Customer Reviews

Rio 90260110 - Nike psa[play120 Digital Audio Player

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I loved this PSA player, and then it stopped working two weeks after I received it. The computer software could not recognize the player and made changing the music impossible. Also, the player stopped working. I found out, dealing with Sonic Blue customer service is a NIGHTMARE. It looks as if I MAY get a new player 1 to 1.5 months after I returned it due to lack of stock on their part. The player itself was sleek, and easy to use, but
eats batteries fast. Rechargeables are needed to make it cost effective. All in all, the player is a good design, Sonis Blue and their warranty/customer service get a zero for their help and support.

I recently was given this MP3 player and can honestly say that it is very good. It is even better if you plan to run with it.
In this review I will breifly run off exactly what is in the box and what the speceific features are.
I.In the Box
--A.Nike PSA[PLAY 120 Player
----1.64 MB of on board Memory
----2.Cavity for a disk of up to 64 MB
----3.Cavity for 1 AA battery
----4.Cavity to screw on either the included armband or belt clip
----5.Place to plug in Remote Control
----6.Controls

-----a.On/Lock/Off Switch
------1.Lock, all controls other than On/Lock/Off are disabled
-----b.Play/Pause
-----c.Next/Previous Track
-----d.Fast Forward/Rewind
-----e.Stop
-----f.Volume Increase/Decreas
------g.EQ
------1.Toggles between Seven preset Equilizer positions
------(Don't worry if you don't know what this means it's not
------all that important)
--B.Nike PSA[PLAY 120 Remote Control
---1.Place to plug in included Head Phones Socket is a garden
---varity socket

---2.Attatched belt clip
---3.Attatched wire to plug into Player
---4.Liquid Crystal Display
----a.Track Number
----b.Track Title(taken from your computer when track is
----downloaded to player
----c.Track counter
----d.Battery Power
-----1.4 levels
------a.Excelent 3 bars
------b.Good 2 bars
------c.Floundering 1 bar
------d.Dead would be 0 bars but when it reaches that level the
------display shutdowns like the rest of the player so you won't
------able to see the lack of the bar in the battery
------display
------e.Wether or not the controls are locked
------f.Volume level when volume is changed
---5.Controls
----a.Lock/Unlock
----b.Volume Increase/Decrease
----c.Play/Pause
----d.Next/Previous Track
----e.Fast Forward/Rewind
----f.Stop
--C.Head Phones.
---1.Over the head band
---2.Buds on ends that go inside ears
---3.Cord used to plug int Remote Control or Player
----a.If cord is plugged into player than remote control cannot
----be plugged into player and subsquently not used at the given
----time.
---4.Collapsable for easy storage.
--D.USB cable to plug into USB port (Windows 98 required)
---a. Plugs into the same socket as the Remote Control or
---Headphones so you can't listen to music while you are putting
---music on.
--F.One AA battery
--G.Belt Clip
---1.Screws onto the back of the player with tumb screw
---2.Provides secure attatchment to an article of clothing
--H.Arm Band
---1.Screws onto the back of the player with thumb screw
---2.Provides sucure attactchment to a limb fits snuggly around
---my upper arm
---3.Measures approx. 16" before it is stretched.
--I.PC/Mac software for transfering tracks to player
---1.I don't use this software I prefere Windows Media Player

Pros
-Rugged, good for exercise, doesn't feel like it will break easily
-Intuitive Control design
-Can opt not to use the remote control
-Secure connections so you don't worry about it slipping
-Good velcro strap for the arm band
-Headphones fold up for easy transportation
Cons
-Arm band is a bit to snug for my arm and leaves a small mark if worn for a long time
-Lack of features such as repeat and shuffle play
-Head phone buds which are designed to be inserted into your ears are very oversized and hurt when crammed in ears for a while.
-Battery can't be changed when belt clip or armband are attatched

Overall: The weakist link is easily the headphones but you can just use a different pair of headphones. Since head phones are about 5 bucks they don't detract a whole star from a 200 dollar product. Other than that none of the other problems are that annoying, the lack of features is made up for by the remote control which makes it so easy to change tracks that you can listen to whatever you want. Not being able to change the battery when the belt clip or arm band are attatched is ok because chances are when you are running you don't have a battery any way and isf you do you can always just unscrew the thumb screw and change it. The last slight con is the arm band being a bit snug, this was unavoidable because if the band wasn't a bit snug the player would not be secure to your arm and it is no where near tight enough that it will ever cause any damage to your arm. I find that be putting the band over my shirt sleeve feel barely anything. Overall this is a great product and should be considered if you are shopping for a player even if you aren't an athlete.

For the past year I have completely loved having this MP3 player to take to the gym, on my commute, etc. The arm band was great for working out and the remote allowed me to put the player in my coat pocket or purse when commuting. Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems with it:
3 months: The flimsy belt clip broke
5 months: The remote's LCD screen stopped working
1 year: The player could no longer be recognized by my computer nor could it play the music already downloaded. It was determined that the player was no longer functional.
Additionally, sometime in the last couple of months while trying to dowload music to the player I would recieve an application error or the program would simply hang.
The software itself is horrible and customer support is a bit surly.

I've had the PSAplay120 for 3 months now and I absolutely love it. It's light weight, it's durable, and the sound is incredible.

Nike/Rio have supplied many features which make this the ideal player. The arm strap and belt clip offer two different methods for wearing this player, depending on your activity. The player is designed so that you can easily control it without having to look at the buttons (great for when you are running).

Now I just need to get my 64MB MMC card and I'll be able to load over 150 minutes of workout music.

I love this thing. Its so lightweight and perfectly designed for running with, unlike most other mp3 players. Some tips for others to note with this device, and some for all such devices: although mp3 is the most widely used format, wma offers the same qualty for less space thus giving you more music. Also, and this is important to know for this device, the sandisk cards are the only ones guaranteed to work all the time with the nike players, the other brands have been found(by the sonicblue development team) to work only part of the time. Make sure you get a sandisk card so you dont end up getting burned and then taking it out on the good folks who made this wonderful device.

The armband is great - thats the only thing good I can say about this. I've had 3 of them so far and the SonicBlue Customer Service team is terrible. I updated all the firmware, check all the connection ets... and everything was great for the first week - then it stopped working again. So now I am 0 and 3. I wish I had read the reviews before I spent [the money]. What a disappointment.

I've had this player for a few months now and I have yet to experience most of the technical problems the other reviews speak of. Overall, I have been satisfied with the quality and sound, but there are a few drawbacks. I agree with everyone else that the software is terrible. They would be better off including the trial version of Musicmatch or something like it. I also have to replace the battery frequently. However, the player only takes one AA, so how long would you expect it to last? The only other complaint I have is the lack of a random function...whatever order the songs are loaded in is the order you have to listen to them in.

The simplicity and ease of use are a great benefit when working out. The armband alone makes this the ideal MP3 player for someone active. I spent two months looking for a MP3 player designed with running, biking, etc. in mind and this one is by far the best. Hopefully, they will work out the kinks and come out with an even better player in the future.

Update: 10/25/02 - The display on the remote has stopped functioning, even though I only use it about 25% of the time. Luckily I purchased the extended warranty because of the problems I had read about.

I loved this thing. It was perfect size and had great sound quality. The armband was excellent for running. Then it stopped working and the nightmare began. Customer service was HORRENDOUS and I cannot get the thing to work by following the FAQ.

The software that comes with it isn't very good either.

Go with the Intel models they are much safer and don't break.

Lightweight. Easy to use. And truly a piece of garbage. I used it only three times (while running) before it went kablooey. Waste of money (which I am now trying to get back). Spend the cash. Get a decent one. NOT this one.

Here is my review after one week. Fortunately I think I found the work arounds. First, find the firmware upgrade on the Sonic Blue site. Version 1.1 shipped with it, and I upgraded to the 1.6 firmware patch. That solves the battery drain and "most" of the remote going blank issues, and also gave me a battery meter on the remote. Speaking of the remote, you can always unplug it, bypass it so that it doesn't drain the battery. Next, the headphones are very portable, look cool, sound quality is fair to poor, and the pressure on my ears is somewhat uncomfortable. The belt clip is a joke. My 64M MMC card does not work with this unit - but my documentation said 32M max on the expansion card. The included software is a joke - but fortunately that other joke, Windows Media Player 8, will work - but when copying to devices, press F5 to refresh the device list drop down. Also, I configured mine to send 64K files to the device, so converting and copying 128K MP3 takes about 5 times longer to set up. I'm using Windows XP, it works, I hear music when I run.