Rating: 
Summary: just about perfect
Review: A lot of people have complained quite a bit about this. I've had it for four days, and it's just great. The storage space holds 4 hours of WMA or 2 hours of MP3, which is generally sufficient for most people. (It's about 40 MP3 songs or 80 WMA songs.) It comes with top quality Sennheiser earbuds, which are excellent, and I find the top volume to be quite sufficient, unless you like listening to very quiet songs at very very high volumes. It would be nice if you could use Windows Media Player playlists, but you can't. However, if you only have 35 songs it really shouldn't take you that long to put them in playlists. The included program for uploading music and playlists is quite good and very very easy to use. The battery lid thingy is a bit loose, but as long as you don't fiddle with it it stays on fine. Alternatively, you can put a bit of sticky tape on, or keep it in the plastic case which covers the lid entirely. Come on people, stop complaining. Buy some tape. It's not that hard. Personally I like the beltclip feature. The batteries (one provided AAA) are quite sufficient for about 12 hours of playback at 15 out of 30 volume notches. The controls are well placed and easy to use, and the "lock key" slider is useful. The only small problem I have with this player is the rather unusual shape, in that it doesn't fit in your hand very well. Interface and screen are nice and easy to figure out. Some people claim the menu doesn't open and it won't turn off; well obviously you got a lemon. Try pushing the buttons harder. I've had no trouble with that. Also, a nice feature is the optional backlighting and customizable equalizer. You cn set the backlight to stay on for a certain number of seconds after you used a control, or off all the time or on all the time, however the latter drains batteries pretty fast. The equalizer has loads of settings, or you can customize it. Another claim is that the displays are wrong (artist and song and album are in the wrong place.) This can be EASILY fixed in Rio Music Manager, the included program. There is nothing wrong with your player. Also, the entire thing is on a single circuit board with no moving parts inside the machine. This means guaranteed absolutely no slips or skips ever. It does fine being dropped or even stood on. NOTE: don't try this deliberately or for too long or if you weigh more than 200 pounds. Sorry, it sounds like I'm selling this thing. But it really is an excellent piece of gadgetry.
Rating:
Summary: Ya gotta love it
Review: I absolutely love this player. This is my first MP3 player and it is so easy to use. It is small enough that I can clip it onto my pocket or slip it inside. The song quality is great and the software is easy to understand when downloading. I thoroughly enjoy this product. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the TDK
Review: I agree with all the other positive reviews. My TDK Mojo 256 finally quit working altogether a few days ago, and so I bought the Rio Chiba 256. The unit itself is slightly better than the TDK Mojo 256, but the software is VASTLY superior to the TDK software, which was the worst software I've ever had to deal with (extremely buggy, with a poor user interface, and a version update has never been made available). The Rio software, on the other hand, is a joy to use. I use it to read recorded books in MP3 format, and with a 512 Megabyte SD card, I can fit any book into it, and the transfer from CD is extremely easy.
Rating:
Summary: Simply GREAT
Review: I am listening to this mp3 player as I write. It's amazing. Somehow, the 256 megabyte internal harddrive seems bigger than it really is. I have put 18 rather big songs on it and still have about 200 megabytes left over. Plus, you can use an MMC card to add additional space for songs. Also, the battery efficiency is outstanding. The Rio Chiba only needs ONE, count em, ONE AAA battery, and still lasts AT LEAST as long as my old iPAQ, which uses TWO. I am VERY pleased with this product. There is one slight detail that I do not like. I am having trouble using Windows Media Player as a transfering host. So basically, you're stuck with the Rio Management, which is still very good. So, overall, this is an excellent buy. I ordered mine here on amazon.com and received it in 3 days. I was salivating the whole time. I was NOT disappointed. www.geocities.com/theout_takes ^ my webpage
Rating:
Summary: Tiny and Competent
Review: I am making the move from my Samsung CD/MP3 player to this dynamite little player. The Rio is so small and packs in such better sound quality! I am really looking forward to putting it through the campus test! My only complaint is about the earbuds that are included. While they have pretty rich sound quality, they kind of float around in my ears. I don't see these earbuds working out for me if I take it running, but that's kind of standard with earbuds anyway. I am honestly shocked at just how small this thing is. In the pictures, you'd guss that the Chiba is about the size of the palm of your hand. In reality, it fits in the palm of your hand and you can almost wrap your fingers around it. To give you an idea of the size, I can set it down on a diskette and it fits squarely over the diskette label. So if you're entry-level like me, the Chiba will get the job done handily! I am very happy with it so far!
Rating: 
Summary: Good overall, except ear pieces
Review: I did a lot of research before purchasing this. I wanted something small that had a radio and enough memory to hold the music I needed while I ran. I also wanted to be able to expand the memory if necessary. While the case may not be of the best quality (I don't think it would survive more then a drop or two) and it lacks an armband, it is without a doubt the best player for the $$$. My only complaint is that the software is very restrictive, but since it is software, that can be fixed. After owning it for about 2 months I do not know how I managed without it. I take it just about everywhere I go.
Overall I am very happy with it and have not regretted the purchase once!
Rating:
Summary: Superb Player-Reliable & Easy
Review: I did considerable research before I bought the RIO Chiba 256M MP3/WMA player, trying out every other major personal portable MP3 player on the market. My wife and I were tired of the clunky CD and cassette players around the house, and we wanted something more durable and reliable than the hard-drive based models like the Apple iPod or many others currently on the market. We bought the RIO Chiba two weeks ago, and it is clear that RIO has responded to earlier complaints: the Chiba is light and durable, especially in the enclosed belt-clip case; the software is updated and reliable out of the box; transfer takes no time at all. The greatest advantage of the RIO Chiba (like the higher-end and more expensive RIO Sport) is memory: with 256M internally, you get enough for about 80 songs; we added the 1 gig SD card, and this gave us enough room for a few hundred more songs, plus 20-30 hours of audible.com audio books. The best part? Unlike iPod or hard-drive based media, flash memory cards are solid state: so no skipping, popping, or crashing when you run, exercise, drop or otherwise abuse the player. The sound is fantastic, and we both like the Sennheiser earbuds--though hardcore runners may prefer Sony wraparound headphones that cling to your head better in extreme conditions. An alkaline AAA battery runs the system for about 18 hours--twice as long as an iPod, and there with a standard battery replacement there is never any down time for (re-)charging. We are so delighted with the quality that we are buying another for our 9-year-old daughter to use on the long rides on the school bus.
Rating: 
Summary: Cheapo made...great features....
Review: I got my yesterday at circuit city for $150. I am happy with the features and size, but again as the others have stated, it is VERY cheaply made. I bought it as a upgrade for my Rio 800 128mb player, which has worked FLAWLESSLEY for about 1 year, and I have VERY disappointed with the construction/quality of materials used on the Chiba when compared to the Rio 800 128mb.
If you can get it cheap, I mean CHEAP, then the Chiba will work for you. I have dropped my Rio 800 several times, and it has never broken or failed to work, but I would be VERY HESITANT
to say the same for the Chiba. Belt clip system stinks. Final analysis, look at ALL your options before you buy this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Using it on a Mac? Choose another player.
Review: I got this as a gift for a friend. I thought it would be nice to have it set up with music on it. I got this model because it was supposed to be compatible with iTunes. I went to the website and downloaded the driver. I followed the instructions, plugged it in and NOTHING. I tried it on another Mac. NOTHING. The device would not show up on the desktop or on iTunes. I asked my Tech guy at my job to see if he could make it mount. No luck. If you are on the Mac side. I would avoid this product.
Rating:
Summary: Solid player with a few minor weak points
Review: I have had my player for ~6 weeks now. When choosing an MP3 player, I narrowed the field down to this player and a couple made by iRiver. My primary reason for choosing this one was its expandability and the belt clip (as opposed to the Rio Sport, which is the same player but with a slightly different look and a velcro arm band).
Pluses: size, weight and shape are nice - easy to hold in your hand while running; memory is excellent and easily expandable with an SD card; great display; software is simple and useful; radio reception is very good; controls and settings are easy to manipulate; good battery life compared to most comparable MP3 players; solid construction.
Minuses: the belt clip carrier looks a little bit cheap, but is secure and sturdy; the earphone jack is in the bottom of the player, which is slightly awkward but not a big deal.
Overall, I would buy this MP3 player again if I were shopping today. I'm very satisfied with it.
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