Designed with the athlete in mind, this compact Rio MP3 player provides rugged durability and up to two hours of skip-free music. Store and play MP3 and WMA digital music files with 128 MB of built-in memory, or listen to your favorite radio station with the integrated FM tuner. Advanced navigation and a large, backlit display make finding songs and artists simple, while the USB connection and Rio Music Manager software provide quick and easy music file transfers. Perfect for the gym, it has a built-in clock and stopwatch and up to 10 hours of battery life. Packaged with incredible software to help you organize your music, including RealOne, iTunes, and MoodLogic software to create mixes for 100 tracks. Upgradable to 256 MB using MMC memory cards (not included). Includes sport earphones, carrying case with belt clip, adjustable sport armband, one AAA battery, and USB cable. PC and Mac compatible.
1 Surprised sound quality.
Pleasantly surprised with the sound quality in such a small and light device. Earbuds just so so. (Use my own superior earbuds, so it's okay.) The FM tuner reception is not that good, that's why the four stars. Bought this manufacturer-refurbished for about $50. Spend an additional $27 for an SD 512 mb flash memory(512 mb works in the external memory slot!). The software works well with my Windows XP/Windows Media 10. For less than $80 I get 640 mb of total memory, more than enough for what I need.
2 Better hope nothing breaks cuz you'll be buying a new one
Rio no longer supports this model and the Sports case is cheap and breaks easily. Once it breaks, you are out of luck because Rio only carries replacement parts for their newest models. Do yourself a favor and buy something dependable with good product support such as Ipod, Iriver, or CreativeLabs..Leave Rio alone.
3 So far so good
I've had my Rio for a couple of days now. It's been working great. The bundled software is not all that great, but if you have Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10 then you can use that. The player has good sound and is really durable. The armband took me a minute to figure out but everything works great. The internal memory is a nice starting size. I was able to fit 54 tracks on my internal memory (64Kbps - WMA format). I bought a 128MB card for $18 and that works perfect and now I have over 100 tracks on my player. I've been hearing that the player can handle cards up to 512MB despite what the specs say. I haven't tested it so it's still a rumor to me.
In conclusion, for the price this player is a very good buy. I use it when i work out and the armband is a nifty way to keep the player close but out of the way. I'm not sure is the USB interface is version 1 or 2 but the interface is really quick. When I update my track listing it takes about 1 minute and a half to transfer 54 tracks to my player. Check the Rio site frequently for firmware upgrades. When I got mine i had to upgrade the firmware which is a sinch and take about 30 seconds to do.
Just to add, many have complained about how the player tends to slip out of the armband when you move excessively (ex. Running or jogging). I have to say that I use my Rio everyday while running and have yet to have it slip out of the armband. I run just like everyone else, and wear it while playing basketball also and it has not fallen once.
4 Great, But It Has a Few Flaws
The Rio Sport is an excellent little mp3 player. The sound quality is great as is the display. While, the original model came with only 128MB of internal memory, it has an SD slot making expansion fairly inexpensive, especially in 2005 when 512MB is available for $50.
In general, the construction is rugged with a rubberized enclosure apparently meant to reduce the affects of impact from dropping. It is also has a rather compact, odd shape that is probably less than ideal for someone wanting to store it in his pocket.
While there are a handful of small design flaws, two features that are particularly annoying. First, it has a four position concave rocker switch that is extremely sensitive. While this is great to use blindly with your thumb, it creates a real problem when placing the unit in a pocket as switch easily depresses, causing the RIO to change songs, stop, or pause.
In short, the Rio Sport is a decent mp3 player that could use a couple of minor interface modifications and feature enhancements
Pros
Excellent sound quality
Good battery life
Rugged
Compact
Cons
Main concave control button very sensitive, too easily depressed
Plastic bracket interferes with buttons and jack
Uses AAA batteries instead of AA
**** Note that the technical description in Amazon is incorrect regarding the memory type and expandability. It uses and SD card and can go over 128 MB in total. My 512 MB card is working fine.
5 Great little mp3 player
I used mine over 8 hours a week for over two years in a gym. It took many hard hits and continued to work. It worked for 6 months even after the plastic case was cracked. But the internal memory is starting to fail. Perhaps using it in a steam room was just too much for it. Very well made!
6 Does the job around the gym and outside
Durable, light weight MP3 Player. (I must have dropped it around a dozen times in the gym, keeps working) Good sound, after you replace the headphones that come with the unit. To enjoy the good sound you will need to get another headphone, (Sony and Panasonic have decent units for around $20.) Poor FM receiption, limited playlist managment. Volume not as lound if you plan to use them in the plane. Could use a couple more dBs to be near perfection. Overall a basic, no nonsense, durable unit to bring your tunes to the gym or outside.
7 Works Great Til It Doesn't...
...then you are doinked BIG TIME. My S35S worked great for about the first six months; I had some of the same clip holder issues that others mention but I could live with those problems. What I could not live with was the unit's death and Rio's Customer DisService. I called and talked to someone who was pleasant enough and gave me a case number to fax along with the unit's serial number and copy of proof of purchase. This I did according to their instructions. Waiting a couple of weeks I then called to get an update and was informed how busy they were and told to give them a couple of more weeks. A couple of months later I e-mailed them and received a reply explaining they were in the process of moving their warehouse and this resulted in the delay(???). Six months after sending them the information requested to implement repair or replacement I have nothing to show for my original purchase but a dead Rio and a worthless warranty. Ri(o)p-off. No more Rio in this household, period.
8 There are better choices
As my third MP3 player, I chose carefully, looking for excellent features on my runs. Unfortunately, I chose poorly. The clip broke quickly, making the poor-fitting case a moot point. Rio will not replace the case or the clip and you cannot buy a replacement. The capacity is excellent with the option of adding more memory a real plus. Battery life was reasonable. Sadly, the played completely stopped working after a few months. In a world where many companies have difficult customer relations, Rio stands out from the crowd in being particularly unhelpful. Though this player had promise, there are better choices. (I will be looking at a different company's players this time.)
9 A must before you use the player
I just received this player as a christmas gift. I found the sound is amazingly well for this small size gadget. It also has an equalizer to change the music settings.
I strongly recommend you to visit www.digitalnetworksna.com/support/rio/ to upgrade the player firmware and the RIO Music Manager.
After the firmware upgrade, it will let you upgrade up to 1G of memory (SD or MMC memory card). I believe 512M is a basic necessity. It also let me play by my own playlist rather than all the songs I have in my player. I find this very useful, because I can organize the songs by album.
I love the sound quality and the small size. It is a good quality product.
10 Fussy Player
I've had this little Rio over 2 years now, but have decided to move on.
The FM has never been good. Even in flat Chicago with powerful signals, the stations never came in well. The software interface is clunky - however the update I found on RIO's website is much better.
After it froze up recently, I called tech support and was recommended to purchase a "reconfiguered" replacement for half the price of a new one. No way. While the tech guy was reading through his manual, I ended up solving the problem myself. Don't look for help there. It's been spotty ever since.
It often stops and tries to "connect" to the computer - even when I'm miles away on a run.
The headphones now only play out of one channel.
You've been OK for a little while, but never perfect. Time to move on, little RIO.
11 greatgreatgreat
this player is my 6th player yet ,and its my favorite the only complant i have is the case broke, but i only used it once.
12 Good Sound - Poorly built
I purchased 2 of these believing that they would be great for working out (one was for my wife). They sound good and the software is easy to use.
However - I would not buy this item again. The supplied sleeve to carry the player on your belt or in the supplied arm strap is not cut properly to access the buttons properly. The arm strap is not well designed to hold the player - the player will actually flip out with repeated arm movements(runners beware). Then, God forbid you drop the thing at all it will fall apart. It is not durable and the design creates situations where it will fall. I've had mine less than 6 months and have not used it very much. After it popped out of it's strap a couple of times, the unit began to separate at it's seem. There is no way for a consumer to attempt to put it back together properly. Too bad. I strongly advise against this item as a sports mp3 player - it is simply not durable at all.
13 Durable & User-friendly
Pros: I've been using this little guy everyday as part of my daily fitness regimen; hiking, mountain biking, running, and into the gym for serious lifting... you name it, it's been there. It's very durable and on a couple of occasions while biking, I've fallen on it with not even a scratch thanks to its protective rubber-coating. I don't know how water-resistant it is, but I've put a good amount of sweat and some drizzle from the rain on it with no problems yet. The menus are very user-friendly and the LCD layout is clean, crisp, and can be read even when you're on the move. The sound output is great; I'd suggest using mp3 at a 96 bit rate to save on storage. The battery life is very dependable; on average I change out batteries once every one and a half to two weeks (I use it aprx. 2 hours a day). As for the software, I had some trouble getting it loaded up on my pc (b/c it's over 5 years old) but on my school's pc, it had no problems. The uploading of songs takes some time (depending on your CPU's speed), but it's not a big issue. The software menu layout is as easy as drag-and-drop and you're ready to go. All in all, I LOVE IT... with this little gizmo by my side, I've been able to lose 45+ pounds. Thank you Rio for an AMAZING product!
Cons: The radio tuner is non-existant, not a big deal since I don't listen to the radio, but there are downloadable patches on the companies website to upgrade the radio signal. The in-stock earphones aren't that great, it's suggest finding ones that fit more ergonomically to your head anyway. Storage can hold 20 songs at 182 kbs or 40 songs at 96 kbs, although sound quality is still great at 96kbs. If you need more than that, I'd suggest purchasing an add-on a memory stick.
NOTE: I bought this MP3 player when it originally came out (almost 2 years ago) for full price. Now, it's less than half the original price and still a better deal than most sport MP3 players today.
14 Small and durable, great for exercising
I have had it for 8 months now and ready to upgrade my memory a bit. While running, I have yanked the cord by mistake with my arm and the headphones have stayed on my ears while the player hit the pavement. This has happened a few times and it's still working. My 140 lb dog has chewed it, only thing that didn't make it was the battery cover. I'm very happy with it. Radio doesn't come in that great. My only complaint is that the cover for armband and waistband wear is difficult to get on and off the unit.
15 Don't waste your money!
I had the Rio S35S for about a year, when for no reason it just stopped working while I was running. The "USB connecting" message comes on and it won't play any songs. The thing randomly started working again, only to stop again the next time I ran. Now the bottons won't work at all, and it intermittently stops and starts working for no reason. Overall this product is very unreliable, and having read other peoples' comments I'm not even going to waste my time calling the useless, non-English speaking Rio tech support. Don't waste your money!
16 extremly functional and durable.
Have used this device for about a year now. One of my highly valued possesions. Clear sound, very portable. I am in awe of the technical geniuses that came up with this device. One of the first things I did with the player is drop it on a brick path while running and having it on my arm. The player cracked right open on the ground. I punched it back to gether and it has worked ever since (just lost my songs.) What more can u ask for in toughness? I will say that someone using the player will want to reenforce the band. That way it will not fall of the clip when it is on your arm or something (I use string.)
17 WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE, RIO NO LONGER WORKS
At first I was excited with my new rio mp3 player. I downloaded my favorite songs, upgrade the card, etc. but then I dropped my rio player. And that was the end of it. I called customer service and was sent from one person to the next to the next to the next, none spoke English. I finally found out their customer service phones are answered in a foreign country. Ok, I understand we all need jobs, especially the third world, BUT they don't understand me and can't help me. Then I finally get someone who says I must prove I purchased the rio player to get a customer authorization number to replay my rio because "it can't be repaired and must be replaced." I only dropped it once on my living room rug -- how weak is this device anyway! This happened 5 months ago, I've yet to receive my replacement. I've lost my money. Hold off and save for a better quality player and better customer service. I do not recommend any RIO products because of poor customer service (which you will eventually need).
18 great music, pathetic clip
I should have listened! I had the MP3 player for 3 days before the clip broke. I was at the gym, riding the bike and it broke! I just called for the replacement (which they only sell the whole case). It's $10.95, plus $6 shipping plus tax AND THEY'RE BACKORDERED! It sounds like there are a few others in my situation! That's why I only have it 4 stars.
Other than the clip (you can put the player in your pocket, but many of the gym shorts I have don't have pockets) I LOVE the player! I haven't had any problems with it--great music! Do invest in a good pair of earphones, the ones that come with it keep popping out of your ears.
19 HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE on this terrible product!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T BUY A RIO: 1st things first, if you plan on using the fm tuner, forget it! It doesn't work at all, even after you upgrade the firmware at Rio. That was the first problem, after using the player for several months it started going crazy and not working. I called (not toll free) Rio, spoke to a person who barely spoke any English, spent 25 minutes (on my dime) uprgrading the firmware. Tried it out, it didn't work. Called back, on my dime, spent another 20 minutes diagnosing with another non-English speaking person. I was finally told it was broken. NO SH*T! Now I have to fax (on my dime once again) proof of purchase (even thought the serial number proves that the player is in warranty! - now i have to locate the F'ing proof). After they receive my fax, then they will send me a Return Auth number. Then I get to send the player across the country (you guessed it, on my dime) back to them before they will replace the unit. Give me a break. Time to get into the 21st century of customer service. DON'T BUY A RIO, YOU WILL BE SORRY!!!!!!!
20 Great little player!
I've owned other MP3 players before, but this one is the easiest to use. The software is great -- just load it up and you're off and running, no instruction required, it's that simple. The display is outstanding (whatever you do, don't buy one without a backlit display; you'll be sorry!). The player itself is also intuitive; you don't have to be a mechanical genius to figure it out (yes,some of the other lower-cost players are that complex).
As others have pointed out, the case doens't fit exactly, but it's not THAT bad, and the circular control is a bit sensitive so you'll want to use the lock feature, but everything else about it is so very user friendly. I like the clip -- mine has held up through a lot of abuse, and it's just as strong as ever.
As for battery life, I'm getting at least 6- 7 hours. Maybe not as long as the manufacturers tell you it will get, but a lot longer than I got with my MTV player.
And, best of all, the sound quality is awesome. I've had mine for about a year now, and use it for running, the gym, roller blading and yardwork, and have had no real problems whatsoever.
21 Great for the gym: sweat-proof with a good battery life
I've used this Rio player at the gym for 3 times (1 hour session each) a week for over a year. It has endured sweat, water and a few drops on the floor with no problem. The battery life is good enough that I only have to change the battery every few weeks. The player can fit a good amount of songs on it so I don't have to change them out that often either. Yes, the holder is a bit cheesy but overall that shouldn't stop you from buying it. It's so small that you can put it in your pocket if the holder really bugs you. Great gadget!
22 Great player, lousy plastic
I worked out with this player every day for over a year. The sound quality, ease of use, and battery life are all excellent. However, during one unfortunate run the player came out of the arm band attachment and shattered like glass when it hit the concrete. Play with ease, run with caution.
23 This MP3 Player is awesome
When I bought this MP3 Player i didnt know what to expect. I had heard from previous reviews that it was an alright gadget but after a few weeks of using the Rio S35S MP3 Player I have figured out that it is a great MP3 Player. This MP3 Player can withstand any kind of activity whether its working out at the gym or just shootin' hoops in the driveway. The case and arm-strap are great. I have never dropped my MP3 Player because its so well supported by the case and armband. It downloads songs from your computer in seconds. My MP3 Player came with a 64 MB card which made the total megs 196 MB. It can hold anywhere from 30 to 35 songs on it. The songs sound very clear when played on this MP3 Player. I have had a couple of minor problems. ONe of the minor problems was that for a week or so my Rio wouldnt fast-forward or rewind any of the songs but that was resolved somehow and now it still works. Also occasionally the MP3 Player "lags" going from song to song. Other then that this MP3 Player is of excellent quality. Because this MP3 Player is an excellentgadget i give it 5 stars because there are many good thkngs about it and almost nothing bad abomut it.
24 Decent Player
I bought this player mainly for when I'm at the gym. I have used it over a year and have been very happy with it. The only complaint I have it the battery life is shorter then when I would like. Even with the battery life I would highly recommend, and buy another RIO product.
25 Big sound out of a small package
I have owned this item for close to a year now and I have been nothing but happy with this device.
I think that this MP3 player is very well laid out. I run quite a bit and it is very easy for me to skip through songs and adjust the volume while the unit is strapped to my arm. The arm band that this player comes with holds the MP3 player very well, and leaves all buttons exposed so they are very easy to access.
The sound quality it one of the best I've heard from a MP3 player. I recently purchased an IPOD Mini and I still find myself going back to this Rio to listen to during my workouts. I feel that the sound quality of this device is steps above the IPOD.
The battery life is also impressive. It takes 1 AAA battery which lasts me a few weeks with moderate use (an hour every other day).
The software it comes with is decent but not the best I've seen, but it gets the job done and it isn't difficult at all to transfer songs to the MP3 player.
I only had one issue. When I first bought the player it would sometimes automatically pause after certain songs were played. I simply went to Rio's web site and updated the firmware, and I haven't had the problem since.
It's been about a year and I still can highly recommend this device. It's easy to use and sounds great.
26 Great Sound Quality, Wonderful Software & Extremely Durable
I've had my Rio Sport for about 2 years. I've taken it across country (from California to South Carolina), I've dropped it, accidently sat on it, gotten it wet & it just keeps coming back for more!
Other reviewers criticize the beltclip, and they're right. The beltclip is lame. I just put the Rio in my pocket. When my wife goes running, it's so small, she just puts it down her sports bra. No worries.
Now the good news!
The easily readable, brightly back-lit LCD is reminiscent of the "IndiGlow" wristwatch. It displays everything you'd expect it to. Song title and the names of the artist and the album.
If the song title is too long ("Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" for example) then the title slowly scrolls from Left to Right. Mighty slick!
A small status bar shows how far into each song you are.
Pressing the Enter button toggles you through information such as file type (wma, mp3, wav, etc.), time remaining, time elapsed, KBPS Rate (32 Kbs, 64 Kbs or 128 kbs), Date, Pause/Play, Stereo or Mono and track number out of total (e.g. if you've got 100 sound files onboard, and you're listening to song number 38, the it will display "38/100").
If its time-of-day clock is too small (which it probably is), then use your wristwatch.
An easy-to see battery indicator estimates how much juice you have remaining (with about 6 increments inlcuding a blinking battery to symbolize a sort of "2-minute warning").
Battery life: I sometimes advance to the next song, max out the volume (or frequently CHANGE the volume), back up & play songs over and turn it on & off a lot.
With all this activity - I can usually rely on about 8 accumulative hours of operation.
I would guess Sony's optimistic assessment of "15 hours on one battery" (or whatever) is based on putting in a fresh alkaline battery and letting the device play over & over until it finally runs out of battery.
Buttons are extremely responsive and there's also a "button-lock" (keystroke: MENU+ENTER) which means you need not worry about accidently bumping the advance button when you're right in the middle of something good.
This unit comes with good-quality Earbuds. While there's nothing wrong with them, I personally don't care for the basic design of earbuds in general, even if they're the highest quality.
My wife loves hers, but I'm picky so I bought wrap-around headphones (TDK/$10 such a deal!)
Neato software! The included "Rio Music Manager" is the main software used to get music FROM your hard drive INTO your MP3 player. But wait! There's more!
If you prefer Windows Media Player, then you don't even NEED Music Manager. From within Media Player, you just click "Copy To CD or Device."
Or by using the "other accessories" button, the Setup Wizard creates a Rio Player icon in your "My Computer" window, which allows you to simply drag music files onto the icon (the one drawback to this is you lose the tag information (Song name, artist, album, etc.)
The included software also comes with "RIO Taxi", which enables you to use the Rio Sport as a storage device!
For example - say you've got some big ol' 18 MB Powerpoint file you want to take to a friend's house. Using Rio Taxi, you can put the 18 MB file on your Rio Sport, take the Sport to your friends house, plug it into his computer & download the file from your Rio Sport to your friend's computer! FREAKY TIKI!
The SOUND QUALITY is nothing less than exquisite. But the actual VOLUME output isn't always as powerful as you might like. Sometimes ambient sounds (garbage trucks, barking dogs, police sirens) can drown out the MP3 music.
SOLUTION! An oft-overlooked FREE accessory that comes with the Windows Operating System. It's called Windows Movie-Maker.
In addition to being a darn fine movie editor, you can also use this Freebie to boost the volume of ANY sound (wma, mp3 or wav) and save it as a regular wma file. It also allows you to adjust the quality from 16 KBS to 256 KBS!
The Drop-Test: I'm not proud of this, but I am clumsy & subsequently very hard on my toys.
I have accidently dropped the Rio Sport from a height of about 5 feet (chest level). It has dropped, bounced & tumbled on asphalt, concrete & other hard surfaces. I even dropped it water once (rescued within 5 seconds).
This has caused a few minor problems. About ever 3 months, I can't turn it off. I need to remove & reinsert the AAA battery causing the clock to return to 12:NOON. But I never lose files, and the sound quality is (& always has been) supurb!
In short, this is a wonderful little MP3 player & I strongly recommend it to anyone with an active life!
27 Great Mp3
This mp3 is very great.
The Bad things about it are 1.)It doesnt have good earphones, 2.) The belt case isn't that great(it doesn't fit the mp3's top buttons. The good things are 1.) That it is upgradeble to 640 MB. 2.) It runs on one AAA battery!!!(who wouldn't like that?) 3.) The software is very easy to use (if you have roxio it is way easier to download songs from your own cd's). All and all this is a great mp3
28 Great Mp3
This mp3 is very great.
The Bad things about it are 1.)It doesnt have good earphones, 2.) The belt case isn't that great(it doesn't fit the mp3's top buttons). The good things are 1.) That it is upgradeble to 640 MB. 2.) It runs on one AAA battery!!!(who wouldn't like that?) 3.) The software is very easy to use (if you have roxio it is way easier to download songs from your own cd's). All and all this is a great mp3
29 A nice little flash player
This is a good bargain player with about a 30-song capacity. It's very easy to trade music in and out -- the supplied software is just fine, and it also works well with the Musicmatch Jukebox package. It's not comparable to a hard-drive player, but it's a good little flash memory machine, with decent battery life.
The accessories are, as others have noted, terrible. The case doesn't fit, and the headphones are the worst I've ever come across. I sliced off the top of the case to unblock the buttons and still use the clip part, which I've found sturdy enough, and, with my own decent set of 'phones, it's a good item for the money.
30 Rio S35S POOR QUALITY!
I've owned 2 RIO S35S MP3 players in the past 12 months. Both of them started behaving poorly within one month of purchase. The first one would randomly restart itself from the beginning of the playlist, and would occasionally just stop playing altogether, even with new batteries. After 1 month, the 2nd one began locking up in the middle of music uploads from my PC. Eventually it just stopped functioning. DO NOT EVER BUY THIS PRODUCT IF YOU EXPECT TO USE IT FOR LONGER THAN 6 MONTHS!
31 Much better than the alternatives!
I first purchased a different brand that I was not impressed with. I returned that one and have been totally satisfied with this one!
1. ONE AAA battery!! (Come on, how can you not like that?)
2. The sound quality is awesome.
3. The cover is not hard to get on and off, but it won't come off unless you want it off. And it protects the on/off button, so it doesn't just turn off or fall off while you're running (duh). The case also keeps the headphones plugged in.
4. The stock headphones are of average quality and stick in your ears really well. Were you expecting Bose headphones to come alone with the incredibly inexpensive package?
5. The software has worked without any hassle, unlike my previous purchase.
6. It has an equalizer!
7. And a tuner (that's a radio)!
8. It's totally lightweight.
9. It's easy to use, even with all the options it has.
However, I must admit, the reason I was online looking for Rio stuff is because I just snapped the little plastic clip off of the back of the case. Hopefully they're not on back-order anymore.
32 PPPHHHHBBBBTTTT!!!!!!!
I can't believe I bought this thing. The holder is of very poor design (cannot manipulate buttons easily) and the clip broke after 2 months of use (no accessory source to replace). Now, like the other reviewer, I must hold the thing in my hand while running (kind of defeats the purpose of "sport" player doesnt it?) I don't care what anyone says, the radio stinks pure and simple. I am going to try to take it back to the store I bought it at but am not real confident. In any event, no more RIO products for me.
33 works great for me!
Well this is the only mp3 player I have ever owned, but it works great for me. I have had no troubles with it ever and I have been using it over a year while snowboarding, running, walking, biking. I did have to get new the headphones because the ones that came with it are bad and uncomfortable, but I got some at Walmart for about $8 that work great.
34 THIS PRODUCT IS OKAY!
Ok, I have some pros, some cons. we will start tith the pros.
1. The fact that it runs on only 1 AAA battery is amazing!
2. It comes with a wristband and a nice carrying case.
3. Very small.
4. Very light.
5. Organized, detailed screen, including the song, who wrote the song, etc.
6. Has a built-in stopwatch, the time and the date.
7. Easy to operate and fits nicely in your hand.
8. Although other people say they are, the earphones are NOT cheap.
9. It comes in a stylish red color.
10. Has a neat power saving feature and a volume control where you can see the volume its at.
11. Has a power saving feature.
12. A flexible belt clip.
13. Easy-to-use MP3 software. I mean REAL easy!
14. EXTREMELY durable. Can withstand the elements.
15. It can store a good amount of songs on it.
16. The songs don't skip
17. It has the best sound quality i've ever seen.
18. It's not expensive at all! At Amazon and Costco it is $80!
19. The earphone wires dont get tangled up easily.
20. It is not covered in stickers.
21. It has a nice and wide screen.
22. The screen lights up when you press a button.
23. A lot of features are customizable.
Cons:
1. The case is IMPOSSIBLE to get off.
2. The stop button is triggered by the slightest touch so when you bump into something your song starts over.
3. The case makes it impossible to push the buttons (well not impossible, just hard).
4. Unless you upgrade it, if you dowload all the songs it can hold onto it, it reduces the sound quality.
5. The radio is not that good and its volume is twice as loud.
OVERALL A GOOD PRODUCT AND WORTH BUYING
35 Y'all are overreacting
After mulling over the mp3 universe I bought this unit at Sam's Club for $89. It comes with a 32 mmc memory card for a combined memory of 160 rams. Plus I can use different mmc cards for infinite expansion, so to speak.
I knew what I was getting into when I bought this unit. I decided that there's no way getting around buying 2 mp3 players. One hd-based for storing large quantities of music, like an ipod, and another cheaper unit for jogging and moving around. The rio s35s seemed like a good option for exercise.
So far I'm not disappointed. The sound is fantastic. I LIKE the included headphones--why is everybody complaining about them? The radio reception is adequate. (I tried another pair of headphones laying around and that weakened the radio signal). When the lcd backlight is on that causes an annoying hum in the radio, but when the light goes off after 5 seconds the hum disappears. Also the firmware update notes promises to improve the radio quality--maybe that's helping mine.
I still might return this unit to the store, but not because of any inherent flaws. I think it might be worth it to spend a little more to get a player with a voice recorder, like the iRiver or MPIO. (Last night, I was playing with the unit when my 19-month old daughter started telling stories--it would have been fantastic to just to turn it on and RECORD!) Also, it would be nice to be able to transfer files directly to the player without the go-between of the proprietary software (which is not as bad as everyone is saying, by the way).
All in all, the player has delivered everything that i expected of it, and it's excellent sound quality has even pleasantly surprised me. I'm listening to the Clash's "Complete Control" right this instant and I'm amazed at how crisp, clear and LOUD it is!
epilogue: I did take it back and got an MPIO FL100 for about twice the price. I'll write a new review of this player.
36 You can do better than this.
After owning this product for about 2 months I feel I know it enough to write a fair review. I'm not too impressed with this MP3 player. This is the first one that I have ever bought and have found a few major things that I don't like about it. First the volume is not nearly loud enough. I'm listening to it in the gym and can hear outside noise even with volume at full on this thing. The plastic case that holds it does not fit the player. That means that the buttons on the thing are barely accesable. The radio part of it is garbage and can't really be used. It's like tuning into a distant AM station. I ditched the headphones immediately and can't tell you if they are good or not.
Do yourself a favor and skip this one, wish I had. Oh yeah and if you buy something take a minute or two and write a quick review about it. It really helps people out.
37 Lightweight Player, but flimsy, poorly designed - pain in *
I own an iPod. I love it, but I don't like to take it running, too heavy, and if I drop it, oh no! So I bought this hunk of red plastic. It is definitely lightweight. But the buttons activate at the slightest touch, on a Windows machine it randomly connects via the USB cable or doesn't. It *DOES* work with iTunes, but only if you convert your songs to MP3 or WMA (which you cannot do with purchased music - protected AAC). The little carry case that comes with it *SEEMS* like a good idea. However, it's nearly impossible to remove it (I am afraid of tearing the player in half doing so), and it's so poorly desgined that I can't really push the buttons while it's in the case. AND, if I don't use the case, the battery/storage cover keeps falling off. Don't waste your money. If you can afford the iPod mini - go for it. Otherwise look elsewhere for your lightweight and compact sport digital music player.
38 Piece of Junk
Unit constantly shuts itself off and loses tracks, even with a brand new battery. Doesn't fit in belt clip case provided by manufacturer. Comes with iTunes software, but isn't compatible with iTunes. And to add insult to injury, you can't return it to the store once you've opened it. You have to jump through hoops to return it directly to the manufacturer.
In short, save your money, this thing isn't worth it. Either go all out and get the ipod or go with a great mp3 alternative--a Sony Net MD player.
39 piece of junk
The buttons started malfunctioning only 1 week in to use., I went to return it and they told me that since it has been 30 days (it was a christmas gift) since my friend had bought it for me they could not longer honor it. The fast forward button doesn't work and it shuts off all the time for no reason.
Do NOT buy this thing.
40 Nice Features and Design
I bought this for my wife in December and she loves it. She works out at the gym 4 days a week. this little device is among the upper tier of MP3 players out there. Yes there are other players, but they all have their own problems as well.
The Rio S35S does a great job of getting people who aren't really computer literate. My wife is not so computer savvy, but she has managed to easily learn how to upload music into the player from our home PC. The software Rio provides is well designed for novices in mind. it has never crashed my PC, so anyone here complaining about software bugs may actually have their own unique hardware problems. The software really makes it simple to add or remove songs from the player.
As far as the build quality of the player.. excellent. All the buttons and casing textures feel very sturdy and well built. However, the same cannot be said for the headphones (my wife replaced them). Also, although the device holster looks and feels cool because it is made of a rubberized plastic material, it is a tremendous pain to get off the unit. And when it is on, it is difficult to get it aligned with some of the side controls.
Playback quality is excellent, among the best in the business, and that includes the iPod. As far as "background noise" with the FM Tuner, I haven't noticed that at all. Might be a defective unit a user here had.
If you are not super-computer savvy and want Lexus-level build quality, this is the player for you. if you are a computer geek who wants to use your own software like Windows Media Player, iTunes, or Real Player to manage your playlist and see the device as a "hard drive", I would suggest you shell out the extra $200 for an iPod.
41 Boy I wish I had read these reviews first
I bought mine at Costco on impulse and THEN I read the reviews here to see why this sucks. I agree with the bad reviews. The FM stinks, lots of static, the holder doesn't align with the buttons and the songs are played in the wrong order. I have a Nomad II but didn't want to spend the money on a SmartCard to get more songs on it and an arm band and... So I bought the S35S when I saw it starts with 128 had the arm band and was half the size. I kinda liked the headphones, they hold on to me nicely. The only reason I gave it 2 stars.
Oh well back to the drawing board. It's going back. Save your money, I'm still reading, maybe I can find a better choice, this time.
42 It's great but the battery life isn't
This MP3 player is about perfect. The interface for adding or removing files is exceptional. A child could set up and operate this thing. The armband is a great addition but the ear buds tend to slip out when you sweat, I recommend getting different headphones. You can upgrade the memory which is a huge addition as it allows you to spend less money than just buying a 40gig I-Pod which is going to die after 6 or 7 months. My only complaint is that they say you have 10 hours of playing time on one AAA battery. Unless there are some nuclear-powered super batteries I am unaware of, that time quote is a farce. You're lucky to get half that play time on one battery. I switched to a new battery yesterday. Used it for 1 1/2 hours at work, 2 hours at home loading music (I'm picky about my arrangements OK, sue me) and the battery is half empty according to the meter on the display. That being the case, it looks like I'll get MAYBE 6 or seven hours..certainly not 10. Other than that fact, this thing is great. I use it for running and if I'm running for more than six hours its from the police, not for leisure so my problems are far beyond the battery life of my equipment if you get my drift.
43 Buyer beware !!!!!
The one good thing about this machine is that when it does work, and if you use a pair of upgraded headphones (not the ones supplied with the player), the sound quality delivered to the listener is quite good - superb in fact.
As for the bads, and there are many:
1. the plastic clip-on case (not pictured in the on-line advertisement on Amazon or anywhere else) doesn't actually fit the player, so if you want to press buttons during use, you have to stop what you're doing and remove the player to be able to access the buttons - this makes it incredibly impractical as a "sports" music player.
2. within 2 weeks the actual waist/belt clip simply snapped (during routine, ordinary use) because it is made of poor quality, thin rigid plastic. Result: when I use the player now, I have to carry it in my hand or keep it in my shorts pocket. I have called the company numerous times only to be told that no additional holders are available, they're on back order. I guess other people have had the same problem as me!!
3. battery life is more like 4-5 hours if you use the player in a gym where it is likely to be noisy (often with background music, machines, people yapping) and you need to crank it up. The advertised 14 hour battery life may be attainable if you are listening in a quiet room and not moving a muscle.
4. the headphones supplied with the player stink, don't even try to use them
5. the software interface for Windows is a disaster and has crashed several times, requiring time-consuming un-installs and re-installs, ultimately requiring that I ditch the CD supplied with the player and go to the company website, under phone direction from their help line, and download the on-line version. Song order gets jumbled by the machine during transfer so the coherence of an album becomes unrecognizable. Finally I learned to bypass the company software altogether - music can be downloaded to it via Windows Media Player, as long as you have the most recent version (which I needed to download for this sole purpose).
My verdict is that the device has promise - sound quality itself is great and the price is competitive, but there are so many bugs with the product (hardware and software) that I think the company should be allowed a hiatus to stop and figure out what it is doing, and come back to us 6 months from now with apologies and major upgrades. They need to realize they can't skimp on the holder for the player. Had I known all this earlier, I would have spent the extra $100 or so on the smaller iPod. I have the bitter feeling that this was $118 poorly spent. My advice to any potential buyer would be to STAY AWAY from this company and product.
I could go on but I need to go to work.
Good luck!
44 Terrible Design...Do Not Buy!
Terrible design, short battery life, the tuner doesn't work, the holding case is awkward, and the headphones are cheap.
My wife bought me this player for Christmas. It is very nice to be able to listen to MP3s (from my copied CDs) as opposed to the endless loop on commercial radio, however, that's the case with all MP3 players. On the good side, the display is fine and the software is easy to learn. Now for the long list of problems...
1. Design - For years I've owned a Sony Sport Walkman (you know, they're yellow). It has served me well, but it only has a radio. This MP3 player has a raised circular Play-pause/forward/reverse/stop button. I am constantly bumping it. It is incredibly frustrating. Like most people I listen to my "sport" player while I'm on the move (working out, mowing the grass, walking the dog, etc.). My old Walkman's buttons are recessed and I never accidentally push them. With the Rio, the slightest bump and the song will start again, stop, or pause. What's worse is trying press the circle properly without looking at it (like I said, usually it's clipped to my belt and I'm doing something else, hence the "sport" part of this player's description). No matter if I put it in my pocket, clip it to the front of me, side of me, or back of me I always bump it again and again. It's so frustrating. There's a "key protect" in the menus, but navigating to it requires you to stop what you're doing. Not convenient! With my old Walkman I could easily press the recessed buttons when I wanted without a key protect. The design of the buttons makes this player worthless. But, if that's not enough...
2. Battery life - The player sucks batteries. In my old Walkman I'd change them every six to eight weeks (two AAA's). With this player I change the 1 AAA battery every 8 to 10 hours. What a joke!
3. AM/FM Tuner - It simply doesn't work. Even the stations that come in crystal clear on my old Walkman don't come in at all.
4. Holding case - The MP3 player has an awkward plastic case (for clipping to your clothes). It makes the on/off, volume, and menu buttons hard to push. It also makes it hard to plug in the headphones.
5. Headphones - Speaking of the headphones...they're complete junk. You'll need another pair.
6. Software - It was easy to learn at first and transferring files to the player is simple. However, I can't pull over my play lists from Windows Media Player (maybe I'm just missing something) and each time I copy another CD I need to refresh the music library which takes a bunch of time.
In summary, this player is a complete piece of junk. Avoid it at all costs.
45 a piece of plastic junk
whatever you do, do not drop this piece of crap mp3 player, it will break on you. First time i did this was within the 30-day garuantee from the store i bought it in, but recently i dropped it again and it become totally busted for the second time. sport my ass this thing couldn't handle running. It would periodically reset itself while i was running. do not waste you money on this piece of junk.
46 Not What You Want
I have had nothing but trouble with my Rio Sport. First of all the internal memeory dosent really hold that many songs. You might get 33 songs on it and it will be full. I purchased another 128MB stick and that lets me get another 33 songs on it.
I have gone through one battery after another it just eats them up. The power button has had a mind of its own and doesn't want to turn on sometimes and other times wont shut off. Then the internal memory just wont play on mine. I have 33 songs on it and it can only find the songs that I have on my memory stick and when I connect it to the software it shows full but no songs on there to delete. So I have an internal memory that is useless.
Get a player that costs more and holds more songs because after you get the memory stick to add you will end up spending more and still end up with less music. The headphones that come with it are also worthless and uncomfortable so you will buy new ones of those also.
47 poor quality
Worked great for a month, I got it for my dad as a christmas present. He walked to work with it every day. Then one day the "increase volume" quit working. I am still waiting to hear from Amazon to get a new replacement and if that does not work I will try my luck with Rio. I can hardly see it being a "sport" model if can't handle resting in a shirt pocket for a 20 minute walk every day.
48 Excellent
I've had mine for about 3 months and so far everythings been working good with the exception of the head phones. I just bought new ones, I've dropped mine five or six times on concrete and there has been no change in its perfomance, the only problem is when using the belt clip when i work out, I sometimes bump the mp3 player making the song stop, I guess its because I hit the stop button, but other than that and those annoying head phones , its perfect. When I bought mine it came with a free 32mb memory card, so with out it , it'd probably hold 30 songs give or take a few.
49 horrible
i've had mine for less than a year, and within the first couple months it started to break. i've done nothing out of the ordinary with this player. it shuts off mid-use, it refuses to play certain songs already programmed (that worked when initially downloaded into the player), cuts off in the middle of half of the songs (which were complete when first downloaded into the player), and now thinks that half of the memory is used up when there are NO songs programmed into it! Oh, and the "stop" button stopped working and now i can't use any other function on the player or change any settings because it is also the "down" function on the menu.
50 Rio Sport 35S
This was my first MP3 player, although I bought my father the RCA Lyra (128mb) for Christmas. Although he enjoys it, I felt the battery compartment's door felt flimsy. I did a lot of research and finally bought the Rio Sport 35S at Sam's Club. It came with a bonus 32mb chip and an additional 1-year warranty on top of the manufacturer's warranty....$112 total.
It's very lightweight and I love the LCD display. for me, the MP3 had to have an armband and have an expandable memory. Rio has that. The plastic case is alright, although I could have designed it a bit better. I plan to buy some material and make a pouch that completely protects the player AND attaches to the armband.
The headphones (ear buds) are not the greatest...one bud keeps wanting to pop out of my ear. The control buttons are easy to use, but if you bump the control button into something (wall, door) it is easy to fast forward/rewind/stop the player. This is another eason I think the plastic carrying case could have been improved to add some protection to the face of the player.
Sound quality is great and the batteries last several hours at least. I have only gone through one battery so far and I have owned this two weeks.
I would highly recommend this player to anyone.
Plus - style, sound quality, functionality of buttons, display.
Minus - earphones, plastic case.
51 RIO not good for me
I had an intel pocket concert which I thought was great. My car got stolen and that was the end of MP3 player #1. After doing research I purchased the Rio R35S. Sound quality was average (not as good as the older and discontinued Intel Pocket Concert). The Rio lasted a little over a year then many of the buttons stopped working. I used it in the gym to work out and was very careful with it. Was not durable for me. Maybe this was an isolated problem but it was enough to keep me away from Rio's for good. My third and current MP3 player is the IRiver 390T with 256mb. This player is great. Sound quality is great. The player is small and user friendly for most people. Based on my experience I would stay away from the RIO.
52 Great size and sound--not durable or reliable enough
I have had four different Rios that I use running. When they work properly, they are great. My first two were Rio Ones and both stopped playing after being accidentally dropped. I switched to the RioS35S. I like the size, the extra capacity, the ability to upgrade memory. However, the Rios just aren't as durable as the price warrants. Both belt clips broke within a couple of months and replacments are not available. The email support suggested I buy a leather carrying case with a belt loop. Get serious. Not only is that an expensive solution, but who wears belts running? The earphone wires frequently come out of the channel in the part that wraps around the ears and they begin to make crackling sounds, so plan on replacing the earphones. Also, as mentioned in other reviews, they turn off randomly and restart back at the first song in the memory, leaving you in the lurch without music, searching for where you left off while you're trying to keep running. Sometimes the Rio goes two or three songs without stopping. Sometimes the Rio stops several times before it makes it through one song. My daughter also has the Rio S35S and has the same problem of the Rio turning itself off when running. As much as I love many features, my experience with Rios would make me shop from a different manufacturer the next time I buy an mp3 player just for improved reliability.
53 The worst gift ever!!!
Oh my god, this product was the biggest headache. I received one as an early Valentine's Day present, and it quit working after a week, as soon as I figured out how to load the songs and bought the expensive memory card, it broke. If yours says "upgrader" then beware. I went through the upgrader process not once but twice, and it never would work. When I called support, they said to take it back to the store. So I did. I will be saving my money for the mini-ipod when it comes out.
54 Not really a "sport" player
If you're just sitting around or doing something low intensity (like lifting weights), it's a great player. When I jog on the treadmill with it on my arm (at a moderate intensity), it stops playing mid-song and returns to the start of the playlist. It's not the file, since the point at which it stops in the playlist is never the same. I emailed customer support and was told to purchase the Cali player if I wanted a player that will work at a "higher intensity". If that's the case, then they shouldn't offer this as a sport player. I'm going to try putting it on my waist, hoping it will help. Also, the volume could stand to go higher; it's often difficult to hear over the clanging of plates or the music that my gym plays.
55 Great MP3 Player
This mp3 player is outstanding! It's appealing, has excellent user interface, a belt clip and armband are included, has a FM radio, many cool features, and is expandable to 256MB.
Design:
Red Rubberized case
Very Lightweight
Useful Beltclip and Armband
Unique shape fits in hand well
Features:
Upgradeable
Stopwatch
FM Radio with 8 presets
Can Bookmark a spot in a file (good for audiobooks)
Can Play MP3 or WMA
Performance:
Good Battery Life, despite only running on one AAA battery
Decent earphones
Outstanding Sound Quality
A little hazy FM radio
Good User Friendly Software
Overall, this was an awesome MP3 player. Good player for any who likes to exercise while listening to music. It's slightly expensive, but it's well worth the money. This player is definately the best flash memory player you can buy.
56 I never leave home without it!!!
I have had this player for about 9 months now and there isn't a place it hasn't gone. It has been tossed around, wet, dropped, and it still keeps on ticking. I'm not saying go intentionally beat the crap out of it, but just know it can take it. It's light weight with easy to use software depending on if you have even the most basic computer knowledge...i.e (how to turn it on and play solitare). The expandable memory is a must have for me, and definetly a plus over much higher priced MP3 players without the feature. I hear a lot of complaints about the plastic carrying case, but lots of people can't open child proof caps with ease either. Look at the whole product, nothing is perfect, but somethings definetly have more pros than cons. This player is a definite buy. I'm rough on my stuff and this baby has survived.
57 Cheaply made
The armband container is awful. The holes on it don't line up with the switches on the player. The on/off switch is pathetic. The battery cover is flimsy. The overall quality is very poor. My unit split along a seam for no apparent reason and became virtually unusable after only 4 months. A mp3 player designed as a "sport" model should be more robust than that. The whole concept is very poorly executed.
58 YIKES!
There isn't much good to say about this product ... except maybe its small. Other than that, the ear phones are uncomfortable after about fifteen minutes, they started falling apart 1 week after new, it doesn't play iTunes, the FM tuner is weak, organization of songs is difficult and memory insufficient. YIKES! Stay away from this one.
59 Not Recommended
I ordered this MP3 player a little over two weeks ago - and I am returning it today. I am an Industrial Engineer and my roommate is an Industrial Designer - and both of us agree that the plastic case that holds this player is one of the worst designs we have ever seen. I literally pulled off a fingernail trying to seperate the case from the player, not to mention that the buttons on the top of the player don't line up with the cutouts of the case, or that you can't dock with the USB cable unless you remove the player. I previously had an Apple IPod, but traded it for an MP3 player I could "go running with." Big mistake - I will definitely do my homework next time.
60 Pricey for a bic lighter
Basic functionality is adequate. It plays MP3 files. The bundled Rio software is garbage. I have not found a way to reorder the songs on the unit. The proprietary cable is a very stupid idea. It makes a very strange buzzing (although not thru the earphones thankfully) and the "menu" button has stopped functioning after only 6 months. I can't recommend this device at it's current price point. If it cost under $20 it might be a decent value.
61 I should've read all the reviews first........
Ugh! Got this as an xmas gift from my husband (I recommended this specific player) and boy was it a mistake! It worked for about 1 week (5 hours of play) and stopped ('USB Connected' screen wouldn't go away) - reloaded the firmware as the website suggests. Worked for a week and went back to the same problem. Tried replacing the battery - again worked for about 4 days. Now even replacing batteries doesn't help. I have an email to their customer support, but from what I've read in these other reviews, I'm probably not going to be too successful. I can only guess from reading the incredibly mixed reviews for this product that when you buy it, it's basically a crap shoot. Hope that if you do buy it, you'll end up being one of the people giving this product 5 stars! If not, you've just thrown 120 bucks away....
62 Poor Fit and Finish
In short the player itself is pretty nice. However, the plastic holder that allows it to clip to your shorts, or the velcro armband, etc. is terrible. The buttons do not match up with cutouts in the case and make using them difficult if doing any kind of activity. I tried to work with the Rio customer support, but after three weeks their response was 1)Yes, the buttons do not line up 2)It does make it difficult to use 3)They are all like this 4)Buy a better case through a third party supplier. What a joke this is. Admitting to the customer that their product is not up to par, and then suggesting I go purchase somthing from another company. Sounds like Rio wouldn't even buy their own product. I would not reccomend anyone to purchase this product.
63 8 Months and no longer working
Actually, I love the Rios S35S MP3 player. It's lite, I can strap it around my arm and forget it's there, and it sounds great! However, after only 8 months of ownership and use, the button controls quietly stopped working ... can't skip through recordings, can't go to the menu, can't change the volume ... can only get it to play, and but not always. Warranty's short, and it's over, so I can't send it back. Called support and they said they could trade me a refurbished one for $79. I'm probably better off buying a new one, but if it's only going to last 8 months, why bother???
64 Not Impressed
As a software engineer for embedded devices, I might be particularly critical to this kind of thing, but I also know that these little MP3 players are not really all that complicated, and they should be able to get these things to be darn near perfect.
My primary complaint is that there is a ridiculously loud buzz if you're listening to the FM tuner and the display backlight is on. Backlights can cause a lot of noise which can be noticed on many devices that use them, but the effect can be controlled so that it's hardly noticeable - if it's there at all. RIO, however, seems to have made no attempt to fix this - the buzz is many times louder than the static you get from the FM tuner.
My second complaint is the use of a non-standard data transfer mechanism. They use a unique cable and you are forced to use their software (which has it's own set of problems). So if you want to manage your MP3s from both home and work, for example, you need to bring the cable and software with you. If the device acted as a simple USB drive, this would not be an issue.
Thirdly, the 'holster' that you use if you want to clip the device to a belt doesn't fit right. It partially covers some of the buttons and the headset jack.
Overall, I was very unimpressed. Ya, it plays mp3's, but big deal. That's easy.
65 Who on earth is "winterstone/Mike Heine???"
This person has obviously never owned this Rio S35, his review reads like the blurb from the Rio's packaging, yet he gushes on and on about it. Clicking on his link, I find that of his 190 reviews for Amazon, he dispenses nothing but 4 and 5 stars.
This leads me to suspect that the guy gets paid to gush about whatever products by whomever is willing to pay him for his bogus reviews. Either that, or he's clairvoyant, and only buys things that he knows ahead of time he'll like. Last possibility: he is extremely easy to please and has very low standards.
Me, I'm not going to pretend that I own this Rio S35 so I'll give it a 3 star rating just to keep it even. But I do wish Amazon would do a better job of screening out paid hacks like this, who seriously undermine the credibility of Amazon's users' comments section, which is one of their topmost features.
66 This thing rocks!!!
I cannot say enough about this little gadget! I bought this paerticular model (128Mb internal) along with the ScanDisk 256Mb SD Card and it gives me about 71 songs of MP3s ripped at 160Kbs. The music quality is outstanding. I travel a lot, so my laptop is loaded with a little over 6.3Gb of MP3s. The Sonic Blue Music Manager blows, but it doesn't matter as the enlosed Real Player S/W can (up/down)load with no problem. I highly recommend this product.
67 ABSOLUTLY THE BEST!!
This player is so small and so easy to use! I used Napster instead of the iTunes software it came with because I think iTunes is better to use if you have a Mac. The tuner doesn't pick up a lot of radio stations...that was a bummer, but the amazing sound quality of the tracks made up for what the player lacks. It holds about 30-35 songs depending on length, which I definetly found to be enough, but is upgradeable nonetheless. All around it is one of the best MP3 players out there for such a low price and stylish look.
68 Great, with caution
I got the Rio for Christmas and have loved using it while running. It is lightweight and easy to either carry or use with the armband. However, I went on a long run with it and it rained during the run. The player was out of wack for a while. I had to reformat it according to the directions on the SonicBLUE website. After reformatting and letting it sit for a while it returned to normal. I would just advise that the company's claim that it is "built to withstand the elements" doesn't include rain as one of the elements that it is built to withstand.
69 The best music player ever
It is the best i can fit 3 cds on it and i can download wmas from napster. if you are lokking for an mp3 player get this!!!!
70 Great!!
I'm listening to mine right now. I got it this morning (for christmas). I haven't found a problem with it. The MP3 to computer connection is great, battery life is great, sound it great, plus its about 2 inches tall, so I can go wherever I want with it. The more I use it the more I like it. The only thing that I would suggest you buy with it would be a memory card. 128MB holds about 30 songs. Get a 512MB extension card, and you'll be rocking on for hours. Good buy, I haven't seen a reason to get another. I love it, i think you would too.
71 best mp3 player ive ever tryed
this is the best player ive ever seen it has more graphics then any other that ive had and it hadnt broken afer 3 months
72 Important note before buying - iTunes support only for Mac
This product is probably one of the best solid-state MP3 players out there, especially for the price. Though I would like to mention a few drawbacks that aren't readily evident.
1. The package does not specify that the player only works with the Macintosh version of iTunes. I use iTunes on my PC as my jukebox software and was frustrated to find that I can only use Rio's proprietary software or Real's application to sync files to the player, both of which are mediocre applications.
2. If you are intending on using the provided arm-band, you should know that the player has to be placed in a rubber cradle in order to be attached to the band. The cradle makes the player a bit more bulky and also makes it harder to press the buttons and makes it quite difficult to fit the USB cable into the socket.
73 Excellent value for the money
I chose the Rio S35S because of three factors: value, value, value.
I was not disappointed.
The Rio S35S is a low-cost, full-feature MP3 player that delivers the best performance for the money that I've seen so far.
This is *not* a super-size dynamo like the iPod. The Rio comes with only 128Mb built-in. In other words, a 10GB iPod can hold roughly 70 Rios. The Rio doesn't include all the neat features of an iPod, and downloading files takes longer. BUT, a 10GB iPod sets you back $300, while the Rio costs less than $120.
If you have an extra $300 to spend on a portable player that you might lose or break, have stolen, or see obsoleted in a year's time, get the iPod. But if you want something *now* that works fine and will last you until 10GB costs $100, then get a Rio.
If you're really hung up about the 128Mb storage, spend $80 and get a 256MB add-on card. You'll have 384MB of storage. Then spend an extra 2-3 hours picking out the songs you *really* want (instead of downloading albums at a time).
I like my Rio, it does the job with only a few minor hassles. It worked right out of the box. The sound is good, operation is dirt simple. Next Xmas I am guessing that MP3 players will be twice as powerful for half the price. And if you doubt this, I will tell you that my first Sony portable CD player cost $300; today's equivalent Sony costs $100. And that's for a device that has *mechanical parts* (the non-hard drive ones). The economy of scale for a device with no moving parts is simply amazing, and the economies of scale for hard drives is pretty darn good as well (120GB hard drives for $100!?) I would be willing to guess that we'll eventually have flash memory MP3 players for $50, and hard drive players with 10-20GB drives for $100-$150. Why pay primo for something before then?
74 GREAT!!!!!
I have had my RIO S35S for a while now and I have loved it!!! It is the easiest MP3 I have ever seen!!! It is a great buy!
75 Rio S35S seems great
Got it yesterday, and so far no complaints. The more I use it the more I like it.
76 yes
Great
77 Good Player Overall
I've owned a couple of players over the year and I still like Rio's backlight display. It has a good shape to it and fits nicely in your hand. It has a good rubber casing and the buttons are easy to press.
The features are nice on this player, a stopwatch, time, equalizer and FM radio. It's size let's you but in you pocket or you can use the belt clip to carry it.
The Tuner reception needs much improvement but still if out in the open or in a large gym it seems to get OK reception. To use the armband you actually use the belt clip to attach it to the armband and it doesn???t feel too secure while on the tread mill so I rather just have it in my pocket. Skipping through songs is easy, on downfall is if you stop during a song it doesn???t resume at the moment when you stopped it???ll just resume at the beginning of the song.
Overall it???s a good player and you get what you pay for but room for improvement in the rio music manager. Also this is for Sonic Blue: When are you guys ever going to change you???re earphones, they???re one of the worst designs out there and it doesn???t seemed to have changed over the years.
78 Very easy to use, and very great mp3 player!!
I was looking at all the sport-type mp3 players this summer, trying to find the best one to take running each day. I read the reviews here on Amazon, and learned that I definitely didn't want the Nike one (which I have also heard from many other people). But the reviews for this Rio one were misleading. I'm not sure how other people have had problems with this player. IT has been dreamy since I pulled it out of the box. I hooked it up to the computer, installed the Rio Music Manager software, and I was ready to go with a few clicks. A box at the top of the computer screen shows you your available computer mp3 files, and a box on the bottom shows you what you already have on your player, along with a bar that shows you how many more MBs you have room for. You click which files you want, and unclick the files you want removed. It really is that easy. I did follow the review advice and bought a better set of headphones. And the FM tuner seems to work fine where I live. If you love running/walking in a gym or in the outdoors, this RIO player is a must-have.
79 Great Buy
This is a great buy. I use mine about 3 hrs. a day and the only problem I have found is that it eats batteries.
80 Dissapointing
I had a RIO mp3/cd player (SP90) that I absolutely love. I adored its design, the ease with which I could 'load' songs or updates to its flash ram.
I was looking forward to a simlarly wonderful experience with the S35S SPORTS player. But... ummm.... nope.
I got my player about 6 months ago. And gave it a good bit of use at the gymn and on my bike.
The Mp3 playback:
The playback of mp3 tracks worked very well. No complaints there.
The Display:
The display of track info was clear.
In general, the display, the clock, and menu system on the unit all worked very well. Menu navigation made sense. No complaints there.
The stopwatch:
An interesting feature. Not terribly convenient. I didn't use it at all.
The Radio:
Outdoors, the radio reception generally worked although I would say it was weak and tended to come and go.
Indoors, the radio reception generally failed. I found the player constantly trying, and failing, to auto re-tune the radio stations. This is actually much more annoying than say, merely a weak signal. One might bear to listen to NPR with a weak signal - but one cannot listen to ANYTHING when the player re-tunes every second.
Exandability:
I put an extra MMC chip in (16mb). The player recognized it. No problems. (The add-on MMC is treated as a seperate block of storage rather than just additional space to the built-in 128Mb)
Upgradeability:
I loaded a flash update without any issue, aside from it erasing the handful of my player preferences.
Music Upload:
Whereas a simple, standard, 'removable storage' approach would've been an OBVIOUS approach to loading music onto this USB device, from Windows, the RIO team instead chose to implement a proprietary music upload software package that is both cumbersome and inelegant.
Frankly, the upload software is just awful. The GUI interface is not compatible with standard PC drag-n-drop operations - it looks like something an immature programmer would assemble.
Durability:
After a few months of ginger care, the volume control broke. No abuse.. no drops... it just broke. The volume component on the circuit board just broke away from the board. (A consequence of the design wherein the button does not press against the circuit board... but against a little part on the edge of the board.)
Overall:
With the poor upload software, poor radio, and poor durability - I found this product dissapointing. Those were the features for which I selected this product... and they all were failures.
Ironically, I was so excited about the S35S when it first came out.. and was so certain that this RIO product would work well... I even bought an extra one as a gift for friend.
I certainly regret it. Lesson learned.
81 Not so rugged, sound could be better
The buttons on this player are small and fragile. The volume-up button on mine broke about 12 months after I purchased it. I sent it off for warranty replacement and received a new unit about a month later. Warranty service seems to have improved over earlier reports, but still, keep your receipts.
After using this for a year, the main problems I have identified seem to be with the firmware and the overall design. I use mine at the gym. It's easy enough to skip ahead to the next track and adjust the volume while I'm running on a treadmill, but there is no way to switch between radio and MP3s without taking the unit off and clicking through several menus. I have also had problems with settings not being stored, particularly after replacing a low battery and on two occasions, the unit needed to be completely reset and the firmware reinstalled.
In general, this is a good enough unit to take to the gym or use on the bus, but the sound quality is not the best. I would look into one of the newer Cali models and hope that Rio learned some design lessons from this model.
82 Durable & functional, even for an MP3 newbie
I was a bit hesitant in purchasing this unit, particularly as some previously had criticized the armband and included software. Let me tell you what I've seen after 4 months of significant use (5 times per week in the gym).
1. MP3 portion has worked flawlessly. I personally found the software easy to use, and it worked immediately after installation on my Sony Vaio desktop with no problem. I had never "ripped" an MP3 before, and still found the process of transferring music from my CD's to MP3 a breeze.
2. I didn't purchase it for a Radio Tuner, but this one does seem to leave something to be desired. I never use it anyway, but it's inability to receive FM signals is the sole reason I rated this only 4 stars.
3. Accessories. I'm in the gym an hour and a half to two hours a day, usually 5 days per week, and have never had a problem with the clip and armband. The armband is comfortable, and solid (even when running).
Overall, I love this thing. It's one of the very best investments I've made in electronics in a long time.
83 very good player
This player is ideal if your going running or for the gymn. It's sturdy and has great sound quality.
My only complaint is that the FM tuner is pretty weak, it's hard to get a signal sometimes, especially in the city.
84 Great Deal and Great with Mac
This is the third mp3 player I have bought in 2 weeks to try and use with my Mac computer. While others claimed to be compatable, this one was far beyond the rest. I had problems deleting programs from the other two, but with this one it was so easy!! It comes with a itunes CD to upload the program if it is not already on your Mac. You can also download itunes on mac.com for PC's or Mac. This program makes it simple, you simply drag the files into the rio folder that pops up and then arrange them. If you want to delete songs, you click on it and hit delete. That simple. The screen is great, it illuminates vibrant blue and scrolls the song and artist, along with the album. The earphones are alright, the sound is decent, and the size and weight is awesome, it is so small and light and super durable. It also comes with a great belt clip and armband. For around 100 bucks this is a great deal, esspecially if you have a Mac.
85 POS MP3 player
Broke after 7 months of intermittent use (1-2 hours/week at most). I had it fixed once, then it broke again and I'm through with it--too unreliable. I can't figure out what happened--both times that it stopped working, it was sitting on the shelf for a few days after a workout during which it worked fine. Seven months is too short a life span for something so costly, IMHO.
86 Radio does not work
While the unit itself has functioned well for me with digital audo, the FM player simply does not work! Well, ok it works if its a clear day and you are standing outside fairly close to the broadcast tower.
You will be very disappointed if you try to use the FM player in the gym, no way in heck will you receive a radio station, not even the ones used by the gym (so you can receive the audio for watching TV while you workout).
87 Tragic experince with a now bankrupt company!
I was VERY dissappointed when I drove 60 miles one way to get a mmc memory card for this player, only to find out that the player would not read it. The quality of Rio brands products has dropped CONSIDERABLY in the past few months. Their products used to be QUALITY! I own a rio 800 128mb player, a rio 600 64mb player, and a rio volt. All quality construction. But now the new rio brand stuff is cheaply made, not durable in my opinion, and lacking in new features. Dont even think about trying to get them to service defective items. Bottom line...pick another brand!
88 The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good-
easy to use, firmware updates go smoothly, easy to upgrade memory and download songs to. I'm overall pleased with the product, was what I had expected. I added a 128 mg memory card and it now holds about 100 songs in wma format.
The Bad-
the radio is pointless, it probably would have been a better idea to just market product as a MP3 only player. as noted in many reviews, the radio simply does not work well. I use the player in the gym, occasionally the player will stop and the 'USB connecting' screen will appear on the display. I have no idea why this happens but it gets frustrating.
The Ugly-
the case, play dial and display screen easily become nicked and scratched. I've had the player for about 6 months and use it for all kinds of activities and have dropped it a few times on the pavement, player still plays but always another nick or scratch. the belt clip piece also nicks into the player b/c it does not cradle the player real tight. Just recently dropped the player and battery cover dislodged, called Rio, would cost $75 to repair.
89 Radio is useless
The Mp3's play ok, but I found that the backlight actually produces a buzzing noise with the radio. So when you are switching stations, the backlight comes on and you hear a high pitch buzzing sound until the light goes off. I guess that doesn't matter much since the RADIO DOESN'T PICK UP A SINGLE STATION unless you are stading outside in line of sight to a FM radio station antenna.
The radio is totally useless in my gym. It won't even pick up the FM broadcast for the TV's in my gym. I'm seling mine. I should have listened to the other reviews that warned about the radio.
90 My two cents.......
I'm amazed that there is such a variety of opinions on this device. I've had mine for about a year now. I use it mainly to listen to "books on tape" that I get from my local library and rip in WMA format as the file size is considerably smaller than MP3 format. I purchased a 256 MB card which is a must for longer books (not enought for some). I find the device easy to use with decent battery life. My main complaint is that the text size on the small screen is difficult to see (must be my middle-aged eyes!)
91 Buyer Beware! Not worth the price!
This MP3 player does not have the performance for the price you would expect. I have read many other reviews where people have the same problems as I have. The thing konks out a lot, and you have to turn it off, take it out of its shell (which is looks like but is NOT a shock absorber) take out the battery and put it back in again. I dropped it one time and now it has a huge black blotch on the screen. I wear it on my arm a lot, and if I bump against anything, even lightly, it turns off and starts from the beginning. My dad gave it to me after he couldn't use it because he wanted to load books on tape onto it and found out it would not pick up where it left off if it was turned off. The battery doesn't last long at all. The only advantage is that you can constantly change the songs on the player, but you can do that with any player. For the price, don't beleive that because it's called 'sport,' that it's durable. IT IS NOT. It's a fragile little piece of crap. I shouldn't complain because it's a gift, but when I found out how much he paid for it I almost had a heart attack.
92 Piece of trash--dead after 3 months
My MP3 shorted out for good this morning--after 3 whole months. It never worked well--it always took 3-4 tries to get started. I found it extrememly frustrating to have to stop and start a run several times to get the thing going. I had to change the batteries every several runs--at 1 hour per run, this translates into one battery every 2-3 hours.
93 Faulty product, Extremely bad customer service.
I purchased a Rio S35S through the RioBlue website last spring.
My first one lasted for 2 months before its "system" crashed and the customer service representative (after making me run though several month long hoops) finally said it was unfixable and replaceable. She had a new one shipped out to me after I sent in their faulty product at my own expense.
Their customer service correspondance was largely ineffectual and very time-consuming. The entire process took me about half a year to complete, so you can imagine I was quite dismayed when the REPLACEMENT PLAYER I received ALSO CRASHED in the same manner, not two weeks after I received it.
This was my worse internet shopping experience to date, and I warn you against dealing with this company and its products.
94 Love it.
I am in the process of ordering my second RIO MP3 player. I accidentally set the first next to an electronic device that seemed to interfere with the MP3 player's abibility to function. I have been without for about 1 1/2 months. Miss it a lot! I thought it was easy to use, highly functional for workouts, and the sound was great. I would recommend it to anyone who requires music in the workout regimen. I also have the memory chip which allows for many more hours of music. Loved it! Can't wait for the new one to come in.
95 Good sound, durable
Contrary to many opinions in here, I think that the S35S is a great mp3 player and great for sports. I'm just going to point some of my experiences.
* The belt clip broke within a few weeks of use. It took me several months of effort, but Rio issued me a new belt clip free of charge.
* The buttons are not easily hit accidentally when involved in sports. In fact, if you hold the Menu + Enter buttons, you can lock the player.
* Have been training for a marathon with this player since I purchased it sometime in the spring. I have sweat all over it and brought it out in the rain many times (I live in Seattle). Still works fine and there isn't so much as condensation on the screen.
* I have dropped, kicked, and banged up the player countless times while either walking around or running. I even managed to separate the two halves of the case (it snapped right back). Still works fine.
* Battery life has been fine using NiMH rechargeables. No experience with other batteries.
The supplied headphones are not great, but what do you expect? Go buy a decent pair of Sony's for $10.
If you're thinking about getting one of the hard drive based mp3 players reconsider if you're planning on using the player for sports. The mechanical systems can be jarred causing skips and, more importantly, they may become damaged. The solid state device technology is what you need if you're active.
My only complaint is that it's difficult to change tracks when in the stopwatch mode since you need to switch back to the player mode. However, switching tracks while running isn't exactly easy either.
Cheers
96 Not perfect, but good.
Actual rating is probably 3.5
I've had this player for almost 1 year. I also invested in a 256K expansion card. The included software is questionable but I use Windows Media Player which works seamlessly with the unit. (must get software patch from Microsoft). I think that a lot of the negative comments are due to lack of reading the manual (eg: controls lock/unlock via pressing two buttons on unit, not by navigating 10 menu screens).
To use the media player either requires having your songs in WMA format or waiting for the software to convert your MP3's to WMA. (it does not permanently convert them but does so as they are transferred to the unit).
The complaints about the earphones are valid. I did not like them but some reviewers did. This is a personal thing and you should be prepared to by separate headphones that suit you.
The sound is great and the FM radio works OK (although I find that I do not use this feature much).
There were a few glitches but nothing that couldn't be worked through. This, like many computer accessories, is not like a toaster that you can just plug in and expect to work. If you are tech challenged, by a cd player.
97 Poor attempt at a sports worthy mp3 player.
I bought one at Costco, and ended up returning it (thanks to their excellent return policy). Here are my thoughts:
1) It's pricey, and for the money the included headphones do not fit well, and fall off in sports activities.
2) The battery life is very short.
3) The clock/date resets when you change batteries!
4) The controls are very easy to accidentally hit in sports activity.
5) No crossfading of songs
6) The FM radio is difficult to use, and has poor reception.
And finally,
7) It may look rugged, but despite the fact that it is even in a padded belt clip, falling just 3 feet onto a carpeted floor made it break. Not very good for sports, eh?
In short, I cannot recommend this unit for it's intended purpose of a sports mp3 player.
A
98 Don't Buy this
I bought this rio player and within 2 months the belt clip broke. I have logged tickets,called and emailed Rio 6 times but no one will send me a new belt clip. This is a big pain if you like to use it for sports.
Speaking of sports. If you want to put it into hold mode you have to navigate through like 10 menu's to get to it.
Save up and buy an ipod this is junk.
99 a great product
This is my first MP3 player. I bought it after doing a fair amount of research. After seeing all of the gripes about all of the brands I was worried I'd be throwing away $130 and my expectations weren't high. However, I'm extremely pleased with this model. I wanted an MP3 player for running and working out at the gym. The Rio S35S is the right size/weight and the belt clip/plastic holder works perfectly. (I don't understand why any MP3 player would be made without a belt clip but plenty of expensive models don't have one!) I found the whole set-up process very intuitive and didn't have to read the instructions/manual much at all. The FM radio works fine - in fact, the reception is better than the Sony sport radio I used before. I think this Rio model is great value for the money. I wouldn't want to spend more than $130 for something like this, and 128K memory is definitely enough for gym workouts, esp. if you use the Windows Media Player format.
100 The Greatest
This is the perfect MP3 player. Lightweight and small, with a solid belt clip/case. A lot of info on the screen, no need to scroll back and forth. I use Real Player to manage my songs, and it loads to this unit like magic. Great battery life, too.
I am a distance runner, and sometimes I use the arm band, sometimes I clip it to my belt, and often I just stick it in the pocket of my running shorts. All ways are easy, and going from one to the next is no problem.
Stopwatch and clock are handy, too.
I have had numerous other portable players before this one. Believe me, you will not be sorry you bought this unit.
