Rio launches five new MP3 players
By Eliot Van Buskirk(August 12, 2003)
Emerging from Sonicblue's bankruptcy, Rio, now a subsidiary of D&M Holdings, recently announced five new MP3 players with a wide range of capacities and designs, including a true iPod competitor and the first MP3 player to hit the market that takes advantage of the new inch-wide 1.5GB hard drive. Those models, plus three flash players, will all be available within the next month, along with the supercharged Rio Music Manager 2.0 music-organization software, which is backward compatible with older players. Size up the new Rios using the chart below, and find out whether you should preorder one today.
| Availability |
Model name |
Price |
The scoop |
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| August 27, 2003 |
Rio Cali Sport (128MB or 256MB) |
Building on the appeal of last year's popular S35S, Rio is once again targeting the fitness enthusiast with the Cali Sport. This model has a rubberized exterior and a compact, spherical, rugged design that can weather whatever rough treatment you might inadvertently dish out. An armband, a stopwatch, a lap timer, and an FM tuner round out the equation and make the Cali Sport a great gym companion. The unit comes in two capacities (128MB for $169, or 256MB for $199), and its memory can be expanded using SD or MMC media. Specs: 128MB or 256MB capacity; 2.5 by 2.6 by 0.8 inches; 1 ounce; USB 1.1; expansion slot for SD/MMC media; five-band equalizer; FM tuner; 18-hour battery life from one AAA battery |
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| August 20, 2003 |
Rio Chiba (128MB or 256MB) |
While less groundbreaking than Rio's hard-drive based players, the flash-based Chiba features FM reception and an SD (Secure Digital) expansion slot for adding up to 512MB of memory. The Chiba comes in two capacities: 128MB for $169 (with a white front), or 256MB for $199 (with a black front). Specs: 128MB or 256MB capacity; 2.7 by 2.4 by 0.8 inches; 1.8 ounces; 18-hour battery life from one AAA battery; FM tuner; five-band equalizer; USB 1.1; expansion slot for SD or MMC media; Windows/Mac/Linux |
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| August 7, 2003 |
Rio Fuse |
With the $129 Fuse, Rio enters the growing market for small flash players that plug directly into any USB port, obviating the need for a USB cable. Unlike its less expensive competition, the MP3/WMA-compatible Fuse features an LCD so that you can read song information and alter EQ and random/repeat settings. And like the rest of Rio's new line, it connects to multiple computers, so it's perfect for ferrying data files between home, work, and school. Specs: 128MB capacity; 3.5 by 1.5 by 0.7 inches; direct USB connection; 18-hour battery life from one AAA battery; Windows/Mac/Linux |
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| September 1, 2003 |
Rio Karma (20GB) |
This $399 player has a 20GB hard drive, like many of the other hard drive-based players out there. What makes it stand out from the crowd is its compact, cubic design. While thicker and slightly wider than the iPod, it's more than an inch shorter in length and can connect to an Ethernet network to act as a digital audio receiver. It's also the first MP3 player to support two burgeoning open source codecs: Ogg Vorbis and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), the latter of which sounds as good as an uncompressed WAV file. Audiophiles and power users will eat these features up when the player ships on September 1. Specs: 20GB capacity; 2.7 by 3.0 by 0.9 inches; 5.5 ounces; 15-hour rechargeable battery life; USB 2.0/1.1; Ethernet port; line-out port; docking station; five-band parametric EQ; MP3/WMA/OGG/FLAC codecs supported; Windows only |
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| August 27, 2003 |
Rio Nitrus (1.5GB) |
The $299 Rio Nitrus is one of a new breed of MP3 player; its 1.5GB capacity sits between that of flash players, which typically hold 512MB of music or less, and hard drive-based players, which (until now) have had capacities of 5GB or more. While it can't hold 7,000 songs, the Nitrus is smaller and lighter than any other hard drive-based player released to date and provides ample storage for hundreds of tunes. Specs: 1.5GB capacity; 3 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches; 2 ounces; MP3/WMA compatibility; five-band equalizer; 16-hour rechargeable battery life; USB 2.0/1.1 |
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