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Rio Karma User Review
Despite living in an urban area, I had a little trouble tracking down a retailer with the Karma in stock. Best Buy was sold out, but Circuit City had them (for full price, boo hiss). I was impressed with the solid feel of the device, and promptly started setting it up. Since I currently only have Linux machines at home, the included software was useless. Fortunately, the Karma also includes Ethernet connectivity through the docking cradle. In minutes the cradle was connected to my Linksys router and a static IP assigned using the Karma's joystick interface (not fun).
Once this was done, I connected via web browser to the Karma's IP address and was greeted with a nice splash page, and a couple of links to download the Java-based transfer software and to visit Rio's Karma page. I initially had trouble with the transfer software, but eventually found the developer's site on the internet; he has improved the software greatly from the version that ships with the Karma.
The docking cradle also has stereo line-level RCA ports, which is nice for integration with a home stereo. I ended up buying a 20' CAT-5 cable to give my Karma a permanent home next to the stereo. It's pretty wonderful to select 4 hours of random music for the evening, and not have to worry about changing CDs. Later, I also bought an RF adapter for use in the car, which works by broadcasting on an FM frequency you simply tune into.
The Karma is not bad to walk around with either. It is a little bulky, and I would prefer a narrower body, but it fits ok in a loose-fitting pants or jacket pocket. As with any hard-drive based player, jogging/running/biking with it is probably not a good idea.
Lockups: the Karma has taken a lot of flak for locking up, and I can't say that it's not justified. The player has locked once when I was loading music on it, in which case I simply reset with a bent paper clip and it was good to go. However, several days ago I was walking with it, attempted to change songs midstride, and it locked hard. Since I was on my way to work with no paperclip in sight (and the unit won't turn off when it locks up), the hard drive spun and seeked for 40 minutes until I got in the office. At that point, the unit was warm to the touch and had drained half the battery. After reset, the unit would not power up properly. Going into rescue mode showed that it was having trouble reading the disk. (crap!) After reading some message boards where others have experienced similar problems, I decided that I had little to lose and smacked it flat down on the desk. The Karma made a little grinding noise and booted up! It has worked perfectly since then, but I'm somewhat concerned about my purchase. Rio only offers a three-month warranty by default, so I would recommend going with an extended warranty if you decide to purchase a Karma.
Scary lockups aside, this has been a great little player. I believe it is Rio's first HDD-based player, and I'm looking forward to seeing future revisions of the Karma.
Thanks to FuzzyBad-MoFo for the review!
After reading the review I don't know that I want one of these. The reviewer discusses the negatives: size, lockups, ect. but does not really go into the upside of owning one of these.
http://www.busyweather.com/
This is a terrible "review"! You paid full price (your own fault), and it was a pain to enter the IP address. Yeah, it has a dock. You had problems with the OS, but didn't mention any firmware upgrades that might help solve the problem. You did something stupid that could have broken it. Great.
/.'s front page.
What about the sound quality? Battery life? User interface? Build quality? Most importantly, given the audience: why would someone purchase this over an iPod? Those are the things we care about, not your anecdotal experience. This would be fine posted on a review site where more information is readily available, but it's certainly not destined for
P.S.: First on-topic post?
I'd like a linux-oriented product comparison article. iRiver vs iPod vs Rio Karma etc. And yes, audio fidelity, perhaps the most important feature, shouldn't be ignored.
.nosig
Except of course, the iPod didn't meet his needs. It's right there in the first paragraph. Or did I miss something an Apple now has Linux support and support Ogg Vorbis?
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Going into rescue mode showed that it was having trouble reading the disk. (crap!) After reading some message boards where others have experienced similar problems, I decided that I had little to lose and smacked it flat down on the desk. The Karma made a little grinding noise and booted up!
This is probably the most telling sentence in the review. The firmware for this device is not capable of even a REBOOT when there's a hard drive error. NO recovery, NONE. The *only* recourse was a "smack it flat down on the desk," indicating that the firmware had quite obviously tried to get the hard drive to perform some physically impossible task... and banging the HD juggled the heads enough to produce either a good error or knock the firmware out of its loop and find the data it needs.
Firmware issues... yuck. Wonder if I can convince my web guys to drop their 1U server boxes on the floor when they're being slow to help jiggle those hard drives into compliance???
Funny, an Apple zealot always claims price is not the point when buying an Apple computer. Suddenly, Apple makes a product that competes on price and now the same zealots are bragging about it. Strange how the tale swings in Apples favor every time..
Are you kidding me? No matter how great the rest of the features, "scary lockups" are not something most people will just ignore - especially when they cause the hard drive to seek for 40 continuous minutes, draining the battery. I'll keep my iPod, thanks very much, and when I want to replace it, this Rio will not be on my list for consideration.
Definately hasn't convinced me to change the "My New iRiver" sticker on my penny jar.
I have had an Archos for about a year and have been very happy. The open source Rockbox software is great..
I don't see much point in the Karma. It is expensive.. somewhat unstable.. and like most proprietary products, will be End of Life'd soon enough.
What I would really like to have is WAV recording capability. Though the MP3 recording on the Archos has worked well and I have sourced at least one concert using it with the line-in and good mics.
Good recording capability is lacking in most products.
...Linux friendly... is OS-agnostic...
Since I currently only have Linux machines at home, the included software was useless.
So, was it or was it *not* linux friendly? Seems like linux friendly, especially with java-based software, would mean that the included OS-agnostic, linux-friendly software would both be included AND work. What's the deal, man?
An iRiver iHP-120 (20GB) is also about $299 and works fine in Linux and plays Ogg files. It also has optical in/out instead of RCA for integration with a home receiver. The only thing missing is FLAC support. It fits much better in the pocket and is much more reliable. I've had one for maybe 5 or 6 months now with no lockups or hard drive problems. I use it in my car every day.
I've got the 40 Gig version, which you can now pick up for between 350-400 dollars.
Solid as solid can be. I threw it through a plaster wall (don't ask) and after removing it from the hole in the wall, it still plays perfectly, without a scratch on it. I think I'm on about month #8 without a single problem.
I have exactly one complaint about the device... no on the fly playlists. Rumored to be coming in an updated firmware update, but who knows.
The lack of FLAC in a portable device is no big deal in my opinion... I consider FLAC more of an archiving tool than something I need for my portable player.
Oh I guess I have a second minor complaint... the case it ships with is kinda bulky, but then again... it does ship with a case and a microphone, and a remote.
Oh, and you'd be remiss in mentioning the iHP's without noting they have 15 hour battery life... with replaceable batteries (requires a case opening)... and some of the aftermarket options are supposedly getting 20-24 hour battery life.
In 1999, I bought the original 32 MB rio PMP 300. It was a great invention (despite the fact that my daily running regimen broke 4 of them).
When the 64 MB PMP 500 came out, I was one of the first in line. I currently have a solid state memory player with 384 MB of memory (apporximately 90 songs) that never locks up, skips, or breaks, mainly because there are no moving parts!
I sometimes wonder how many people even HAVE 20 Gigabytes of music, leave alone a desire to have every track on their walkman at the same time... I think the portable audio industry should stop this strange contest of who has the biggest hard drive, and focus more on portability, efficiency, and overall durability, and leave desktops for music storage!
So... people don't mind owning junk that locks up and needs to be *hit*, but no no no no, let's never use a MD player that just *works*?
The iPod is expensive and it is missing some features, but at least there's a reasonable confidence that a buyer will get at least a years worth of use out of it. The Rio may do gapless playback when it's new, but it seems owners can expect an extended and very quiet gap in its playback not too long after purchase.
Jesus Christ on a popsicle stick... what part of "totally stupid" can you not discern from this scenario? Whacking your hardware is NOT, repeat NOT an acceptable option while troubleshooting. Apple tried this with the Apple III and (rightly) got reamed for it. Almost anybody between the ages of 25 and 35 still has active muscle memory for blowing on an NES 8-bit cart, slamming it into the console, and then whacking the side in order to play Mario Bros. That's not because the 8-bit NES was an aerobic device--that's because the device and the design was a piece of shit.
In case somebody is too slow to follow this, here's a Cochran-esque mnemonic--"If you have to hit, it's a piece of shit."
Slashdot reviews are a total joke. Any sane reviewer would have gotten to the lockup and dropped the review score by a third. When they discover it's a fairly widespread problem, they'd register riokarmasdirtysecret.com and drop the score to a third. When they found out about the generally accepted solution to the problem (donkey-punching a $250 device with a minature hard drive), the score drops to "Only Fools and Degenerates With Poor Genes Buy This". In fact, most reviewers would have turned the review into a grand joke, offering alternative uses for the piece of junk hardware that involve hockey sticks, slingshots or gay porn stars.
I have only two gripes personally with the unit:
Jesus Christ on a unicycle, I think "I occasionaly have to beat the shit out of it to keep it working" would top the fucking list. Instead, there's only "an unused jack" and "it's hard to shuffle songs" make the cut. Please don't breed, KTHXBYE.
Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
Can you say Head Crash?
I'm sorry, but to me having to do that to something you've just paid almost 3 bills for just screams INTRINSIC DESIGN FLAW and is absolutely unacceptable...even if it plays OGG and Gapless.
I'll stay w/ my 20 GB 4G iPod thanks and my iPod Mini thanks. Both have NEVER frozen up just from being jostled around (ie. Running or Walking, and yes, we do run with ours regularly with no problems in the like 1-2 years we've owned iPods, including a 3G one).
Sheesh,
DaveC
There are no stupid questions...just stupid people.
damn, I wish I had mod points...
I can't believe how many posts there are at +5 Insightful and +5 Interesting talking about how the owner has had the same problem and whacking their expensive hard drive based player really helps. We used to have monitors with green guns going out that when you whacked them they would come back on, but eventually the gun would stop firing again, and you'd be left with a pinkish screen. Of course, maybe if I tried to sell them here on slashdot to a Rio owner.... I could even include a troubleshooting guide for handling "What to do when my screen turns pink..." you know, just in case!
...but bear in mind that like many buyers, I wasn't aware of the issues when I first made the purchase. My position is that of, "well, I already paid for it, so here's my opinion on the device over-all". And the truth is that it suits me just fine, despite the fact that my heart sank when it froze for the first time. Since a few months back though, I haven't had a single problem with it. I honestly don't know if the issues have since been resolved over at Rio.
That this alone should be reason for me to be sterilized makes me wonder how many people you must tell every day to not breed. Perhaps yours is a world inhabited by people of a much higher calibre than ours. If that's the case, then I envy you deeply. But seriously though, it was a funny read.