- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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5 out of 8 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"Following the footsteps of the Zen Vision: M"
Pros: A lot of colors, scratch-proof, dedicated volume controls, tactile navigation, low price, OLED screen, nice GUI, video, line-out, FM-radio, a lot of formats (DivX, anyone?), small, cute design
Cons: might look a bit too "plasticky" for some people, screen is a bit too small for good video-viewing, some funky color combinations, small navigation buttons, screen too small to watch long videos
Summary: The fact is too many people can't look past the design and bash the player based on it's looks. This is the exact same scenario as when the Zen Vision: M was released, which nearly everyone though was going to fail, but now is one of the best players out there. So even though I haven't had a chance to see a Zen V first-hand, this is a review to show people not a judge a book by its cover. YES, I KNOW IT'S HYPOCRITICAL FOR ME TO REVIEW THIS PLAYER WITHOUT TESTING IT; I'm just trying to show people the positive sides to the player.
Zen V by no means is a perfect player, but I rated it a 10 because so many people rated it low for no good reason.
First off, so what if the player does look a bit weird? I remembered Zen Vision: M showed the exact same thing. It look a bit toyish, but when you actually see it in person, it's actually a pretty nice looking device.
Also, this player by far, has the most features for a flash device. This player does nearly everything. It plays photos, videos, and music of course, and also has line-out and supports a wide array of formats such as DivX (which is pretty much the only flash player to support this format).
The design is not bad. While not as thin as the nano, it still looks pretty small and very pocketable. Also, one important thing is that this player is said to be scratch-resistant unlike the iPod or Zen Vision:M. Scatch resistance is huge for a player like this. Players are usually put in pockets, and that's where scratches occur the most and it's very annoying. Sure you could buy a case or skin, but it'll add bulk and you have to spend more money. It also has dedicated volume controls on the side (which is very convieniant), and tactile buttons (which a lot of people prefer over touch).
The screen looks vibrant and colorful, which is said to support video. While the screen is too small to watch movies, it's a nice touch to watch video clips or even episodes. Videos isn't the main part of the player, so if you're looking for a flash video player, look somewhere else.
The GUI (graphical user interface) also looks very similar to the ZVM which is a good thing. ZVM by far had one of the best GUI ever.
With all things considered, this is a great flash player. I can predict that it'll steal some of nano's thunder. It's following it's older brother, ZVM pretty well.
- 2 replies to this review
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Just one more comment anout your review. You say that this V will steal some of the Nanos thunder when it finally comes out in July or August. As usual, Apple hasn't been sitting on its butt all this time, and its been awhile since a significant product announcement, so don't be too surprised when Apple comes out with a Nano with 8GB (Apple has purchased contracts on 8 GB flash chips) or some other significant announcement. As always, Creative will be playing a catch up game, especially since they seem to be more focused on becoming a patent troll than creating innovative products.
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How can you rate a product as perfect when you even identified negatives in your own review? And how do you know the glossy plastic is scratch proof if you haven't held one? Oh and yes, you forgot a couple negatives in your "thorough and unbiased" review:
1. Battery is not user replaceable. Being that you are obviously a Creative fanboy, you wouldn't want to mention this fact since this is one of the features that Creative lovers always bash iPods for.
2. Thumb interface sucks. Although I can't know this for sure, CNETs own reviewer stated that this type of control might now be usable if you have large thumbs. Want to know why laptops got rid of this thumb stick long time ago? Because it is a pain to use for most people.
3. Creative's support sucks. Want proof? Go to Creative's own website. There is no phone number for customer service (they say look at you product card, so good luck if you bought one of these used on eBay). When I owned a Creative Zen Micro and had problems with the headphone jack, Creative tech support did not have a toll free number so i had to call on my own dime.
Using your moronic reasoning, I'll have to get one of my buddies to rate these POS a "1" to balance out your "10".
