Rio Carbon (5 GB) MP3 Player

This was my second mp3 player. When I decided to upgrade from my Creative Zen NX, I wanted an mp3 player that was very compact, but it also had to have good sound quality. The Rio Carbon did all this and more. It is very small, about the size of an ipod mini, has a very attractive design, and the sound quality is great. It can hold 5GB of songs, which was more than enough for me, at a price less than that of an Ipod or Ipod mini. Like all mp3 players you buy though, you'll want to invest some money in a better set of headphones/earbuds than the ones that are included. The software is also very easy to use. I was transferring songs from my computer within minutes. It may not have a lot of fancy features, but what it does, it does well. The best thing though is the battery life. The newest generation of Ipods are listed with a battery life of 14 hours per charge. The Rio Carbon is listed with a battery life of 20 hours per charge. Obviously, the actual battery life isn't quite that high, but it is superb nonetheless. I probably use my Carbon a couple hours a day, and I can make it through a whole week, sometimes two, on a single charge.