Rio Karma

I decided that it was time to get a new portable MP3 player this weekend. After checking out just about every model on the market I ended up getting the Rio Karma. Overall I’m pretty happy with it. Here’s a quick rundown of what I thought….

Pros:

• 20GB drive, sweet! No more dividing playlist between CF or SD cards.
• USB 2 and ethernet hookup.

• Excellent display and menu system.
• MP3, WMA, and OGG support. (few players supported OGG)
• Well written software; which is very rare for stuff like this.

Cons:

• No FM tuner (not a big deal though w/ 20GB of tunes on board)
• Builtin battery. I’ve had bad experiences in the past, prolly not a big deal though.
• Slightly too big for your pocket. But hey, its smaller than my CD collection.

I would certainly recommend this player to anyone looking to carry their entire collection with them. It’s a lot smaller than the old Nomad and looks and works better than that iPod pos.

Update: After 2 weeks, the hard drive went defunct and I had to return it. I got a replacement unit and its been fine since. I’m hoping that was just a fluke because I really like this player.