September 24, 1999 Web posted at: 3:43 p.m. EDT (1943 GMT) by Douglas F. Gray

From...

(IDG) -- Diamond Multimedia Systems is shipping the latest version of its portable MP3 player, the Rio 500.

The MP3 (Motion Picture Experts Group, Level 3) player allows users to listen to two hours of digital music, according to a statement issued by the company.

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First announced in June, the Rio 500 comes with 64MB of built-in memory that can be expanded to 96MB with the addition of 16MB and 32MB flash memory cards. The player can play back 13 hours of music on one AA battery, and can download enough information to fill the player in two minutes.

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The player also has a USB (universal serial bus) connection, which has transfer speeds five times faster than a parallel port connection, according to Diamond's statement. The device is both PC- and Macintosh-compatible. The Rio 500 has a larger display than previous models, the company said.

The MP3 player comes bundled with RioPort's Audio Manager software, allowing users to search, locate, record and playback digital audio content. The software also comes with a built-in Web browser configured to download MP3 files from the Internet.

The Rio 500 is available now for $269.95 in retail outlets in North America and on the Web.

16MB flash memory cards are available for $59.95 and 32MB cards are $99.95.

Douglas F. Gray writes for the IDG News Service in London.