[jlo mein]

I went browsing the Rio site and noticed they only have the small capacity HD players now. What happened?

2 years ago I was about to buy one when I was on a trip to Oregon. Only thing that stopped me was that in a brick and mortar store, it was vastly overpriced, equal to the 4G Ipod 20gb at the time.

 

[nickd75]

As I understand it, a replacement has been in the pipeline for.... ever now, but it's been delayed and delayed. There are lots of rumours about though.

Oh, and the existing ones have mostly broken...

Nick

 

[909]

I've had my Rio Karma since summer of 2004 (bought it brand new) and never ever had a problem with it. Knock on wood.

 

[davidd]

the Karma was discontinued awhile ago and supposed to be replaced, but Rio was bought out so there will never be a replacement from them

 

[swmtnbiker]

Rio as a company no longer exists.

 

[The_X]

Doesn't Sigmatel own the rights to the Rio brand now? I mean, that can't be too bad of a thing.

 

[balcar]

amazon.com was selling a reconditioned rio karma 20g for about $160 recently. Don't know if any are left, but you might check with them.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by balcar amazon.com was selling a reconditioned rio karma 20g for about $160 recently. Don't know if any are left, but you might check with them.

I bought two of these "remanufactured" units from Amazon last year and both died from hard drive failure within a week of each other. They were also in less than optimal cosmetic condition, one much worse than the other (screen scratches and major scuff marks).

At any rate it's a moot point since Amazon no longer has them available, and Amazon Marketplace prices are ranging from $299-$450

for remanufactured Karmas. Holy crap!

 

[balcar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel I bought two of these "remanufactured" units from Amazon last year and both died from hard drive failure within a week of each other. They were also in less than optimal cosmetic condition, one much worse than the other (screen scratches and major scuff marks). At any rate it's a moot point since Amazon no longer has them available, and Amazon Marketplace prices are ranging from $299-$450 for remanufactured Karmas. Holy crap!

Mine looks and works pretty well. Maybe I should sell it, if folks are paying that kind of money!!!

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by balcar Mine looks and works pretty well. Maybe I should sell it, if folks are paying that kind of money!!!

The $450 units are modified with 60GB hard drives. Really though, just because someone is trying to sell used 20GB Karmas for three hundred bucks doesn't mean they're actually selling any.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear you got a good one. I liked the player but after watching two of them go belly-up I decided that the karma wasn't worth the risk for me.

Just a heads-up, there is one eBay seller (Crown Photoworld) that has the remanufactured 20GB units for $159.99, but they want $20 for shipping

:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rio-karma-20GB-M...QQcmdZViewItem

The listing states they have 14 available.

 

[jlo mein]

so one's modified with aftermarket HDD's...they would be less prone to Karma failure? Since the main Karma issue in peticular seems like HDD failure?

I think its rather ironic that so many have died and the product itself is named Karma...makes you wonder what you did to deserve it hehe...

edit: second question. I remember reading that when a lot of Karma failures started happening after the release, people started buying retailer extended warranties that offer no hassle product replacement. I wonder what they would get as replacement if there are no more Karma's and no future product evolution.

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel Just a heads-up, there is one eBay seller (Crown Photoworld) that has the remanufactured 20GB units for $159.99, but they want $20 for shipping :

I hate folks who ruin a good deal by trying to make outrageous profit on shipping. Even with insurance, that's ridiculous.

 

[aaroncort]

I'm really sad that they're not making an updated Karma. It would have been an amazing player if it weren't for it being extreamly fragile. If they would have worked on the obvious flaws and puting in a line out or making a pocket dock line out then it would have been a favorite around here. For the price who the flip would want one.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlo mein I think its rather ironic that so many have died and the product itself is named Karma...makes you wonder what you did to deserve it hehe...

I thank you for causing me to flush my sinuses with cold Stone IPA.