Below you will find some useful information and comments about a few of the most popular MP3 players by Rio, including the Nitrus, Carbon, Cali, and Forge. None of these MP3 players are perfect, but each offers a unique set of strengths and weaknesses that should be taken into consideration before you purchase any one of them. Be sure to compare price, usability, and the overall performance of each.
Rio Carbon 5 GB MP3 Player
Manufacturers Description: The Rio Carbon is capable of holding up to 80 hours of MP3 (160 hours WMA) music, and with up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge, music lovers need not worry about running out of juice.
Sporting an ultrathin and tapered design and with 25 percent more memory than iPod Mini, this tiny MP3 player–about the size of a business card–will slide into any pocket, virtually unnoticeable. The Rio Carbon is capable of holding up to 80 hours of MP3 music (160 hours of WMA), and with up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge, music lovers need not worry about running out of juice. Supporting USB 2.0 and a host of file formats, users can download music efficiently and easily from most of their favorite online music sites. The Rio Carbon also includes voice recording and provides seamless integration and support of both the Windows and Mac platforms.
Features:
- 5 GB of memory stores up to 80 hours of MP3 music or 160 hours of WMA music
- Plays MP3, WMA, and Audible audio formats
- Built-in microphone for voice recording
- Easily drag and drop data and music files onto your player
- Rechargeable battery offers up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge
- USB 2.0 for faster downloads
- Charge from USB or the included power adapter
- Windows and Mac compatible
- Includes Rio Music Manager, the most intuitive way to create and manage your digital music library
Comments: Users tend to agree that this is one of the best mp3 players Rio has developed. It’s really quite small and slim, and can actually fit in your pockets. 5GB of memory really doesn’t sound like all that much any more, but I think most new user will find that that is plenty of space. The long battery is nice (20 compared with iPod’s 12), and the interface is easy enough to work with. One little dissapointment is the inability to hit any buttons on the device when it is in its carrying case. Also, it does have some compatibility issues with Mac music programs like iTunes. If you really love Mac, you may want to consider iPod or Shuffle instead (this goes for all Rio products).
