Rating: 
Summary: Nifty idea, wish I could get "free upgrades"!
Review: My brother spoiled me with a Rio when they first came out. It's been great to be able to listen on the road to mp3s of songs that you never hear on the radio and are hard to come by even in stores. The music quality depends on the software used to rip the tracks, and w/great-quality songs, Rio delivers great sound. My complaints are too little memory (and EXPENSIVE memory cards) and the lack of some sort of AC outlet option for when you're not away from an electrical outlet. Those little machines suck up batteries in a big way. The former problem (sniff) I hear will be addressed in the next Rio. I hope the latter problem will be too. If only, like lots of shareware, I could get free upgrades...!
Rating: 
Summary: Great idea, but not finished
Review: I like the player, but my biggest peeve, other than than the poor headphones and no backlight, is that I cannot get the volume very loud. I use my Walkman to mow the grass, but the sound on the Rio is so low that I can't hear it over the sound of the lawn mower. So it's back to the Walkman for mowing.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product for Workouts
Review: The Rio and the MusicMatch Jukebox software that comes with it are a great way to make use of your PC to store music from your own CD collection and the internet. You can load about 1 hour of music at 64kbps on the Rio which is not perfect CD quality, but is more than adequate when running or in the gym. I'd say that a good way to improve the product would be to increase the memory on the Rio (which is in the works) to hold about 2 hours of capacity at 128kbps which sounds really good. With the 50 dollar rebate it is a lot cheaper than a minidisc player/recorder. Plus, the Rio Player is not intended to be a storage device itself. Who wants to have a whole pile of minidiscs to keep track of anyway? Why not just download the songs into the Rio to take to the gym or out for the day, and then change the songs on it the next time? It is so small and unshockable you can do anything and listen to music on the move which is what the Rio Player is intended for.
Rating:
Summary: Great for running and I love the control panel!
Review: This product was a God Send for me, as I love to listen while on the run. I had been using a 40 second EASS CD player that weighted about a pound and ate batteries. The Rio controls are super easy to use while in motion and in the dark. I load my music from CDs. It takes a long time to crunch the cd to mp3, but you can have the pc cranking away while you are doing other tasks and once you have the database, changing the music inside the Rio is real fast. Overall a well thought out product. What we need now is a water proof model.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent product/Too little storage
Review: This device is great for on the go people. It's small, lite, and the playback is great. What really annoys me though is the short playtime you get if you don't compress the music into the player. Compressing the music will only make your music (if you really care about what you are listening to) sound pretty bad. I recently bought a 32MB memory card for my Rio, which is the other problem: MEMORY IS EXPENSIVE. It cost me $99!! And what's worse is the fact that a new Rio is coming out with 64MB of flash memory included! Also, I've encountered another problem with Rio, if it suddenly gets hit, the thing will just stop playing. Sure, it doesn't skip if you shake it, but a sudden jolt on the thing while riding in your car or working out will make it stop for some reason. Another problem is the slow process of recording your CDs and putting it into the device. All in all though, I'm pretty satisfied with the device. Because of it's portability and great sound quality, it more than makes up for its weaknesses.
Rating:
Summary: Great product with a few limitations
Review: I have had my rio for quite some time now, and i must say that it was the best money i spent on an audio device, or computer peripheral. It is extremely light weight, slightly smaller than a pack of cigerettes, runs on one AA battery (lasts about 14 hours). The music, despite what some people say, can sound great. the software you use makes a huge difference. the included software is good, but you can download free software that is better. It will hold about 7-8 of your favorite tracks at almost CD quality. Most of the time cd's only have that many good tracks anyway. The only downside is that you can't change tracks when away from your computer, but most of the time even that's not a big deal. I bought my rio when it was still $199 and i feel that it was well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Might want to wait.
Review: I really like the Rio. doesn't skip, light weight. The downloads take a bit too long with the parallel interface. The PMP 500 will have a USB interface, It will also display titles of song and have other features. Check out mp3shopping.com, there are specs. I read the new Rio was do out sometime in August.
Rating: 
Summary: Needs Work, poor quallity
Review: It is not worth it yet to buy something that has such a little amount of recording time at a poor quallity of music. You are limited in getting the mp3 format also. You need a pc computer with the internet. Maybe a later upgrade but for now get something better.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible, Get a MiniDisc player instead
Review: Woo hoo, I can pay $100 and get a chip that'll hold an hour of audio, or I can spend $2.50 and get a MiniDisc that'll hold 74 minutes of superior sound. Add to that the fact that I can record a concert or other event without having to have a computer present. Also factor in the fact that a Minidisc play-only unit can be had in the same price range. You decide.
Rating: 
Summary: Rio works for Talk Radio too!
Review: I use the Rio SE to hold 8-10 hours of talk radio programs converted to MP3 from RA. While the Rio sounds terrific playing music encoded at 128 kps, at 16 kps you can get lengthy play time. Since talk radio is generally heard on AM radio, the lower quality sampling rate sounds familiar. Since I always thought MP3 was the venue for pirated copies, garage bands, and alternative music, I had always ignored the format. This Rio is the answer to a talk radio addict's dream.
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