Rio Carbon Pearl (6GB)

Summary: I'm not going to say that this is the best microdrive player out there, because this is the only one I've had. That said, this is the best microdrive player out there. For those people who want something simple, along with the basic essentials, this player is for you. To clear up some of the confusion I've seen regarding the Carbon Pearl, it does indeed come with an updated carrying case that includes a belt clip (very essential for me). This new case allows you to clearly see the screen, and the case has appropriate openings with which to operate the player's functions. No, the player does not have an external hold switch. In my opinion, this is an advantage as it is one less movable part that could otherwise be susceptible to breaking. To hold, you simply hold down the menu button, then press the center button at the same time - contrary to what other people have said, this basically takes the same amount of time as it would to flip an external hold switch... and you don't have to go through the menu to do it. The player's microdrive does not skip. I've used it when lifting, and running. It doesn't even skip while I'm making my final push at the end of a run, so I definitely say it's dependable in that area. Next, I'll address the only real flaw with the player - playlist making. You can't make playlists within the Carbon. Instead you have to use the Rio Manager that comes with it, or Windows Media Player (I've used MusicMatch as well, but I prefer WMP). In fact, I strongly suggest using WMP over the Rio Manager software that comes with it because it is much easier to quickly put a playlist together. It is also advised to change the setting on file transfer mode. Simply go to settings -> transfer mode -> and then change from Auto to MSC mode. This will allow you to create your own folders as you please, instead of having all your music go to a default music folder (which is what happens in Auto, or MTP, mode). The only drawback is that in MSC mode, you can't transfer Audio Subscription tracks to the Carbon (which doesn't matter to me), but you can easily switch between the modes to take care of that problem. Lastly, the battery life is good as advertised; however, you will more than likely end up using it up before 20 hours. You will want to get the most out of the Carbon's custom equalizer, which will in turn drain battery faster. Also, you may wish to convert all of your files to 128Kbps to save drive space. I did that at first, but I found that if you transfer your music at its original bitrate, the transfer goes at least 5 times faster. I know this is very long, but I hope it's helped a lot.