The Rio Cubic (aka the Carbon C): what could have been (part II)
We hate to reopen old wounds and all, but a good friend of Engadget's (who asked to be referred to as "a former senior Rio employee currently enjoying the Silicon Sun") did us the service of sending over actual device shots of the Rio Cubic, the working title for what was to be the Carbon C 30GB player. From what we understand, the device was 30GB and expected to actually hit 60GB with a 30 hour battery life, as well as having the kind of support we all came to know and love from Rio players, like OGG, FLAC, WMA, PlaysForSure, and eventually even Audible. The story goes: the final firmware was about to get signed off, the hardware was done, and the production run was on the verge of beginning when D&M pulled the plug. We'll try not to dwell on the painful topic of Rio's death too much longer, but our source did want to sign off to all the Rio fans with the following:
These photos are shared with all the Rio fanboys and fangirls by former employees who also loved Rio products. We were dedicated to ensuring they were unmatched in audio quality and audio features, which were always our highest priorities. They're shared as a small thank you to the Rio community for your loyalty and support to the first commercial Digital Audio Player that fought to set the legal precedents and laid the groundwork for a new market and everything that has followed. We miss Rio as much as you do. Thanks!
And now a moment of silence for Rio, gone but not forgotten. Click on for a ton more shots of the Cubic, or pick up the unreleased Carbon C manual here.
