Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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99 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Working Out!, April 2, 2003
I've been running for about a year now and have found that my endurance has increased throughout the months. This meant that my time spent running became longer, which then lead to a need for keeping my mind busy with music. In the past I've used several methods of listening while running (holding a cd player, making mixed tapes, radio sets) and they all failed miserably. So I forked out the money to purchase this little guy because it was right up my alley: a. 128mb is more than enough music for me and b. my computer is my home jukebox, w/all my cds ripped to my hard drive.Pros:
-rubberized casing that is part of the player (practical and stylish)
-came with an arm strap and belt clip, I prefer the belt clip
-pretty small for an upgradeable device
-added feature of a stopwatch
-single 'AAA' battery
-nice integration with XP Cons:
-stopwatch is a little difficult to access.
-"lock" requires holding two buttons...not that bad
-bundled software (Rio Music Manager) is not that great
-could've done without the display to make it cheaper Bottom Line:
It's a great player for exercising, but I'm sure Rio could've abandoned the need for a display and backlight. Personally, I feel there's no need to display the song title because I remember what I uploaded to the player. But I'm happy because I have the opportunity to upgrade it in the near future!
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76 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well Worth It!, February 7, 2003
I love my new SonicBlue Rio! After having read every user review ...I had some reservations with the key complaints (which were relatively minor to begin with): FM radio, software use/compatibility, and headset comfort. But given Amazon.com's competitively low price by far, I went ahead with the purchase.When I received it (approx. 2 days - using regular shipping), I had prepared myself to encounter problems with the aforementioned. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the FM stereo feature not only works very well, but it did so both at the office (inside a 5-story building) and at the gym (converted industrial steel & concrete building). While the FM radio feature is usually not the reason one buys an MP3 player, it does come in handy when tuning into the TV monitors at the gym. The software installed quickly and is very user-friendly. The downloads only take a matter of minutes for an entire playlist. The earphones/headset is not only comfortable, but fits securely in both ears. The overall quality of sound is quite good, but as other users have mentioned, if you're a real audiophile, simply invest in a better headset that provides the heavy bass, etc. Otherwise, I doubt one would notice the difference much. The unit itself fits ergonomically in either hand. The backlighting in the display is very useful, but the text can be too small to read when engaged in rigorous workouts, but that's somewhat expected in such a compact device anyway. The option to wear it on your arm or use the belt clip is also a big plus. I don't know if it helps to lower one's expectations, but this unit worked out very well for me. After thoroughly comparing it to others in and out of it's class, I'd highly recommend this product. It's well worth the small investment! The only thing missing is a "free set of Ginsu Knives" to accompany it!
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75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing lil device, December 20, 2002
I was getting fed up of the talkshows in the morning and the advertising tirades in the evening on my sony tuner while working-out. I depend on music quite a lot for my running, so finally had to break down and buy an mp3 player. I am so glad I chose S35S, because it fits everything I had in mind. Light, tough, efficient and trendy. I upgraded to 256MB about a day after the purchase. The 128MB MMC (card) is about 80 bucks, but a good investment as it doubles the song numbers. I have about 100 songs in .WMA(the only way to go, since mp3 is usually about double the file size as wma) saved with some space left over, and with the shuffle mode on, working out to music is a breeze. Battery life is very good, about 10-12 hours on 1 AAA. I also upgraded to a Sony streetstyle (MDR57 ??) headphones which are much better than the supplied ones. The back-lit display and menu options are very easy to learn and operate.The set up software couldn't be easier to use, with downloading and managing the songs the fastest I have seen. There is a mail-in rebate offered by SonicBlue till January 03, so go for it right now, if you're in the market for a mp3 player for the fitness minded folks, or anyone for that matter. The only negative is an abysmal tuner that fails to do anything, and will probably recieve a signal if you operate this inside a radio station. So that is a waste. And hence the 4 stars. Counting that out, this is a great product, and since I am not missing the tuner at all, I would highly recommend this product. An Update: After about a couple of months, I managed to crush my precious lil mp3 player under my truck tires in a freak accident. May be this would be an attestment to it's toughness, the display was broken, but the lil thing has refused to quit playing..Lets see your cd player beat that.
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