Rio Carbon
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The Rio Carbon is a line of digital audio players formerly produced by the now defunct Rio. They are hard disk-based audio players that can hold either 5 or 6 gigabytes of music, depending on the model. Available colors included silver and pearl. An 8 GB model with a colour screen was planned; however, with the demise of Rio in August 2005, this model is unlikely to be produced.
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[edit] History
The Carbon was announced on August 2, 2004.
Rio officially exited the portable music player market in August 2005 and is no longer providing firmware updates for the players. The last version of the firmware does not support subscription-based PlaysForSure licenses, only purchased licenses.
A previously unreleased version of Rio Carbon firmware, called "The Developer's Cut", was released in January of 2006 by enthusiasts, and offers several new and updated features. [1]
[edit] Features
The Carbon features a microphone and a bidirectional wheel, which is used for scrolling and adjusting volume. It is small in size (82 x 61 x 13 millimeters) and weigh 3.2 ounces, and is powered by a non-removable rechargeable lithium ion battery that has up to 20 hours of playback time.
The wheel is notched. When the player is held in the right hand, the user can use the index finger to scoll vertically through menus with the scroll wheel while using the thumb to select menu categories with the central button on the front of the player. The interface does not require the user to lift their fingers from the device.
The Carbon can play MP3 and WMA audio files as well as Audible.com audio book files. It is Microsoft Windows, Linux and Macintosh compatible, since it is usable as a USB mass storage device. It is also PlaysForSure compatible.
Other features include:
- 5 or 6 GB of storage on a 1" microdrive
- 5-band equalizer with several presets
- Built-in microphone for voice recording
- Drag and drop data and music files onto the player
- Built-in rechargeable battery offers up to 20 hours music playback
- Charge from the USB port or the included power adapter
- Windows and Mac compatible (the player itself is Linux compatible as well, but not the included software)
- Includes Rio Music Manager, software used to manage the digital music library
[edit] Carbonising
The Carbon, at the time of its release, had the unique distinction of costing less than one of its own components, its hard disk drive. This distinction led to an activity known by the slang term "carbonising," whereby customers purchase a Rio Carbon, only to dismantle it and sell the disk drive for a net profit.
[edit] ce2100
The Rio ce2100 is a relative of the Carbon that features a 2.5 GB hard drive. The ce2100, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the ce2500, does not have a microphone, but retains the microphone hole since it shares the same case as the Carbon. It comes in black and green. The ce2100 is also compatible with the "Developer's Cut" firmware update.
