Rating: 
Summary: excellent!!
Review: Hi people. I am not much of a review writter, in fact this is my fisrt one! And I just want to point out that the quality of this product actually made me wanna get out there and tell the world to buy the rio s35s. it does exactly what is advertised. I don't know about these bad reviews about the radio, it works fine for me, indoors and outdoors. fantastic capacity (hint upload your songs in wma [windows media player] format, you'll be able to fit a lot more on this little [...]!).the headphones aren't as bad as some described it to be. I guess if you don't like'em you can get hi-end ones, but that doesn't change the fact that the s35s is the bomb!!. I also got a sandisk 256mb sd card with it and so far it works perfectly! I have 100 songs on my player right now (internal and external memory combined) and I still have over a 100mb to play with! so bad reviewers, read your manuals before you screw things up and blame it on the product.
Rating: 
Summary: Fits My Gym Workouts Like a Glove!
Review: First off, I'll say that overall, the S35S is great at its main function: playing digital music files in a versatile module. I have had it for a few months now, and I must say that it is superb in the gym (the only place I use it). I'm there 5 days a week, my circuits vary between weight training and cardiovascular workouts...and this player compliments those activities very well. The shape is nice, very small and "cute", and doesn't get in the way very often. At first, I was using the supplied armband alot, but lately, I have resorted to clipping it to my waist. It makes it easier for me to run the cord inside my shirt and keep it out of the way of weights, etc. Either way, it's so small and light, you don't notice it's on most of the time. It's kind of difficult to get the player out of its little case (which has the belt clip on it), which you have to do every time you change batteries...but not so difficult to make a difference. The player is also very versatile and rugged. 2 days after I got it, I was wearing in on my arm, and I accidentally ran it into a wall corner. I was about to kick myself, until I realized that there wasn't a single mark on it. Nice! The controls are good for basic functions. Even under my shirt, I can easily blindly feel my way to the playback buttons (all located on the oversize main button) and volume control. And something most people who have reviewed this product seem to miss is the button lock feature. Read the directions all the way through, you'll see that holding down the "menu" button for a couple seconds locks the keys, preventing accidental pressing. The RealOne software that comes with it makes it very easy to rip and upload music to the S35S. I have compiled a list of about 300 workout-oriented songs from my CD collection; RealOne lets you create random playlists with a specific time limit and/or genre/artist filters. Me, I wake up in the morning, plug the USB cable into the top of the player (which, by the way, was very simple to set up), generate a random playlist with a total length of about 130 minutes, the general limit of the player (using regular 128k MP3 encrypted songs), hit download, and walk away. About 8 minutes later, it's ready to go. Using traditional alkaline batteries, or even the new "E-squared" or "Duracell Ultra", you don't get a whole lot of time from a battery. Maybe 5 hours? So, I suggest that if you purchase the s53s, do yourself a favor and buy a AA/AAA charger with a few rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries (vast improvements over the old Nickel Cadmiums). Not only do they last longer than even the upgraded alkalines, but you save yourself mucho bucks in the long run. Energizer makes a nice charger, if you're interested. The sound is great, but unless you have great headphones (which don't mesh with gym sweat very well), the bass isn't the best. The headphones that came with it were broken right out of the box, but who cares...I had a nice pair already. There is an adjustable digital equalizer, which is nice. Which brings me to the digital interface as a whole. It's alright, but overall, once you really start using the thing on a regular basis, you're bound to discover that the only controls you typically use are "on-off", "play", "stop", "forward/reverse", and "volume". Other than that, the rest seems a bit...superfluous. The radio reception is poor, but I didn't buy the thing so I could have a FM tuner. There are alot of options that I never fool with anymore; it's just set on "shuffle-repeat". The one thing that is a disappointment is the clock. I was excited to be able to have a clock at the gym at all times...but I've found that it keeps time very poorly, and after a few hours, it will be ten minutes behind. So, I've stopped using that...though, the stopwatch is great for running, etc. Overall, like I said, it does what it's supposed to do, and does it well. The other features seem superfluous at times, and I'd trade the radio for extra memory any day...but regardless, the digital music playback and the versatility of the package make it worth the money in and of itself. For what I wanted, I absolutely love this player...I don't know what I'd do without it.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad customer service
Review: I purchased a Rio and it stopped functioning correctly after about a month. I have been on the phone with their technical support and customer service a number of times and they have not been able to fix the problem. They have basically told me that I need a PC, not a Mac to be able to fix the Rio. Had I known that from the beginning, I would not have purchased the Rio. They gave me instructions on sending it back an replacing it with a new one, but I have not received anything in the last 3 weeks.
Rating:
Summary: The best you can find!
Review: For mounth i've looked for a mp3 player. This one is small, light weight and got a nice shape! Life battery is better of what i tought, software is easy to use and took 2 mins to install everything i need!
I've already get new firmware which supports upgrade of memory to 640Mb.
Sound Quality is good (also in wma format). Sonicblue did a great work ^_^
Rating:
Summary: Great for Working Out!
Review: I've been running for about a year now and have found that my endurance has increased throughout the months. This meant that my time spent running became longer, which then lead to a need for keeping my mind busy with music. In the past I've used several methods of listening while running (holding a cd player, making mixed tapes, radio sets) and they all failed miserably. So I forked out the money to purchase this little guy because it was right up my alley: a. 128mb is more than enough music for me and b. my computer is my home jukebox, w/all my cds ripped to my hard drive. Pros:
-rubberized casing that is part of the player (practical and stylish)
-came with an arm strap and belt clip, I prefer the belt clip
-pretty small for an upgradeable device
-added feature of a stopwatch
-single 'AAA' battery
-nice integration with XP Cons:
-stopwatch is a little difficult to access.
-"lock" requires holding two buttons...not that bad
-bundled software (Rio Music Manager) is not that great
-could've done without the display to make it cheaper Bottom Line:
It's a great player for exercising, but I'm sure Rio could've abandoned the need for a display and backlight. Personally, I feel there's no need to display the song title because I remember what I uploaded to the player. But I'm happy because I have the opportunity to upgrade it in the near future!
Rating:
Summary: So Convenient
Review: I purchased this from amazon.com and received it 5-6 days later. I then took it to the gym and was extremely impressed! The sound quality is superb and I love the backlight. It also possess a stop watch and I am able to listen to the radio; I just strap it on my arm and get my workout on!
It doesn't get in the way when I am doing cardio(running)/lifting weights nor does it skip because of the technology; unlike portable contraptions that use discs. I highly recommend this because of the price and the features. Other portable mp3's are more expensive and don't offer the same features. The software is also easy to install and easy to use. The next step is to get a memory card so that I am able to listen to more songs; the memory provided will allow you to listen to 22-26 songs, depending on length of song. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: i LOVE it!
Review: I read and read many reviews and tried several MP3's. I finally decided to buy this one. I love it, it's clear and easy to use. I found the software fairly easy to use, although, it could be better.
The radio is fuzzy at times, but, hey, you don't buy it for the radio features.
Throw away the headphones...! Get real quality headphones.
Overall, I'm very happy. I originally ordered from Amazon, but, couldn't wait, so walked in to bestbuy to buy one.
I heard a lot of complaints about the player braking down. I bought the extended warranty just in case, after all...if you're already spending this much.
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Great player....
Review: I purchased this player with very high hopes. After reading all the reviews (there were more bad then good) I was a little skeptical about recieving my Rio player. When I recieved it I was blown away at how fast my music was transported onto the software and onto the player. It took no time at all but I was careful and I thought the instructions were very helpful. I am very satisified with my order. I was searching for and Mp3 player for a while and I decided to get this one. It barely weighs a thing and it fits in the palm of your hand. The belt clip and the arm band is definatly the plus. Every one was complaining about the headphones. I thought that they were nice and they worked really well. I decided to use my own pair only because they are headphones and not earphones. I have yet to try the fm radio. I have heard that it is bad but we'll see. I didn't buy this Mp3 player for the radio, I bought it for the use of the Mp3. I definatly would recommend this product to anyone. I didn't give this 5 stars because I don't believe that any product is that perfect but I have yet to find a problem.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a computer-retarded athlete
Review: I was looking for a good mp3 player for running. This is it. The computer software took me 10 minutes to set up and to transfer music to the player. So quick and easy. The equilizer is great and the sound is amazing for its size. No complaints at all.
Rating:
Summary: luv it
Review: I bought this player despite what was said about the tuner. I am a beginner runner and wanted something light. I was afraid it might bounce around (what I hate about most little radio's etc). It doesn't bounce around on my arm. The clarity is great. The earphones are just fine. And as for the radio I pick up just fine. Of course I live in a metropolitan area so I am sure that helps. But I have nothing but praise for this little guy.
The worst thing about this was trying to find them. They are really popular.
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