Rio Brand Closes Doors

Castar writes "In a press release today, D&M Holdings announced the end of the Rio brand. Rio had a troubled history, but were responsible for the first mass-market MP3 players as well as more recent popular players such as the Rio Karma. This closing follows the sale of Rio's IP to Sigmatel, maker of chipsets for many audio players, including the iPod Shuffle." From the release: "The company's decision to exit the Rio business followed a determination that the mass-market portable digital audio player market was not a strong enough strategic fit with the company's core and profitable premium consumer electronics brands to warrant additional investment in the category. The original goal of strategic advantage with wholly-owned and branded portable client devices was reconsidered in the context of the costs required to effectively scale and compete in this sector, where competition has grown intense. D&M Holdings will now focus all its resources on the core Premium AV business and advanced content server products."

Comments

Re:Thanks a lot Apple

[wazzzup]

AAC is open. It's owned by Dolby Labs and anybody can license it. It is as free for licensing as mp3 is. You do realize that mp3 also requires a license?

You're probably thinking of iTunes music store songs which is AAC in a DRM wrapper. Would you hate mp3 and call it closed if Apple managed to put a DRM wrapper around the mp3 format? Do you rail against the umpteen million models of Windows Media players out there?

The iPod also plays mp3's. So, unless you limit digital audio to a player that plays OGG and FLAC you present yourself as not really knowing what you're talking about.

Rio Karma: Yet to be surpassed

[BlastM]

In fact right now I'm listening to some FLAC-encoded music on my Rio Karma through my stereo.

The Karma is a technical masterpiece. Any audiophile or Linux geek who doesn't own or yearn for a Karma is quite crazy.

Reviewers and market analysts unvariably bestow the title of "iPod Killer" on a new DAP based on one or two big features. Maybe it's size, or maybe it's Ogg Vorbis playback that makes a player an iPod killer. In my opinion iPod Killer isn't a feature but an overall package. The iPod is exceptional in no particular area (except perhaps design). It is so successful because it is a solid overall package that performs everything at an acceptable level.

The Rio Karma was the one player that, from a technical standpoint, I believed could be the iPod killer. (Of course, the marketing strength of Apple prevailed, which says a lot about the market). But technically the Karma defeated the iPod on all fronts. Ogg Vorbis and FLAC playback were the big ones, but it's the little things that really make you appreciate it as a player.

Gapless: My Karma is getting long in the tooth, but there's nothing out there, even today, that comes close to the Karma technically. I couldn't ever go back to a player that doesn't have gapless playback (i.e. automatic elimination of the gap between subsequent MP3 files (inherrent to the MP3 format), and playing gapless Vorbis and FLAC files back gaplessly). None of the HDD players do this (if you know of one that does, please let me know! I want one!)

97dB S:N RCA Line Out: The RCA ports on the dock provided an amazing sound on high-end equipment via the true line out. Using a 3.5mm->RCA adapter in the headphone port just isn't the same.

100Mbps Ethernet port: Not having USB2.0 at the time I, and many others bought the Rio Karma, the ethernet port on the dock was a great way for not only uploading files quickly, but uploading them from a distance, e.g. with your Karma sitting in it's dock on the stereo or hooked up to your car stereo in the garage (using a laptop with wifi to bridge the connection).

Java app: The Java app made uploading and managing music on Linux and MacOSX as well as Windows easy. A lot easier to download a Java app from the built-in web server than to pull out the install CD, run the install, reboot for every computer you want to upload files from (assuming it runs Windows).

Embedded Web Server: OK this one isn't really crucial to the player (it's really cool to show off) but it sure is convenient for downloading the Java app to control the unit. The web server had a lot of unrealised potential (e.g. adding a web interface to control the player) but the Rio developers never added that, and now they never will.

The Dock: The little marvel of a dock, included with all Karma's sold, was cool in its own right. Aesthetically it fits in with most stereo equipment better than the iPod and its dock. Not only does it have a 100Mb ethernet port, stereo RCA outputs, USB2.0 and power port, but it glows blue and flashes in time to the music!

So to say the Karma was ahead of its time is not entirely accurate. The Karma's time never arrived.

Re:A little secret

[Oliver Defacszio]

This is a fantastic post, and it's the difference between Apple and everyone else. Apple will never, ever make the absolute best of anything, but the mix of technical competence and style is what has more than tripled Apple's stock since the introduction of the iPod.

The overdesigned problem is everywhere. I have a 2004 model Clarion CD player in my car. It works well and sounds great, but it has a whirling animated chaser on the display that doesn't appear to do anything but scream "I am technologically impressive!" It looks like a "CD is playing" icon, but continues to spin as long as a CD is physically loaded, despite the current function of the player. Since most reasonable people have a CD loaded at virtually all times, even when listening to the radio or an auxiliary input, the chaser spins relentlessly, long into the night.

A big deal? No. Gimmicky and pointless? Yes. That LCD space could have been used to allow longer song titles without scrolling or whatever, but, instead, the geek-factor again overwhelmed practicality. If Apple designed automotive products, I guarantee this wouldn't be the case.

Nobody says that visual appeal has to equal brutal simplicity, but I don't need to be reminded that I am living in THE 21ST CENTURY! every time I pick up a technological device.