Monday, Oct. 25, 2010

Diamond Rio PMP300

Apple's iPod was not the first portable MP3 player. Diamond Multimedia's Rio PMP300 wasn't either — it was the third — but it's widely regarded as the first commercially successful one. Released in 1998, it retailed for $200 and shipped with a whopping 32 MB of internal memory, good enough for 10 songs. Unlike today's MP3 players, the Rio only displayed the track number on its LCD, but it did have a random play function. The success of the Rio PMP300 also spurred one of the first digital download services, RioPort. In October 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed for a temporary injunction against the sale of the player, claiming it violated the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. The RIAA was denied the injunction, and Diamond went on to sell 200,000 players.