Product Analysis:
As we hinted earlier in our introduction, the Carbon is a sleek portable audio player and one of the few, if not the only, competitors to the iPod Mini. The exterior of the player is very elegant with a gradient appeal to the color scheme, and a matching small size. The Carbon utilizes Seagate’s latest micro drive to deliver the 5GB onboard storage, which is certainly impressive considering the drive is almost non-existent and doesn’t impact the player’s size or weight by a significant degree. The layout of the player is extremely clean with no inconsistencies and an organized exterior overall.
Similar to the Sport Forge, the Carbon is fitted with a red LED light as well. Once you press either of the buttons on the player, the rest of the buttons as well as Rio’s logo at the top all light up to display the vibrant background, which is definitely something unique. In order to be a bit more shock absorbent, the Carbon’s circumference is outlined with rubber. Though it’s a step towards protecting the Carbon somewhat, unfortunately we doubt it would be useful. The foremost reason for that is the use of a hard drive. As you know, hard drive based players are very sensitive to rough use, and if you drop these players on a hard wood floor, you can expect to experience general problems with the player. These problems could range from permanent damage to random skipping and whatnot. Simply put, you will most likely have to send back the player for repair once you drop it.
There isn’t a significant difference between the Carbon and Forge Sport as far as features are concerned. Like the Forge Sport, the Carbon also displays the battery meter, standard track information, file size, encoded rate of the audio file and volume level. The screen vividly fades out after a few seconds of idle time, which not only looks great, but also saves the battery life. The buttons on the Carbon are a step above what Sport Forge offered. They are intricately designed and are smooth to the touch. We will touch more on the performance aspect of the player later on.
The top of the Carbon is secured with a headphones jack and a USB 2.0 connector. What’s unique about the Carbon is that the battery is rechargeable with a USB port. For instance, the Carbon will automatically charge itself while you are transferring music files back and forth. Though it’s unique, it certainly has its downside. This would mean that you must always have access to a computer in order to keep it charge 100 percent at all times. Though this won’t be a problem to majority of you, requiring a computer instead of a wall outlet may be troublesome to a selected few.
The image above gives you a general idea on the thickness of the Carbon. Needless to say, it is undoubtedly one of the thinnest portable audio players in the market.
