Rating: 
Summary: Fun on the run; A portable player with features.
Review: Rio Cali 256 MB Sport MP3 PlayerPROS: * Intuitive, easy-to-use software.
* Easy to update interface application.
* Very small and lightweight.
* Clear and well-designed display.
* SD media card expansion.
* Works well with PC and Mac iTunes.
* Built-in FM Tuner. CONS: * Low-end headset included. Best that you upgrade.
* No USB 2x.
* You'll have to pay an extra $10 for the MP3 ripping.
* Cannot access as external data device through 'My Computer'.
* Uses 7+ megs of storage for 'ghost' data.
* 90 day limited warranty, should be at least a year. Overall personal rating, 1 thru 10, I give this device a 7.5. If you find any errors or changes in this review, please feel free to email me.
Rating:
Summary: well thought out, nice holster
Review: Looked all over for a mp3 player to replace my mpio-dmk which gave out after a year. I use mine almost exlusively for working out, especially jogging. I know of almost no one who uses armbands, clipping the player to a waistband works much better, and looks less goofy. Even though mp3 players have been out for years now the clips and attachments are still often made as an afterthought, and rarely well documented on the internet, or in the cases at the store. A case in point is the RCA Lyra rd1080, which I returned for the cali. Buying the cali was still an act of faith since there were no pictures of the "sports armband" that came with it. Anyhow, I've only had it for a few days but here is what I like about it: 1. It comes with a "holster" with a metal clip that attaches tightly to the player without covering any controls except the usb attachment. Perfect for jogging, it is lightweight, and the joystick works well enough for advancing tunes while on the move. Volume controls also very easy to use, even when running. Also seems solidly made, hope it will last.
2. The sd slot cannot be accessed without removing the battery, so it is impossible to take it out with the power on. This also makes the slot well sealed. Smart design.
3. Navigation to fm tuner and other features is straightforward. All in all good first impressions. Recommended for runners
Rating: 
Summary: YOU'D BETTER READ THIS BEFORE YOU DECIDE
Review: Ipod shmipod. I think I will die with my Rio Cali on... or at least be buried with it. Music has never sounded so energetic and tangible until now. The acoustics are incredible. I feel like I'm in a recording studio. The low's, mid's and high's are so crisp with the Rio, a whisper or an unfamiliar noise in a song startles me at times, because I think there's something or someone else in the room. Besides the quality of sound and despite it's miniature size, I get 384 kb of music with the memory expansion card, which is like 120 songs in wma format (for those who aren't CPU aficionados). On my old mp3/cd player, I found myself replacing the batteries every four hours or so. With the Rio full blast on Rock setting I get at least 16 hours of play. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to a few of my favorite soundtracks right now. And did I mention the surprisingly powerful bass response? The armband is a nice addition, too. However, it would have been better if the armband was roomier, and not so scratchy when I'm moving around or working out. But whatever, guess I can't get it all. Well... get one and stop reading reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Great Versitile MP3 Player!
Review: I am so impressed with the Cali that I bought for my husband that I'm going out to get one for myself! I love the easy-to-use software! I found that you can easily download a MP3 upgrade (for FREE!) in order to RIP songs into MP3 format as well as WMA, FLAC, and OGG! It's lightweight, has an FM Tuner, an expansion slot for additional storage space, and is designed for an active lifestyle. What more do you need? I too had a little trouble at first with the ear buds, but quickly got used to them. When in use, they drown out nearly everything else going on. I love it! I stumbled across this one and have since looked at what else is out there. This is the MP3 player for me!
Rating: 
Summary: junk junk junk
Review: Thank god that I purchased the 2 year waranty. I have had this MP3 player for a few months and I was impressed at first even if the radio reception stinks. However, recently the mazimum download will be 19 songs, because of "non-existent" errors. The screen has frozen with the word Upgrader on it, and ive tried to upgrade it but it is still frozen on the screen. I am very dissapointed with the Rio Cali and would not reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Great player for the gym
Review: This MP3 player is great for the money...it's durable, sounds great (radio reception not great - but why would you buy an mp3 player for radio reception?) Head phones sound good but are uncomfortable. My girlfriend borrows mine all the time - so this holiday she will be getting one from me!
Rating:
Summary: Do Not Buy a Rio Crappy
Review: Worst Mp3 player on the market. Save your money for an Ipod.
The Rio crappy only holds the amount of one CD and the Quality is very poor.
Rating:
Summary: Very Content with Rio Cali 256 Sport !
Review: (...)
For power, I see a rechargable AAA instead of a disposable AAA battery in the future for me. Almost wished it was a cross between a rechargable similar to PalmOne's Zire 21 PDA that can recharge thru the usb cable, and Rio's easy access battery panel for quick replacement when the rechargable dies.
Software, Rio's software may be proprietary, but works like Windows Explorer to add songs. Requires a reformat of memory to clear the unit and start fresh, but you can also add on the fly without reformatting with the unused memory. There are 2 models as I understand, the one w/ a red Rio button, the other with a black Rio button. The black button model allows for better playlist grouping, but a non-issue for the mp3's I play (I have the red button model), I only load what I want to hear and can toggle thru to something that is good to listen to quickly. It has a radio if that's what I want to listen to also !
This product is a couple years on the market, so it's not state of the art, but a sport player it is. An ultra-portable device with adequate memory size. Between firmware upgrades and software upgrades (all freely downloadable), this unit is still very functional. Perhaps the newer models (Forge models), there are improvements, but then again, you'll pay for those in spades @ checkout ! I gave it 5 stars because of the price and features, @ a higher cost and this can become a 4 star product rating.
Rating:
Summary: A well-designed MP3 player from Rio...
Review: The RioCali 256, while a comparatively old MP3 player by the time this review has been written, is still an excellent flash-drive based MP3 player that has the capacity and features exceeding that of the typical entry-level MP3 player, while still retaining the qualities of convenience and efficient convenience and efficiency.
Briefly first, the contents of the packaging (which can be read under the product details, but I am mentioning this for the official record nevertheless): upon purchasing this MP3 player, you receive the MP3 player (of course), the USB cable, the software, an armband with an accompanying strap, instruction manual, and warranty card.
The MP3 player itself has a very durable design, with a strong rubber coating encompassing the entire MP3 player, enabling it to take much more of a beating than some of the smaller and more delicate MP3 players currently available on the market. The LCD screen is slightly curved, with the peak of the curve residing just below the rim of the rubber-disk surrounding it (so if you were to drop it on its face, it would be very difficult for the surface to come into contact with the screen, possibly breaking it).
The MP3 player itself is quite ergonomically efficient, with gripping it in the palm of your hand providing easy access to each of its fundamental controls. The Rio Cali is accessible to those who are right or left handed. For those who are left handed, to hold it in your hand with the screen facing out, the thumb can be easily placed on the top left of the Rio Cali, which is where the volume controls are, with moving your thumb slightly in each direction to reach track forward, reverse, play, and pause, the menu button, the lock option, and the power button. Those who are right handed can hold it with the screen facing inward and have the same degree of control accessibility.
The battery cover is quite durable, although there are only two, apparently fragile clips on both ends of the cover. While I have not broken the clips on my battery cover, it would be extremely unsurprising if it were easy to do so.
When I purchased my RioCali256, there was no information in the instruction manual as to where the slot for the memory upgrade happens to be located (although it is easy to find). Open the battery compartment, and just behind where the battery is located is the SD or MMC card slot that enables you to upgrade its capacity from 256 MB to 1 GB. The technical specifications under product details state that an additional 512 MB can be added to the unit, but the box of the one I purchased advertises 1 GB.
This is quite curious, as there are no memory cards which reside between 512 MB and 1 GB. A 512 MB memory card and enhance the capacity to 768 MB. But it is unclear as to how one would attain 1 GB worth of memory since the only memory cards currently available in that range are either 512 MB or 1 GB. Perhaps a 1 GB card could be used, in which case the remaining 488 MB would be wasted, but it is by no means certain if it would work in the first place. In any event, I would recommend sticking with the 512 MB memory card just to be safe.
The software is proprietary to the unit, and is necessary to transfer information from the hard drive to the RioCali. The software is quite easy to use, with the interface being quite basic. The software allows you to categorize your files into certain folders and so forth, and the transfer rate from the USB is decently fast.
When it comes to the sound quality of almost any MP3 player, the most significant element contributing to the sound quality is the over-all quality of the MP3 itself. If the MP3 file is highly compressed in order to save space, the sound quality will follow accordingly. The RioCali 256 can approach high volumes, but the sound quality is largely dependent upon the quality of the MP3, so definitely take that into consideration when evaluating the sound quality you are hearing. The MP3 player also has an FM turner, with eight digital presets.
The headphones are the sport-style in-ear buds, which essentially consist of in-ear buds that clip on to the top of your ear. I prefer this type of design, as I prefer in-ear buds, but notice them falling out during periods of exercise. The type of in-ear bud with the ear clip prevents this, and that is the type of headphone the manufacturer supplies.
The manufacturer advertises up to 18 hours of playback, but this number can be dramatically reduced if the LCD backlight if on. The LCD backlight, while an appealing blue color, can dramatically drain the battery life when left on throughout the entirety of its operation, especially if it is being operated daily for decent periods of time. Fortunately, the menu settings enable you to configure the duration of the backlight by selecting one of several modes, which are to turn it off completely, allow it to stay on for two seconds, five seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, (the light turns on when a track is paused or changed) or on completely. Also, make sure to turn the MP3 player off completely when not in use, as the track can be stopped, but the player still be operational, resulting in continuous power-drainage until it is eventually turned off (or the battery runs out).
The RioCali256 also has a large spectrum of menu options, which are: playing all the tracks, selecting the track from a menu, selecting from available playlists, a stopwatch, customizable playback (shuffle and repeat), a five band equalizer, with several preset settings already available depending upon the type of music, power save options (which is basically a sleep-timer, if you want it activated), contrast adjustment, date and time settings (which can be based off of a 12 or 24 hour time-clock), several different languages to select from, and several other settings.
The only problem I ever noticed with my RioCali256 is that the first time I transferred MP3 files to the player, I noticed that most of them had very brief intermittent interruptions (quite analogous to when a CD skips). However, that could have been the MP3 file itself, and since that point onward, I have not encountered that problem again, nor any additional problems.
I would recommend this particular MP3 player to one who wants an MP3 player that has moderate sized capacity (which, of course, stores information that can be overwritten when you wish), with a multitude of features that makes it quite customizable. The RioCali line-up is clearly designed with the comfort and ergonomic concerns taken into account, making all the fundamental features accessible, and providing a wide spectrum of available menu features that lets the user fine-tune it to their own preferences.
Rating:
Summary: JUNK
Review: I bought it and was happy with it untill it stoped working for no reason two months after I bought it. My gf bought one the same day for a present and it stopped working the same week mine stopped. Complete waste of money. DO NOT BUY!!!!
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