
Rio Rio Nitrus MP3 Player (Sonic Blue-90260465)
| Ease of use | Good |
| Capacity | 1.5GB |
| Interface | USB 2.0 |
| Audio formats | MP3, WMA |
| Box contents | USB cable |
| Extra features | n/a |
| Software | Rio Music Manager software |

Rio Nitrus
Rio Nitrus MP3 Player (Sonic Blue-90260465) Review, by Alexandra Krasne October 31, 2003
Smaller and lighter than typical hard-drive MP3 players, Rio's skinny 2-ounce Nitrus fits easily in a palm or shirt pocket. Like most hard-drive units, the 1.5GB Rio is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery. (An AC adapter is included for recharging.) Music sounded clear through the included Sennheiser MX300 earpiece headphones, with great bass and high volume.
Situated below the easy-to-read, small backlit LCD, the player's red, five-way joystick button advances through songs, pauses, and stops, plus it scrolls through menu items. A scroll wheel on the side is another navigational tool.
Transfer speeds over the unit's USB 2.0 interface were slow compared with those of larger-capacity hard-drive players; it took about 3 minutes to transfer approximately 60MB. As a result of the player's small size, the screen shows just ten characters, and artist and song names longer than that must scroll across.
But the Nitrus is pricey for its capacity and functionality. At $300, it costs $200 per gigabyte, whereas the 30GB Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen works out to $10 per gigabyte, and the 20GB Apple IPod at $400 translates to $20 per gigabyte. Unless you really need a small package (3 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches), this player isn't a great deal.
Installation is simple enough to perform without instructions, but should you need assistance the clear documentation guides you through setup. Rio's Music Manager software--bundled with the player--searches your hard drive for music and puts whatever it finds into the software's Music Library. Once music is in the Library, you can select tracks or albums to transfer from PC to player. The software also rips your CDs into Ogg Vorbis, Windows Media, or FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) formats, but can encode your music into MP3s only with a premium upgrade, which costs $10. But plenty of free programs can convert CDs to MP3.
Upshot: The 1.5GB Nitrus is among the smallest hard-drive-based players around, but you'll pay a premium for its size.
Alexandra Krasne
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Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: popz74
Strengths: price, size, and ease of controls.
Weaknesses: The earbuds that came with are awful, but I purchased a pair that I like. The battery is a little wierd about keeping its charge if you shut if off for a while.
Overall: I have had mine for over a year. I have used it to run, work in the yard, and I take it to work everyday. So, I have used this rio almost everyday and I have had no problems with it. I have not dropped, kicked, or abused it in any way and it has been well worth the money I paid for it. I am looking at buying another for my wife. No one can beat the price even after a year has passed. Good job Rio.
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Reviewed by: bobxombie
Strengths: looks nice, but thats about it.
Weaknesses: Very Faulty Hardware. I have gone through two of these things. dont buy one.
Overall: I had many prolems with the my first nitrus before it finally just stopped working. which was about a week away from the end of the 90 day warranty. They sent me another one, which only lasted about a month, until it started showing problems, then finally just stopped working again. Waste of $160 dollars. Wondering how a company could keep this product on the shelves. Rio should be taken out of besiness, and their products should be burnt on a stake!
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Reviewed by: twdd83
Strengths: SMALL, GOOD SPACE FOR MONEY PAYED,, LIGHT,,,THTS ABOUT IT
Weaknesses: bOUT EVERYTHING,, i AM IN THE GYM AND IT FALLS OUT OF MY POCKET AND FALLS ONTO A CARPETED FLOOR,,, ASUMING NOTHINGS WRONG I GO HOME ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THE RIO PLAYER DONT WORK,,, WOW ,,, DONT BUY I
Overall: pLEASE DO NTO BUY THIS PRODUCT,,, CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPEL DONT SPEAK ENGLISH I TRY TO ASK THEM HOW MANY SONGS THIS PRODUCT HOLDS AND SERIOUSLY THEY SAY
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Reviewed by: Sglb1895
Strengths: Size: Fits in pocketand everything else!!!
Weaknesses: none so far!!!
Overall: This Audio player can hold up to 750 songs! I usually see the price at $150.00 or more. I looked around and at JR.com I found it for $110.00 + $5.00 S&H so it was only $115.00! I love it!
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Reviewed by: fiveseven
Strengths: GOOD SOUND QUALITY. I ALSO LIKE THE EQ
Weaknesses: THE LED IS HARD TO READ, IT IS TO SMALL. IT HAS NO BELT CLIP, THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE TO VAGUE, I HAD TO CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE ONE TIME, WITH SUCCESS I GOT MY QUESTIONS.
Overall: I GOT THE NITRUS LAST YEAR AND HAVE HAD A REAL GOOD SUCCESS WITH IT. I GOT MY OWN HEADPHONES AND THE SOUND IS GREAT. I CAN LOAD OVER 350 SONGS. IT HAS A EQUALIZER AND A VERY GOOD PLAYLIST PROGRAM. IT DISPLAYS THE NAME OF THE SONG AND ARTIST.
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