SONICblue, the folks behind the Rio line of MP3 players, have expanded their line-up with the addition of the Rio One, a digital audio player that costs under US$100.
Sporting a design akin to the Rio 300 MP3 player, the Rio One adds a new color scheme, a USB connection for ultra-fast music transfers and one hour of CD-quality music playback through support for the Windows Media (WMA) file format. The Rio One can be upgraded using flash memory cards to support up to five hours of music playback.
The new Rio One, which has a manufacturers suggested retail price of $99, player should be available soon via SONICblue’s e-store and will be available within the next two weeks in North American retail outlets. It ships with 32 MB of built-in memory, earphones, USB cable, one AA battery for up to 10 hours of music playback and audio management software for both the Mac and PC platforms.
If all this isn’t enough, you can buy stock up with lots of accessories, including 32 MB and 64 MB smart media cards, a carrying case and a car cassette adapter. For more information on the Rio One and its accessories, visit SONICblue’s Rio products Web site.
Meanwhile, SONICblue is making plans to expand its product line to include digital video through its acquisition of ReplayTV, a creator of personal television technologies and services. MacCentral will keep you posted on what develops.