Rio Cali (128MB)

Pros: small, lightweight

Cons: mediocre sound quality; software problems

Summary: When first bought this player, I thought it was pretty decent for the money. Ocassionally some songs would skip or cut off...but it didn't bother me so much since I only used it when I worked out.

About a year goes by. Everything is fine; it was in great condition (never dropped it, never touched water, etc). One day, I'm at the gym, I pause the music to say hello to someone, it that's when it happened. The player froze into "Upgrader" mode and would not play at all.

After reading about this problem (which many people end up having--some as soon as 4 months), I found out that you had to download a software update from the Rio website. I followed the software upgrading directions to the T. Not only did I re-install the Firmware about 6 times (once is not enough), but I even dismantled the player to see if the processor & memory boards were broken. The hardware was fine. It was definitely a software issue.

A few days later, I attempted to upload the firmware one last time and I finally got it out of "Upgrader" mode. But now, instead of that problem, the player will just randomly turn off and on repeatedly and will only stop if you remove the battery.

The bottom line: It's not worth the aggravation. By the time this error happens to your player, your warranty is up & you will have to pay Digital Networks more money to have it fixed. I've had my player for over a year. Many of the positive comments posted may not have had their player long enough for this error to happen to them YET. I do not recommend this product.