-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 72 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The good: Belt clip; FM radio; rechargeable battery; excellent user interface; expandable to 256MB; solid, rounded design.
The bad: So-so radio reception.
The bottom line: This is a good choice for people who demand reliable, pleasant performance from their electronics.
Specifications: Device type: Digital player / radio ; Flash memory installed: 128 MB ; Digital player supported digital audio standards: MP3 , WMA ; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 11/10/2002
- Updated on: 12/17/2002
 |
 When the player is in the case, it's well protected but a bit harder to use. |
At 3.1 by 2.2 by 0.8 inches and 3.2 ounces with the battery, the S50's design is understated--it sports a slightly trapezoidal shape, a dark-blue front, and rubber sides. The backlit LCD features a rounded aesthetic, with expanding text bubbles and graphical sliders that enable easy song and menu navigation via the large, round, four-way toggle button on the front. The included earbuds barely reach from your belt to your ears, but that's fine by us since we don't like wires swinging around everywhere we go. A padded, black, faux-leather case protects the S50 and attaches it firmly to your belt. Occasionally, the buttons on the player don't line up precisely with the holes on the case, but you'll still be able to operate this Rio. The case provides an extra layer of protection to the S50's already durable body.
Unlike some other MP3 players, the S50 comes with a USB cord that actually reaches from the back of a computer on the ground to the top of a desk. If you don't have a hub and must connect the USB cable directly to the back of your computer, this will save you a lot of aggravation.While the S50 has no voice recorder or PDA functionality, the FM radio, as well as the MP3 and WMA playback, provide a nice range of listening options. For all three situations, six preset EQs add bass or treble, which can also be done manually with graphical sliders. You can set a bookmark to save your spot in an MP3 or a WMA, which is great for audiobook fans. The standard repeat and shuffle features are included as well. The S50 comes with 128MB of onboard memory for digital music storage and has a MultiMedia Memory card expansion slot for increasing memory up to 256MB.
|
 The FM tuner has presets, a seek function, and manual tuning but doesn't pull in every station. |
The S50 digitally receives FM stations using a seek function, manual tuning, or six presets. Using the presets is a good idea since the seek function often stops on empty channels and manual tuning takes too long.
The included RealOne software does a fine job of encoding MP3s at bit rates up to 320Kbps--unlike the free version, which encodes MP3s at only up to 96Kbps--while the clean and simple Rio Music Manager transfers files to the device. Mac users will find that iTunes handles both functions with aplomb.
Sonicblue also includes a trial version of MoodLogic, which fixes incorrect song information in the ID3 tags of 100 MP3s before asking you to register.Sonicblue includes a rechargeable, nickel-metal-hydride battery, which can be powered via the USB connection or the included AC adapter. Battery life was just as claimed--slightly less than 20 hours using the rechargeable. Sonicblue says that you can get up to 35 hours of life on an alkaline AA battery. One caveat: Don't leave the S50's power switch in the on position, or the battery will drain. There's no autoshutdown feature--just a power-save mode that slowly sucks away juice.
 Rio Music Manager does a fine job of transferring songs onto the S50 without getting in your way. |
Through the included headphones, the S50's sound quality did not knock our socks off but was definitely acceptable. Our test headphones improved the sound, although perhaps not enough for serious audiophiles with exacting standards. Radio reception was a bit fuzzy on weaker stations, but we didn't expect perfect reception from an MP3 player.
We moved 100MB of MP3s to the S50 in exactly four minutes, which translates to a better-than-average transfer rate of 0.42MB per second.
User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 72 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
