The Rio 500 is considered the first of the Second Generation MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

 digital audio player (portable digital audio player), and was produced by Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia is a company that specializes in many forms of multimedia technology. They have produced graphics cards, motherboards, modems, sound cards and MP3 players, however the company began with the production of the TrackStar, a PC add-on card which emulated Apple II computers...

. It shipped September 22, 1999. The Rio 500 was the successor of the Rio PMP300

Rio PMP300

The Rio PMP300 was a portable consumer MP3 digital audio player , and was produced by Diamond Multimedia. It was introduced September 15, 1998, and it shipped later that year.-Features:...

, and provided a number of user requested features (including USB and higher audio quality).

Features

The Rio 500 was the first MP3 player to allow file transfer via USB cable, and PC

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 & Mac

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

support. It features 64 MB of flash memory available for music, has a backlight, ability to set bookmarks, has an expansion card slot (Smart Media card) and is powered by one AA battery. It is roughly the size of a standard pack of playing cards.

Non-standard USB

The Rio 500 has a USB port that looks like the standard 5-pin mini-B type, however it is not compatible with modern USB mini-B cables. The USB1.1 spec was released in September 1998 and the 500 didn't go on sale until a year later, however the spec for mini-B cables and receptacles was not established until October 2000. Before then, some digital cameras had adopted the mini-B connector using a pinout with the data lines reversed (relative to spec) and the +5V line disconnected. The same pinout used for the Rio 500. USB cables that were included with these devices usually had an arrow shape imprinted on the mini connector rather than the USB "trident" logo. Any cable used for the Rio 500 must have the +5V line (red wire) cut or it may cause damage when connected with a power source. Replacement Rio Part # 90260017-001 is available on eBay from several vendors.