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Strengths: Cheap, light-weight, very convenient amount of storage space
Weaknesses: We'll see how it holds up physically
Summary: The best thing that I have to compare this to is the i-Pod. Obviously, i-Pod it's not. However, the main reason I bought the Rio Eigen was its price. I got mine for $165 inclusive of shipping. This puts it in the range of many of the smaller and essentially worthless (to me) MP3 players with 256 or 512 MB of memory. At 1.5 GB, I can usually fit about 300 songs averaging 160kb/second on my player, which is good for a few days of use without downloading from my computer. It's not the same as an i-Pod with 4 or 10 GB of memory, but then again it's about half the price. Additionally, the Eigen is rather small, about half the size of a deck of cards, and light-weight. The sound is relatively good (though I personally find earbuds annoying) and it's nice to have an equalizer that I can adjust.
In terms of ease of use, I'd put the Eigen in the middle somewhere. The buttons are relatively easy to access, however I wish they would have added more functionality to the navigational wheel. You can only use the wheel in menu mode, which is kind of worthless. It would have been nice if the wheel were programmed to navigate through albums or artists while you are playing a song. You have to press the menu button, select Play Music, and then choose album or artist. The design of the software/hardware interactions basically requires a bit more button pressing than should be necessary. Again, i-Pod it's not.
Also, I am not a huge fan of the software that comes with the Eigen. You're better off using Windows Media Player. However, you do have to use the CD that comes with the Eigen or visit Rio's website to get the drivers for the player. This means, for example, it is not easy to just plug your Eigen into a friend's computer and download songs off of it. You first have to bring along your Eigen CD or download the drivers to her computer, install the drivers, and then you can get her music. Also, if you are interested in putting regular computer files on the Eigen, you must use Rio's Taxi software--you can't just plug in the USB and drag and drop files.
Naturally, USB is not as fast as firewire.
That criticism out of the way, this is still a cheap, convenient alternative to a more expensive product. I am very happy with mine. For those of you who want a very functionable and serviceable harddrive MP3 player but who may be short on cash, this is definitely the choice.
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