Rating: 
Summary: easy to use even for me!
Review: I just received the rios50 a few hours ago and I already have it up and running with about 25 songd downloaded. The software is so simple to use, even for someone not too computer savvy like me. It's also small, light, and compact. The case is really neat too. I love the stopwatch feature too, since i am a runner and i can time myself. This is my first mp3 player and i consider myself very lucky, so far. No complaints.
Rating:
Summary: Love this MP3 player!
Review: I replaced a Rio 600 with this new S50. The S50 is lighter, has twice the storage capacity, a better display, a better carrying case, and twice the battery life. With the firmware upgrade for the tuner, I get acceptable FM reception (another plus over my old tuner-less Rio 600). I use the player for jogging and having a built-in stopwatch is another great feature. The only thing I dont like about the S50 is the on/off switch. I find it too small for my fingers. I purchased the S50 over the Apple ipod due to the ipod's not having a user replaceable battery and the fact that it is a tad heavy.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I've owned and used many MP3s. The S50 is head and shoulders the best of the bunch. Its simple controls are intuitive and can be easily used without having to remove the unit from your waist. The software is very user friendly and a snap to use. Although its internal memory is listed as 128, I would swear that it's greater than that. It holds nearly forty songs. My Creative Nomad, with its painful to use software, is collecting dust.
Rating:
Summary: Great sound, great features...
Review: First and foremost, the sound is great! Very realistic and natural. (The included ear bud headphones are not bad.) Using a minimum 128K files, I was able to load around 35 songs, plenty for running and trips to the gym. The case is lightweight and has a very solid feel and the menus are easy to navigate. The rechargeable battery (included) has about 10 hours of play time on one charge and (unlike most "rechargeable" Sony products) you can also use 1 AA battery with which the manufacturer claims will run for 20 hours. The FM radio feature, as noted in other reviews, is weak, but low on my priorities list. Software installation was simple, no headaches, the "Rio Music Manager" software searched my PC (Win XP Pro) for tunes and created a song catalog that's relatively intuitive to use. My only wish with this product would be the ability for it to install as a "removable" drive on my PC allowing "drag and drop" file transfers, instead of requiring proprietary software.This product has a lot of features for the money.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars if you don't count the radio
Review: This product is great!!! It is such a joy to be able to carry around hours of music in a device that can fit in my palm, a shirt pocket, a pants pocket, etc. No bulky cds to carry around, no skips, just clean, lovely sound. The included headphones are not bad at all (though I might opt for a more advanced brand if you really want the best sound), and I was surprised to hear different things in the mix on this device than on, say, my PDA using the same encoding. If you are using Windows Media 9, then a lot of the included software is superfluous (I'm relying on that to download my music in WMA format..more compact that MP3 and pretty near as good). The FM radio leaves a lot to be desired (try it on a ferry circling Manhatan and just listen to the reception change)..but considering that it does have an external antenna... Actually, if you don't need the FM, you can give this device 5 stars. Menus take a bit getting used to, but you pretty well have it figgured out in five minutes (and the manual could use some work in clarify this, too). Anyway, stop reading this review and go out and get one of these!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Big Disappointment - will return
Review: I bought this to upgrade from my Nomad Iic (more memory, FM) and assumed that newer is probably better - WRONG. Below are brief bullets of why I felt burned. 1) Software -
It crashes two or three times whenever I load songs, requiring reboot.
I can't re-order songs on the device.
Scanning my music directory on my computer is slow (and the software re-scans EVERY time I load a song).
I can see details (length, genre, etc) about songs on the device - but NOT on my computer.
If I want to sample a song before loading, I cannot skip around - I have to WAIT till it gets to the part I wish to hear.
In sum: What [person] designed this software? 2) The device -
FM Receiver is bogus. 3 stations folks, and I live IN San Francisco.
The volume control is weird - on push sends volume WAY up.
Clearly intended for use while lying down, because the slightest bump resets one button or another (The Nomad IIc has a 'hold' switch, so nothing gets reset).
No belt clip, so you have to use the dorky carrying case.
Menu system is cumbersome and very hard to navigate.
Open connector on top of unit (for computer cable) is perfect for letting in dust and sweat.
Earbuds are poorly made - sharp edges hurt my ears.
Earbuds are HUGE! They fall out of my ear very easily.
In sum: Very unsatisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Great Device - LAME Software
Review: Having switched from the Creative Nomad IIC, I was spoiled by the really great music management software. The software supplied by Sonic Blue is amazingly bad, klunky, and amatuerish. 1) You cannot sample the middle of a song from your library that you are considering moving to the device - you can only start from the begining. 2) the interface is klugy - you have to move your mouse from one end of the screen to the other ALL the time. 3) Large libraries are re-read by the software every time you move up in the directory hierarchy. That means that after I've selected file 'X' for transfer and move out of that album directory, the software has to re-catalog all 400 albums in my library, and I start again at the top of the list in the 'A' section - and thus have to scroll back down every time. 4) I could go on and on, but I'll just pray I can find better software!!!
Rating:
Summary: An mp3 player that delivers
Review: This mp3 player gives you everything that you need. The controls and menu system were well thought out and easy to use. The music manager software is easy to use and I did not have any problems connecting to the device. (Win 2k, 512MB) Battery life is excellent at @ 20+ hrs on a single AA battery! It comes with a rechargable battery but I have not used it yet. I'd rather just use the standard batteries and not get caught needing to recharge the battery. The headphones are good, but definitely upgrade if you are wanting to get a higher quality sound. The FM tuner works great and I get a clear reception. This is my first mp3 player and I am not disappointed. After spending hours upon hours of reading reviews and looking at prices, I am glad that I made this purchase and I would highly recommend this mp3 player to anyone. You may want to consider buying the additional memory card if you want lots of songs.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent player - great for exercise
Review: I have no complaints: the battery life is superior; and, despite complaints I read regarding the tuner, I get exactly the same reception as my Sony Sports Walkman (and actually better reception indoors); I am also able to store about 35 songs which is great for easily switching my playlist. I found the software easy to use as well. As a runner, the Rio S50 is a dream come true - it is tiny (fits in the palm of my hand) and the case has a belt clip that works very well (the player is so light!). It takes seconds to switch songs - perhaps some complaints regarding speed have to do with the computer.
Rating:
Summary: BEWARE!!!
Review: here is the deal, i ordered this product lime some others did , because it was Mac OS compatable and worked with iTunes, and it did sure enough, the FM radio was useless but it still seemed like a good player, any way, after two hours of using it and enjoying it i noticed that there was an upgrade available for it, i tried to upgrade it and it resulted in the player no longer working, i attempted to call the company and spent nearly 3 days trying to even get on hold, once i did i was on hold for exactly an hour and 12 minutes, i know because i was on the phone while watching a movie, the person on the line while heavily accented was very pricice in trying to help me get my player working but after about an hour of that it was decided that my player was a lost cause, and so i sent it in. never mind that unlike many other companies this was not a toll free support number and i ended up with a $30 phone bill.(total price for non working player $180) i then sent the player in (price now $185) it has now been a month, i called the company the other day and was wondering where my player was, since they had given me a non-standard RMA number i could not track it online and find out for myself (again for the life of me i don't know why) i was told that there had been (gasp!) a mix up in the ordering process and it would not have been delivered had i not brough it up. to make matters worse, the player was back ordered, the person on the phone tried to make amends by giving me 2 day UPS instead of standard shipping to make up for everything. it has been nearly 6 weeks now, i really don't think that makes up for anything. as a product it was ok and i would reccomend it granted i only had a working unit for 2 hours, but after having to deal with a support system that is designed to discurage people from using it, i would never buy there product again. next time i am just savign the extra cash and getting an iPod.
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