- Aug 20, 2000
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Actually, I'm not going to try to persuade anyone. Since I'm not an iPod owner, instead I'm going to elicit your first-hand experience with that product and try to come up with a qualified comparison between the two players. If you spot an error in my post, please comment below to correct it. Here goes.
Rio Carbon vs. iPod Mini
Size
The Rio Carbon comes in at 3.3" H x 2.5" W x 0.6" D = 4.95^3.
The iPod Mini is 3.6" H x 2.0" W x 0.5" D = 3.6^3.
They're shaped differently (the Mini, the Carbon) so this can't really be a direct comparison, but where one is a bit thicker the other is a bit taller. Negligible depth difference. I enjoy the egg-slice shape of the Carbon in my hand, but that's a personal preference.
By the numbers, the iPod Mini is a winner by size.
Weight
Rio Carbon weight: 3.2 oz
iPod Mini weight: 3.6 oz
Who would ever notice? Nobody. But, technically speaking, the Carbon wins.
Cost
Directly from the manufacturer websites:
Rio Carbon 5 GB = $199.99 USD - $20 USD mail-in rebate
iPod Mini 4 GB = $199.00 USD
iPod Mini 6 GB = $249.00 USD
The two models of the Mini make this hard to call cleanly. At the $199 USD price point, the Rio Carbon obviously wins. Is $50 USD worth 1 GB of space to you?
Additionally, we're AnandTechers. WTFBBQ? No coupon, no sale!
No winner.
Carrying Capacity
At $199, you have a 5 GB Rio Carbon slaying the 4 GB iPod Mini. The Mini's new fratneral twin trumps the Carbon by going all the way to 6 GB. One wonders why someone would not just buy a regular iPod as we creep up towards 10 GB, but, well, let's not go there.
No winner.
File Formats
Rio Carbon = MP3, WMA and Audible
iPod Mini = MP3, AAC, Audible and Apple Lossless
Not many of us are WMA fanboys, so that's not going to be anyone's decision-making factor.
Computer Connectivity
The Rio Carbon's interface with a PC running newer versions of Windows could not be better:
1. Plug Rio Carbon into PC using included USB cable.
2. Rio Carbon is recognized, without the need for any driver installation, as a portable HDD.
3. Drag and drop music over the USB 2.0 connection to the /Music folder on the Carbon in Windows Explorer.
Want to charge the Carbon?
1. Plug Rio Carbon into PC using included USB cable.
2. Carbon goes into idle state, starts charging off of the USB connection. Optionally use the USB cable to connect to the AC charger also included in the Carbon package.
This is where, IMO, the Rio Carbon pulls ahead. You'll never even need to use software off of the included CD from Rio. Drag, drop, go. What makes this even better is the driverless nature of the Carbon - want to use the Carbon as a portable HDD? Go for it! Create a folder on the Carbon's HDD and keep the USB cable with you to connect it wherever you are (work, school lab). It'll even charge itself up if you're low on battery after your long commute in!
Other Uses
Rio Carbon: Portable HDD to replace your USB keychain with aforementioned 100% compatibility with new Windows systems, stopwatch.
iPod Mini: Portable HDD. (Albeit limited because if its driver-requiring nature?)
Player Interface
The Rio Carbon runs into two roadblocks here.
1. No playlist creation on-the-go. By default, you can sort and create playlists by artist name, album, track name, year, and the useful "What's New" sorter - which lets you play only the music you've uploaded to the Carbon in the last 24 hours, last 7 days, last two weeks, etc. But no truly dynamic playlist creation, you'll have to do that on your PC beforehand.
2. The screen doesn't display all that much at a time. Take a look. Granted, you're listening to your earphones - not staring at the screen as if it was a videogame. Just a minor quibble but one I thought was worth mentioning.
However, I like the hardware interface of the Rio Carbon over that of the iPod Mini. See that jog dial on the top of the player, left side? Using that thing to scroll through your songs is really, really efficient. That's a plus over the scroll-in-circles interface of the Mini in my book.
Another thing: The lock controls on the Rio Carbon are fabulous. You press the menu button + center key to lock the controls, but before doing that you can access Lock Setup and specify what exactly you want disabled during lock mode. I disable everything except for the jog dial which acts as a volume control, allowing me to 'mute' or turn up the volume by giving the wheel a whirl when the player is in my pocket. Neato.
Battery Life
For the Carbon, Rio claims 18-20 hours. PCWorld managed 20 hours and 37 minutes.
The older 4 GB iPod Mini manages 8-10 hours, while the new 4 GB and 6 GB models should do 16-18. That pulls the Mini about even with the Carbon.
Accessories
Well, obviously this is no contest whatsoever. You can probably buy a iPod Mini dildo at this point in time, whereas all the Rio Carbon gets (aside from the included case, from which you must pull the Carbon out of to access its controls) is an assortment of extremely ugly and expensive 3rd-party cases (one, two or three). You just can't mess with Apple on this one.
Coolness Factor
Owning something different, versus being part of a cool clique? Those all-white earbuds are snazzy and act as an immediate identifier of an iPod owner, even if they're a bit lacking in sound quality (IMO). The Carbon's earbuds are silver, but even worse in quality - specifically, the midrange. I opted to purchase the Sennheiser MX400 earbuds.
The Rio Carbon catches a lot of attention because of its blue-hued backlighting for the screen, and red hue backlighting for the controls and word "Rio" on the front side. To keep those eyes peeled, the Rio fades the backlighting to nothing to produce a very cool effect.
No winner.
Conclusion
Obviously, this is a close horse race. I don't really care to try to convince anyone of one player's merits over another, even if I do tout the Rio Carbon pretty highly in this post. This is just to let everyone know that there is at least one strong competitor to the Mini. So, try giving it a test run. The Rio Carbon is available at Best Buy locations in the U.S. and Canada (or online), as well as directly from Rio's website. You won't be sorry!
Links
Rio Carbon official page
PC Magazine review of the Rio Carbon
CNet reviews the Rio Carbon
GearLive Carbon Review
TopicPoint - Rio Carbon MP3 Player Review
Omar Shahine - Rio Carbon vs iPod
Rio Carbon vs. iPod Mini
Size
The Rio Carbon comes in at 3.3" H x 2.5" W x 0.6" D = 4.95^3.
The iPod Mini is 3.6" H x 2.0" W x 0.5" D = 3.6^3.
They're shaped differently (the Mini, the Carbon) so this can't really be a direct comparison, but where one is a bit thicker the other is a bit taller. Negligible depth difference. I enjoy the egg-slice shape of the Carbon in my hand, but that's a personal preference.
By the numbers, the iPod Mini is a winner by size.
Weight
Rio Carbon weight: 3.2 oz
iPod Mini weight: 3.6 oz
Who would ever notice? Nobody. But, technically speaking, the Carbon wins.
Cost
Directly from the manufacturer websites:
Rio Carbon 5 GB = $199.99 USD - $20 USD mail-in rebate
iPod Mini 4 GB = $199.00 USD
iPod Mini 6 GB = $249.00 USD
The two models of the Mini make this hard to call cleanly. At the $199 USD price point, the Rio Carbon obviously wins. Is $50 USD worth 1 GB of space to you?
Additionally, we're AnandTechers. WTFBBQ? No coupon, no sale!
No winner.Carrying Capacity
At $199, you have a 5 GB Rio Carbon slaying the 4 GB iPod Mini. The Mini's new fratneral twin trumps the Carbon by going all the way to 6 GB. One wonders why someone would not just buy a regular iPod as we creep up towards 10 GB, but, well, let's not go there.
No winner.
File Formats
Rio Carbon = MP3, WMA and Audible
iPod Mini = MP3, AAC, Audible and Apple Lossless
Not many of us are WMA fanboys, so that's not going to be anyone's decision-making factor.
Computer Connectivity
The Rio Carbon's interface with a PC running newer versions of Windows could not be better:
1. Plug Rio Carbon into PC using included USB cable.
2. Rio Carbon is recognized, without the need for any driver installation, as a portable HDD.
3. Drag and drop music over the USB 2.0 connection to the /Music folder on the Carbon in Windows Explorer.
Want to charge the Carbon?
1. Plug Rio Carbon into PC using included USB cable.
2. Carbon goes into idle state, starts charging off of the USB connection. Optionally use the USB cable to connect to the AC charger also included in the Carbon package.
This is where, IMO, the Rio Carbon pulls ahead. You'll never even need to use software off of the included CD from Rio. Drag, drop, go. What makes this even better is the driverless nature of the Carbon - want to use the Carbon as a portable HDD? Go for it! Create a folder on the Carbon's HDD and keep the USB cable with you to connect it wherever you are (work, school lab). It'll even charge itself up if you're low on battery after your long commute in!
Other Uses
Rio Carbon: Portable HDD to replace your USB keychain with aforementioned 100% compatibility with new Windows systems, stopwatch.
iPod Mini: Portable HDD. (Albeit limited because if its driver-requiring nature?)
Player Interface
The Rio Carbon runs into two roadblocks here.
1. No playlist creation on-the-go. By default, you can sort and create playlists by artist name, album, track name, year, and the useful "What's New" sorter - which lets you play only the music you've uploaded to the Carbon in the last 24 hours, last 7 days, last two weeks, etc. But no truly dynamic playlist creation, you'll have to do that on your PC beforehand.
2. The screen doesn't display all that much at a time. Take a look. Granted, you're listening to your earphones - not staring at the screen as if it was a videogame. Just a minor quibble but one I thought was worth mentioning.
However, I like the hardware interface of the Rio Carbon over that of the iPod Mini. See that jog dial on the top of the player, left side? Using that thing to scroll through your songs is really, really efficient. That's a plus over the scroll-in-circles interface of the Mini in my book.
Another thing: The lock controls on the Rio Carbon are fabulous. You press the menu button + center key to lock the controls, but before doing that you can access Lock Setup and specify what exactly you want disabled during lock mode. I disable everything except for the jog dial which acts as a volume control, allowing me to 'mute' or turn up the volume by giving the wheel a whirl when the player is in my pocket. Neato.
Battery Life
For the Carbon, Rio claims 18-20 hours. PCWorld managed 20 hours and 37 minutes.
The older 4 GB iPod Mini manages 8-10 hours, while the new 4 GB and 6 GB models should do 16-18. That pulls the Mini about even with the Carbon.
Accessories
Well, obviously this is no contest whatsoever. You can probably buy a iPod Mini dildo at this point in time, whereas all the Rio Carbon gets (aside from the included case, from which you must pull the Carbon out of to access its controls) is an assortment of extremely ugly and expensive 3rd-party cases (one, two or three). You just can't mess with Apple on this one.
Coolness Factor
Owning something different, versus being part of a cool clique? Those all-white earbuds are snazzy and act as an immediate identifier of an iPod owner, even if they're a bit lacking in sound quality (IMO). The Carbon's earbuds are silver, but even worse in quality - specifically, the midrange. I opted to purchase the Sennheiser MX400 earbuds.
The Rio Carbon catches a lot of attention because of its blue-hued backlighting for the screen, and red hue backlighting for the controls and word "Rio" on the front side. To keep those eyes peeled, the Rio fades the backlighting to nothing to produce a very cool effect.
No winner.
Conclusion
Obviously, this is a close horse race. I don't really care to try to convince anyone of one player's merits over another, even if I do tout the Rio Carbon pretty highly in this post. This is just to let everyone know that there is at least one strong competitor to the Mini. So, try giving it a test run. The Rio Carbon is available at Best Buy locations in the U.S. and Canada (or online), as well as directly from Rio's website. You won't be sorry!
Links
Rio Carbon official page
PC Magazine review of the Rio Carbon
CNet reviews the Rio Carbon
GearLive Carbon Review
TopicPoint - Rio Carbon MP3 Player Review
Omar Shahine - Rio Carbon vs iPod
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