Creating a sports specific MP3 player which is rugged and offers useful features can be hard, but RCA gets close to the mark with its Jet player, noted for a durable design and good sound.

The RCA Jet is available in 1GB (340 songs) and 2GB (680 songs) editions. We tested the 1GB model. The player's oval shape, despite not looking too attractive, is comfortable to hold. It has a durable casing which is splashproof and offers rubber hinges that cover the headphone and USB ports.

Controls include a rubberized center button underneath the display and a menu button on the top. We found the controls to be the major weak spot of the Jet. The center button, offering five options, felt stiff and hard to press at times. The menu button also was awkward, in that you sometimes have to press it several times to get to an on-screen menu for features like radio and stopwatch. That is just plain annoying.

The Jet supports MP3 and WMA audio, including WMA files found on many subscription services. Transfer time for 14 albums (828MB) of MP3s through Windows Media Player 11 was an extremely slow 15 minutes, 30 seconds through a USB 2.0 connection. Audio listening quality was good, though we did not like the included earphones. The sound itself was also somewhat low unless turned up to high volumes. One additional useful feature is the ability to bookmark specific songs which you can go directly back to later to listen to.

Workout friendly features include a built-in armband ring and on-screen stopwatch. There's also a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator, though you have to manually update this to get your most current rating. The RCA Jet also offers a FM radio feature with 20 station presets and the ability to record your FM broadcasts for later enjoyment. We would have liked to test this but our test unit froze up several times when we attempted to access it. (We've heard of no issues like this though so it could have been our review unit only.)

We do believe the Jet to be an average, somewhat useful player for those who are active. It has some flaws, but it gets the job done.

Pros: Durable design, good sound, subscription music support
Cons: Controls, low sound volume, music transfer time

Warranty
1 year