MP3 Reviews

I had my Toshiba SD-2800 DVD player for 18 months. It worked well up until the other day, when "Disc Error" appeared after I put a movie in that I had rented. I tried several different discs and all had the same error, I even verified the discs were fine by playing them on my PC. I then checked out the net and found that the "Disc Error" is a very prevalent problem with this player and that I actually did pretty good getting 18 months out of it, as most seem to die at 12! It is not acceptable for a DVD player to breakdown after a year and a half of playing about half a dozen DVDs a month in it. I will not buy Toshiba again. Now that this machine is going in the trash, I'm going to go and buy a new Panasonic, as I have other electronic items of theirs and haven't had any problems.

We bought this DVD player about 6 months ago...so happy with it we're making sure to buy the same one as a gift. It's simple to hook up and understand, and very easy to use. One feature that we LOVE and that not all DVD players have, is that if we shut the DVD player off, it automatically restarts at the same spot we left off. My son's DVD player (another brand) does not do this...it's very inconvenient to have to remember where you were and fast forward to that spot if you don't watch a movie all the way through.

I have owned the SD-1600, SD-2700, SD-2710 and when I was looking for another one, the SD-2800 was first on my list. The ColorStream component output makes your component capable TV look amazing. I would suggest calibrating your TV using the Enhanced Black level setting that this unit (and all of the above) offer. I tried Samsung, Sony, Phillips and I selected and will continue to select Toshiba. The features and picture quality outstripped units that cost far more! It is a true value for the money. The only real difference in this model compared to the previous ones is the controls built into the front panel that allow you to do everything without the remote if you need to. I have loved all of the Toshiba units I have had. I think you will too!

The Nike-Philips psa[128 mp3 player is perfect to use while running or working out. It's sweatproof, straps comfortably onto your arm, doesn't get in the way, holds about 2 hours of near CD-quality music, and plays back music skip-free like a charm.

The headphones are a compromise between great quality sound versus letting you hear that car coming up behind you. If this compromise doesn't suit you, you can always use a different set headphones you like better.

The player uses flash memory for the firmware, which means the player is upgradeable. As with any flash-memory device, if you are not careful about how you connect or disconnect the player to your computer, you can corrupt the flash memory and the player will stop working. The Nike-Philips website ... provides detailed instructions on how to restore the flash memory if this happens.

The reason I rated this player a 4 instead of a 5 is because it doesn't have a couple of features that might surprise you. First, there is no shuffle playback option. Second, while you can change tracks before the music starts to play, you can't skip tracks once playing has begun. I understand that Nike-Philips opted to omit these features in order to keep the unit simple and reliable. In any case, neither of these limitations is a problem for me, but some people might wish that these features were available.

The MusicMatch software that comes with the player is a decent MP3 music manager. Not everyone likes it, but the upgrade available for purchase is quite a bit better than the older, limited version that comes on the installation CD.

Bottom line: This MP3 player is perfect for use at the gym or while running. I personally use it every day and absolutely love it.

This is a really nice looking MP3 player. I run nearly every day, and find it to be very comfortable and to be easy to listen to as I work out. After seven days of use, I managed to corrupt the flash memory by disconnecting the USB cable while the computer was still running. At first, I had no idea what happened and thought that the player was dead. Fortunately, the Nike-Philips website provides detailed instructions on how to restore the flash memory. Anyway, I am back up and running, and am once again enjoying the music.

On the Music Match software, it seems to be decent but there are negatives. It is not as easy to use as the Windows Media Player, and it seems to use a proprietary file manager rather than taking advantage of the Windows operating system's built-in file management features. I copied about a 160 songs into the music library and so far have found two that got "mangled" during the copying process. So my impression is that the reliability of its copy functionality is less than stellar.

If you want an MP3 player primarily for running and working out, this is THE player to get. I got the YEPP MP3 player for X-mas and returned it for this. The YEPP player scratches easily, has an unfriendly interface, has a short battery life, and doesn't have a rechargable battery. The Nike player fits very snugly into the extremely comfortable arm band and you hardly even notice it's there. When the battery runs out you just pop it into the recharger and in 4 hours it's good to go again. The interface is extremely easy and it holds a lot of music. Definitely go for the 128MB player, it's worth the extra money. The YEPP player that I had returned was only 64MB and couldn't even hold an entire CD that I tried. The headphones stay on fine, but the best part is they don't have to go way into your ear like other headphones do. The magnets work great. I was confused by this at first, so here's an explanation: The remote control (which is on a cord) is attached to the MP3 player, and the headphones are attached to the remote control cord. The headphone cord goes INTO your shirt and has a magnet on it. The remote control cord also has a magnet and attaches to the magnet on the headphone cord from the OUTSIDE of your shirt. So thanks to the magnets attached to your shirt the wires are very taut and not in the way. The only slack is from your shirt to the arm, which has to be slack so your arm can move. So you can run without any bouncing wires, which is great. You can even lock it so no buttons can be accidentally pressed while you're working out. Highly recommended.

It just flat out didn't work when it arrived. Installed the software, then plugged it all in and nothing. Just one green light. I tried both wired and wireless. I sent it back after reading the number of folks experiencing similar problems. I tried calling support first, but just got to hear music before it hung up on me.

This little device has been a godsend. I have it set up in my bedroom as a way to listen to streaming internet-raido, MP3s, and my DVDs. I love it because I have instant access to the music or films I want. My wife loves it because it is totally quite. The unit is solid state. No fans or drives. So, as you lie peacefully, relaxing in bed, you do not have to listen to the annoying whir of a computer.

I notice a lot of complaints about support. As a previous reviewer stated, this device is "not for Grandma". This, I believe, is in part because Prismiq is a small company. So you may not get all the bells and whistles you would expect with a release from a major company. But, their size gives you two advantages: 1. The unit, for what it does, is *very* inexpensive. 2. They closely listen to their customers and try to implement features as quickly as possible.

Case: I had trouble viewing large MPG files that were created from DVDs I own on the Linux version of the media server. Support reconized the issue and quickly sent me a new version of the server which fixed the bug. I do not think you would ever get that kind of support from MS, Linksys, or DLink.
I have never had issues with basic setup, operation, or upgrades on the device.

Of course the device is not perfect. There are issues that still need to be worked on (quicker slideshow operation of pictures, better sorting of MP3s by ID-tag info, better interface for Linux server...) but Prismiq is aware of these and I feel confident they will address these issues in the coming months, as they have addressed every other issue that has cropped up with the unit.

In closing, if you are a computer saavy tech-head, this is the device for you.

I already have a linksys wet11 hooked to a router in my living room for XBOX and my PS2. Therefore, I cannot comment on the wireless card problems that people are having. With my setup the unit was plug and play with no problems.

1. Audio Navigation - I have an assortment of MP3, Ogg, and FLAC files on my computer with a total of about 18,000 music files in total. The native interface has some problems that have already been mentioned. My main problem was the lack of FLAC support. I decided to download a product called "slimserver" from the internet that works as a server for Ogg, FLAC, MP3, etc... files. It has a much better interface and works with the Prismiq's web interface (see Prismiq's forum for installation instructions). The only problem would be the fact that the built in web server on the Prismiq is slow. However, once it is up and running, songs can be added to your playlist on the fly and the sorting (genre, artist, album, etc.. is great). It even adds the ability to add Moodlogic (which I have tested)and Itunes (which I haven't tested) playlists.
2. Rhapsody support - This is great for addicts of the service. I wasn't interested until Prismiq offered a 30 day trial. With a selection of over 600,000 songs, it has allowed me to dig deep into many artist's portfolios before wasting money on a CD. As of now, Rhapsody will not play through the Prismiq digital outputs.
3. Pictures - The ability to get your digital photos on your TV is a great feature. It allows you to create a a slide show with a specific folder and also allows you to play a specified song whenever the slideshow is being seen. It will also allow the slideshow (without an audio file attached) to run while you listen to the internet radio or your music files. The pictures are not the quality of Roku's HD device, but they are good enough on my 57 inch HDTV through the S-video output.
4. Movies - I have a Tivo, so this doesn't get a lot of use on my Prismiq. I do have a few home movies that look great on the device. I am also able to take advantage of the widescreen format of my movies.
5. Web interface - If you have DSL or a cable modem, you will not want to use this device for web surfing. It is very slow. However, I have bookmarks setup for slimserver, internet radio, and my email. Without the web interface, I would not be able to use slimserver and the product would not get nearly as much use. Therefore, I am happy that they have included the ability.
6. Other features - News stories, local weather, screensaver (you can customize with your own picture), chat (I have never used).

Overall, I am happy with this device. It does have some flaws and if you have a lot of files, you will not be happy unless you have the slimserver setup. It is not the last device that I will buy because I will upgrade with a HD device that plays FLAC files natively sometime in the future. However, for now, it has provided me with a lot of fun!

Okay, this is my second post. I upgraded the firmware on both faulty players (2 out of 4 purchased didn't work). One had no change and is completely worthless (powers off in 5 minutes or less) the other worked great - for one whole day. Now both are completely worthless and in the garbage. Money down the drain. The other two? Working flawlessly. That is 50% failure. Flip a coin. Maybe you'll get lucky. Look at the reviews here. Everything is either 5 stars or 1. That is very scary. Buy an Ipod, I guess...

I have purchased quite a few mp3 players. They all have a few qualities that separate them from the rest. The Rio Nitrus seemed to be a good mix between the larger hard drive players, and the smaller chip players. It has a nice 1.5 gig capacity in a very compact design. The sound quality is very good with some of the best earbuds I have seen in an mp3 player. The biggest problem (and it is a biggie) is the menu system. It gives you plenty of options such as Artist,Album,Tracks,Playlist, however it does not list the songs under the particular artist or album. It only gives you the choice to play all. This makes it very cumbersome to locate certain songs you wish to play. With the capacity to hold 375 songs, they should have a better way to locate them. Most mp3 players on the market give you the ability to find songs through Artist or Album. What should have been a top rated player is below average for something so simple.

I've been previewing the Nitrus (pronounced: Night-russ) and have been playing with it for close to two months, now. I should also note that I'm not an employee of Rio. For really good unofficial tech support from other users, go to rioworld.org or riovolution.com. Nitrus is about a third of the weight of an iPod, small and very thin. When it's in your pocket, you forget it's there. I'm not joking! This isn't the case with the iPod or the Karma. If you want storage capacity, you'll be buying a Karma. However, that's not the market for this player. The form, size and weight, combined with about 400 songs capacity (1.5GB) is the combination that will attract certain buyers. So, you can't really compare it with the iPod/Karma's of the world, or the flash players. Totally different market segment. It's not designed to be a sports player, but I, and many others, have been using it for athletic activities and it's sweet!! You forget it's there. It also has the standard Rio stopwatch functions. It has a bookmark feature, which is great on my audiobooks! Runs off USB 2.0 or 1.1! There's an intermediate lock selection that allows you to hit the joystick to move between play/pause. Perfect for snowboarding or exercising. Plus, with about 400 songs, you don't have to move songs on and off the player like a flash-based player. So, it carves out a nice (and new!) middle ground. Most consumers wouldn't want more songs on a player (unless you're a capacity freak, as I can sometimes be). It's not as feature rich as the Karma, but NOTHING is! Karma beats iPod, hands down and everything else in features. With Nitrus, you can create playlists, sort by ID3 tags, it has a customizable five-band equalizer and the sound is great. With the Sennheiser earbuds and customizable equalizer it will be a market leader in sound quality. Firmware is solid, right out of the box. If you've owned a Rio before, you know the developers are dedicated to constantly upgrading the firmware. Rio Music Manager (RMM2) The desktop software RMM2 (Rio Music Manager) is a huge leap ahead from the last RMM. It is being used for the whole Rio line. You can create playlists, to auto-DJ mixes and rip CDs. You can play music within the player, create auto-synch profiles between your player and RMM. It also has Gracenote CDDB, an on-line database that fills in all the album info for CDs you rip! RMM is user-friendly, intuitive and a solid piece of software. Rio Taxi: Nitrus also has Rio Taxi, like Karma, which allows you to move any type of file. I've been using it to transfer docs between work and home without issue. Taxi is simple and clean and works without issue. Battery Life: 16 hours listed, soon to be officially 19 hrs, but I'm getting longer than that. About Karma, people should note that Karma is slightly thicker than the iPod for one main reason: battery life!!! latest generation iPod = 8hrs (cut from 10hrs of 1st generation, which is how they shaved thickness). Interesting priorities at Apple, eh? Karma = 15 hours Nitrus = 16 hours (I seem to get longer play out of mine, but that's what Rio is advertising, so I'll stick to that). This is based on 128 bit MP3's. Note that many other MP3 players advertise battery life based on 64 or 96bit WMA's, as lower bit rate files consume less power! As well, you can adjust backlight length on these players, or turn it off completely, which greatly extends battery life beyond 16 hours. Really nice indigo backlight on these players and clear text display. So, that's a basic overview. Nitrus is going to be the surprise hit of the Rio line. Given that Denon & Marantz, a very high-end audio company, now owns Rio, combined with listening to Nitrus while previewing it, I think the whole Rio line will become the audiophile's digital music player!!

I started learning all about .mp3's a couple months ago(Thanks Napster). I immediately got a writable cd burner and then moved onto pc based .mp3 player and just learned how to convert .mp3 files into Windows Media Player(cut's the filesize in half!!!) So my obvious next choice was to buy a portable .mp3 player. I didn't know anything about them so I decided to buy the basic unit before I wanted to drop $300 on one of the really good ones. The guy at BestBuy recommended the Rio600 because it's pretty basic, yet upgradable firmware and memory pack (up to 340mb pack). So far I'm really happy with it and recommend it if you're looking for you're first mp3 player.

Last, back to mp3-to wma conversion.. I could only load 6 6mb .mp3's into the Rio600 w/32mb. I converted my .mp3's to .wma (Microsoft Windows Media Player format) and I was able to load those 6 files + 5 more! Convert your files to WMA! You WON'T regret it!

The Rio is a pretty good MP3 player. For the most part it has great sound quality. Unfortunatally, it doesn't hold very many songs. In the instructions it said I could buy memory cards. I can't find them any where, not even on line. If you push one wrong button all of your songs are deleted. This is why the "lock" feature is awesome. You can choose some of your own settings, which is cool. It's easy to opperate, but downloading can be challenging.

This is my second MP3 player. My previous one was a Samsung. As for this Rio 600 here's my initial thoughts. It looks real nice. It sounds as good as any I've heard so far. The battery drain is very low. It is easy to use with Windows Media Player to load it up. (Get the WMP driver off the Rio site.) I personally hate Real Jukebox (comes with this player). Most of Real software is Real Bad. And it has a very nice belt clip pouch. Also it has good ID tags and a very easy to use back lit menu. Those are its strenghs.

Weaknesses - Instead of using removable flash media cards it is upgraded via a special backpack which is hard to get right now. It does not seem to be as rugged as I would like. So I keep it in the belt pouch for protection. I have yet to call Rio (Sonicblue) customer service. I've been told that they are very weak in service. I hope I don't have to find out.

This of course is my initial review. I will try and update this review in about a month.

The Rio was easy to load and easy to use. After 2 months the fast forward button no longer worked which severly limited the ease of use. During the third month the play button stopped working turning it to garbage. I have not been able to find a number to talk to a company representative about my problem but have been able to email the company but still have a light weight, stylish and useless Rio.

I owned two of these units. The first one I got had battery problems and even after callibrating it a couple of times the things would play 2 or 3 songs and then die. Back to the store where I exchanged it for another.

The next unit's battery worked but had the common discharge problem if its not used in a week. The volume control on the unit was a little finiky. If you didn't press on the control in the right place the sound just didn't change up or down.

In general I wonder about the quality control Rio has because from reading othe sites and reviews they seem to have issues.

I wrote them about getting the replacement charger, submitted my info and support never got back to me and never replaced the charger. So much for good support.

Pros
-All my MP3s splayed perfectly on the unit.
-Random and Repeat worked fine.
-The weight and size was also acceptable.
-Comes with a belt clip

Cons
-Throw out the headphones, absolutely useless and they hurt the head.

-Software that came with it sucked. Windows media player worked OK but had the occasional crash where the media player would not longer recognize the unit.
-Overall poor quality.
-Crappy support.

I gave the unit 2 starts out of 5 because over the two years I had it working I was sorta happy with it. Then recently this unit just stopped working. It's the battery the playback was messed up and all you could here was sound in MONO or something. So that's it for Rio.

I can't recommend you get one. I'm moving to a mini-disc player and recommend you do the same.

For the person complaining of the 'battery leak', I experienced the same thing. But it was fixed after I ran a battery calibration. As to the product, I LOVE it! Some minor annoyances: 1)The actual product is slightly shoddy-feeling. I can't put my finger on it, but the feel of the plastic, the buttons, etc., isn't as tight as it could be (whatever that means). 2)The headphones suck. I replaced them immediately. 3)The software is awkward, buggy, and aweful. I use MusicMatch and it is pretty good. Haven't used the Microsoft thing yet.

The other annoying thing is really about the company: They released 64 MB and 384 MB(256 internal, 128 external), and for the longest time that's all they had. I wanted the 256 internal memory without having to get the expensive extra 128, but a 256 internaly-only version doesn't exist. Of course, a month after buying the 64 MB version, out comes a 128 MB version (which I would have loved to get!). *sigh* It feels like they're trying to finagle me into buying one version and a few months later come out with an unannounced version w/ more memory. Oh well.

Ok, so I guess its true. You get what you pay for. I paid almost nothing, and that's what I got. I'll start off with the good stuff:

Usually, if the kids want to see a movie, I can put the movie in, press play, and the kids get to see their movie... no problem, no issues. Worth the (minimal) money I spent.

Now the bad news: Movies freeze. They just stop. The machine locks up and I have to turn it off. That has ruined about half the movies I've seen. I seem to have better luck with the kids movies. I don't know why.

The remote control is terrible. Really. Trust me on this one. You don't realize how important a good remote control is until you have to deal with one that is this bad. Get this: you have to be within 7ft of the DVD Player for the remote control to work (this is by design, if you can believe it!) When's the last time you sat within 7ft of you TV? So if I want to use the remote, I have to get up off the couch, walk two feet forward, and then click. Also, a DVD remote control needs to have some kind of lit buttons/labels. Think about it. You watch DVDs in the dark. You can't see a thing on the remote when its dark. You need to get up, turn the light on, walk two feet forward, then use the remote. And, don't even talk to me about the miniscule size of the buttons, and the inexplicably pale text on the remote... are they purposefully trying to hide the names of the buttons?

More bad news: The electronics are fussy. Here's an example. Try to get a disk out of the player... just try it, and good luck! Press the eject button... nothing happens. Press it again, and the door opens a quarter of an inch then immediately closes. Press the eject button again... nothing happens. Wait longer... nothing happens. Press it again, and the door opens a quarter of an inch then immediately closes. No kidding. I once sat in front of this thing for five minutes trying to get the DVD out of the player (because it was freezing!), unsuccessfully. If there was a hammer within my grasp, I would have smashed the thing to bits.

You get the basic idea. ... Pay any more and you got ripped off. I'd recommend spending a little more and getting a player that actually works.

I've had this player for 1 year, only used it on the weekends.
Now the the player will not play a DVD completly. Tried cleaning, no help. Try another brand.

I've had my Apex AD-1200 for about 4 years now and I've never had any problems. I've moved about 8-10 times (recent college grad), transporting the player with me every time which hasn't affected it at all. It plays virtually EVERY format (besides the most recent DVD+/- R/RW, & RAM), including VCD, SVCD, mp3, CD-R. It's not meant to be a top-of-the-line player, so with that in mind it does EXACTLY what it's supposed to do! Would highly recommend this product.

This is the second Panasonic DVD player I've had which suddenly died for no reason at about a year old. No more Panasonics for me.

First off I owned the earlier model RV-31,and like this one they are both perfect.Secound this may sound bad but before buying the rv-32 i took advantage of a 30 day return policy at a certain electronics store.I tried every player i could sony,toshiba,jvc,samsung the store got to know me well in the end it was the panasonic to win out hands down.The picture,the sound the durability,the easy to use on screen navigation is the best i have seen of any player. I use to work at an electronics store so i,ve seen them all.What most people dont mention in their reviews about dvd players is the display on the player itself.This is also another area where the panasonic tops its competition.It displays the chapter your on in the movie,the time,the type of disc your playing and you can dim the display level to your needs.This might sound small but all some other players (toshiba) display is the running time thats it.Small things like that add up.Another great thing about this player is the smooth fast forward and rewind it shuttles at 200x speed and it does it so fluid and smooth even at the highest speeds.My only beef is with the remote the buttons are way to small and positioned bad,but thats ok becouse you can go to panasonics website and order the rv-31 model remote every button works the same as the rv-32,exept this remote is the best remote of any and all dvd players nice big buttons were they should be and its only [money].i'll tell you again all the rv31 and rv32 remotes work the same way either remote can operate either player,just wanted to add that so if you do buy this player you can go to panasonics website and order the rv-31 remote and not worry if everythings gonna work with the rv-32 it only takes a few days to ship it to ya and BELIEVE me its worth it,and so is everything about the RV-32 panasonic dvd player buy it!

Just picked this DVD player up along with an Acoustic Research 6 foot S-Video Video + Audio (rca type) cable. This review is on the Panasonic RV32K (black). The black and silver versions are identical except for the color. Anywho, on to the review. This is my first real DVD player (had an X-Box before, but A. It didn't play VCDs, and B. it wouldnt play some regular DVDs... so I got this one). I must say, I am quite happy with it. I only had one single hiccup with this DVD player when playing Monsters Inc, and it was very slight. This DVD player has verrrry good picture quality, a decent remote (so-so). I don't know much about DVD players, but in a room full of DVD enthusiasts, as a starting DVD player, this was highly reccommended. I love it alot.

A great idea in developing what most serious gym rats long for: wirefree gadetry on the move and mp3 technology at our finger tips: plus being the first one in my gym with this new gadetry...major bonus point.

need improving: headsets cannot withstand sweat, which happens during a hard workout...buring out one side or fading sound.
Another problem encountered was a reduction of my allowed 64mb memory to 60.5mb...even after deleting old file...
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PURCHASING UNTIL IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE.....

I bought this NIKE player right when it came out.
I went from tape player to CD player to mini-disc player
to finally the NIKE mp3 player.
I use portable audio products when i go running or when
i workout at the gym lifting weights.
When I first bought the NIKE player, I thought it was
awesome...
1. Doesn't skip (like all my previous portable audio
players)
2. Comes with a belt strap for my arm for running and
a belt clip when i go lift weights.
3. Easy software for mp3 and cd songs
etc, etc...
However, there are some major problems:
1. the port where the remote control/headphone/and
USB connector plugs into broke within several months
2. the plastic casing also broke after 6 months
3. And the damn entire mp3 player is now on the
fritz and doesn't play sometimes when i turn the
thing on

I say buy a more durable, reliable mp3 player.
I recommend the Panasonic sdsv80....it's been
awesome so far.

I bought my PSAPlay 120 when it first came out because it was the only one that looked cool in the gym and had a belt clip and arm strap.

Now my PSAPLAY 120 is about a year and a half old and it's stopped working. At first, only songs I had installed on the MMC card wouldn't play. I put it on my computer and it could still see the songs were there but the player just skipped right over them. Then the thing would work about once out of every 15 times you pushed "play." And when it would play, it might play 10 seconds of the first song and stop. I finally pulled out the 128MMC card and trashed the unit.

To be fair, this seems to be indicative of many MP3 players, not just the PSAPLAY 120.

FYI - Though this unit has an expandable MMC port, the newer NIKE 128Mbs does not.

Here's the good and bad on the PSAPLAY 120
First the bad:
- The belt clip broke in the first week.
- I also dropped it in the first week - not hard and on the gym's carpet - and the case cracked.
- The armband attaches to the player via a tiny little screw. They give you two. Now I know why. One of them broke in the first 4 months.
- There is no "random play."
- The Nike audio software they give you isn't very useful. It has about 1/2 the functionality of more popular titles like Media Player. Unfortunately, using Media Player was alway a hit or miss thing. Sometimes Media Player could find the PSAPLAY and sometimes it couldn't even though I kept up with all firmware and software upgrades.
- The armband is bigger than most, though still too small for serious muscle builders
- Songs that load onto the expandable MMC slot load about 1/2 as fast as the internal memory (this is not a problem with my new RCA MP3).

The good:
- Battery life is excellent if you don't use the remote.
- The buttons are raised and easy to find for hands-free operation during running.
- Several preset equalizer settings that work well.
- Looks good.

Wow! When you write down the good and bad, it's a wonder I ever kept the thing as long as I did. For the money, there are better units out there I believe.

So there it is. It was pretty good while it lasted, but now it's gone...

My sister got this model for me-however if you leave the battery in even with it being powered off it will drain the battery and then it gets a little stressful thinking that it won't ever work-and definitely get a SmartMedia card for it if you do get one (as a gift don't buy one).
I read that the battery door breaks on these models but it was a gift so I was very careful yet it DID break-a small little plastic bit came off on the closing end when I was putting in the battery before use-I can use it if I tape the door and it works fine but it's an inconvenience-and considering purchasing a non-RIO product that does use a Smart Media card-

I bought one when it first came out and it never worked right. Since it was under warranty they sent me a new (refurbished) one and it had the same problem. Then after a two month battle they sent me out a brand new one and it worked great for about a year but then it just died. Actually it isn't totally dead but all it does is blink the amount of memory it has until the battery runs down. I can't turn it off or play any thing.
So the support people do the best they can but I don't think the player is designed very well.

Okay, you've probably been reading the reviews on this MP3 player and hearing that it has problems. Well, I'm here to clear up all that confusion.

I read the reviews and at my own risk, I ordered this item because of its low price and ... rebate. I received it about 5 days later and then started to play with it. Here's what I found.

Installation was very simple with Windows XP. I just plugged it into the USB port and didn't need to install anything. All the drivers were installed with XP, and it lets you copy with My Computer (although it doesn't let you copy with Windows Media Player....). It includes RealJukebox, but I use MusicMatch and Windows Media Player now to take care of all my track recording (it's slow to open up files). Windows XP also lets you copy music to this easily by drag-and-drop through Windows Explorer and My Computer, so there was no need for the driver installation.

Now the sound quality. I started out using different encoded MP3s and some WMA files, and this played them very clearly! Even with the small earphones, it sounds like two speakers are right next to my ears! It's great that way. The only problem I found was that copying my 128kbps MP3s only let me put about 6-7 songs on its 32MB of space, so I decided to encode all my MP3s to WMA, and I was able to copy about 6-7 more onto it without a SmartMedia card! And they still sound just as great as MP3s! The other thing is that it doesn't display any ID3 tags for the tracks, so you have to search through the tracks to find the one you want, but then again, if you like to exercise, it might not matter.

Also, the battery life isn't exactly VERY long, but it's been longer than what I've seen with other MP3 players, so I'm not complaining.

Recommendation: if you know nothing about MP3 players and liked this price, GO FOR IT! I've loved this thing, even though I've only had it for 3 days! I plan also to buy a 32 or 64MB SmartMedia card for this in a couple of days to expand my music. Then again, if you want more than just 32MB of space, try the iPod or Creative Nomad that hold 5, 10, or 20 GB of files! I do recommend this, however, to anyone here! You'll love it!