Rating: 
Summary: Very easy to use, and very great mp3 player!!
Review: I was looking at all the sport-type mp3 players this summer, trying to find the best one to take running each day. I read the reviews here on Amazon, and learned that I definitely didn't want the Nike one (which I have also heard from many other people). But the reviews for this Rio one were misleading. I'm not sure how other people have had problems with this player. IT has been dreamy since I pulled it out of the box. I hooked it up to the computer, installed the Rio Music Manager software, and I was ready to go with a few clicks. A box at the top of the computer screen shows you your available computer mp3 files, and a box on the bottom shows you what you already have on your player, along with a bar that shows you how many more MBs you have room for. You click which files you want, and unclick the files you want removed. It really is that easy. I did follow the review advice and bought a better set of headphones. And the FM tuner seems to work fine where I live. If you love running/walking in a gym or in the outdoors, this RIO player is a must-have.
Rating:
Summary: Great Buy
Review: This is a great buy. I use mine about 3 hrs. a day and the only problem I have found is that it eats batteries.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: I had a RIO mp3/cd player (SP90) that I absolutely love. I adored its design, the ease with which I could 'load' songs or updates to its flash ram.I was looking forward to a simlarly wonderful experience with the S35S SPORTS player. But... ummm.... nope. I got my player about 6 months ago. And gave it a good bit of use at the gymn and on my bike. The Mp3 playback:
The playback of mp3 tracks worked very well. No complaints there. The Display:
The display of track info was clear. In general, the display, the clock, and menu system on the unit all worked very well. Menu navigation made sense. No complaints there. The stopwatch:
An interesting feature. Not terribly convenient. I didn't use it at all. The Radio:
Outdoors, the radio reception generally worked although I would say it was weak and tended to come and go. Indoors, the radio reception generally failed. I found the player constantly trying, and failing, to auto re-tune the radio stations. This is actually much more annoying than say, merely a weak signal. One might bear to listen to NPR with a weak signal - but one cannot listen to ANYTHING when the player re-tunes every second. Exandability:
I put an extra MMC chip in (16mb). The player recognized it. No problems. (The add-on MMC is treated as a seperate block of storage rather than just additional space to the built-in 128Mb) Upgradeability:
I loaded a flash update without any issue, aside from it erasing the handful of my player preferences. Music Upload:
Whereas a simple, standard, 'removable storage' approach would've been an OBVIOUS approach to loading music onto this USB device, from Windows, the RIO team instead chose to implement a proprietary music upload software package that is both cumbersome and inelegant. Frankly, the upload software is just awful. The GUI interface is not compatible with standard PC drag-n-drop operations - it looks like something an immature programmer would assemble. Durability:
After a few months of ginger care, the volume control broke. No abuse.. no drops... it just broke. The volume component on the circuit board just broke away from the board. (A consequence of the design wherein the button does not press against the circuit board... but against a little part on the edge of the board.) Overall:
With the poor upload software, poor radio, and poor durability - I found this product dissapointing. Those were the features for which I selected this product... and they all were failures. Ironically, I was so excited about the S35S when it first came out.. and was so certain that this RIO product would work well... I even bought an extra one as a gift for friend. I certainly regret it. Lesson learned.
Rating:
Summary: Not so rugged, sound could be better
Review: The buttons on this player are small and fragile. The volume-up button on mine broke about 12 months after I purchased it. I sent it off for warranty replacement and received a new unit about a month later. Warranty service seems to have improved over earlier reports, but still, keep your receipts. After using this for a year, the main problems I have identified seem to be with the firmware and the overall design. I use mine at the gym. It's easy enough to skip ahead to the next track and adjust the volume while I'm running on a treadmill, but there is no way to switch between radio and MP3s without taking the unit off and clicking through several menus. I have also had problems with settings not being stored, particularly after replacing a low battery and on two occasions, the unit needed to be completely reset and the firmware reinstalled. In general, this is a good enough unit to take to the gym or use on the bus, but the sound quality is not the best. I would look into one of the newer Cali models and hope that Rio learned some design lessons from this model.
Rating: 
Summary: Durable & functional, even for an MP3 newbie
Review: I was a bit hesitant in purchasing this unit, particularly as some previously had criticized the armband and included software. Let me tell you what I've seen after 4 months of significant use (5 times per week in the gym). 1. MP3 portion has worked flawlessly. I personally found the software easy to use, and it worked immediately after installation on my Sony Vaio desktop with no problem. I had never "ripped" an MP3 before, and still found the process of transferring music from my CD's to MP3 a breeze. 2. I didn't purchase it for a Radio Tuner, but this one does seem to leave something to be desired. I never use it anyway, but it's inability to receive FM signals is the sole reason I rated this only 4 stars. 3. Accessories. I'm in the gym an hour and a half to two hours a day, usually 5 days per week, and have never had a problem with the clip and armband. The armband is comfortable, and solid (even when running). Overall, I love this thing. It's one of the very best investments I've made in electronics in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: very good player
Review: This player is ideal if your going running or for the gymn. It's sturdy and has great sound quality.
My only complaint is that the FM tuner is pretty weak, it's hard to get a signal sometimes, especially in the city.
Rating:
Summary: Great Deal and Great with Mac
Review: This is the third mp3 player I have bought in 2 weeks to try and use with my Mac computer. While others claimed to be compatable, this one was far beyond the rest. I had problems deleting programs from the other two, but with this one it was so easy!! It comes with a itunes CD to upload the program if it is not already on your Mac. You can also download itunes on mac.com for PC's or Mac. This program makes it simple, you simply drag the files into the rio folder that pops up and then arrange them. If you want to delete songs, you click on it and hit delete. That simple. The screen is great, it illuminates vibrant blue and scrolls the song and artist, along with the album. The earphones are alright, the sound is decent, and the size and weight is awesome, it is so small and light and super durable. It also comes with a great belt clip and armband. For around 100 bucks this is a great deal, esspecially if you have a Mac.
Rating: 
Summary: POS MP3 player
Review: Broke after 7 months of intermittent use (1-2 hours/week at most). I had it fixed once, then it broke again and I'm through with it--too unreliable. I can't figure out what happened--both times that it stopped working, it was sitting on the shelf for a few days after a workout during which it worked fine. Seven months is too short a life span for something so costly, IMHO.
Rating:
Summary: Radio does not work
Review: While the unit itself has functioned well for me with digital audo, the FM player simply does not work! Well, ok it works if its a clear day and you are standing outside fairly close to the broadcast tower. You will be very disappointed if you try to use the FM player in the gym, no way in heck will you receive a radio station, not even the ones used by the gym (so you can receive the audio for watching TV while you workout).
Rating:
Summary: Tragic experince with a now bankrupt company!
Review: I was VERY dissappointed when I drove 60 miles one way to get a mmc memory card for this player, only to find out that the player would not read it. The quality of Rio brands products has dropped CONSIDERABLY in the past few months. Their products used to be QUALITY! I own a rio 800 128mb player, a rio 600 64mb player, and a rio volt. All quality construction. But now the new rio brand stuff is cheaply made, not durable in my opinion, and lacking in new features. Dont even think about trying to get them to service defective items. Bottom line...pick another brand!
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