Sonic Blue Rio S35 128MB MP3 Player

Pros: Small, Expandable, Great Music Quality, Good Battery Life, No Moving Parts
Cons: Exposed Proprietary USB Connector, Only One AAA Battery, Proprietary Software Required

This is The Best portable MP3 and WMA player designed for active usage and workouts that is currently available in mid-2003.

While the other reviews have done a great job expressing the Pros of the player, I would like to dedicate this review...

Pros: Compact, FM Radio, Expandable
Cons: Customer Support Very BAD !!!

I purchased the S35S in December 2002. I had it for a month and had to return it to SonicBlue because the unit froze on me. I was told to return the unit and all the accessories to SonicBlue.

I finally received a replacement unit in April...

Pros: Durability, good headphones, long battery life
Cons: Poor radio reception, hard to organize MP3 order

I debated between several MP3 players before purchasing the Rio and am glad that I purchased this one.

The Rio is more durable than I had initially expected when I purchased it. It has survived many bumps and bruises (and a fall or two on...

Pros: Good idea, looks tough, good display, user-friendly controls
Cons: Hard to reach non-rechargeable battery, low-quality inconvenient belt clip, useless wrist strap, bad software support.

My biggest complaint against this product is that it's the only hardware I've ever seen that doesn't have drivers to download from the manufacturer's website. They SELL drivers CDs instead. You can download a "Rio music manager" software but it WILL NOT...

Pros: Easy to use, simple and quick to add songs to player. Great for workouts
Cons: Radio function, and the headphones that are included

I would buy this again without a doubt. The 35s is small, light weight, and very simple to use. On average it took around 10seconds for each song to transfer, and I stored 30(mp3, 128bit) songs on the installed memory. The radio was a bit of a let...

Pros: Big memory, and potential for upgrade. Tuner Stopwatch. Ergonomic design. Good cost to performance ratio.
Cons: Tuner could be boosted a little. Headphones need to be upgraded.

I bought this MP3 player for my wife about 2 months ago so that she would have more fun going to the gym. She now goes to the gym every night and praises the MP3 player. I use it when I am training on my stationary bike. It has 12 tuner presets for FM...

Pros: Innovative Design; intuitive menu system; expandable memory; integrated FM radio; good for exercise
Cons: Inconsistent radio reception

The Player
The S35S has rubberized case and asymmetrical, ergonomic shape and at 2.5 by 2.75 by 0.8 inches and 2.2 ounces it is very portable and convenient to carry around. The player comes with over-the-ear headphones that are comfortable...

Pros: light,compact ,produces better than the average player sound,You don't expect Ipod for this price..
Cons: You don't expect Ipod for this price.. cheap plastic parts, 256mb ram would be better

It's very convenient to carry around and when you do any physical activity . It is also very user-friendly and downlading songs from your computer is a breeze with the provided software.Lightweight and very good sound. I find the controls such as...

Pros: Great for listening to those MP3's while working out (or out working)
Cons: None really; only minor gripes about battery and headphones

The Sonic Blue S35S is what you want if you are looking for a small, lightweight, and durable MP3 player. It has a 128 MB memory card, which means it is by definition skip free and holds about two hours' worth of CD-quality music (bitrate: 128 kbps)....

Pros: Small, expandable, lightweight, relatively rugged, well thought-out display, am/fm flexibility, and efficient power use.
Cons: No am/fm or voice recording. Accepts rechargeable batteries, but doesn't allow recharging while in unit.

I remember, as a child, going to a local retailer and spending $100 on a "portable" music system. I may be giving away my age, but it was a 7lb. am/fm radio with 8-track player that required 8 D-cell batteries when not plugged into an 110v outlet. Having...

Pros: Size, Functions, Ease of Use, Upgradeable memory
Cons: Button are TOO easy to pause/stop by accident, Ear phones are NOT comfortable

The two main reasons I purchased this unit was for using at the gym and while skiing. At the gym it's great, I can tune into the televisions with the FM Tuner, or use the MP3 for my own personal music. I used it this past weekend for skiing. The...

Pros: Well made and easy to use
Cons: nothing

Rio Sport 128MB Digital Music Player with FM tuner. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a serious athlete, good music can motivate you. The Rio S35S gives you up to four hours of skip-free music in a rugged, durable player. A large, backlight display...

Pros: Small, stylish, rugged, easy to use, GREAT for workouts!
Cons: Headphones malfunctioned straight out of box, but who cares?

This is my first portable MP3 player, and I needed something that would be suited for my workout. Truth be told, I couldn't be happier! The software it came with makes it incredibly easy to rip songs from your CD collection, fix their ID tags, and upload...

Pros: Compact and Very Portable, Good Looking, Easy to Use, Sounds Great
Cons: Earphones, Radio Quality, Expensive

Website states:

"Whether you're a weekend warrior or a serious athlete, good music can motivate you. The Rio S35S gives you up to four hours of skip-free music in a rugged, durable player. A large, backlight display lets you easily navigate by...

Pros: Small, expandable, arm-band, FM tuner, good online support community, frequent software updates
Cons: Directory system for tracks needs work, awful headphones, not available at local stores

In truth I'm not the user of this device, but purchased it for my wife. She runs long distances and wanted a device to use while working out. We were not looking for a massive-capacity player, but 128MB seemed about right for most of her purposes....