The Rio Carbon 5GB was my first MP3 player, and I loved it...

It was all gravy until after 3 to 4 months when the volume control dial broke for no apparent reason! This rendered the player pretty useless for portable use (I have Sony ex71's that have no in-line volume control), so I had to get it repaired. Luckily it does come with a one year warranty, but it was still a pain in the butt to get sorted, and I wouldn't be surprised if it broke again!

I think durability should be a key consideration when splashing out over £100 on something you're going to use a lot. From what I can ascertain, Rio are somewhat renowned for their lack of quality, but of course I thought it wouldn't happen to me.

Still, I must say, apart from that major fault it is an awesome device, and it also seems that a lot of MP3 players have serious durability issues. My sister's Zen Micro broke after less than 5 months, and I have heard of many people having trouble with iPod's as well.