Finally--subscription-compatible Rio players

Rio this morning announced that its popular Carbon series is now compatible with subscription-based music services such as Napster To Go. In other words, the 5GB , the 5GB and 6GB Carbon Pearl, and the 2.5GB ce2100 are all officially PlaysForSure compliant. You can go download the firmware update (version 1.95) from Rio's Web site.

We've always been huge fans of the Rio Carbon series as they posed the first legitimate alternative to the iPod Mini. The compact and stylish Carbon features a useful voice recorder and an impressive 20-hour-plus battery life. Adding Janus subscription support makes it even sweeter, and prices for Carbons these days are incredibly low. Go get one.