Creative Zen 16 GB Portable Media Player (Black) by Creative
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Digital camera reviews of Creative Zen 16 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: 6th is a charm
Summary: 5 Stars
The Creative Zen is my 6th MP3 player. The first 4 died for various reasons. The last one, Creative Zen Vision:M, still works. I replaced it because, while I like it, I have some complaints (too heavy, confusing interface, short battery life, etc.). What I liked best about it was that it worked with Rhapsody, played videos, and it could take a beating and continue to work. The subscription service through Rhapsody is a thing of beauty, I don't know why anyone would use a Zune or an IPod and not have that feature. I bought the Zen 16GB flash player to address the few complaints I had with my Vision:M. My first player came DOA. Amazon overnighted a free replacement (I am an Amazon customer for life). Here are my Pros and Cons on the Creative Zen 16GB.
Pros
* Works well with playforsure subscription service
* Works with Amazon Unbox
* Great sound
* Videos look/sound good
* Very light and compact
* Improved interface from Vision:M
* Can delete items on the player
* Good trouble-shooting tools (for firmware, reboot issues)
* SD slot
* Plugs in directly to a USB 2.0 cable (no goofy adapter needed)
* Works with Vista
Cons
* buggy: The first thing a new buyer should do is load the new firmware. I didn't, so I was able to enjoy loading all my music and videos twice. Fortunately there are good trouble shooting tools
* Creative Tech support: Good luck finding a number to call
* Headphones are only OK
* Not Bluetooth enabled
* Doesn't come in Green (don't ask)
* Can't record direct to MP3
Overall a great little device that I'm using all the time
Digital camera Review: A Great MP3 player, despite a few glitches
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted to wait a month before doing my review, since it often takes that long for issues to surface, and my opinions to solidify. Just so you know, I only use my ZEN to play MP3s. I don't store pictures on it, and have no desire to watch videos on a tiny little screen (although the image is remarkably bright and sharp, with fantastic color depth).
Having said that, this is a GREAT MP3 player! Noise levels are incredibly low, and the EQ settings (both presets and custom) guarantee a sonic experience that will be pleasing to almost any ear. I like bass, and this unit can certainly deliver (with the right headphones).
Here's what I like:
- Great sound! (See above)
- No moving parts. Completely solid state player with no disc drive, which should decrease vibration susceptibility and increase unit life.
- Lot's of storage space. I have 834 MP3 files downloaded, with almost three forths of my memory leftover.
- Reliable operation: My unit was shipped with OS ver. 1.10, which gave me headaches. It would sometimes hang when connected to my computer, or even when just turning the unit on. I had to reset it several times. But ever since I upgraded to ver. 1.20.02 several weeks ago, it has been rock solid! I have downloaded to it, uploaded from it, and played it for hours at a time with no problems whatsoever.
- Long battery life. I haven't tested how long it lasts, but it seems to go for hours and hours without needing a recharge.
- Connector placement: All the connectors are on the unit's side, allowing all cables to be routed next to each other in my car (ahh, it's the simple things in life...).
Here's what I wish was better:
- User interface: Button functions and menus took me a little while to get used to.
- Software gremlins: Syncing album artwork to the music sometimes gets messed up. For example, whatever "Greatest Hits" album is playing, it will show the album cover for Styx "Greatest Hits".
- Construction: The tactile feedback from the buttons and switches makes me wonder how long they will last. Perhaps this is an unfair criticism, since I am an engineer used to working with expensive lab equipment.
Incidentally, the "5 in 1 New Creative Zen Kit" with AC charger and car charger (also available from Amazon) is a GREAT accessory, worth every penny!
Digital camera Review: A Wonderful Invention & Worthy Investment
Summary: 5 Stars
You can check out my other reviews to find out how much a sucker I am for a good MP3 player. As I travel extensively, it's extremely important to me to have a top-of-the-line player (and I'm not necessarily a fan or critic of the iPod, I just haven't taken a great liking to one yet), and the Creative line has had far more hits than they have misses. While I've had mixed results with the Creative Vision W (most of them software glitches than seemed unending), I've had nothing but solid performance out of this next incarnation of the Zen player.
While I'd definitely love this player to be available with 30GB of memory (mostly for the portability of videos), I really can't complain about the offer of 16GB. I do keep my player nearly at capacity most of the time, and, once this little treat gets to under 1GB of available memory, I do experience some similar glitches that I've had with the previous Zen and (moreso) with the Vision W: namely, it either locks up or shuts down completely. When I turn it on again, it keeps locking up until I reset the little system (keep a paperclip handy if you're as anal as I am!), but then it works fine.
For the most part, the video quality is excellent for film / TV transfers. Sequences with much action and quick cuts may come through a bit pixelated, but it's not all that bad. It's certainly very 'watchable,' and the portability is terrific. I'm not entirely certain what file transfers the Zen software requires (not much of a software geek myself); I have noticed that the .avi files need to be converted to a format that meets the operating needs of the player. Again, not a big complaint b/c the software is provided by Creative, and, as long as you have about 10 minutes or so, it'll easily convert an hour of video to something 'loadable' by the player.
As for battery time, the package boasts 30+ hrs of available battery life for listening to music and 5+ hrs for video. Not entirely certain how accurate that may be on the video side, but I've noticed that -- after about ten hours of continuous play -- the battery indicator dips halfway ... so I'd honestly be surprised if I could get 30 hrs of uninterrupted battery life.
Otherwise, FM radio presets are great. 32 available slots. More than enough for most local markets. No AM, but what's new? Photos are crisp and clean on the screen. Creative has really done an admirable service by making these portable players available as external drives to tote pics and small data files around as needed. Bravo!
If I could offer any suggestion (and it's honestly a minor one), it would be that the tiny player offer a modest speaker so that headphones wouldn't always be necessary. I'm not certain how complex a speaker could be at that size, but given the fact the most cell phones offer some type of speakerphone I would think that the technology would be available. It wouldn't be the greatest sound in the world, but it would offer something.
While I'll never use this as much as my Creative Vision W, this is one terrific player and a definite investment for MP player freaks like me!
Digital camera Review: A disappointment
Summary: 3 Stars
While the features on this player are very competitive for the price, I was disappointed in it overall. I own a Zen Micro myself, which has served me very well, so I expected the Zen to be a good solid performer when I went looking for a new player for my wife. Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of bugs left in the player, even with the latest firmware. In particular, there is a tendency to crash that is pretty well unforgivable. Sometimes this could not even be fixed with a reboot. There is also a pretty bad UI flicker in picture viewing mode. I ended up returning the player.
One thing I will say is that unlike other reviewers, I found the firmware upgrade process rather decent. It seems like the built-in rescue mode provides some degree of safety to this procedure.
Digital camera Review: A good device for an Excellent Price
Summary: 3 Stars
Been an Anti-IPod guy, I had a hard time trying to find something that didn't look like an IPod copy or a mix between a Cell-Phone and a USB thumbdrive. A major requirement on my side it was the possibility to listen the Audible Audiobook's and bee able to see Podcast on my way to work.
Well this little device it has all that I want and few little extras.
I will be very happy if it wasn't few major issues with the software on the device and the software to download Podcasts on the device.