Rio Cali Sport (256 MB) MP3 Player

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!!!!!