There’s no doubt that Apple’s iPod product line has been garnering a lot of attention ever since the first iPod was launched back in 2002. Since then, Apple has managed to push its iPod line to a point where it’s more like a cultural accessory in addition to the traditional consumer electronics device. In fact, Apple’s iPod is the world’s most popular portable audio player with as much as 80 percent of the market share. After introducing its expensive line of MP3 players in ridiculously high storage capacities, Apple decided to launch a more economical version at an interesting price tag: the iPod Mini. The iPod Mini took off swiftly, as it was just the right player that people were waiting for. That said, maybe if Apple’s iPod series isn’t your thing, you may want to check out Rio’s MP3 players, as they offer far more features than the iPod Mini with a competitive price tag.

Click on the links below to read an in-depth analysis of each of the players:

Original Rio Carbon 5GB: This was the first installment of the three Rio Carbon series of MP3 players. The audio quality in general is quite exceptional with an impressive number of features to keep the technological advanced users occupied and interested for some time. We especially noted the red LED backlights, the bright screen, its audio quality and an additional GB of space at the same price as the Apple iPod Mini.

Special Edition Pearl Rio Carbon 5GB: The only distinction between the aforementioned solution and this one is the color scheme. As opposed to using the standard gray exterior, Rio has upgraded the color scheme to a more stylistic cream color. The remaining features and specifications of both players are exactly the same.

Special Edition Pearl Rio Carbon 6GB: Rio probably wasn’t satisfied with just the 5GB version of its Special Pearl Edition portable audio player, which is probably why it decided to add another GB to the original 5GB and increase the price by $30.00 to somewhat justify its value.

We recommend you read through our in-depth analysis of the Rio Carbon and an overview of the Special Edition Pearl players to see how they stack up against Apple’s iPod Mini.