Bottom Line:
What I recommend is purchase it through a store with a favorable return policy AND get an in store warranty. I don?t normally recommend those things, but given the reports, I look at it as insurance and its good for 3 years. You can return it- albeit for another one of the same- and get a new Forge 256. 20 bucks isn?t too bad a sunken cost for at $120, after rebate, investment.

I purchased the Forge 256 for the expansion slot, using a non rechargeable battery, ease of use, window big enough to be able to read the information and of course the advantages of having flash memory. It?s small, but can read the IDC tags without my glasses. And it?s relatively inexpensive given its potential for growth. I read a ton of information on Rio?s (and other flash players) about its reliability. I?ve had it for a month and haven?t had any problems. I?ve dropped it on a wood floor and ?luckily? nothing bad happened. The only problem I have is that when I added an old unformatted ScanDisk 64 expansion card, it caused some confusion to the Forge. After some research I found that ScanDisk had some bad disks floating around. But, that being the case, I will try it with a new disk. The jury is still out and if I can?t get it to work I will take it back. Still within my 30 day return policy.

The radio works well on the strong stations- I live in a big city- but when I get into the suburbs and inside a gym- forget about it. Although I can hear the radio broadcasted TV?s in the gym. Headphones are the antennas so get good ones.

You have to put it through it?s paces within the 30 days and make sure you keep your receipt.