Rio Cali Sport (256 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: Expandable Memory, FM Tuner, 18 Hours Of Playback
Cons: Holds About 60 MP3s, Headphones

Features: * 256 MB Of Memory (4 Hours Of MP3s, Over 60 MP3 Songs) * Expandable Memory (Additional 512 MB) * Built-In FM Tuner * 5-Band Adjustable Equalizer (W/ Pre-Sets) * 18-Hours Of Playback (W/ One AAA Battery) * USB 1.1 * Windows 98 ...

Pros: Feature rich and easy to use.
Cons: Durablity has been a reported problem.

Fifty bucks can get you a no-name, no frills 128 MB MP3 player or the 256 MB Refurbished Rio Cali (www.tigerdirect.com), but is it worth the extra storage to go the refurb route? I live close the Tiger Direct outlet store so I headed over there to ...

Pros: Small size, FM tuner, expandable, arm strap included, reasonable priced
Cons: Weak FM tuner signal, poor belt clip, Army green color

Rio Cali 256mb review When I set out on my quest to find the “perfect” mp3 player, I wasn’t sure what I would end up with, iRiver, SDIO, Apple iPod, Dell DJ…solid state or hard drive based…the choices can drive one crazy! After much research and ...

Pros: External lock control.
Cons: Software, alphabetizing of songs, playlist sucks, armband, customer service.

Having owned four Rio Mp3 players in the past and being very satisfied with them all (models S10, S30, S35, & S50) I had good expectations for this newer model but was vastly disappointed with the outcome. Below I have reviewed every aspect of the ...

Pros: Compact, belt clip useable & it worked fine on my Mac
Cons: Besides the inherent defect? Shuffle didn't go through ALL tunes.

The subject line says it all, really. Two Units - Same Defect - Crappy Warranty and Customer Service. I purchased this unit when it was new on the market, meaning that it was retailing for over CAD$200. I also bought something I usually never buy - ...

Pros: Inexpensive, good sound quality, FM tuner, good display, Easy to use software.
Cons: Time/Date unreliable, FM reception sketchy, armband housing weak.

I recently received the Rio Cali sport as a birthday present. I'd been looking for a mp3 player and this one fit my needs well. My main reason for wanting an mp3 player was so that I could listen to music while I worked out. I practice Tae Kwon Do ...

Pros: Compact, ease of use, headphones, plays both WMA and MP3, capacity
Cons: It's green.

A lot of people are knocking this player because of the FM tuner reception, the earphones, customer service, and the software. I've owned the player for about six months now and I use it quite extensively. Here are my thoughts: As for the FM tuner, ...

Pros: Expandable Memory, Seemingly water (sweat) proof.
Cons: Software doesn't handle the memory correctly when SD card installed.

I bought this player before coming to Epinions. Bad idea. What other people are seeing here is what I am experiencing. The product worked well with the original 256M bytes, but once I added a 1Gig SD card everything went to hell. The RIO Music ...

Pros: Light, rugged and versatile with lots of great features including a decent FM tuner
Cons: A bit expensive, troublesome music manager software, battery compartment a little flimsy

I just picked it up two days ago and already I'm in love! This unit is just what I was looking for. I enjoy going walking over my lunch breaks and I take my dog for walks daily also. I was getting pretty bored with just walking alone with my thoughts ...

Pros: Size, User Interface, Headphone design.
Cons: Color.

I bought this for my technophobe wife/runner. For years she has been asking me for a tiny tape player for running. Of course there is no such thing. Then along came these little MP3 players. (I know I am little slow, they have been around for a ...

Pros: Ease of use, size, sound quality
Cons: FM tuner, headphones, color choices

I purchased this player as a replacement to my bulky CD-man. So far, I've been impressed with with it. First, it was made for you to be mobile. The convenient armband allows you to use the player without it getting in your way. The user interface is ...

Pros: Good software, battery life, very light
Cons: Terrible warranty, questionable durability

THE BAD: Rio has the shortest warranty term (3 months) of any mp3 player manufacturer; it appears that even Rio is dubious of their products durability. I have owned two of these units, neither has been dropped nor mishandled, and both have failed ...

Pros: Great sound, all the features that you would want as an MP3 player only.
Cons: The FM tuner is just a waste of a space the online registration sucks

I just purchased the Rio Cali 256 Meg it has great sound and seems to be a good MP3 player considering that it is my first and hopefully my last for sometime. The FM tuner is just a waste of a space as it will not pickup a radio station unless I put ...

Pros: What can I say, AWESOME product! All around best player for the gym.
Cons: NONE

Ok, first of all I am so happy about my new Rio Cali 256MB that I just had to write this review. I must have done a full week of internet research and store hopping to find the perfect MP3 player for working out at the gym. Well, after 4 days of ...

Pros: Cost, Ease of Use, Portability, Looks, Upgradeable memory, Sound Quality
Cons: Those bloody headphones.

I spent a long, long, long time deciding on an mp3 player. I was attracted to the ipod and other 10gb models but wasn't sure if the extra cost could be justified and decided I would never really need the space for thousands of songs... I don't know ...

Pros: AM/FM radio; battery life; good sound quality.
Cons: Bad, bad, bad, bad armband; cheap headphones.

Pros: Low Price, Great Sound, Long Battery Life, and Durable!
Cons: Cheap Armband Construction, Cheap Holster, Short Headphone Cord!

I bought my Rio Cali after reading all of the reviews on here. I'll tell you from experience that the pros and cons are exact. The armband is cheap, along with the holster. On the other hand, if you adjust the equalizer, and load quality MP3s in the unit, and it sounds good, and allows you to load 60-70 128kbps MP3s into it. The expansion port is perfectly hidden behind the battery, but the door itself feels cheap.

Pros: Nice size. Easy to use interface. Good sound quality.
Cons: Firmware issues. Unreliable electronics. Short warranty period. Manufacturer uninterested in building loyal customer base.

We bought two of these for our teenage kids for Christmas 2004, at $200 apiece. After a few weeks one of them would not work properly and was returned to manufacturer under warranty for repair. It had an acknowledged firmware problem. The second one experienced a malfunction with symptoms similar to the original firmware problem, unfortunately after the warranty period had expired. No help from the manufacturer. I cannot recommend Rio Cali on account of their reliability problems, and on account of the manufacturer's not standing behind its products. One wonders if these devices are being manufactured deliberately to low quality standards, in order to generate additional profits for the mega-retailers on the sale of extended warranties. Please note that the ePinions.com rating equates durability with good outer plastic parts. The outer plastic on these units is durable; it's the electronics that are of poor quality.

Pros: Light, durable, good sound quality, easy software
Cons: Haven't found any yet

The Rio is light and comes with a quite comfortable arm band. The sound is very good, headphones stay on while you run. The software is so easy to use...it took me 10 min to mix my favorite songs and download to the player. It even came with a battery so you can take it for a run about 15 min after you get back from the store ;)

Pros: Small, cool colored, expandable! dot matrix display
Cons: disposable batteries, FM radio needs a boost

i had one of these things a long time ago, and i still have it, but i got it second hand, so i cant write a open package review.

this is a nice MP3 player, the screen is bright, plays music with great quality, but the only thing i didnt like was the disposable batterys you used with it. i like rechargables, but this one takes a AAA or an AA, i cant rember. pop off the battery door, and theres a slot for SD cards.

I really liked the radio this had built into it, its nice to hear something else thats not in the player. the screen is a standard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_matrix screen. on the screen, it shows trach information and a slide bar thing that looks like the seek bar in windows media or iTunes, which i thought was awesome!

Pros: decent sound quality
Cons: poor software, no technical support

Playlists don't work at all with an added memory card, so if you have more than a couple dozen songs, this player is useless. I've got about 500 songs, and obviously there's no way I can scroll through them to find the desired tracks while I'm jogging.
Rio's support line is only open during business hours, which doesn't help if like me you have to work during the day.
Though Rio promises to reply within 24 hours, I got no reply at all to me e-mail request for technical help.

Pros: plays wma and mp3
Cons: software doesn't create playlists correctly

Software doesn't perform consistently when creating playlists. Sometimes the playlist is created, other times the Rio Music Manager creates the playlist and shows tracks in the playlist; however, when you select the playlist, the player says there aren't any tracks. I used a SD memory card with 1 GB capacity. Other than that, I would say it works ok. I just can't live without playlists. I have 2.43 firmware and the Rio Music Manager 2.90 build 15. All the latest software. Get the iPod - it works!!!

Pros: -looks good out of the box
Cons: -zero reliability

If you own a Rio mp3 player and haven't had a problem yet, you will. I got the Cali after breaking the plastic clip on an older version Rio. It worked well and my girlfriend got one too. Her "refurbished" Cali never worked right and she immediately exchanged it.

Meanwhile the warranty ran out on mine and it is permanently stuck in the locked position -- completely unresponsive! Together we have gone through 3 Rios in a short time. There is a reason there are thousands of refurbished units for sale out there -- these things are junk!

Pros: Light weight, long battery life, great for athletes. Pretty durable and reliable.
Cons: Hard to browse quickly through songs. Headphones that come with it are mediocre.

I have had this player for about 5 months now, and I would say it has worked just fine for what I had set out to use it for. I only use it when I work out and when I jog, which is every day on alternating days. I think since then I have only gone through about 4 AAA batteries. I admit that when I set out to buy an MP3 player I was _very_ tempted to get one of the hard drive based players, but Im glad I ended up not doing that. I am on my 2nd pair of headphones, but only because one of my damn cats chewed through the wires. Definitely worth the buy. If you're considering getting an MP3 player, take my advice. Pocket the extra 200 bucks it would cost you for an IPOD and get one of these bad boys. It may not be pretty but it gets the job done.

Pros: Expandable Memory, small, convenient, portable, lightweight, expandable memory, easy to use
Cons: Volume, lifespan, software only for PC (Except iTunes)

The Rio Cali sport is an EXCELLENT Mp3 player, the Rio has pretty a pretty good FM tuner. I love the easy to use, up front, joystick. It's small, portable, and sleek. Expandable memory with relatively cheap SD cards to expand the memory. Can expand from 32 MB to 512 MB, but no 1 GB.
This is a great Mp3 player. Available for both Mac and Windows platform, and easy to use with iTunes, Windows Media Player, and Rio software, if included. The only bad part with the Rio software is you can't play the music, while exporting the songs and playlists to your player.

**Update: 7/7/07

This music player has turned out not so excellent...it is somewhat fragile...the device has fallen apart (internally) and refuses to turn on...we bought a second player, and that player is also damaged, in regards to the screen, and the inability to read it anymore. The Display has essentially quit.

Pros: FM tuner, blet clip, large screen for a unit this size.
Cons: playlists and memory cards don't work together. Battery drains quickly.

When I originally bought the Rio Cali 256MB, I liked its simplicity, decent sound, and the ability to create multiple playlists for different listening moods.
After a couple of weeks though, I started having intermittent problems after storing songs on it. Sometimes the music database would not initialize properly, and other similar problems. It would eventually work, so I ignored it.
The battery would run out faster than what the documentation led me to believe.
Then, I bought a 512MB memory card so I could store more music and more playlists. I found out that playlists and extended memory don't play together. The Cali would only "see" the subsets of the playlists that were stored in main memory. The only way to listen to music stored on the card was by listening to "all tracks" or specific tracks. Apparently, this is a known situation but that Rio doesn't seem to want to fix it.
The more memory one has, the more important it is to be able to use playlists to categorize the music.
I was so dissappointed that I returned the Rio and bought a Sony Network Walkman NW-E99 instead.

Pros: Lightweight, easy interface
Cons: Low volume buzz

The Cali is my first portable mp3 player. It has some great features. It's easy to operate. The proprietary software is a bit confusing at first but very manageable with minimal effort. However, there is a constant low volume buzz that is present on both high and low quality MP3 recordings. I actually exchanged it and found that the replacement Cali had the same problem. I've adjusted the equalizer and found that the problem persists.

Pros: Easy user interface, expandable memory, very easy to learn and use.
Cons: Lousy head phones. Lousy customer service.

I purchased a Rio Cali for my wife as a birthday present. It was really easy to install the software and get the music loaded - less than ten minutes and we were listening to our tunes. YEA!!! But...... within 30 minutes the left speaker on the included ear-bud type headphones went dead. Wiggle it around a bit and it would work a bit - then dead again. Obviously a loose connection in the ear-piece. No big problem, I think. Just send them back and get a replacement set. WRONG! According to the "english is my second language" assistant at Rio.keepyouwaitingonholdforever.com the headphones cannot be shipped by themselves. My only alternative was to return the whole unit (at my expense) and wait for a new one to be shipped to me. He could, however, send a set of ear-buds without the ear clips as a replacement. Gee, thanks. My wife, being ever eager to use the unit, purchased a set of Koss KSC22 Sportclips locally and discovered they sounded better anyway! Anyhow - great MP3 player, lousy headphones, lousy service.

Pros: easy to use control button. Works well in the dark
Cons: earpiece not up to par, High volume lost sound

I product was a great gift for me because I am a active runner. I properly break more MP3 players that I would like to talk about. However the Rio Cali has been holding up pretty strong for about a year. I find the Rio very easy to use when running. The red control button is excellent for someone in motion. I had a problem with the ear piece about two months of use. They some times lose sound. I suggest anyone who buys the Rio, invest in a ear piece that is dependable. I like the Koss or Sony brand.I have been using the Koss brand for a while now and it is working out.

Pros: Small size Big sound BIG 256MEGS of space.
Cons: Cheap ear plugs (so what ..Buy a good pair and it sounds better!) :)

I`m Happy with the sound and all that music(about60songs) that little thing can hold(256megs). I'm training for a marathon and I bought it for the size. It fits around my arm and is a great motivator(music) to get me going.
I had no trouble with the software (I'm running windows ME) and all went fine with the music transfer to the Rio.
I bought it at Best buy and bought a 2year warranty on this bad boy so I have no worries if it rains or I drop it. I really have no complaints except for the ear plugs but thats goes with all ear plugs that come with players. Its only been 1 week so far and it works like a charm.

Pros: easy downloading, good amount of battery life
Cons: arm band!

My husband had purchased this Rio for me back in October 2003. It was great for the price. 256MB for 199.00!!! The software that comes with it is very user-friendly. It takes literally 2 minutes to load it. The sound wasn't bad either and the battery life was good....
...but all things come to an end here. First off the arm belt that it comes with just plain stinks. When I would run with it, the band wouldn't hold it well enough, so I was constantly dropping it. The first time it dropped the lock button broke. The fifth time (within a two week span) it stopped working completely. Now perhaps it would still be working if I had carried it in my hand instead of on the arm band, but one of the main reason he got that one for me was so I could run with it. My second thing that I was not crazy about was the joystick. It took forever to set radio stations, and just overall was designed poorly.
I ended up getting an iPod instead that I run with a fanny pack. (No more arm bands for me!)

Pros: Great battery,expandable memory, decent price, light. Can use pay services.
Cons: tuner could be better, wish it was 2.0 usb,must get used to joystick,

Can use with most pay services Napster, Musicmatch, itunes...etc. Great battery life. Easy interface. You can drag on drop onto rio software from explorer. Expandable memory to 512 i think. Interface is easy to use. Joystick is ok once you get the hang of it. Tuner is ok for gym use. (Tv's that have tuner frequencies). Outside is fades a little. Lots of options (random, playlist...etc) This player has good sound quality despite low volume. Headphones were good while they lasted. I only got about 90 days out of them. Usb was not 2.0 but very fast. Never a problem transfering songs to it. Also goes off after 1 minute or so of nonuse. Cool Id display. Stopwatch option. This is my second rio and i have no complains. Okay belt clip.

Pros: Light, great sound, easy to use.
Cons: Equalizer function.

I finally took the plunge into the world of the mp3 player and will never go back to a standard Walkman/Discman, never. I bought this Rio Cali 256MB to use while running and while at the gym. It's light as a feather and works great thanks to the handy joystick that allows the user to control all of the functions associated with playing music.
The earphones are a little different than what I'm used to, but the sound is good and they stay in place relatively well. I'm not too impressed with the equalizer functions. As far as I can tell, most of the settings sound pretty much the same. You can create your own custom equalizer setting that makes up for the shortcomings of the preset options.
I like this player because it meets my needs for the gym and running. Shop around for the best price. I paid around $148 after a $20 Rio rebate.

Pros: Portable, amount of storage, ease of use
Cons: Sometimes hard to read the display in bright light.

I bought this player while I was doing long runs training for a marathon this year. I love that I can get 4 full hours of mp3s on it; that was a big selling point for me. The playlist feature is nice as well. Interface is easy to use, and the "lock" button is great for when you're working out and don't want to worry about bumping the buttons inadvertently. The main features I was looking for when I got this were portability (this one came with an arm strap that's really comfortable and make it ideal for taking on my runs), and storage (the 256MB is awesome). All my friends yell at me for not getting an iPod, but even though they hold a lot more, I can't see clipping one on to my arm for my runs. The software that comes with the Cali is really easy to use, so it's no big deal to transfer different sets of music for whatever your mood.

Pros: small size, lot's of music storage
Cons: software

I wanted a compact MP3 player to run and mountain bike. I got the Rio Cali 256 and have been very happy. It holds a ton of music, and I barely notice it strapped on my arm when I'm running or in my jersey pocket when mountain biking. The sound is good and the headphones it come with are good for working out also. The only downer was that it took me a while to get the software to work with windows ME. I spent 1.5 hrs on the help line. But once it got working it is well worth the money.

Pros: Belt Clip.
Cons: Durability, controls, arm band too small.

Besides being difficult to use while running, when I was out on long runs in the heat, my sweat would short the thing out, and in the end, ended up completely frying the thing. Then I couldn't even get so much as a response from customer service.

Also, the arm band was way too small to wear around my arm.

Pros: Nice MP 3 player lightweight and durable. (except for cr@ppy armband clip.
Cons: The group of monkies that they have doing "customer service" they should pump gas.

I bought my Rio Cali so I could listen to music while I ran and for the price I thought it was a nice little unit. After a few weeks the flimsy arm band clip broke off, a bit irritating but I (incorrectly) assumed that the folks at Rio would replace such a cheaply made part. Unfortunately the "customer service" rep couldnt help:

Snip---

Dear Bill,

Thank you for contacting Rio. Unfortunately, at this time we do not have that part for you. Please continue visiting our website for its availability.

Regards-

Christopher M

Rio Email Support

customersupport@rioaudio.com

I eventually went back on line and spent the 22 dollars that they wanted to replace the clip, the plastic holster and the armband. Bad enough to have to pay for something twice but the "customer service" team didn't have the courtesy to send an e-mail to advise me that the part could be bought albeit at an unreasonable price. I hate dealing with such id10ts. I would not buy a Rio again, they do not stand by their product.

Pros: Sound quality, player durability, joystick navigator
Cons: Armband/player holder, headphones

The Rio Cali Sport was exactly what I was seeking. I use it nearly every time I exercise: weightlifting, street running, trail running, snowboarding, etc. The player itself is very durable. However, the holder/armband assembly needs work. While I was running a 10K, the player fell out of the holder, hitting the pavement, and separating into several pieces. It suffered no damage. The holder also dropped the player while I was running on a mountain trail, causing the player to fall into the dirt. Again, there was no damage. The velcro is also starting to come off the armband. I like the adjustable equalizer and the joystick navigation, although better cataloging software would help for finding songs more quickly. The battery lasts a long time. In order to really enjoy the sound quality of the player, you should invest in a quality pair of headphones like Sennheiser.

Pros: Very small and light. Looks great, and sound quality is good.
Cons: Software is a little hard to use.

Got this because I wanted a fairly cheap mp3 player and wasn't really concerned with having "super" quality sound. I was really surprised when I listened to this player...the music sounds great! The earbuds stay in place, the armband is comfortable, and the unit stays put. The battery life is great. After converting my mp3's to .wma's(64kbps)I have 110 songs loaded on the internal memory. I'll probably buy another card and then I'll be set, I cant see having more that 300 songs or so. The controls are easy to use, the software is a little lacking but works well. All in all I'm very pleased.

Pros: Size, weight and durability
Cons: It alphabetizes your song list automatically

I took this thing to Iraq and back. It worked in the heat and dust/sand and took a pounding while never faltering. I like the color, but it is now old-school. Expandable memory is a must. I liked it so much that I gave it to my 10 year old and am now purchasing another Rio MP3 player for myself.

Pros: Perfect size, great performance, great design.
Cons: Subpar headphones, battery must be removed to access SD port.

The Rio Cali 256MB MP3 player and FM Radio is the second MP3 player I've purchased. The first player I purchased was a Rio S30 for my wife. I had mixed feelings about the S30 because I loved the large button(s) on it but hated its' poorly fitting plastic case and so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with another Rio for myself. I spent a lot of time researching both online and in store other players before making a decision. I walked into a Radio Shack and the salesman was willing to open the Rio Cali package for me so that I could really get a look at what I was buying. The Rio Cali had a well fitting case and armband - great for working out with. The joystick can be a little difficult to work with at times. The Rio Music Manager software works with both the S30 and the Cali together. The battery must be removed to access the SD extension port. The headphones aren't at all spectacular and you may want to upgrade them. It's great that it only requires one battery. Overall though the player works well and is designed well.

Pros: Small, sounds decent
Cons: Mac users beware, earphones TOTALLY unacceptable, interface sucks, users guide as bad as it gets

VERY poor instructions. If you've got a mac you'll probably have to call their tech support (long distance at your expense) to figure out how to install this for a mac. Also once you figure out the instructions are available on line, it is a terribly organized and written manual. Also, one would expect that the headphones included might not be the best around, but at the very least you would expect they would stay in your ears. OK the sound quality is not bad and its small, BUT the interface is terrible, the headphones are totally unacceptable, the operating instructions suck, the setup for mac is basically non existence. Everything about the presentation of this unit strikes me that the manufacturer is cheap cheap cheap. If you have any sense that you should be treated like a human being by the the folks you buy stuff from then this is not the unit for you.

Pros: Ease of Use. Small and Lightweight.
Cons: None

I read all of the reviews available.
I had never used an MP3 player before so I knew nothing.
This one is awesome! I cannot wait to use it on a daily basis. I get around 63 songs (without and expansion cards) and the sound is great. I have no complaints at all.
The software is also real easy to use. I have never "ripped" or downloaded a song in my life and I had this thing playing in about a half an hour.
Controls are real easy to use too, I change the songs and the volume while I am running.
It is also real small and lightweight. When I leave the gym I do not even take it off.

Pros: Nice color
Cons: None

The software that comes with the Cali is unusable. I bought this to replace a Bantam MP3 player that I broke and I can say without hesitation it was the worse decision I ever made.
The software is slow, poorly written and very difficult to use.
I called technical support. What a mistake. the tech told me to reformat my player but never checked to see if I had backed it up. When I pointed it out to them she hung up. Then I called again and was on hold for over 30 minutes. Then the Operator Tia Henderson apologized and transfered me to the wrong department and once again I got disconnected. I am now on hold for the 3rd time this morning and still no closer to a manager. Stay away!!!!!