Take me anywhere
Written: Jan 04 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Expandable RAM, Win2k/Linux Support
Cons: Poor Software, Cheap Headphones
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| Jenfoo's Full Review: Rio PMP-500 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
My husband wanted to surprise me a few months back with a gift. To my surprise it was the Rio500. I had never seen or so much as heard of a portable MP3 player. I really didn't know what to think. After he explained to me that he bought it for me to take to the gym with me, I swore to myself that it was something he had wanted and figured I wouldn't like it so I'd give it to him.
Well as it turns out I love this thing. My favorite feature is I am able to take it in the car with me now by using the cassette tape adapter. (You can find it most stores) It just plugs into the headphone jack then the tape goes in and you have your favorite music.
He wanted to get me the Rio600 but decided on the 500 because you can add memory to it. Where as the 600 you cannot. The software that comes with it is garbage, but fortunately several other programs like Real Jukebox and MusicMatch Jukebox have plugins that allow you to manage the Rio500.
The second reason for buying the Rio500 was support for Windows 2000, none of the other players supported Win2k at the time. The only problem here is that Real Jukebox does not have a Rio500 plugin that works on Windows 2000, just Win9x.
My Rio has an additional 65mb (128mb Total) of ram that my husband added, it cost about $85. You will need to upgrade the firmware in the Rio in order to recognize CompactFlash ram larger than 32mb. (See www.rioport.com) I was disappointed to find out that instead of being able to load a 128mb play list I have to load two 64mb play lists. This is only bad if you like to load your songs and let it go. With the add-on memory you have to switch between the internal and external memory you cannot play ALL of the songs at random.
The Rio500 runs on 1 AA battery and will last 8-10 hours depending on the battery. The USB connection is really nice; it makes the transfer much faster than serial connections. The Rio will work with Win2k, WIn9x, Mac and even Linux (although Linux is not officially supported)
Over all this is still the best bang for your buck, with up to 128mb of RAM and its small size you cant go wrong. It looses 1 star for the poor software and the qwerky memory setup.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Jenfoo
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Member: Jennifer Bell
Location: So. California
Reviews written: 52
Trusted by: 44 members
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