Rating: 
Summary: Great for Mac users
Review: I have had my Rio Sport going on three weeks now. It could not be any easier to use! I have a Mac and use the iTunes software to rip and load my music. I already had iTunes on my computer and when I went through the install process all of the music that I already had in my iTunes was still there and ready to go! I use my Rio while working out at the gym and running outside. I have absolutely no complaints at all about this player. It sounds great, looks great, and is very functional. I saw that some people were complaining about the earphones but I don't have any problems with them. They are small pods that fit into your ears with a tube that curls around the ear to secure it. At first I thought it would be uncomfortable for me because I have very small ears but they don't bother me at all. The sound quality is not bad either. Also, I read some complaints about the Rio not having a lock or hold. Not true! You have to read the directions. BUY THIS PLAYER!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but not great either: a runner's point of view
Review: This product has been serving me well, though it is not perfect. The sound is fine and I love the expandability. With a relatively inexpensive 256 mb sd card I have more than enough space for my long runs (without having to convert my mp3s to a lower bit rate). The ear buds don't fit perfectly or sound fantastic, but they are adequate and stay put while running (e.g., during a 3 hour run I might re-secure them once or twice).The physical quality is not that great. I am on my second unit (the menu button broke on the first one). To Rio's credit, getting the unit replaced was simple and painless. I dropped my second unit on a dirt road from about 3 feet and it popped apart. I was able to snap it back together but was not able to get it perfectly reassembled. The controls are not well designed for runners who would like to skip ahead or repeat songs in the play list. It uses one circular pad for 4 controls: imagining a clock, press 12 o'clock for play/pause; 3 = forward; 6 = stop; and 9 = back). The layout is intuitive, but it is very easy to hit the wrong control while you are running (e.g., press at the 2 o'clock spot and you may get pause OR forward). Furthermore, it is easy to unintentionally hit the large pad while trying to adjust the volume. It would be much better if they used 4 separate buttons that were a little less sensitive (but I guess that would increase the cost a little). The controls can be locked by pressing menu and enter at the same time. Although this will prevent you from unintentionally hitting the controls while running, it is not useful if you want to make adjustments while you run. This has been a minor annoyance rather than a major problem. Most of the time I hit play, start running, and never touch it again. The Rio does not currently support the ACC (MEPG-4) audio format, which means that users who buy music from the Apple music store or otherwise use the ACC format are out of luck for now. However, since the Rio is flash-upgradable, it is possible that it will be supported in the future. When I inquired with Rio about their plans to support the new format I got the useless response that, "The Rio S35S supports MP3 and WMA file formats," which, of course, I already knew. They totally avoided my question and my follow up inquires have been ignored. Pros:
- sounds pretty good
- expandability
- clips to running shorts or arm band Cons:
- not very rugged
- poorly designed controls for runners
- does not support ACC files
Rating: 
Summary: DO NOT BUY!
Review: I bought this last week looking for a rugged player. I read the reviews here and saw some people say it stunk some people said it was great. The first time i used it i was thrilled! And thought the nay-sayers were idiots. Well, after about 3 hours use it started to sound like an old walkman on low batteries. You know, "I got one hand in my pooccckkkeeettt annddd thheee ottther one haling a taxi cab". Not only that but whenever the volume was at 25 or higher it randomly pauses! Also, the casing is incredably cheap. Anyway, I took it back to bestbuy (where i got it) and but the Creative Labax muavo nx 128. So far, I highly recommened it over this product, even though you gotta pay more. and oh yeah, ALWAYS buy extended warrantines on ANY mp3 player :)
Rating: 
Summary: Pauses or drops to menus non-stop
Review: Bought an S35S in Feb 03. Love the MP3, though radio reception is poor compared to other armband radios on the market I've used. The fancy display is a waste as you can't see it on your arm. Controls are not as good as the Nike. But, I went through 3 Nike's rather quickly - they didn't take to running and sweat so well. I use an armband 2 hours daily for running / exercise. The Rio headphones wire broke quick and I replaced it with a good set of waterproof kind. In July the MP# player started pausing by itself or dropping to the menu or even off. Rio customer assistance told me to update the firmware which I did - to no avail. Guess I'm out of luck again. Will someone please make a quality armband mp3/radio for running!
Rating:
Summary: Great Product! A must have for the gym.....
Review: I bought the Rio Sport as a birthday present for my wife in March. She raved about it so much, I bought one for myself. It's easy to use, compact and great for intense workouts from the weight room to running outside. The ear buds are the most comfortable and secure as any I have tried...and I have tried many styles. Great product.....I would recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible product AND company
Review: A friend of mine and I both bought this product. The radio does not work and the headphones slip out of your ears if you happen to sweat when you workout. My friend and I both use ours for running Once it started to rain and mine got wet and it started jumping from song to song and then just shut down. After it dried out it worked again but just recently I was running and it just died again.This time it keeps looking for the USB port and I cannot change the display or get it to work at all.
My friends display is broken and it now looks like a creased line through the middle. She can no longer view the menu. She is in the process of working with customer service and it has been a total nightmare. She called and got an RMA number and sent it in with the RMA number. One week later she received it back in the mail with a note that she needs an RMA number!!
This product only seems to last about 6 months and is definitely not for anyone active! I would NEVER buy from Rio again!
Rating:
Summary: The perfect Sport MP3 player
Review: This unit is the best audio device I have ever owned. It is rugged, compact yet easy to use, and stylish. I like that I can add SD and MMC memory cards to hold more music. This lets me create mixes and store them without having to erase the unit everytime I want to change music. The earphones are extremely comfortable, and the sound quality is top-rate. The belt clip and arm band make this unit an excellent workout partner. Downloading music to the Rio is easy and fast, and thanks to special drivers availabe from Microsoft at no charge, I can use Windows Media Player to organize and copy music to the device. It also comes with Rio Music Manager, if you prefer. The unit can handle MP3 and WMA files. I find WMA files to be just as high quality, but smaller in size, so I can fit more music in the unit. Other options include an FM tuner, Stopwatch, and flexible settings for sound quality. At this price, there is no other option. Buy this device!! You will be satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Great Player
Review: This is an excellant portable mp3 player!! The headphones are ok but I found them to be a little big and loose. The radio is ok with good reception on some stations. The software is incredibly easy to use, it takes about 5 minutes to install depending on how fast your computer is. When you want to put a song on the player all you do is check the box with the song title in it and hit transfer. The backlight on the product is really bright and can be set to stay on for certain amounts of time. The amplifer is powerful and loud. If you want a portable mp3 player that's easy to use and won't make you broke this is the one.
Rating:
Summary: No quality control or customer support
Review: I have bought 2 products from Rio. The first (Rio 500) used to go dead every few months and I had to send it back for refurnishing. The second, Rio 800 138 MB just made a humming noise. Customer service? No answer to 6 e-mails. I tried calling. First, false information provided (deliverately?): just download the firmware and it will work. Then, they mock you: just send us the details and proof of purchase and we will replace. They do not (two attemps). Never, never buy anything from this manufacture or trust it.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Last Long
Review: I got my Rio Sport for Christmas last year. I liked it a lot at first. It was very easy to use and held a lot of music. After only two months of using my MP3 player, it broke into two pieces. It still worked a little, but i counldnt get the battery out because it was jammed. When the battery ran out, I decided to call Rio. After three phone calls and waiting on hold forever, I finally got through. After an hour of explaining what happened, they finally told me to mail my player back for a replacement. I did, and one month later I received a 64MB MP3 player instead of the 128MB MP3 player I had sent in and paid for. I needed it for jogging, though, so I decided to keep it. My new one has also recently broken. The sport MP3 players are not durable enough to last through much, except perhaps walking. My advice would be to get a different MP3 player.
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