Rio Carbon (5 GB) MP3 Player

Pros: Price, size, battery life
Cons: lag, case, mediocre user interface, controls and file management system

I like simple, no-frills machines. I also like to avoid trendy gadgets. For these reasons, I bought a 5GB Rio Carbon MP3 player over the Apple iPod mini and Creative Zen Micro. I have used the Carbon for several hours a day over the past month, and ...

Pros: Good sound, good price, super small
Cons: Playlist weirdness, small screen, cruddy case

Not everyone needs a monster 20+Gig MP 3 player. After all, depending on compression, the average storage is about 20 full length albums per gig. This puts the 5 gig players right in the middle. Perfect for those who have up to 100 albums and want more ...

Pros: Janus 10 and Audible compatible, sound, fits in my hand easily, zero drivers, Linux
Cons: None? No FM Radio, No Ogg Vorbis

The Rio Carbon Pearl is essentially a Rio Carbon - with a new more solid case and a nice white pearl-like faceplate (and yes, they fixed the headphone jack problem that the Carbon had). It has 5GB or 6GB putting it in the iPod Mini, Creative Micro ...

Pros: Battery life, form factor, sleekness, sound quality, UI, not an iPod.
Cons: Lack of "hold" button, case without belt clip, static problem with headphone jack.

I bought my first MP3 player (a RIO PMP) eons ago when the first generation players just hit the market. Since then, I went through a bunch of them including the Creative Nomad II(which I accidentally tossed into the washing machine but retrieved it ...

Pros: Size and Shape, Battery Life, Design, 5GB of Space.
Cons: Lack of accessories, Playlist Creation

The Rio Carbon is a solid alternative to the Ipod Mini, offering long battery life and an ideal size and shape. I purchased mine online shortly after its release after a long decision-making struggle between the Carbon and the Ipod. The size and batter ...

Pros: affordable, superior sound, massive storage.
Cons: need a piece of tape with other earphones, no shuffle button.

I needed a good device for my rhapsody music to go service, a monthly (15.00 flat fee for unlimited music downloads and MP3 player transfers). The rio carbon is Janus capable (with a firmware upgrade). This means that it works with rhapsody to go and ...

Pros: Size is almost perfect. Long battery life. Great sound quality. Excellent capacity for the price.
Cons: Cheap plastic feel, No OTF playlisting, buggy software.

I bought my Rio Carbon 5gig player in April as a birthday present to myself. From day 1, I have been pleased with the performance and capacity. The only gripe I could muster was that it didn't support the PlaysForSure Subscription services like ...

Pros: small, easy to use, lightweight, stylish
Cons: is extremely unresponsive, bad case design, poorly made internally, not worth the money

I started researching all MP3 players during the summer of 2004. I spent days learning about and comparing any MP3 player with more than a gig of memory. It seemed every single player had a flaw that I just could not get past. Weeks later, I learned ...

Pros: (see bottom of review)
Cons: (see bottom of review)

I was in the market for a 4-5gb mp3 player. After doing a TON of research, i narrowed it down to the ipod mini and the rio carbon 5gb. It was a close race, but the rio won because it has 1 more gb of data space, longer battery life, and it is smaller. ...

Pros: Nice design, small size.
Cons: Rio shipped me a bad device and were reluctant to give me a refund.

The Good: -Great price -Overall very nice fit, finish, and ergonomics; the bottom outside edge is rubberized, which makes for a good grip -Recognized as USB Mass Storage (USM) without any issues -Firmware upgradeable -Charging via miniB USB -A/C to ...

Pros: Easy to Use, great sound, great size and it's cute!
Cons: The case that comes with it may as well be tossed.

I am pretty good when it comes to my computer. I am a 51 year old Grandma that is pretty good with soft-wear. When it comes to mp3 players, I am totally clueless. I don't know a thing about them. I really didn't even intend on buying one. I listen ...

Pros: Small, easy to use.
Cons: No radio.

I bought this primarily for use while running. For the one month period I've had it there haven't been any problems. My initial (and ongoing) concern is that the player uses a small harddisk to store files. Normally you don't want to bump or jar the ...

Pros: size, weight, capacity
Cons: quality, reliability, atrocious service, lack of decent case

I bought a Rio Carbon last fall, and immediately had problems with the device. It became suddenly unresponsive and went into a mode called "upgrader", seeming to indicate that the firmware needed upgrading and was in a mode to do so. However, I was ...

Pros: size, scroll wheel on the side, long battery life
Cons: software, bad case design, voice recorder makes static, Rio customer support, doesn't work!

I bought the Rio Carbon thinking that it was a good deal. I've been wanting an iPod mini, but the Rio Carbon has 1GB more than the iPod mini, and has 20 hours of battery life as opposed to the iPod mini's 8 hours. I added some songs on it and ...

Pros: Bigger Hard Drive, Voice recording, not restricted to use their software. Timeless (non-trendy) Beauty.
Cons: Just a tad too pricey, but worth the plunge once I started using it.

Ya know, there is only so much research you can do on any given product (like mp3 players) before you just become paralyzed, not knowing what to do. That was my problem. It ofcourse came down to the ipod mini v.s. the Carbon. I feel ashamed to admit ...