Save up to $300/year on phone billsRio Carbon (5GB, Silver)
Manufacturer: Digital Networks Part number: 90260554
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Carbon largely lives up to the hype. This mini hard drive player has a great design, an excellent interface, and Energizer-like battery life.
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Where to buy
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as of 11/21/2008 |
CNET editors' review
Rio Carbon (5GB, Silver)
price range: $189.99
- Reviewed by: James Kim
- Edited by: Jasmine France
- Reviewed on: 09/15/2004
- Released on: 08/02/2004
The good: Small, slim, and sleek; excellent battery life; strong sound quality; solid value; nimble navigation; Janus-compatible.
The bad: No FM tuner; no physical Hold switch; no on-the-fly playlists; weak carrying case.
The bottom line: The Carbon largely lives up to the hype. This mini hard drive player has a great design, an excellent interface, and Energizer-like battery life.
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.
User reviews
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Excellent player with severe engineering weakness. Probably the best hard drive Audible player.
by Feister Meister on June 22, 2005
Pros: Very good sound quality with better headphones. Nice form factor. Great battery life. Easy and fast uploading. Bookmarking. Hold function available through menus.
Cons: Playlist creation not possible. Scroll wheel delicacy. Lousy support.
Summary: I purchased this unit for the express purpose of listening to Audible books. I also have a 3G 20GB iPod which lacks bookmarking and has terrible battery life. The Carbon ...
Summary: I purchased this unit for the express purpose of listening to Audible books. I also have a 3G 20GB iPod which lacks bookmarking and has terrible battery life. The Carbon has excellent battery life, bookmarking, and, after a fashion, the ability to put the controls on hold (System, lock mode, in menus). It does however suffer from a fatal flaw: the scroll wheel. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT buy this unit without an extended warranty. Niney-five days after I purchased it, it slipped off my knee while I was sitting in a chair putting my earbuds in, and fell to the CARPET. I picked it up to find the scroll wheel pushed in and the volume/unit inoperable. Cost to repair: $149 with a 30 day warranty(you can buy a new one for that) and get an extended warranty. I should have heeded other reviewers advice. It is a shame that the firmware does not allow for volume changes using the other controls.
27 out of 28 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A player that finally does exactly what I want
by Mindtitan on June 8, 2005
Pros: Drag and drop, the thing is tiny and light, battery power, great price
Cons: No FM Tuner
Summary: These days it seems almost impossible to find a player that doesn't need some kind of special software to load music onto it. Finally, I've got one. You ...
Summary: These days it seems almost impossible to find a player that doesn't need some kind of special software to load music onto it. Finally, I've got one. You just plug this little guy into your USB port, and it shows up as a drive on your machine. NO DRIVERS REQUIRED! This also means that you can use the player as flash drive for storing data files, with no pesky partitions to create ala the Zen Micro.
Unlike the Zen Micro or the iPod, when you drag and drop music files onto the Carbon, they are recognized as music files and not data. In other words, you can immediately start listening to that music. No iTunes or Windows Media Player 10 or any other program to get your MP3 files to, you know, play on your MP3 player. When you unplug the Carbon after you've copied some songs onto it, it takes a few seconds (about 60 for me when I transfered 2gigs of MP3s) for it to read all the ID3 tags. Then, you're good to go. You can listen to songs by artist, genre, album, etc.
I'm a big fan of just dumping alot of music onto a player then listening to all of them, shuffled. For me, the player is completely perfect. However I know not everyone listens to music in that way, and in that case you will have a problem. The player does not allow you to build playlists on the fly. However if playlists are your thing, the included Rio software does allow you to create playlists.
Size is also an important factor, and the player scores high here. It is thin. I mean, REALLY thin, maybe half an inch or so. It is rounded, streamlined and frankly, it's just amazing that Rio fit as much as they did into this beatiful little package. I also love the small touches- the red backlighting for the small control pad on the front of the unit and the Rio logo at the top, and how the backlit menu slowly goes dim when not in use. Just great quality-of-life touches.
I would've really liked an FM Tuner on this little fella, but it wasn't a deal breaker. Considering the price and the versatility of the player, I can manage without it.
For those of you who are having problems with Rio's customer support, I strongly suggest buying a unit from Best Buy. They have 2 year replacement warranties that let you trade the player in for its full value and allow you to purchase ANY player with that credit, not just the same unit. If my Carbon keeps making me this happy though, I don't see why I would want another player.22 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Just one or two downsides
by enazni on March 24, 2005
Pros: Ecellent sleek design, cool backlight and red lights, overall good player.
Cons: Some menu problems, takes awhile to start up.
Summary: The only downsides of the Rio Carbon are a dew problems with its interface. First of all, it takes about 15 seconds to start up, but thats no big deal. ...
Summary: The only downsides of the Rio Carbon are a dew problems with its interface. First of all, it takes about 15 seconds to start up, but thats no big deal. The main thing that bothered me is that when you are viewing artists and you select an artist, you can't see all the songs you have of that artist in one list, you can only see what songs you have on each album by them. Also there is no FM radio, but I'm not really bothered by that. The Rio comes in a nice carrying case, but in the carrying case all but two buttons are concealed, so if you really want to you might want to cut some holes so the screen and other buttons are accesible. The Rio works with itunes if you download the plugin off rioaudio.com, but if you use that all of your genres might not show up on the rio, or it might just be my itunes. But thats no big deal because most people usually select their music through album or artist, not genre. OVerall, I think that besides the few problems with the menu, the carbon is a very solid player.
14 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A very good player
by jefftittor on April 24, 2005
Pros: Ease of use, good sound, inexpensive, durable
Cons: Lousy case, not so great earbuds included, no on the fly playlists
Summary: I have owned this player for over two weeks now (unlike many of the ipod owners who just write reviews to slam non ipods).
In that time I have had ...Summary: I have owned this player for over two weeks now (unlike many of the ipod owners who just write reviews to slam non ipods).
In that time I have had a chance to fully work through this product.
First off, buy a third party case and set of earphones. Toss the ones included.
Secondly, this player can handle MP3's and WMA's encoded at up to 320kbps. After being told time and again it couldnt, I tried for myself and have had no issues.
The static issue you may read about in older reviews is fixed in all new units (units with Serial numbers at or above 52).
I really enjoy this player. I wish it had the ability to do on the fly playlists, aside from that I have no gripes. You can set it to random, select by gener, artist, year, etc... and it will play through only those songs if you choose. Anyhow, who knows, maybe a future firmware update will enable it.
It is able to survive workouts, has survived two drops off my desk at work with no issues. Still, opt for the extended warrenty wherever you buy it. Its worth it on ANY hard drive based mp3 player, just in case.
It is not yet compatable with Napster to go fyi (their website says its upcoming in firmware updates). Best Buy sold me on this player by telling me it was. Still, I am so happy with this player so far that I dont care at the moment.
If you are not the proud owner of 500 cd's worth of music, then I highly suggest this player.
It is small, durable, nice looking, easy to use and the battery life is pretty good. All in all... good stuff.10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A Good Player, But Some Problems
by RockMancuso on March 20, 2005
Pros: Small, sleek design, cool screen, good software, very cheap
Cons: Hard to navigate, bad UI, bad carrying case, sometimes slow and sluggish
Summary: I recieved my Rio Carbon about two weeks ago, after doing a lot of research. I initially decided on the Creative Zen Micro, but then saw how cheap the Carbon ...
Summary: I recieved my Rio Carbon about two weeks ago, after doing a lot of research. I initially decided on the Creative Zen Micro, but then saw how cheap the Carbon was and decided to go with it.
When I got it, I liked it, but as I started to use it more I discovered the numerous problems with it. First of all, the navigation is very quirky on this player. It is very annoying that whenever, for example, I select a song, and then right after I start that song want to select another one. When I hit the back button to go back a step, it takes me all the way back to the main menu, so I have to find where I was again.
This may not seem annoying, but it really is when you use the player. An annoying quirk about the UI is: if you select a song, a single song (on an album for example) and you want to go to the next song, clicking the forward or reverse buttons just restart the song, because the player thinks that the only song you wanted to listen to is that one, if that makes any sense.
This isn't very annoying, but after a while it gets to you. On this player, it is also hard to scroll through long lists of songs, and sometimes the menu navigation seems sluggish.
But there are not all bad things about this player. It looks great, with red backlights behind the buttons and its very small and sleek body. It's a very easy player to use, which could be good for people new to the MP3 market.
The screen is backlit by a cool white light, which makes it easy to read. The software for the Carbon is also good and easy to use.
But for me, the biggest pro to this product is how cheap it is. I got mine at Comp-U-Plus for $158 w/shipping after rebate.
The Rio Carbon is a good player, but its navigation quirks and lack of features have led me to return it for a Creative Zen Micro, which I love. But hey, you get what you pay for.7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I'm Retuning My Rio Carbon
Pros: a cute device, it's tiny, light weight, tons of play time
Cons: STATIC! This audible ready device has minute pauses or quiet clicks very consistently when listening to audible, using their cheap head phones. Using 3rd party headphones you won't hear much through the noise. Rio ready admits this problem when you call t
6 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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8 Months and NO PROBLEMS
by theusedfan on July 30, 2005
Pros: The Look, The Taste, The Software, EVERYTHING
Cons: ummmmm.....NOTHING!!!!
Summary: Okay so I purchased My Rio Carbon about 8 months ago, and guess what, not a single problem. I have a whole bunch of friends who spent a fortune on ...
Summary: Okay so I purchased My Rio Carbon about 8 months ago, and guess what, not a single problem. I have a whole bunch of friends who spent a fortune on their iPods and they are having problems after about two weeks. I use my Rio about ten hours a day, I listen to bands like, "The Used", "Hawthorne Heights", "The Game", "50 Cent", "AFI", and a whole bunch of sceamo, and rap. And guess what, the sound is crisp, beautiful and lacks nothing. The detail of the interface on the Rio Carbon is fantastic, the Play Music options are amazing, you can play by Artist, Album, Track, Genre, Year, when you put it on your Rio. It is an iPod destroyer as I like to call it. And don't even get me started on the battery life, it's mind blowing, I fall asleep with my Rio on all the time, and when i wake up ten hours later it still has half battery life left. It's crazy!!! I bought a Premium Case for it too, just a week ago, but surprisingly it didn't have a scratch on it anyway. The thing is totally scratch proof, and I have put the thing through a lot of sports and working out. And Rio's Music Manager is very easy to use. I would recommend buying this rather than an iPod.
5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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IT DOES HAVE HOLD!!!
by Thizz on March 6, 2005
Pros: Many a lot more than ipods
Cons: Few to none
Summary: I have been using my rio carbon and i have to say it is amazing. The battery life simply blows the ipod mini out of the water. And people have ...
Summary: I have been using my rio carbon and i have to say it is amazing. The battery life simply blows the ipod mini out of the water. And people have been complaining about no hold button. All that is required is to hold the menu button then press the center button... that simple DON'T GET AN IPOD ITS A WASTE OF YOUR MONEY.
7 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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IPOD mini is ok, but this blows it away, at $50 less.
by mrcrazybread on May 14, 2005
Pros: 1GB more memory.maller design(fits comfortably into my wallet) than ipod mini, WMA compatibility(if you rip cd's using windows media player, I think you want this). Voice recorder(not in ipod).
Cons: back gets scratched up easily, slightly smaller screen. no hold button.useless case ----NONE OF THOSE THINGS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Summary: I bought this because it was $50 less than ipod mini, and it held more, better battery life, and i can take it everywhere i go. Even if this was ...
Summary: I bought this because it was $50 less than ipod mini, and it held more, better battery life, and i can take it everywhere i go. Even if this was the same price as Ipod mini, i would STILL buy it. The only thing better than this in the 'mini' category is the Creative Zen Micro, wich is another great choice(it's just $50 more than this). I screwed up my headphones by twisting the cord, they had decent sound, they are just as good as ipod headphones(not as cool looking, but still). WMA playback is a
BIG thing for me, it also means that you can hold more songs because WMA takes up less space. I don't hate the IPOD, when you buy one, you are paying for the name, and the simplicity of it(not that this ins't simple also). The user interface is very good and the side scrolling wheel lets me do what i want just as fast as the cool wheel on the ipod. I am able to keep this thing in my WALLET, that of course won't work for most people, but for me it's almost unnoticable in the pocket.The screen is smaller on this, but it is ALWAYS very easy to read, so that doesn't matter. The back of it scratches just by being in my pocket(doesn't matter either). No hold button(but i've never needed it, you can still lock the keys like a cell phone). I've dropped it like 15 times after a month and it's fine. Twice, i had it plugged into the computer, i was trying to transfer music, play music, play video's , and play games, and convert audio files,, all at the same time,,, and i had to reset the player because my computer froze. This player also looks very sleek. I'm not saying that IPOD isn't a good/ok choice, but i am saying that this is a better one.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Slim, fit and handsome with a few shortcomings
by avaker on June 10, 2005
Pros: Unobtrusive look, simple connection to PC, lightening uploads, cool smooth dimming
Cons: Three main cons: 1. No physical hold switch, 2. No playlist creation on the device, 3. Special adapter needed for car cassette adapters or other 1/8" jacks which make static.
Summary: I'm on my honeymoon with my RIO since I just got it yesterday!(Took a chance on a used unit on E-bay; purchased for $82.00) What a bargain! ...
Summary: I'm on my honeymoon with my RIO since I just got it yesterday!(Took a chance on a used unit on E-bay; purchased for $82.00) What a bargain! Anxiously plugging it into my computer, it took no more than 3 minutes to begin loading up 34 albums. It left it and came back in 15 minutes and it was done. I left it to charge on the USB cable for 4 hours and have been using it for about 7 hours since then. The power bar still indicates 1/2 power. Great! Sound is good, but not outstanding. I'm waiting for my soundman to bring my Shure's over to see the difference with $100 in ear drivers.
The only other "con" that I didn't mention above is that the "artist" selection displays artists who wrote the songs, not the album artist. That's my fault for not setting up my Windows Media to do that. I have yet to check out Rio's Music Manager, which I understand is superior in setting up music for transfer to the Carbon. If you've read the reviews, you'll see the other "Cons" are no surprise. I, however, feel those are simple inconveniences that can be addressed.
I know this review is pretty early, but I'm very excited about this product.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Digital Networks
- Part number: 90260554
- Description: The Rio Carbon 5GB is the next generation compact player with power and performance. Rio Carbon 5GB is perfect for the music lover with a few hundred CDs or someone starting out their digital audio collection who wants room to grow. The ultra slim design goes anywhere, and its superb battery life of up to 20 hours continues long after mini-powered players have died. With it's built-in voice memo recorder you can quickly capture your thoughts and organize your ideas. And like all Rio players, the Rio Carbon uses simple menus and intuitive controls for easy one-handed operation. In the box with your Carbon is a USB cable for downloading music as well as battery charging from your computer. Also included is an AC power adapter and carrying case.
General
- Width 2.5 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Product type Microdrive
- Height 3.3 in
- PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB
- Weight 3.2 oz
- Flash memory installed No built-in memory
- Digital storage Built-in 5 GB Hard disk drive
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.5 in x 0.6 in x 3.3 in
- Included accessories Carrying case
- Packaged quantity 1
- Digital storage media capacity 5 GB
- Software type Drivers & Utilities, Rio Music Manager
- Digital storage media type Hard disk drive
- Digital storage media form factor Built-in
- Microsoft PlaysForSure Yes
Digital Player / Recorder
- Digital player supported digital audio standards WMA, Audible, MP3
- Digital player playback modes Playlist, All tracks repeat, One track repeat, Random play / shuffle
- Digital player edit functions Erase
- Digital player supported bit rate 8 - 320Kbps
- Digital player ID3 tags support Yes
- External hard drive function Yes
Carrying Case
- Case type Included
Video Playback Features
- Video software included Drivers & Utilities
Battery
- Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable
- Battery Enclosure Type Integrated
- Included Qty 1
- Technology Lithium
- Battery 1 x Lithium Rechargeable Player batteryIntegrated
- Mfr estimated battery life 20 hour(s)
Audio System
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Additional features Battery level indication
Cable(s) / Peripheral(s)
- Cable(s) included 1 x, USB cable -
System Requirements
- Peripheral / Interface devices USB port, CD-ROM
- Min Operating system Microsoft Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP, Apple MacOS X 10.2 or later
- Min hard drive space 35 MB
- Min processor speed 233 MHz
- Min RAM size 64 MB
Connections
- Connector type 1 x Headphones Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1 x USB, 1 x DC power input
Built-in Display
- Audio system built-in display LCD
- Backlight display Yes
- Display menu language Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Japanese
Power
- Power Supply / Device Power adapter External
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 3 month warranty
Audio Features
- Timer Stopwatch
- Built-in clock Digital clock, Timer
CD System
- Digital audio standards supported WMA, MP3
Equalizer
- Equalizer type Digital graphic
- Equalizer factory preset qty 5
- Equalizer factory presets Classic, Rock, Jazz, Pop, Trance
- Equalizer band qty 5 bands
Remote Control
- Remote control None
Microphone
- Microphone type Built-in
Headphones
- Headphones type Binaural Ear-bud
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Connectivity technology Wired
Battery / Power
- Power device type Power adapter
Manufacturer info
- Digital Networks
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Digital Networks products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/default2.asp
- Address:
2600 San Tomas Expwy, Santa Clara, CA 95051 - Phone: 866-286-3662
- Email: http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/default2.asp
