[Zeratul]

Thanks to some good timing, I managed to get my Carbon for $210 CDN at Best Buy (with an additional $24 rebate). It works like a charm and I'm ecstatic about the deal I got on it (the H10 goes for $330 in Canada, in comparison), but there are a few features that are bugging me.

With the case on, many of the buttons as well as the screen are covered, and taking off the case is a pain because you have to pinch the sides of the player where the scroll wheel and menu buttons are. The case's tight fit doesn't help either. I like the self databasing feature, but the lack of on-the-fly playlists means I can only listen to songs in album/alpha/random order. And when I want to listen to a specific song, the player stops after playing it and you have to select another each time a song has finished. Once you start playing a song, there's no way to go back to the album quickly to browse through songs; you have to navigate your way back to the album from the main folder. The player feels reasonably solid, but the micro, mini and H10 feel a lot more reassuring to me.

So now to my problem: when researching players, I narrowed it down to micro or carbon. The $100 cheaper price tag lead me to choose the carbon, but now I realize there's many things that that $100 is buying me. From what I understand, the micro will solve ALL the problems I mentionned (to solve the case problem, I can use a mint tin which adds to style points as well). The only downside would be the extra cost plus losing the 19.5 hour battery life (I tested it) (And from what I can gather, I'd be looking at around 10 hours if I bought the micro). I really don't know what to do, has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any input is appreciated,

Zeratul

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

The Carbon Pearl comes with a playthrough case, and Rio has said they'll start selling it as an accessory online. Additionally, you could order a custom one from www.mindknob.com

 

[vranswer]

Vaja case is even better, although maybe too pricey for you. Keep the Carbon, you'll get used to its playback and figure out work-arounds (like selecting 'play all' instead of the individual song). It's an excellent player.

 

[Zeratul]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Mindknob case is an option, but paying over $50 for a Vaja case is out of the question.

 

[t10]

Why is everyone crazy about cases? With the way these things depriciate nowdays, when you sell it a year later, a one with decent looks will fetch up maybe $30 bucks more at most compared to a scratched up one. Do you really want to worry about things for over a year for $30 bucks?

As for Carbon via H10, Carbon is quite a lot smaller so it wins for portable use in my book.

 

[elnero]

There is also the Rio Carbon Pearl which comes with a nicer play through case. Not sure if it's leather or fake but it looks to be of decent quality. From what I understand it will be available on Rio's website soon although for the money they'll probably want for it I would be more tempted to buy the mindknob case.

 

[omendelovitz]

Having owned both the micro and the carbon, and having been so displeased with the micro that I took 3 of them back, well that should answer your question as to what to do with your carbon...

IMO, the micro's touchpad (I tried 3 models before I called it quits) works poorly, the software on the carbon is light years ahead of the micro; the Micro's firmware (the latest firmware as of Feb 2005) was unstable (or maybe it was the players?). Either way, I love my (actually my wife's) carbon so much that I have debated swapping her for my U2 iPod...

This is all just IMHO.

Oriel

 

[t10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omendelovitz Having owned both the micro and the carbon, and having been so displeased with the carbon that I took it back, well that should answer your question as to what to do with your carbon...

ok

Quote:

Originally Posted by omendelovitz I love my (actually my wife's) carbon

say what?

lol

 

[elnero]

I think omendelovitz meant he returned the Micro not the Carbon, at least that's what I got after reading the whole post.

 

[meat01]

The case is perfect for me as I just need something to protect it when it is my bag. When it is out, all it does is sit on my desk, so I take the case off, problem solved. You can't really access the buttons when it is in a mint tin can you? Tip: Pinch the sides underneath the scroll wheel.

 

[mushu]

Over at riovolution (click here) some bloke is selling the official rio play through case that came with the rio pearl, which you could try, or the mindknob case.

I know the lack of OTG is annoying, but aside from that, the carbon is the best mini HD mp3 player IMO.

 

[ji_howa]

When I first got the Carbon, I just dumped my entire collection of music on it... some of the Mp3s did not have great tags, and so I just selected songs manually and the lack of a on-the-fly playlist really got to me.

After a while I got tired of it, and made playlists, and updated all the tags on the music to included album/artist information. With this, I have no more organizational issues with the Carbon anymore, I can play custom playlist or play an entire album, or particular artists...you can even play by genre, so I find that I don't need the on-the-fly anymore...

It took some time, but my collection is much more organized now

As far as cases go, mine is called the pocket, which was a free accessory that came with my pants

The metal in the back of my carbon has tiny scratches on it, but it is perfectly functional and the buttons are solid enough that I don't have to put lock on when I place it in my pocket.

 

[Zeratul]

Quote:

Originally Posted by t10 Why is everyone crazy about cases?

It's not because I'm worried about the value going down, I think most people just like to keep their things in good condition. Plus a case can avert a potentially fatal drop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meat01 You can't really access the buttons when it is in a mint tin can you?

True, but it's a hell of a lot more convenient to open a hinged door than wiggle the Carbon in and out of its case. And unlike leather cases they prevent you from sitting on your player and squashing it.


Wow, there seem to be a lot of Carbon supporters out there. Any more opinions would be great.

 

[trombs]

I've also owned both; I kept the Zen Micro. Here's my comparison of the two (on riovolution.com).

 

[Edvard_Grieg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero There is also the Rio Carbon Pearl which comes with a nicer play through case. Not sure if it's leather or fake but it looks to be of decent quality. From what I understand it will be available on Rio's website soon although for the money they'll probably want for it I would be more tempted to buy the mindknob case.

Good job reposting what I already said