Worth every penny. Be Creative, forget Ipod! | Creative Zen 16 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

My girlfriend likes it | Creative Zen 16 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

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	• Creative Zen 16 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Creative Labs Creative Labs average customer review:based on 161 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Creative Zen

I purchased the Zen 16GB player to replace my hard-drive based Cowon iAudio (30GB). The iAudio has great sound and a decent video screen, but twice in 2 years the headphone jack became disconnected from the circuit board, so instead of spending another $75 for repairs it was time to replace.

LOOKS: The Zen is tiny! Easily a smaller footprint than a credit card, but thicker - as you would expect of something with electronics and a battery. The screen takes up the bulk the the face, there is only room for the buttons on the right edge. The finish is a very nice, shiny black plastic that has a nice feel to it.

PERFORMANCE: You need to load the software that comes with the Zen to manage transfers from the desktop to the Zen. I prefer to drag-and-drop files, but the Zen was not recognized without the software. Transfers seemed slower than with my iAudio, but acceptable. Once on the Zen, data cannot be accessed as if using the desktop file explorer. It is very itunes-like - choose by album, artist, play list, etc. My work-around was to make all my non-album collections into Zen play lists via the Creative software on the desktop. Battery life is good, I haven't run any stress-test to determine range, but so far so good.

The sound is good, with a number of preset equalizer settings as well as a customizable one and bass boost. The volume has a range higher than I'll ever need, and is easily controlled by the 4 way buttons on the face. Video is created by running the Creative converter and runs smoothly on the vibrant screen.

SUMMARY: This is a nice little mp3/video player at a good price. I've enjoyed it for the month I've had it. Immediately buy a screen protector and a case to protect the gloss finish of the Zen. I got a 3rd party silicone case with a belt clip and it does the job nicely.

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Worth every penny. Be Creative, forget Ipod!

So little in size, but it does so much. I "upgraded" from the Creative micro-photo, this is thinner, lighter and does way more. I didn't need the instructions, menus are so intuitive. Tons of free podcasts are available, audio and video, through Zencast. Colors of pictures and videos is superb. I have a cheap pair of Panasonic earphones and I think the sound is great. Can't wait to listen through a "good" pair!

Downloads are easy and seamless with Amazon Unboxed. I have a Napster-to-go subscription and I can constantly change my music for only $14 p/mo. Or I could use several other sites...I'm not chained to the pay-per-song/album iTunes store/software.

I waited a long time to purchase and now am so glad I did. I have only had it for about a month, but can't think of anything I don't like. Definitely get a case and screen protector. You can get both for under $15.

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My girlfriend likes it

I got this mp3 player for my girlfriend a few weeks ago and she likes it a lot. The only complaint she's had so far is that the arm band that goes with it is not user friendly. It's bulky and doesn't allow you to see the screen or any of the buttons so she's unable to skip over songs while she's running. But other than that she seems really happy with it!

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Great Decision

I needed a new MP3 player to replace my stolen iPod. I didn't want another iPod, as I hate trying to deal with the scroll wheel while driving, and it sucked trying to make it work with Linux. The Creative Zen is much more driving friendly, especially protected by the silicon case and screen protector. Transferring music isn't quite as easy as advertised for Linux. The proprietary Microsoft MTP (Music Transfer Protocol) is required to be used to transfer music. There are workarounds for Linux, like mounting hacks or using Gnomad2, but the advertised "Drag and Drop- like a USB drive" isn't quite correct. It is drag and drop, once you get around MTP- something that happens in Windows automatically. Also, the Zen doesn't do a very good job of recognizing music files placed on it without it's software. You can get them on there, but some/most aren't recognized (for me, no AAC recognition) and none of the album art is seen. However, it does work fine if you use the Creative software. Maybe it was just the way I did it, but I ended up having to boot into Windows to get all my music on there (now that I think about it, Gnomad2 might work better, but I gave up before then. It has a crappy interface).

All in all, it is a very good player. I am extremely happy with my purchase, especially now that I got all my music on there. I focused solely on problems I had, and everything else imagionable about this player is positive. Music playback is great, I like the interface, the controls are very well thought out, the "Album of the Day" button is the best idea I've ever seen on a player, and movie playback is great (once movies are converted into the correct format- which you will have to do and requires Creative's software to do it). I would definitely buy again.

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Decked out in an all-black suit, the Creative ZEN is smaller than your average credit card and sits snugly right in your palm. With an attractive 11.3mm thickness, this sleek player weighs a mere 65g, allowing you to carry it around easily. It's got 16 GB storage and the ability to support different popular media formats. What's more, you can add as much capacity as you want with its SD memory expansion slot. With its patented ZEN user interface, which offers more information to be viewed on the screen, navigating through mass content is simply a breeze Integrated FM radio with 32 preset stations. Get free video and audio podcast channels through your player from ZENcast Record important meetings or voice memos to yourself with the integrated voice recorder Built-in rechargeable battery for up to 25 hours of music or five hours of movies Creative ZEN comes with earphones, USB 2.0 cable, quick start Leaflets and installation CD (includes Creative Media Explorer software and ZENcast Organizer)

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