Creative Zen Vision:M (30GB, black)

Pros: Screen, size, menu layout, extras, touch pad

Cons: buttons can be stiff, lack of video subscription service

Summary: Ipod Killer:
First off I would like to say that the people that say the Ipod is better are ignorent to the truth. My brother has an Ipod video I have a vision. The screen is better the scroll wheel of the Ipod is way more difficult and hurts thumb after a while. Ever since the Ipod became popular I have hated it. Because of this I've this I've been looking for the best Ipod killer avalible. I came across this right when it came out and after researhing it for a while I bought it.

Screen:
The screen is amazing. It has 262 thousand color four times that of the Ipod. Compared to the Ipod it seems like you have an HDTV in the palm of your hand. It is also very bright and can be adjusted to 10 diffrent brightnesses.

Storage:
as for storage it is the same as the 30GB Ipod so unless you'll use more than that it is more than enough. As for me I have 1364 songs, 236 photos, and 41 videos which include, 4 full length movies. Even with all that I still have 20 gigs left.

Zencasts:
The equevlent of podcasts, I don't use theese much, but the are some pretty good ones. It comes with an application that is pretty sraight forward, but it can get frusturating trying to get the the right thing to download.

Features:
The vision M has a cornicopia of features. It has a shortcut button that can take you to, any menu, start/ stop recording, random play all, album of the day, Volume, Switch view( only while playing), or add to selected. It also comes with a calander, clock, 6 themes , the ability to make on the fly playlists, 16 language options, custom equilizer, bass boost, 6 play modes, contact list, task list, ability to choose your own backround, and allows you to set aside a certain amount of space to serve as a removable disk drive.

FM Radio and Microphone:
It has a built in radio, complete with 32 presets. It also allows you to record the station your listening to. The microphone is o.k. but dosen't work well unless it's close to the source. There isn't a whole lot of distortion as long as the sound is loud.

Audio:
Along with the basic means of organization, album, artist, etc... it also has, random play all, album of the day, top 20 favorites, and 20 least favorite.

Video:
The video playback is amazing, much better than the Ipods.

Photos:
It comes with many pre-installed many photos, you can also set a photo as a background and adjust it to four color settings, warm, cool, gray, and sepia.

Size:
Although it is a bit thicker than the 30 gig Ipod, it has a very solid feel. Some people might think it is a little heavy, but it feels good to me. It is not to thick and feels good in your pocket.

Accessories:
Included are a USB cabe, a charger, a converter to attach the USB cable to the player, a bundle of software, and a pouch that acts as a case. Altough the buttons are not accessable when it's in the case I like it any way. Creative also offers another case that is much better.

Zen Media Explorer:
This is an application that comes with the vision. It is an all in one application that can add music, photos, convert video, unlike Itunes, manage your contacts, and manage your calander.

Cons:
The only thing I like about the Ipod is the video service and it makes me mad that Creative dosen't have somthing like that. Another thing is that some of the buttons are stiff and you have to press them in the center to get them to work.

My final thoughts:
If you want one of the best MP3 players with video on the market, or if you really hate Ipods like me this is perfect for you. The navigation is easy, and vast amount of features is great. I hope this review was helpful.