Mpio DMG (128 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: Great sound, expandable storage, durable, lightweight, cool look
Cons: Tough to get support, poor documentation, awkward function control, No FM

I have owned a couple of Rio MP3 players and I had a brief affair with an RCA Lyra (terrible little device). After frustrating experiences with Sonic Blue (Rio) support, I found the MPIO DMG.

I have owned my DMG for almost 2 years. I would...

Pros: Defined excellence in an immature product market 3 years ago, and is still the best.
Cons: No FM radio.

After 3 years, many drops, and many, many music changes (adding and removing songs from the player), this little gem works perfectly. The sound quality is comparable to an iPod. The storage capacity is not, but is comparable to new players which are ...

Pros: Price, battery life of over 15 hours, customizable options, sound volume.
Cons: Uses Smart Media Card not SD. joystick like control.

I was looking for a second player so both my wife and I would have one to listen mainly to books. I found this player through amazon for a good price plus a rebate. 128 meg, one AA battery and good reviews I found so I bought it and love it! I just updated the firmware for high speed fast forward and it is incredible. The back lighting is great and under your control, as are the other functions. I highly recommend exploring these in particular if you are going to listen to books so that you don't lose your place in the file. The joystick control for fast forward, reverse and options takes some getting used to and can easily be bumped. The hold button works well but it would be nice if it had a more positive feel.