Rating: 
Summary: Nice try, not a winner. Customer service? NO WAY!
Review: I was very excited about this product when it came on the market. The features beckoned me from the 8 minute skip protection to the charging system and I wanted to believe in the company. The SP250 was on my "wish list" for six months before the price had come down enough to be reasonable given my budget. Excited, I made the purchase and tracked the shipment on-line until it arrived at my office.I opened it up and set it to charge. Only, it didn't charge. In typical techie fashion, I pressed buttons and diddled with it and it started charging. I wasn't too sure what the magic move had been. After charging I set'er up to go. Sitting back I fiddled with the remote to move to the next song on the album I'd slipped in... only, it didn't move forward. My hand wavered and I moved to adjust the volume. Nope, no go on that too. Now annoyed I began pressing every button on the remote to discover that only the "stop" seemed to garner any reaction from the gadget. I was dissapointed. But, I can be a sport. I've worked in customer service and can understand this sort of thing... I reached for the "Getting Started Guide" (the only information that came with the device) and flipped for the customer service number. I furrowed my eyebrows when I realized they wanted me to pay for the call. I dialed the number and the digital voice instructed me that my hold time would be approximately 15 minutes. Forget that. There was also an e. mail address. Since I was now at my computer anyway, I checked the website. I tried to complete my registration on-line, but the system was buggy. I tried to download the user's manual, but that didn't work right either. I typed up my e. mail message (now beyond the point of frustration) and set'er away. The message bounced back due to some error. I doublechecked the e. mail addy on my "Getting Started Guide"... no error on my part. I thumbed through the webpage and found a different customer service e. mail address. Finally, the message away, I waited. And waited. And waited. Three weeks later someone responds (apologetic about the delay). This person instructed me to fill out the "form below" to request the new remote. I scrolled down and, sure enough, there was no such form. You won't be surprised to know that I no longer own this fragile, whirling thing whose makers do not seem to be able to support it adequately.
Rating: 
Summary: Durable as a lightbulb
Review: I have no complaints whatsoever with the playback and antiskip. It sat in the tape bin of my pickup for months and never skipped once. It delivered excellent playback, even if the start-up time is a little slow. On the other hand, one day it stopped working because a screw from the lid fell out and wouldn't stay in. It still worked, but when it stopped working again and there was no loose screws pressing on the CD this time, I opened it up and discovered that every screw-point, standoff and bit of plastic inside the thing had broken. Externally, it looks perfect. Internally it's a wreck. Very thin plastic in there where the screws are mated to thin plastic mount points. The very slightest misstep (or in my case, vibration from driving a vehicle with a suspension like a brick) could seriously damage it by breaking standoffs and screw-in points off from the inside of the case, or shattering them around the screws. That said, a few hours and a tube of 'krazy glue', and it works again. Except I "have to" control it with the remote on the wire, since the lid panel with the controls didn't have enough plastic bits left to glue to and make "true" contact with the buttons. All in all, a fine piece of hardware so long as you treat it basically like it's made of eggshell and never take it anywhere where it could conceivably be exposed to accidental 'abuse' (i.e. treat it like a portable device), because not everyone is as skilled with small tools and household adhesives as I am. At over $200 it's not worth it. There are $50 MP3/CD players that you can beat up and not feel so sad about.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This item is great. I loved the mp3/wma reading. The eass is very impressive. All in all, I just LOVED it.
Rating: 
Summary: READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY!!!!
Review: I got this thing for X-mas i thought it was gonna be soooo good ok the software it came with was really confusing and im really good with computers so that didnt work i had to keep using reg 80min cds and it was so cheaply made a always had the case on i droped it once ON CARPET from about 3 feet it broke 4 skrews fell out so if i press any buttons it hits the disk AHHHH and it DOES NOT have 8 min ESP its only about 1 min DONT BUY THIS go with a mp3 jukebox way better!!!
Rating:
Summary: This thing is perfect - I couldn't ask for more!
Review: For the price, this product is the best thing on the market. I love it! The sound is great, they give you two headphones (although they could keep the buds in my opinion), rechargable batteries, and a remote! I bought this when it first came out (at a much higher price) and I still thought it was the best product I've seen in a long time! Something that I actually use - I carry around 6 cds of mp3s which provides me with 60 hours of music! All is not well in wonderland, though. I doubt that SonicBlue will be around for long - they seem like one of those companies that could fold, and in that case, say goodbye to firmware updates. They have also been dragging their feet about getting Ogg Vorbis support. The last complaint I have is with the RIAA, and all the music labels that are involved - basicly, every single music label. If they get their way, you won't be able to move your music from the cd you bought in the store to MP3 format. Pay attention people, write your congresspersons and tell your friends - otherwise, you won't be enjoying your MP3 player for long.
Rating:
Summary: Another Buyer Beware
Review: I too have bought a couple of these players, and am taking the second back to Best Buy today. The first one quit working after about a year, and I bought a lesser model the second time and have only used it a month before it too stopped working. They were feature-rich players at first with little competition, which I think led Sonic to be a little lax in their customer service and quality. Right now I've decided to hold off another purchase until I see some long term customer reviews of the iRiver player.
Rating:
Summary: The RioVolt 250 does it all.
Review: I've had my RioVolt 250 for about 8 months. I use it about 70% of the time in the car and about 30% connected to my home stereo. I mostly play MP3 files I've ripped from my CDs. The sound quality has been very good and it has faithfully played every format type I've tried on it: cda, mp3 data, and mp3 audio on CD, CDR, and CDRW. With mp3 data files I can get over 130 songs on one CD!
The features I like best about it, aside from playing any kind of file from any kind of CD is that 1) it has a 'line out' so you can connect it to any kind of amplifier and get a high quality signal, 2) it remembers where it was in a track when you turned it off, so it starts right up at the same spot and in the same mode (repeat, shuffle, etc.) as when you turned if off, even if you have played other CDs in between, and 3) has a huge buffer memory so it rarely cuts out when it's being shaken and it has almost no time lag when it's shuffling songs from all over the disc.
On the down side, if I'm on a really bumpy road, I have to put it in my lap because long periods of heavy vibration will make it cut out. Also the documentation for how to recharge the batteries was non-existant (when they get low I plug in the external power cord, turn on the unit, then turn it off. The display says 'Discharge and Charge'. I leave it alone and it discharges the last of the electricity from the batteries then fully recharges them).
All in all this is an exceptional CD player which brings to life all the possiblities of having your music when you want it, where you want it, and how you want it.
Rating:
Summary: Just great.
Review: I bought this unit after finding out that the first one I bought (another brand) only used its rechargeable battery pack, making it harder to take on trips and especially to take camping. This one will operate on a pair of AAs for at least 8 hours of non-stop play. It has great features, including an 8 minute buffer to prevent skipping, 2 so-so sets of headphones (I'm using my Sennheisers) and an FM tuner which while pretty marginal indoors, works fine outdoors. The hardest part was getting the update for the firmware, but once you get that flashed, it's pretty smooth sailing.
Rating:
Summary: Great companion while on Road..
Review: Good sound and no skipping... Works better if you upgrade the firmware to Version 2.05 by flashing it... You can see lot of performance difference....
But don't drop it...very fragile..
Rating:
Summary: BEST PLAYER EVER CREATED
Review: HEy I just got my Sp250, and lemme tell its the best thing. The sound is rich and robust. I like the earbuds they look cool, but the headphones really do [stink](as everyone must know) but thats no problem. The case is real snug on to the player, the first time i put it on the hold button got switched on, and i freaked i was like [...] I GOTTA A DEFECTIVE UNIT, but then i realized it was on.lol. Te inline remote is great, but the cords are pretty longs, when u add the earbuds cord( 3 feet) plus the remotes cord (3-4 feet) its pretty [...] long, but thats no problem, i usually use it form by bookbag in school neway. What kinda [...stunk] was that i got chinese song titles, but i fixed that by making a new CD without ID3 tags, so then it just reads the file name. ALL OF MY FREINDS THINK IT SOOO COOL, on my first cd i have 185 song( 697MB, 12hours 37 mins)!!!!!! thats insane TRUST ME GO THE SP250. [....] THIS PRODUCT HAs AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF USES...GET IT NOW, you'll love it
| 
