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SONICblue Rio Carbon

SONICblue Rio Carbon
SONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio CarbonSONICblue Rio Carbon
alaScore 87

805 reviews

Apr, 2024

alaTest has collected and analyzed 805 reviews of SONICblue Rio Carbon. The average rating for this product is 3.6/5, compared to an average rating of 3.9/5 for other products in the same category for all reviews. People really like the portability and price. The sound and design also get good reviews. Many are critical about the reliability. Comments about the connectivity and durability are different.

usability, design, sound, price, portability

reliability

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other products in the same category the SONICblue Rio Carbon is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 87/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 805 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (34% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (30% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (10% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews   (9% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews   (17% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

usability
  Show positive (82%)Show negative (18%)(Show all)
design
  Show positive (94%)Show negative (6%)(Show all)
sound
  Show positive (87%)Show negative (13%)(Show all)
price
  Show positive (81%)Show negative (19%)(Show all)
portability
  Show positive (72%)Show negative (28%)(Show all)
size
  Show positive (90%)Show negative (10%)(Show all)
performance
  Show positive (78%)Show negative (22%)(Show all)
reliability
  Show positive (27%)Show negative (73%)(Show all)
battery
  Show positive (80%)Show negative (20%)(Show all)
durability
  Show positive (48%)Show negative (52%)(Show all)
storage
  Show positive (95%)Show negative (5%)(Show all)
headphones
  Show positive (69%)Show negative (31%)(Show all)
connectivity
  Show positive (50%)Show negative (50%)(Show all)
memory
  Show positive (100%)None yet(Show all)
More features

Showing 743 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

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Showing 1 - 617 of 743 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (62)

Consumer review (amazon.co.uk)

Amazon.co.uk review summary for SONICblue Rio Carbon

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 63 user reviews of SONICblue Rio Carbon from Amazon.co.uk. The average user rating for this product is 4.1/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other products in the same category on Amazon.co.uk. Reviewers really like the price and portability. The sound and design are also mentioned favorably, but some have doubts about the reliability.

usability, design, sound, portability, price

reliability

86% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

Apr, 2024

Consumer review (amazon.com)

Amazon.com review summary for SONICblue Rio Carbon

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 544 user reviews of SONICblue Rio Carbon from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 3.3/5, compared to an average user rating of 3.8/5 for other products in the same category on Amazon.com. People really like the portability and sound. The price and design are also mentioned favorably. Some have doubts about the reliability. Reviews are divided on the durability.

usability, design, price, sound, portability

reliability

67% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Apr, 2024

Expert review by : Peter Rojas (engadget.com)

Taking a look at the Rio Carbon

 

Yeah, PC World has a review of it too, but what we're really digging is AV Watch's take on the new 5GB Rio Carbon that shows it side-by-side with Creative's 4GB Nomad MuVo² (the one on the left) and the iPod mini (the one on the right if this is your...

Sep, 2004
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Expert review by : Bill Machrone (pcmag.com)

Rio Carbon Pearl

 

The Rio Carbon Pearl is a music player that looks as good as it sounds, with excellent audio performance and slim design.

Great sonic performance, slender styling, pleasing ergonomics. Charges from USB.

Minor menu-navigation irritations.

More digital music player reviews:• Apple iPod touch (2015)• Apple iPod touch (2014)• Apple iPod touch (2013)• PlayMG MG• Iriver Astell & Kern AK100• more

Jun, 2005
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Expert review by : James Kim (cnet.com)

Performance

 

Rio Carbon Pearl

Small, slim, and sleek; excellent battery life; strong sound quality; solid value; nimble navigation; bookmarking feature; Janus compatible.

No FM tuner; no physical hold switch; no on-the-fly playlists; battery not removable.

The Rio Carbon Pearl largely lives up to the hype. This mini hard drive player has a great design, an excellent interface, and Energizer-like battery life.

Jun, 2005
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Expert review by : Tom Mainelli (pcworld.com)

Rio Carbon

 

Among 5GB players, Rio's unit is no carbon copy.

Impressive 5GB player looks great and works even better.

Apr, 2005
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Expert review by : Bill Machrone (pcmag.com)

Rio Carbon

 

The Rio Carbon won't disappoint. If you want a gigabyte more storage in your music player for the same money as the Apple unit, give the Carbon a look.

Sleek 5GB player with great sound and ergonomics. Supports Audible audio books and includes extras such as a stopwatch and voice recorder. Exceptional battery life.

Static sound with some headphones. Won?t play WMA lossless format. Carrying case protects well but covers controls; no belt clip. Minor menu navigation irritations.

More digital music player reviews:• Apple iPod touch (2015)• Apple iPod touch (2014)• Apple iPod touch (2013)• PlayMG MG• Iriver Astell & Kern AK100• more

Oct, 2004
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Expert review by : James Kim (cnet.com)

Rio Carbon (5GB review

 

Digital Networks continues its assault on the MP3 player market with the release of the 5GB Rio Carbon MP3 player. Attempting to steal some of the Apple iPod Mini's thunder, the stylish Carbon packs an additional gigabyte of storage into its polished,...

Small, slim, and sleek; excellent battery life; strong sound quality; solid value; nimble navigation; Janus-compatible.

No FM tuner; no physical Hold switch; no on-the-fly playlists; weak carrying case.

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.

Sep, 2004
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Expert review by : Austin Vaughan (dapreview.net)

An in-depth look at the best alternative to iPod Mini

 

Posted 09-18-2004 (pics 1) Introduction Rio's newest toy is the Carbon, a 5gb mini-player like the iPod Mini. It doesn't have the advanced features that Rio developed for Karma (1), capacity is limited, and at $250 you can get a full-featured player - lik

In case it hasn't been posted yet..

May, 2005
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Expert review by : Robert Irvine (webuser.co.uk)

Rio Carbon

 

Whereas most medium-capacity players ape the rectangular shape of the iPod Mini, the Rio Carbon has a sleek, stylish design all of its own. While it doesn't come in a variety of colours, its lightweight, shiny silver body looks fantastic.

The player's menu system is very straightforward to use, with a thumbwheel to help you navigate tracks quickly.

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Expert review by (lordpercy.com)

Rio Carbon

 

The slayer of the Ipod Mini, Rio have another winner on their hands it's better all round and still very stylish to boot.

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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Excellent player

 

I receive this as a Father's Day gift. Oh man what a gift!!!! This is a great little player and easily stores all my music. I've seen and heard other players, but this is by far the best player for the price/value. I highly recommend this to anyone who...

Jun, 2005
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Price comparison for SONICblue Rio Carbon

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