the scroll wheel is a bit hard to turn sometimes and feels a little flimsy, but in comparison to how well the music is stored and played on this thing, i really dont care about apearance too much. Keep up the good work Rio.
Rating:
Summary: A great MP3 Player
Review: If your looking for a hardrive based MP3 player but can't afford or aren't to impressed by the Ipod. This makes a great alternative. Not only is is small with a great battery life, and easy to use interface, but it includes a couple of little things that Apples Ipod just doesnt have. Ogg vorbis support for one. RCA outputs on the docking station for ease of use with your home stereo and the big bonus....Ethernet port with Java interface. Plug it into your network and you can do everything you can do with the USB interface, plus us it on any platform that supports Java (just about every platform). The only draw back is the karma's proprietary File system, that prevents you from mounting it as a harddrive. Though you can still transfer files using the Rio Taxi software. Other than that, this is probably the best Ipod killer out there.
Rating:
Summary: Rio builds a CHAMPION - this little machine is great!
Review: With a plethora of hard drive MP3 players on the market, the decision ahead of me seemed endless. I love the interface on the iPod, the capacity of the Nomad, and the features of the iRiver. Why did I buy a Rio? It was the best combination of all three. I'm not one to gush over hardware, but my word, this thing needs some gushing. First off, this thing is far smaller than I expected it to be. It's smaller than any of the other options, and seemed to have the best fit in my hand. One handed operation was easier with the Rio than with any other. In fact, the Nomad and the Dell were downright bricks in comparison. The response time is simply stellar. There's no wait to load the next track - you hit 'skip', and there it is - instantly. Sound quality is well above my expectations. With the dock, I connected to my Harmon Cardon receiver and it sounded excellent. Headphones, both earbuds of all types and egg-style phones sound excellent. I did replace the included headphones, but that wasn't a sound issue as much as a comfort issue. The interface is at the very least as good as the Ipod's. I took the time to be sure all my MP3s were named properly with ID3 tags. This makes sorting them and playing them fantastic. Album, Genre, Artist, Playlist - the options are all very well worked out and easy to use. The fact that other players DON'T let you make playlists on the fly is laughable - what fun is 5000 tracks if you can't queue up a quick list of tunes to listen to? Anyhoo, I never cracked the manual once, and I have no trouble synchronizing, fiddling with the EQ, or setting up playlists. Anyone with even a modest head for tech is going to be right at home. The battery life is simply outstanding. I'm in the period where I have to discharge the battery completely, and it's a real chore to wear the batteries down before it's bedtime. All day at work, it's on my desk, backlight on constantly, music playing constantly. I even leave it playing in my bag, with the backlight on, through my entire commute. After all this, I STILL have to run it for several hours after I get home before I can plug it in to be recharged. I've never had a rechargeable device with battery life like this before. I've ever in my LIFE worried that the battery wouldn't wear out in time for bed =). Thank goodness there are only five times you have to do this before the battery memory is set, and I can charge whenever I'd like. The software to synchronize with the computer isn't entirely intuitive - I actually like iTunes a little better as far as jukebox programs that sync with players go. It's very stable and easy enough to use though. Some have complained that it felt cheaply constructed against the other players. They're nuts. It feels very solid in the hand. It has a well-built heft to it, in spite of the tiny size. The controls, including the Riostick, seem well contructed and sturdy. It is plastic, but it's very tight at the seams. It's the kind of device you don't worry about dropping on carpet. I'm not throwing it around the house, but I feel confident it can take a reasonable beating. I recommend, however, that you pick up a little case for it. Cases for the Gameboy Advance SP work perfectly and can be had cheaply. Amazon carries the one I purchased - the title is " GameBoy Advance SP Carrying Case". One note - update the player to firmware build 1.25. Some people have reported bugs, but Rio has been excellent with patches and support, and their developer community is very active on the message boards at www.riovolution.com. The days of poor Rio support are over - the new parent corporation is seeing to that. In conclusion, as a geek among geeks, I've had my share of trinkets. I'm on my 5th digital camera, my 16th handheld (no lie!), and have handled more gadgets than I can shake a stick at. The Rio Karma is without reservations one of the finest pieces of equipment in my stable of technology. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Great idea....terrible follow-through
Review: I searched and searched for a decent, reasonably priced mp3 player. I was set on NOT purchasing an iPod, just because they are overpriced and buggy on the Windows OS. I purchased the Rio Karma about 6 weeks ago, because it seemed to be a great unit and had exactly what I was looking for. When it arrived I followed the directions for charging and powering up. The unit does not work. At all. The screen will light up, but no menu appears and the processor makes a whiny sound for a couple of seconds...then the screen goes blank again. I have contacted Sonic Blue about the problem, outlining the steps I had performed according to the troubleshooting manual. As expected, I received a generic auto-response telling me to do exactly what I had stated I had done in my e-mail. It took them 3 days to respond. I immediately wrote back asking for more help and asking if I should just request a refund from the store from which I purchased it. That was over a week ago and I have heard nothing back. I am by no means a technial genius, but I do have extensive knowledge in IT as well as programming (which is my job). I personally think either the firmware was never loaded or it has become so corrupt that it no longer functions at all. I'm really not sure what to do at this point, but I am seriously disappointed in their customer service and shoddy product. I will never purchase from them again.
Rating:
Summary: Lovin' it
Review: I've had the Rio Karma 20 for 2-weeks now. No glitches and no complaints. I never wrote a review before but there's a lot of hype out there, and I feel I owe it to this great product. I worried that I'd be disappointed by not getting the iPod - I was way wrong. (If you follow the hype you'll miss out on a great device.) Now, I think the Rio Karma is better! For some it may be a matter of Ogg/Vorbis vs. AAC. I use WinXP and Linux so it helped make my decision slightly easier. Price on the Rio Karma is better. Warranty on the iPod better. I paid <$50 for a 2-year extended warranty on the Rio Karma so no worries. Ogg/Vorbis encoded music whether rock, jazz, classical, or accoustic sounds great! I am impressed. At 192kbps I'm averaging 54MB per album. Of course it plays MP3's just fine too. I'm more satisfied with my decision every passing day. The RioDJ which is built into the RioKarma is one of the reasons I bought it. I am glad I did. Now I really am enjoying my _entire_ CD collection. It's a whole lot more enjoyable than 'selecting' a single album to listen to. Of course you can do that too. The included Sennheiser MX300 earbuds are very good (rated 18-20000Hz). If you want to spend money (~$40), the new Sony in-the-ear NDR-EX71SL are really incredible! Get an extended warranty and don't worry about the battery ( > 12hrs per charge). And about 500 charges (or partial equivalents equaling zero-charge to full-charge.) ..and did I mention it does audio streaming over ethernet to your favorite OS via free 3rd-party java program (RioStreamer.jar). I just found out about it today and haven't tried it yet - too busy ripping my entire music collection to just one place! ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Picky person satisfied...
Review: I evaluated both the zen xtra and the karma last week and decided on the Karma. Basically the Zen just felt "clunky." First, about the battery. It's a different type of battery than the Ipod/Zen . After about 2 yrs. you'll only get 12 hours instead of 15...oh damn. After another year, maybe only 10 hours...what a bummer. Get the point? There are already plenty of reviews here that talk about the features and even compare against other products, what I want to tell you about is the support on the forums. Ever wanted to ask the creator of a product, "Why is this like this?" It gets better. How would you like to ask for a feature in software, like a sort of "filter" and have the creator or developer respond with this, "I think I have the solution to this problem - Not sure if it will get implemented yet, but many people seem to want this functionality, so hopefully we can find the time to get it done." There are 7 or 8 developers who regularly post @ riovolution.com. It's absolutely insane, I've never seen anything like it. Also, when they release firmware, the readme is filled with fixes/features. These guys are really on the ball here. The point is that even tho there are a couple bummers about it, it's nothing I can't live without. Not to mention 2 of them have been mentioned as future firmware goodness ;-) Cheers! P.S. Ditch the headphones and go to head-fi.org.
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