Customer Reviews

Rio Carbon 5 GB MP3 Player

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(58)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(42)

 

 

General thoughts about Music Playback:
It's great at its main purpose, playing music. The Rio Carbon is small and incredibly lightweight so carrying it in your jean pocket, jacket pocket, tight jeans' pocket, etc... is easy and comfortable. The metal back scratches a little too easily but that is something you have to expect with this kind of shiny surface. Just love the battery life for playing music (not recording! - see below). The way the music files are organized requires me to really use playlists. Otherwise, I'll often play the same album 20 times in a row. Shuffle could be a little bit more random but really can't complain. I mainly bought this device because of its potential for super multi-tasking so I'll leave the music playback comments to other reviewers.

As a Portable Hard Drive:
I've used it to replace my USB memory drives (since I either lose them or they stop working after 6 months) and it interfaces seamlessly with the computers I use (mainly Win XP). Like all multi-GB HDDs, it takes awhile to scan the files when you first plug it in. Unfortunately, you can't download the Win 98 drivers from the Rio website. For those who use Win 98 computers occasionally, this means that you'll either need to carry the Rio CD around with you or put the drivers online (i.e. in an email account). Overall, the concept of using this as a cheap portable small harddrive that just happens to be an mp3 player is very appealing to a student like me. You get slightly less than 5Gb so it's possible to allot one entire gigabyte to files while saving the other 3.7GB to music. It's about the size of 3 Sandisk Cruzer Mini USB drives laid parallel to each other, but it can hold a billion more files (slight exaggeration)!

As an Audible player:
Unlike the review below, I've had very little to no problems listening to Audible tracks on the player. I've used an old iPod and a Treo 600 with the Audible Manager software before so I know that juggling extra Audible devices is confusing but definitely possible. I've heard that Rio Carbon only accepts Audible formats 2 and 3. Audible always requires that you download drivers for (or "Activate") any new device/player you add onto your account. My experience is that downloading a 46MB Audible format 3 file takes me about 10-15 minutes. Copying onto the Carbon takes me 5 minutes via USB 2.0. Maybe this varies with Carbons and/or software but personally, I really appreciate the ease and integration between Audible and Rio Carbon. (My old 2nd gen iPod had problems but that was probably because I got it secondhand and the previous user was also an Audible user. Songs can be transferred but couldn't be played.)

As a voice recorder:
I had such high ambitions for this device to be used to record lectures. Sigh... the whirring of the hard drive, the orientation of the built-in mic (perpendicular from the face of the Carbon)... all this really hinders any kind of comprehensible recordings you have when you sit more than 4 rows away from the front of the class. No wonder Rio specified the voice recordings for reminders and such. I was able to listen to the muffled and noisy recordings by fiddling with the equalizer in windows media player 9 (without needing to find a noise reduction software) so maybe it's still possible to use this as a lecture recorder. Turning down 32 - 125 Hz on the Graphic Equalizer in WMP9 pretty much cuts out the whirring hard drive noise. Recording format is .wav and a 1 hour lecture is 12.2Mb at 32kbps. The Carbon heats up slightly during recording. Also, recording eats up batteries. The battery barely made it while recording for 2.5 hours (plus about 30 minutes of listening to music). If you have a laptop, you can easily charge it inbetween classes really quickly.

I bought the Rio Carbon after buying and canceling my order several times. One of my main concerns was that the lithium ion battery cannot be replaced, as it can be on the Creative Labs Muvo^2 4Gb player. I had considered that one for some time, but after seeing that Dell, the IPOD, and nearly every other new MP3 player has a permanent battery, I decided to take the plunge and the risk. So far, the player is very nice, with an amazing amount of storage(I cannot imagine a 30GB player....my computer is 30 gigs!). I put all the songs on my computer onto it(~720) and yet only took up half of the available space, so I don't envision me filling this up anytime soon. Sound is excellent, and battery life appears to be very good too. Other features like a recorder and stopwatch are there, but I don't think I will be using those. An FM tuner would be nice, but again, that is not necessary for me.

This is my third MP3 player. My first was a Rio 32MB in 1998(how far we've come!), then a 128MB Intel Pocket Concert in 2001, and now the Carbon at 5GB. So I feel that if I get 3 good years out of it, I will be very happy.

One final thing.....my Intel Pocket Concert has a few things broken after traveling with it, but it still works so I will keep on using it. I will be using it for those times when the player has a risk of getting knocked around. Flash players can take a beating; HD players cannot. If you plan on jogging or doing ANYTHING which knocks the player around, consider a flash player over this.

I own both the Rio Carbon and the iPod Mini. Personally, I prefer the Carbon. I'm sure many of you out there are deciding between the Rio Carbon, the iPod Mini, and the Zen Micro. As far as I'm concerned, the offerings from Dell and Gateway aren't nearly as competitive. Here is why I bought the Rio Carbon (for myself). I got an engraved iPod Mini for my girlfriend because it was shiny and pink.

Pros
1. 20 hours of battery life (Manufacturer estimate) - way longer than Mini or Micro (Micro has removable batteries though, but you'll need 2 of those batteries to equal Carbon battery life)
2. 5gigs of memory - 1gig more than Mini, does not need partitioning for file storage like Micro
3. Drag and Drop interface - easy to load and unload than Mini or Micro
4. Does not need Drivers - transfer files to or from any computer
5. Smaller/Lighter than Mini and Micro
6. Nicer looking (unless you like the different colors)
7. Microphone for recording! Mini lacks this function. Micro has it plus radio!
8. Plays WMA files. Mini lacks this function. Micro has it!
9. Cheaper than Mini and Micro (street price)

Cons
1. No radio
2. Laggy interface
3. Just one color
4. No engravings
5. Static when using metal plugged headphones (can be fixed)

Battery life:
I haven't gotten around to timing the battery life, cuz I never need it for 20 hour straight, but it definitely lasts me through the longest days. (about 14 hours or so) All the battery life you'll really need if you recharge while you sleep. The battery can be charged by USB, which is very convenient if you need that extra juice. The usb cable also plugs into the charger (like the firewire cables for ipods), so you only need one cable when you need to travel around.

File transfer and storage:
The claims about it being drag and drop are true. It is so easy to put music in and take music out! However, you'll probably want to use the software included on the CD (or from the website) to sort and organize the music and for mass editing of ID3 info. The drag and drop feature allows you to use the whole hard drive as a portable storage device. That's up to 5 gigs that can be used to store personal files! (Way better than the Zen Micro's half-baked max 2 gig partitioning system). File transfer speed seems standard fare for a USB device w/ a MiniHD.

Look and Feel:
The overall quality of the Carbon does not quite match up to the Mini, considering the Mini uses a fully aluminum shell. Keep in mind, the Carbon is by no means a cheap feeling device. The back of the case is a shiny chromed metal (shiny, but scratches and smudges easily like iPods). The sides of the case is rubberized, which is very effective in keeping the device safe in your hands. The front shell is a glossy plastic. The top and the buttons are also chromed, but I think those parts are plastic instead of real metal (I could be wrong). Overall the player looks very sophisticated. I was amazed by how thin it is, about the same as the Mini, if not thinner. It's lighter, shorter and rounder, and fits in my hands better than the Mini. I have less fear of dropping the thing when I'm holding it! My friends are amazed at the size and weight. The display is sharp and bright when backlit. The red lights are cool too! The fake leather case that comes w/ the player is poorly designed though, it could use a hole on the side for access to the buttons and display. I took a razor and cut those holes myself!

Sound Quality:
The head phones that come with the Carbon is pretty bassy. I've found I need to pump up the mid range to compensate, but overall, sound quality is crisp and clear. Please note that I am not an audiophile off any sort and not very good at judging this. The reports that using headphones w/ metal plugs causing static must be true because Rio has thoughtfully included plastic extension wires for headphones to keep metal parts from contacting the metal in the shell. The voice recorder is decent. I've used it for class and it was able to record the lecture pretty clearly, although I had to set it close to the teacher's podium to do so. Voice files are recorded in .wav files, pretty large...so keep that in mind when recording for long periods of time. The high pitched whining the internal hard drive can be heard on the recordings, which is a nuisance.

User Interface:
Rio must have decided to use a cheap processor in order to extend the battery life. There are many times during its use when the user interface lags behind my inputs. Keep in mind that the music has not yet skipped on me. But there were several times when I would try to jog the volume or switch between songs and the display would fail to keep up w/ my inputs. I was spoiled by the iPod's relative quick response. However, this only happens when a new song is being played, which is understandable because the player has to search for the song and then read it into memory. However, the lag is a tad frustrating, especially when you're trying to change settings for a new song. As far as I have used them, it never occurred in iPods I've used. The button layout and functions are very intuitive and easy to use. The jog wheel is just as functional as the overhyped touch wheel on the iPods. I've found touch sensitivity can be difficult for people without a delicate touch.

Overall a great buy. Better than iPod Mini in my opinion. I haven't tried the Zen Micro so I wouldn't make that comparison safely. The Dell and Gateway players don't appeal to me. So the Rio Carbon just might be the best miniHD mp3 player on the market right now!

P.S. about clipping electronics on your belt... Don't do it...It looks real dorky~

I work at Circuit City so I love this tech stuff. Rios carbon is by far the best Mp3 on the market. As you already know it's sleeker and more stylish, has a better battery, better softwear, equalizer, 1 gig more than "I-flop". Great sound!!

It's very easy to do, if fact there isn't much of a instruction manual just a fold out poster with the 6 steps to get started. You hear everyone say it is plug and play well it is. Plug it to USB, start rio manager, put in a cd (rio manager will read this cd and gather Artist, album title, track listing, it will identfiy genre, and even published date. So now that your cd is loaded and read, select the tracks you want to copy or select all if you want the whole cd. You have your selection, now copy tracks (this just takes it from the Cd and puts on your computer. Once it is on your computer select transfer. This will send it to the rio player. it took me about 2mins from putting a cd in and hearing from my carbon. i have 182 tracks (746mb used, 4769mb free) this includes and audible file "Bourne Ultimatium" which is a "Book on tape" 3:30hrs long. You get 2 free downloads from audible.com

Why only 4 stars?

1) 90 day warranty? Lots of customers dont like extened warranties, but $50 (circuit city) covers you for 2 years and is cheaper then spending $200-400 on a new Mp3 Player.

2) The case-- Yes it is a tight fit, dont worry about it falling out- it wont. But couldn't Rio at least put a belt clip on this thing?

3) Scratches easily- already have a teeny-tiny one over my lcd. Spend an extra 5-10 bucks and get a pack of PDA screen protectors most likley you'll get a 2 year supply just cut and put it on the lcd, be carefull not to cover the mic (if you plan to us it)

4) non-replacable battery- the lith-ion battery should last 2-3 years. apples I-Flop will run you 99$ to change the battery and you most likely have to wait 4-6 weeks for it to come back, after thinking about the battery, i think in 2 years mp3 players will be so advanced that it will be worth it to buy a new one. Remember the first I-flops? now 3-4 years later apple has the minis, and 3rd generation I-Flops are out now, word is the new 60gig from apple will store and display video. My point is technology advances to fast to worry about a battery. Remember minis batt only last 8 hours compared to rios at 20 hrs, there is a 2:1 ratio. Charge minis 2 times for every charge of rios.

I researched the rio carbon and I-flop. This cant be beat, i tell my customers to get the carbon over the mini. You should too. It's just better. The only reason i would tell customers to go with apple is if they were die hard for I-tunes.

hope this helps----
Pete

I've had my Carbon for about two weeks now, and I am incredibly satisfied with my purchase. First off, kudos to Rio for the sleek design; it's amazingly small and light, travels very well, and looks very, very stylish.

There are minor annoyances associated with the Carbon though. First off, if you buy this, make sure to have a set of good headphones / earbuds of your own with a gold plated plug. The packaged earbuds are crap, and anything uncoated apparently produces a lot of static due to some design error. Secondly, the back of the Carbon and the touchpad collect fingerprints like mad; being the neat freak that I am, I spend quite a lot of time polishing the bugger (annoying!).

Beyond these small grievances of mine, the Carbon trumps the iPod in both storage / battery life. Beyond the obvious 1gb increase, I'm never concerned about the remaining battery power (although I haven't tested the claim of 20 hours, I've never ran out of power, and I use this thing all the time). If you do buy the Carbon, make sure to upgrade the firmware; lots of small fixes and charging while connected via USB = plus.

The Rio Carbon is the first MP3 player I bought. I was first intrigued with the Apple iPod Mini that my nephew had, so i decided to look at other MP3 players.

The Carbon is almost perfect, and I feel a bit better than the Apple Mini iPod. It has 25% more capacity. I have placed over 800 songs on it and used only 60% of the hard drive. The unit is a bit smaller than the Apple unit but looks a lot cooler. The red backlit logo and rocker pad looks very svelte. The back chrome plate is prone to fingerprints and smudges. As previously mentioned, the only design flaw is that some headphone jacks causes static when it touches the stainless steel edges of the unit when plugged in. This is easily fixed by painting a layer of fingernail polish on the exposed headphone plug (but it should not be necessary). There is a lock function on the Carbon (it pays to read the manual) by holding the MENU button in and pressing the center button. The carrying case is very snug because of the odd shape of the Carbon and does not have a belt clip. The ear phones while sounding good, do not fit well in smaller ears (too large) so I had to buy a separate headset. I find the interface very easy to use with a tactile feel to the wheel. I find no problems using it. The battery charges either from the USB port of your PC or from an adapter that uses the same USB cable. The display is very legible for its small size and longer titles constantly scrolls laterally across the screen (cool!).

The Rio Music Manager is very easy to use. Unlike from what I read before, you CAN do mass corrections to the ID3 info tags. Select all the songs you wish to edit and open the properties and change the fields. The one thing I find to be an issue is that if you update any fields in the Rio Manager, it does not update the info on the Rio if the file is already in the Rio. The software just synchronizes songs that are not on the Rio, not if there are any changes to the ID3 fields. The easiest way was to delete all the files from the Rio and resynching the unit. It is best to update the ID3 fields before synching the Rio.

The Rio Carbon is a superior alternative to an iPod mini. I checked around, read lots of reviews and wavered slightly before going with the Rio Carbon. I have never looked back. The playback and storage space is phenomenal. I listen to audio books constantly and this little player holds a WHOLE lot of books. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because I think that the Rio music manager software sucks. I have not been able to get it to work at all. It gets hung every time trying to scan for files on my computer. If I stop the scan it works okay to transfer files but not good enough for my satisfaction. I have problems with static in the headphones but am hoping that the nail polish trick works. Battery life is incredible and recharging is quick. With the firmware upgrade, the player can be charged through the computer via USB which is really really nice. Highly recommend this product!

Let me get the negatives out of the way first....

1) You really need to buy a 2-year buyer protection plan as you only get a 90 day warranty from Rio.

2) The pleather case covers up the display screen and player buttons. It's only apparent purpose is to protect the unit while in transit.

3) Lots of talk about static experienced with certain headphones. NOT TO WORRY. This is only happening with cans that have 1/4 inch metal bases on their jacks (not with the more popular earbuds), and is easily remedied with electrical tape or nail polish.

Now the GOOD stuff.....

1. It's BEAUTIFUL and SMALL. You'll be happy and proud to take it anywhere. Just don't get caught using it too much at work!

2. It's EASY TO USE. The menu and navigation system is very intuitive, and the controls are ergonomically located on the device for righthanders.

3. It's FLEXIBLE. The Carbon works without the included software, and interfaces with any of the music players or sites except I-Tunes. It even works with Audible, the popular Audiobooks service, and the package includes a 30-day free trial to Audible. By the way, you'll want to use the included Rio Music Manager software anyway, because it's so easy and synchs well with the player.

4. It has PLENTIFUL STORAGE. I honestly don't know why MP3 player owners want to load 1,000+ complete CDs anyway. All I use it for is to load my favorite tracks among my 150 CD collection, and download selected songs which I like and aren't on one of my CDs. I transfer music at 192 kbps, using WMA. Still, there is room for over 700 tracks! This means well over 1,000 songs if you record at the more common 128 kbps and even more at 64kb WMA. It's also compatible with the MP3 format.

5. It includes a VOICE RECORDER. Nice for recording your thoughts and ideas at any time of the day.

6. It's the NEWEST GADGET out there. There are risks to buying something so new, such as reliability. But for "cool factor", it can't be beat.

Apple is finally getting some serious competition, because I think the Rio Carbon, overall, is BETTER than its Apple counterpart, the I-Pod Mini. Oh, and did I mention the battery life? You won't be disappointed.

I looked and used an Ipod Mini, Zen Micro and the Carbon. I found that the Carbon was the best player of the 3 for my needs.

I owned 1 a week for 3 weeks to get the feel of them. The Ipod was my least favorite. The touch wheel was an interesting interface, but the pad felt like it was made of paper. My finger nail scratched it very easily and I question the durability of the wheel on the mini. Take a look at one on display at a store and you will see what I mean. The Ipod has a very user friendly interface. Most of my music library is in WMA, so converting everything to transfer was a pain. I don't like Itunes, but it is way better than the Zen's software. Ipod has games on it, but all I want to do is listen to music :).

I liked the Zen Micro except for the touch interface. If it was a scroll wheel I would have loved it. Like the Ipod, you have to install drivers and software to talk to the jukebox. The Zen had great sound. The best of the three I am reviewing. I own 2 other Creative jukeboxes and the sound quality runs in the family :). Creative's software is not very user friendly for synching. Consider buying the 3rd party Notmad Explorer if you pick a Zen. FM tuner is nice, but don't need it

The Carbon had a good feel in my hand. It felt smaller than the other 2 and was cleary designed for the hand. The little wheel blows away the other 2's scroll devices in my opinion. It is right where your thumb is. The Carbon sounds as good as the Ipod, but not as good as the Zen. The Carbon's ability to hook up to any computer without having to have drivers or software was a huge factor. This way I can use it both as a mini hard drive and a jukebox without any hassle.

Here's the summary..

Ipod Mini - Cons: Have to use Itunes, doesn't support WMA format, hated the touch wheel interface, touch wheel feels like paper and scratches really easy, user can't replace battery and proprietary cable. Pros: Rugged feel, great warranty, lots of stuff available for it

Zen Micro - Cons: Touch pad stinks, proprietary software that is bad and device has a cheap feel. Pros: User can replace battery, support for WMA, FM tuner, great sound, looks cool when lights up, Outlook sync (but why?)

Rio Carbon - Cons: Pleather case that comes with it (joke), have to use little cable for jacks with metal, user can't replace battery, have to use software to make playlists, metal back get full of fingerprints easily, short warranty. Pros: Windows sees as a drive (no software or drivers need to be installed), fits well in hand, smaller than other 2, natural feel buttons (no touch stuff), software is simple but effective, looks neat when lights up.

I have had a Rio Karma for a year and a half. My wife has a Rio Carbon. I am writing in response to several bad review.

Sound quality: the Rios do a bad job on bad MP3/WMAs. That's right, the problem is their files, not the player. I have 2800 files on my Karma and the only ones that sound wrong are the ones I got years ago off the net. Yeah, I can tell the difference on my $10k theater system. Then again if you want hi-fidelity, wouldn't be playing through a lossy format like MP3s or WMAs. There is the lack of lower frequencies, but through portable headphones the lack is barely noticable.

Quality: I have dropped my Karma (20 gb hd) while it was on well over 20 times. I have yet to have a failure. Firmware updates worked fine and added lots of features (not just bug fixes) along the way. Syncing has never been a problem. I have been syncing using both Windows Media 10 and Rio's software with three computers since I bought it. The ability to sync with more than one computer was the reason I went Rio over Ipod in the first place.