Rio pitches Carbon player at iPod Mini

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Not to be outdone by Apple's iPod Mini Rio has announced its own mini music player called Carbon. Carbon is powered by Seagate's super small 5GB Hard Drive. Already Carbon has some advantages over its competitor. Besides having 1GB more storage, being lighter, it can also run for up to 20 hours.

Rio will take the fight to Apple's iPod Mini this month when it ships its latest hard drive-based MP3 player, Carbon. The new machine uses Seagate's recently announced 1in ST1 hard disk, which offers 5GB of storage, 1GB more than the iPod Mini. To date, Rio has partnered with Cornice for micro hard drives. Cornice is now the subject of legal action from Seagate and from Western Digital.

Rio Carbon 5GB MP3 playerWhile Apple claims the iPod Mini offers eight hours' play time, Rio reckons Carbon will run for up to 20 hours. Given the player's name, the company should perhaps have settled for 14 hours' battery life, but we won't begrudge them the extra six hours. Apple buffs will also note it's named after one of Mac OS X's three key application programming frameworks. Carbon comes in at 90.7g, Rio said, compared to the Mini's 102g. Both retail for $249.

View: Image of Rio's Carbon Player

News source: The Register

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#1 Ron21 on 02 Aug 2004 - 14:17

but.....its looks Fugly!

#2 Mister Lamar on 02 Aug 2004 - 14:19

its not that bad

#3 macrosslover on 02 Aug 2004 - 14:32

some might like the curved shaped better than the box shape of the mini. i'm sure they could also come out with different colors at a later point in time.

(1 reply) #4 Gary_Player on 02 Aug 2004 - 14:34

Talk about ugly

#4.1 nX07 on 02 Aug 2004 - 17:16

I like that look!

The minis would be better if they had a curved top/bottom edges, not the quick end. I dun like that.

#5 lotus22 on 02 Aug 2004 - 14:40

I like my PMP300 8 songs baby!

(1 reply) #6 kingius on 02 Aug 2004 - 15:11

What a blatent iPod copy!

#6.1 georgi55 on 02 Aug 2004 - 17:50

What a fanboy!

#7 Varsity on 02 Aug 2004 - 15:21

Looks familiar...but crapified.

#8 angrybrit on 02 Aug 2004 - 15:31

USB 1.1 or USB 2.0?

(1 reply) #9 panacea on 02 Aug 2004 - 15:37

looks like rio nitros. i would prefer if it was looking more like rio eigen.

that said i also hope it has metal casing and not plastic case nitrus got, cos it scratches way too easy.

#9.1 Sydd on 03 Aug 2004 - 21:15

I was thinking the exact same as you.

hope it is metal casing.

#10 tiagosilva29 on 02 Aug 2004 - 15:49

That's a stealth robot from the iRobot movie!

He's disguised as a music player.

#11 Kasteo on 02 Aug 2004 - 16:00

look a lot better than iPod.

#12 sadatkarim on 02 Aug 2004 - 16:08

Navigation doesnt look very nice....with those buttons etc..

#13 noyb on 02 Aug 2004 - 16:37

It looks very much like a Glade air freshner

#14 dL on 02 Aug 2004 - 17:16

Looks ugly.

dL

(2 replies) #15 aboi on 02 Aug 2004 - 17:31

looks like a remake of one of there older models. I still love my ipod and would never use any other brand

#15.1 el22 on 02 Aug 2004 - 18:07

Aren't ipods remakes of older ipod models?

#15.2 psw on 02 Aug 2004 - 18:32

as a Rio 20G Karma owner all I can say is Rio (DM) has done a great job in the brand, hardware and support of their products. I love the Carbon name and if one was looking to purchase a smaller capacity HD player go with Rio. Not sure on formats w/ the Carbon but the Karma supports many inluding Ogg and Flac. It will play audiobooks, however.

Carbon > http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/shop/_tem...s.asp?model=267

also check out http://www.riovolution.com/

Last edited by 4791 on 03 Aug 2004 - 21:36

#16 Porp on 02 Aug 2004 - 22:13

Looks nice!! I have a Rio Riot.. And it's huge.. But I like it.. Fun to fit in your hand!!!!!!! lol.. I just had to piss off Derek.. So here we go (P.S. Derek its the guy who owns JeremyG.ca)

NOT dL

#17 GamblerFEXonlin on 03 Aug 2004 - 00:17

chrome plastic buttons? what were they thinking?you may "like it," but big curved surfaces and plastic chrome is sooo 2002.

#18 insurektion on 03 Aug 2004 - 01:36

simplicity is key. often the simplest shpaes are the ones that take up the least space, have the fewest snags on clothing and feel the most comfortable in your pocket. therefore apple wins because they put functionality into the form. itrs not so much as what would look really cool "hey how bout a bulging plastic case" as "how can I make a player in my pocket as non intrusive as possible yet still give it style."

#19 vincent15 on 03 Aug 2004 - 05:18

Rio Carbon looks ok, but iPod has a great design and the best navigation for a portable audio player. Even Sony's Harddrive walkman does not have a chance on navigation department.

#20 WinterNightDream on 03 Aug 2004 - 15:19

Carbon Copy

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