Rio Sport S30S (64 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: worked for a while
Cons: no excuse for the problems

When I first bought this I was happy with my purchase. At some point around 9 months into it I got the dreaded "upgrader" error. After talking with their support their only suggestion was to buy a refurbished unit. I am finished with Rio. I can't imagine why there is no fix for this. The tech told me I corrupted it with my music files because they had "degraded". Does that make sense to you? Avoid rio for the potential upgrader problem or until they face some responsibility.

Pros: Upgradeable, small, lightweight
Cons: By now, has probably been eclipsed by other models with more unnecessary bells and whistles.

After shopping around and comparing features, I bought this player for my wife about 2 years ago. I still think it's a great product.

Here are the features that sold me:
Rubberized coating - no metal to scratch, no wasted weight, dropable
Upgradeable memory - It comes with 64MB on board and can be easily upgraded with SD cards
Replaceable batteries - AAA, I'm not a fan of being captive to a rechargeable, especially when it wears out.
AM/FM Reception
Light weight - Nobody wants to jog with a heavy device

Granted, it doesn't do other things that some players now do, like take pictures, play games, store photos, make calls, etc. But, when you're on the jogging trail, those features aren't used and simply add weight.

Pros: When it worked those few time it seemed neat.
Cons: Piece of garbage.

I am on my 2nd Rio Sport and it sucks. After very minimal use, it locked up on startup, displaying the message "USB Connected...Waiting", even though no USB is connected! You can turn it off and on 10 times and it thinks the USB is connected, rendering the device useless.

So I took it back and got another one. I used it once, and now I am getting the same exact behavior from unit #2.

This device is totally unreliable and as far as I am concerned it is a piece of garbage.

Pros: 1GB SD Card, Large Screen, Good Software
Cons: Bad Radio, Wears and Tears easily

This player is really good. I love the color and the rubber finish of it. It has a very detailed Status screen. It can take 1GB SD Cards.

Pros: Great price, size, and expandability for a solid-state MP3 Player
Cons: FM Tuner and Headphones are lacking

The Rio S30 Sport MP3 player is a compact, expandable, worth-while investment. Simply rip your music, drag-and-drop it to the player, and hit the street for a nice long jog. This player has a great display, easy-to-use controls, and even a stop-watch to keep your pace. Haven't tried the arm-band, but the belt-clip fits very snuggly around the player -- almost too snug. The FM tuner is weak at best, the headphones are not the best, but hey -- get a pair of SONY sport headphones for $10 and your off and running.

For the money, this is a great little MP3. I like it for the SD Card compatibility -- the card slips inside along with the battery and is very well protected.

Pros: Love the sport option...great to work out with
Cons: Difficulty getting the belt clip on and off the mp3 player to put battery in

This is my first mp3 player and I absolutely love it! I love the compactness and versatility. It's easy to use and great for working out with. The expansion slot is a great option...almost a necessary option in order to get a good selection of music on it. Over all it is a great product for someone who is just looking for a basic mp3 player.

The only thing that is tricky is I've had a hard time getting the belt clip cover to come off the mp3 player in order to change the battery...

Pros: Backlit display, sound quality, software.
Cons: The carrying case

I picked up this player a couple days ago, and found the software very simple to install and use. The player itself if great, although the case is a piece of junk if you ask me. Besides the case, I really only have one problem, and that is that I've read on other reviews on Epinions, that you can recharge the NiMH batteries through the USB port, and I specifically went out and bought these batteries for the sole purpose of doing this. I popped one in, and the battery life was at about half, and left it on, and plugged into the USB port, and when I came back an hour later, the battery had drained to almost nothing. I tried the same thing with the unit actually off, and came up with nothing as well. I called RIO and they said you can't charge the batteries through the USB port, so I was wondering if someone could explain how exactly they got their unit to accomplish this! THank you.

backstabber17@hotmail.com

Pros: worked good for first 4 months, great sport mp3
Cons: locks up

I was stoked to get my new Rio S30 mp3 last December. It was working great until 4 moths later, it starts saying "UPGRADER" on the screen. I tried turning it off and turning it back on, but nothing happened. So I tried to update the Firmware, but it failed. So I called the Tech Support and told them my problem. They told me to update the Firmware, so I tried and it failed once again. Then they finally told me, "Oh, you'll have to return that for repairs." Save your 100$ for repairs and get a mp3 worth getting.

This is my 3rd MP3 Player and it's the best one so far. This is a solid player and great for the gym. The clips is secure and the material is very durable. I replaced the headphones and wish there was a lock feature, but I'm very pleased with this one.

I am a sales Rep with the 3rd largest supplier of computer hard/software products and liked the Rio S30S. Trying to find the upgradable memory is a joke and even worse try calling Rio/Sonic Blue 206-515-1400 customer service for yourself. It will take you about 40 minutes. I will never support this company again. They should make themselves available to the customers that make their company exist.

I run on average 30-35 miles a week and have taken my Rio sport with me since December. I've droped it, got it rained and snowed on, left it in my car on very cold nights and it continues to perform like it did from day one. Software and player are very user firendly. Tuner is lousy, but I rarely have the desire to use anything other than the digital music player. Overall a solid investment. I recomend it to anyone wanting a light, easy to use, affordable sport player.

the player is worth the money, it does everything it says it will do and the mmc card is easily found in your local fry's or in any other big ellectronics store. the only thing is i wish it had is more memmory and better reception. well, so far its the best investment i've made as far as mp3 players are concerned.

I bought it so I wouldn't have to put up with frequent, long commericals and I could work out without getting annoyed. You definitely need to download the manual in order to figure out hte advanced features, but I think it was worth the investment. Does exactly what it says it does.

The sound quality is very good. The features are amazing, with a stop watch, fm tuner, equalizer, and a clock, it is one of the most complete players around. 64 internal mb, and 128 upgradable is a plus too. Ths price, at around 150$ is also a great deal. The player comes with a usb cable, a clip on to your belt device, a wrist band, software to store all you mp3s, and one NIMH rechargable battery.

The sound quality drops off when running or even walking. It dropped off so badly that very often it would stop all together (freezes). The customer support from RIO is so poor, my e-mail requests have only generated automated responses about rio volts and one non automated response asking what battery I was using. (The answer to which was the battery it came with). I like the idea of the MP3 player "desgined for the athelete in mind." However one that works I think is also quite important.