July 9 - July 16

Rio 500 Digital Audio Player ( S3 ) by Alessandro Cancian One of the biggest problems I had during my latest residential move was the huge quantity of CDs accumulated over the years. Granted, theyre easy to carry, especially when accurately packed in boxes, but problematic to reorganize when their number reaches four digits. At times, it is known that CDs can be bought just for a couple of songs that satisfy ones musical taste. The advent of digital music has offered a remedy of sorts. Helped by the buzz surrounding the current most widely used compression format, MP3, digital music is going to revolutionize the world of songs. Some currently available programs allow the most loved songs to be extracted from a CD, converted to the MP3 format, and reassembled at will, thus enabling people to create their own digital collection. Childs play, and for those like me who love to make up their own sequence and listen to it over and over again, its a must. Theres no problem as long as youre sitting in front of your computer, but what can you do when you feel like taking a stroll, jogingg a little, or simply sitting in your backyard at the sound of your favourite soundtrack? Several little devices on the market today allow you to carry your music wherever you go. In the last few weeks I was able to test Diamond Multimedias latest model, i.e. Rio 500. About the size and weight of a cigarette packet, this little big Digital Audio Player was my faithful companion during the hours I spent jogging in a park near home. The Rio 500 is a walkman-like, USB-only device you plug into your Mac (iMac, G3 or G4) or PC (USB-equipped) to download MP3s and play them back on the go. Its 64 MB built-in memory is enough to provide at least one hour of music. My advice, if one can afford it, is to purchase as many Smart Media flash cards as possible, both 32 and 16 MB, that can be inserted in your Diamond Player like simple CDs. The Rio 500 comes bundled with all the software needed to convert CDs to MP3 files. PC users can utilize RioPort Audio Manager to digitize their music, while Apple fans can use SoundJam from Casady & Greene. Personally I installed both the PC and Mac versions, and although both programs run without any problem, SoundJam turned out as the easier to use, additionally giving the opportunity to convert to MP3s other file formats such as AIFF, QuickTime and Wav. Downloading files from your computer only takes connecting your Rio 500 via the USB port and using the specific software. Songs can be freely divided into folders, according to genre or to artist; when theyre loaded into your player, you can use the Browse button to select specific songs. The player is, in fact, equipped with a small monitor where information concerning the songs is displayed, provided of course youve inputted it while preparing the MP3 file on your computer. Rio 500 is fed by an alkaline battery with an interesting although not exceptional life (I verified 10 hours maximum). Rio 500 is available for US$269, a rather high price even though the products capability and characteristics are of a high quality. If you love music and think an MP3 player is something worth having, Rio 500 is definitely a product for you. Personally? I cant leave home without it. Further info is available from www.s3.com

 

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