Rave-MP returns with four new MP3 players

Rave-MP is back. One of the original lines of MP3 players from those halcyon days before the iPod rumbled onto the scene, the brand has been revived (this time under the aegis of GoVideo) with four new budget models: the hard drive-based ARC2.5 and ARC5.0 (pictured at right), which will come in 2.5GB and 5GB versions; and the 128MB AMP128 and 256MB AMP256, which are Flash-based players that'll come with SD card slots for adding extra memory and will each run for at least sixteen hours off of a single AAA battery. Not that the looks of any of the original Rave-MP players were anything to write home about, but apart from the the designers making a clever reference to some of the old Rio players with the AMP128 and AMP256, we're not totally blown away and it's hard to see someone spending $229 for the ARC5.0 when they could get an iPod mini for just twenty bucks more. They were small and felt solid when we played with them the other day, but we have the feeling that the price on these things is going to have to be very flexible to compete with Apple.