In 1998, Rio introduced the Rio PMP300, the second portable consumer MP3 digital audio player. This development made them the first pioneer in portable digital audio in 1998, with a goal of "putting the most effective technology in the hands of the people". The first MP3 portable player was actually developed my SaeHan Information Systems in Seoul, Korea - imported by Eiger Labs, Inc. Its development, the MPMan, measured at 97 mm tall by 70 mm wide, by 16.5 mm thick, while weighing 2 ounces. The MPMan did not become successful, due to the rapid rise of the Rio PMP300, which was developed soon afterward.
With a size of 3.5" x 2.5" x .625" thick, the Rio PMP300 was black with an LCD screen, and a circular pad with control buttons. These controls were used for moving the tracks forward and backward, repeat, random play - with four preset equalizer settings. There were no artist or title information on the screen, but it did display the track number played. This MP3 player supported MP2 and MP3 format audio files. When made, it shipped with 32 Mbytes of internal memory with a SmartMedia slot, where its users could add more memory of one more 32Mbytes card. This $200 device was powered by a single AA battery for eight to twelve hours of playback time.
What Rio was most known for was the paving the way for the development of the MP3 portable player market for the average mainstream. Without the resources to compete with the main portable players, Apple, Philips, and Creative - Rio went the route of competing to be the leader in the compact, durable player. When the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit against them in October 198, claiming the MP3 player violated the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act, the road was wide open when the three judge panel ruled in favor of Diamond Rio's development. Rio is owned by the Japanese firm, D&M Holdings, who in August 2005, said they would discontinue making MP3 players for business reasons, and moving into another direction.
The Rio Forge Sport line flash players sets the tone for the athletic at heart, who like to play hard with the same caliber of music listening. Offering them three different sizes, 128MB, 256MB, and 512MB players, the Forge Sport Players are built with shock absorbing technology, FM tuner, up to 20 hours of battery life, sport clip earphones, and a stopwatch. The use no moving parts, and stays solid while your body is moving along at a speedy run. If you spend a decent amount of time at the gym you've no doubt seen these small players attached to someone's upper arm in a dead sprint.
The Rio Carbon hard drive players, 5GB and 6GB, are as big as Rio goes in reference to disk space, though the size of the player itself can rival the iPod Mini. With a built-in microphone for voice recordings, you can record important messages to yourself in the 20 hours of battery life you have to use on a single charge- which can be done through USB or a power adapter. If you don't have a massive music collection to store or just want to have enough space to hold a particular genre, this player has more than enough space to accomplish the task. Some Rio problems of concern are the "jog wheel" and center pad, which seem to cause a good amount of grief as they are not built for maximum durability and become fractured or just plain break in a relatively short amount of time. Another problem for the Rio product that seems to be a problem with several different brands of MP3 players, is difficulty with the battery. It does have strong life when charged and ready to use, but when it goes out it is not replaceable, meaning you must purchase a new player. The battery is supposed to last two to three years, but in many cases it faults in a matter of months leaving the user out in the cold.
An MP3 player is a small, portable device that can play audio files and also store non-audio files in an organized manner. There are two ways you can listen to music stored on a portable audio device; attach a pair of earphones to listen to music in private or you can plug it to external speakers so you and others can listen to music together.
Main Types of MP3 Players
MP3 players come in variety of types, but the three main types of MP3 players are memory flash, hard drive based MP3 players, and MP3 CD players.
Flash based MP3 players have a built in flash memory chip. These MP3 players are small, making them extremely portable. The memory in these MP3 players ranges from 32MB to 2GB. Flash based MP3 players are priced according to their storage capacity. The popular brands of flash based MP3 players today include Creative Muvo, Apple iPod Shuffle, and iRiver iFP.
If you'd like to be able to store thousands of music, go with the hard drive based MP3 players. These MP3 players come with a 1.8-inch hard disk drive, which can store up to 10GB of audio files. However, if you intend to use an MP3 player while you exercise at the gym or engage in some other physical activity, you're better off with a flash based MP3 player. Hard drive based MP3 players are not recommended for use during physical activities since they have moving parts like the hard disk, which could get damaged when they are jogged or jarred. the Apple iPod is one of the top selling MP3 players with a hard drive.
Micro MP3 players tend to be the hot items today. These MP3 players have micro hard drives; these smaller hard drives still hold more than flash based MP3 players, usually between 4GB to 5GB. Micro MP3 players, because of their small hard drive, tend to be more compact. The Rio Carbon, Apple iPod Mini and Creative Zen Micro are three of the popular micro MP3 players today.
Finally, the MP3 CD players look like regular CD players. You can store up to 150 MP3 files in a disk and play it on a CD-MP3 player. These MP3 players are typically large, so they aren't as handy and portable as the other types of MP3 players.
MP3 Player Features You Should Consider Before Buying
* Storage Capacity
If you only want to store a few songs at any given time, you'll get by with a flash based MP3 player. However, if you're a heavy music listener and you want to be able to store a huge collection of songs, go with an MP3 player with a built in hard disk. If 10GB storage space is still not enough for you, there are MP3 players that come with expansion slots so you can add more storage capacity.
* Size
If you want to be able to listen to music while you travel, exercise at the gym or engage in other physical activities, go with small, compact MP3 player, preferably one that is flash based or has a micro hard drive.
* Connectivity
You want an MP3 player that offers good computer connectivity so you can transfer music from your computer to your MP3 player easily and quickly. Go with an MP3 player that is compatible with high-speed USB transfers.
* Battery Life
You want an MP3 player that whose battery life lasts for several hours, especially when you're traveling or when you're in places where you can't easily recharge batteries. Some flash based MP3 players have AAA battery support in addition to the internal battery. MP3 players with a hard disk typically support rechargeable lithium batteries.
* Files Supported
Check the specifications of any MP3 player you are considering for purchase. You want an MP3 player that supports as many music files as possible, including WMA and OGG Vorbis.
* Additional Features
There are MP3 players with FM tuner and recorder built in, if these features you want or need.
* Your Budget
Of course, when you're shopping for an MP3 player, you'll also need to consider your budget. It pays to do a price comparison of the different MP3 players. Narrow your choices to three or four MP3 players whose prices fall within your budget.
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