Rio 64 MB Backpack

by Rio

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005RG4P
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 1, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Add more listening time to your Rio digital audio player with the Rio 64 MB Backpack. This memory module snaps onto your Rio. It adds an extra two hours of playback time in the WMA audio format and about 60 minutes in the MP3 format. The Backpack comes with rechargeable battery and power adapter for recharging. It works with both the Rio 600 and Rio 800 digital audio players.

Rio's backpacks are upgradable to current and future memory standards. The backpack runs up to 10 hours on a fully charged NiMH battery (internal). It comes with a one-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably bad history, June 17, 2002

By 

Richard P. Talley (Redondo Beach, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rio 64 MB Backpack (Electronics)

I had the older 64 meg backpack. It worked very poorly with my RIO 800, but worked fine with my Rio 600. So I gave the 800 to a kid who didn't mind charging it immediately before every use.

I have two Rio 600's for audible.com. If it weren't for audible.com books compatiability I'd use only my Nomad IIC.

I bought one of the new 64 meg backpacks for my other rio 600. It worked great for about a week and then it died in mid sentence. Now the charger won't even turn its red light on.

But my older backpack still works fine on a 600 and with the new charger that came with the newer backpack.

The two backpacks (old and new) have different part numers, old one ending in dash 001 and the new one in dash 010. So there's some attempt at product improvement on the part of Sonic Blue, but they never let us know what they are doing.

I've had three different chargers. The first one didn't have the spur on the plug. Apparently people were plugging it into the earphone jack and zapping their Rios so Sonic Blue traded it for a new one with a spur to keep it out of the earphone jack. The dash 010 model came with a different "switching" charger. Not much explanation as to what was wrong with the old one.

This is 2002. Sonic Blue should get something like this right the first time. These things are too expensive to keep jerking the consumer around.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works well and easy to setup!, April 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Rio 64 MB Backpack (Electronics)

I just recently purchased one of these. I'm not sure why these other people were having problems but I had absolutely no troubles setting this up. The battery lasts about 10 hours. Maybe calibration is the key. Make sure to upgrade the firmware on your Rio player (takes about 5 minutes).

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Follow the directions, January 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Rio 64 MB Backpack (Electronics)

I have purchased two of the 64 MB Backpacks and have had no difficulty. (Shop carefully for price - ...) You MUST follow the directions for calibrating the battery, however. In one case, I replaced the Varga battery that came with the unit with a different brand of NiMH rechargeable for much better performance. You CAN use an Alkaline battery, but only if you are very careful. The battery compartment is not well-built and not made for changing batteries. It was designed for rechargeables. My batteries will go for about 10 hours between charges. Be advised, however, that NiMH batteries lose their charge gradually even if not used so it's a good idea to recharge regularly. I suspect the reviewer above did not calibrate the battery correctly or had a bad battery.