Rating: 
Summary: Only worked once
Review: I used my Rio 800 one time and it quit working.The song would play, but the audio quit working. I purchased the Rio over a month ago, and I still have not been able to use it. When I called for support, they had no idea what was wrong. For the price, I would suggest another manufacture. I had to send it in to Rio for a new one, and I am still waiting for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Actually, the problem lies in the user...
Review: The problems that people have been posting about battery problems are more than likely associated with their inability to read the instructions before charging the battery. The battery must be calibrated correctly as per the instructions or else these problems that people have been stating will occur. I bought a Rio 800 128 and just followed the directions for calibrating the battery and I have had excellent results with the battery life meeting and sometimes exceeding the 10 hour advertised performance. The player is very well constructed, well thought out and the audio quality is outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: SonicBlue does have poor quality control
Review: Despite hearing about others' problems with the battery, I bought this model and carefully followed the battery calibration routine. Things seemed to work for the first couple of hours of use, but then I started noticing freeze-ups and problems turning it on. There also seemed to be a severe battery drain so if you leave it around for a couple of days, it will be discharged when you try it again.
Anyway, after about a week, the unit died. It wouldn't turn on and attempts to recharge, if it were a battery issue, just led to a very hot player. I've exchanged it for an Iomega HipZip.
Added comment: It is curious to me that some reviewers, with their point sample of one person, automatically assume that malfunctioning Rios were due to some user error. Let me be blunt: I have a doctorate in engineering and build computers with no problem. The directions on battery calibration were followed precisely. My Rio sample was flawed, and judging by many other revie!wers, theirs were flawed as well. Caveat emptor.
Rating:
Summary: Defective
Review: This product seems to be plagued with defects. I received a Rio 800 today. I was already an audible user, but needed to reinstall and reactivate devices to get it to work. I also had RealPlayer Plus. In order to get Real Jukebox to work, the installation program needed to reinstall Real Player Basic. I then had to reinstall Real Player Plus. Finally, the audio jack was defective, so I never did get the thing to work. I now have to go through a lengthy RMA process. Though I am hoping that it will be worth all the trouble I've gone through, my experience has been problematic.Update: I received my second unit, and this too was defective as it would not turn on. Another update: My third unit worked great for about 2 weeks. Now it has developed a problem that the battery drains, even without use. I will never buy a Rio again and the customer service people think I'm trying to scam them (though they have been nice).
Rating: 
Summary: Take stock in all reviews
Review: When it works it works great. The problem is,this doesn't happen consistently. The poor excuse of a manual that is included states that you only have to calibrate once, not true. It may take several tries. A trouble shooting guide would be helpful in the manual. If you do contact tech. support you won't hear a possible solution to your problem for a few days if not longer. I want to like my Rio but when you're listening to your favorite songs then suddenly it just stops its very frustrating, especially since this not a cheap toy. The good thing about the Rio is that its easy to use, compact and does sound great, the headphones are nothing special but work. When I read these reviews and read the somewhat negative ones I believed that they just got lemons but now I'm not so sure. I would suggest researching all the products out there before deciding
Rating:
Summary: [Bad]Quality Control !!
Review: I looked at reviews on other sites that mentioned [bad] quality control, but I was tempted by the great sounding feature list. 10 minutes into my first listening session (after charging and calibrating the battery exactly as in the instructions), it died. I tried recharging it- this time it lasted for about 1 minute. Sound familiar? I'm waiting for my refund, and for my Intel Pocket Concert to arrive. What good is a player with tons of features that doesn't work at all? Too much hassle to merit a purchase over the Intel. Do yourself a favor and avoid this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great if you ignoor the horrable software
Review: I have had the Rio 800 and had little problem with it. The only downside is the extremely aquard software. After installing the hardware I recomend you use music match for tranfering your music. It can actually be downlaoded for free at MusicMatch.com. This software is alot easier faster and overall a muchbetter piece of software. The mp3 player has a great battery life. I have actually droped it on hard cement 3 times and once steped on it and had water spilt on and it does not even have a scratch on it, very durable. Over all a very comendable mp3 player.
Rating:
Summary: We would like to amend our previous review of 1
Review: Is it possible for a product to deserve a negitive number? In the case of the RIO 800 the answer is YES! I am on my second RIO 800. After calibrating I went ahead and used the RIO software to download a few songs to test it out. All seemed to go ok until 2 min. into listening to the first song. The player emited a high pitched sound in my ear and ceased to play. The display faded in and out and died. I have several fully charged backpacks and none of those would work either. I plugged the adapter in and the recharge light just blinked and stopped. This is exactly what occured with the first player. I went to the Sonicblue website hoping for some kind of an answer. I have to add that there is no trouble shooting section on the web or in the manual....if there is anything that would be considered trouble shooting, it is useless. I didn't consider this a "cutting edge" player. It's siblings have been out for awhile and the bugs should have been worked out. Again, this is a quality control issue and Sonicblue makes it very hard for a consumer to own their product. DO NOT buy this player, you will have to work too hard to keep it. I am sorry that I have lost faith in the RIO line. The RIO 500 was so problem free.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Product I Ever Purchased
Review: I am a big fan of MP3 devices, but this has to be the worst device I have ever purchased. I had a number of problems, including 1) random battery cutoff/failure after 15 minutes of use 2) rapid degradation of audio quality (the device failed to output music to the right headphone unless I jiggled the connection) and 3) poor desktop/device music transfer software and support. Overall, I would give this device very low marks.
Rating:
Summary: Buyers remorse....should of stuck to my old Rio 500.
Review: First of all, in all fairness to Amazon, they have tried very hard to help correct my Sonicblue problem. I'm glad that I purchased this unit from them. However, it was a huge mistake going to the Sonicblue site and purchasing their 128mb backpack memory for [price]. From the moment after I calibrated the battery (which is required before using) the unit began a low humming and the battery would not go for more than an hour. I recharged overnight. Next morning the unit would not work at all...with any memory backpack. I called Amazon and without arguement replaced the unit for me. Next, I called Sonicblue, waited on hold for 1/2 hour. When I finally got to talk to customer service, I was told that I would have to send the backpack back at my expense. I argued that I had it for all of a day or two and that I felt it was defective... I will NOT go with Sonicblue again...I am just glad that I purchased the unit itself from Amazon. I have 2 RIO 500s that were by Diamond. I haven't had any problems with either. I have had other products that were by Diamond and when there were problems, I was treated with respect. There is one other thing to be aware of...if you have any technical problems with your unit after 90 days you will have to pay 19.00 for phone support. Sonicblue has turned out to be very petty and not customer orientated...
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