- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 52 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"In many ways better than iPod"
Pros: Drag and drop loading, Stunning Video Colors, "Coolness" Factor
Cons: Limited accesories, limited instructions
Summary: After 3 years, my iPod died and I went looking for a new one. I came across the Creative Zen M and really did my homework before buying this. I wanted to wait for a while before writing a review in order to get over the "its not an iPod" feeling.
After much thought, I would have to sum up the Zen M as "different and slightly better" than an iPod. I do miss the navigation wheel of the iPod, and have a hard time with the touchy tactile aspect of the navigation bar of the Zen M.
Here are the deal breakers in my opinion to help you decide if the Zen M is right for you.
1. Zen M has STUNNING video quality. If this is of high importance, then choose the Zen M.
2. It has Drag and Drop loading capability, although this is not totally seamless and does require some tweaking to work right.
3. A deal breaker for me, is the "Hide Folder" capability, which allows content to be hidden. If you have R rated or higher video content, this can be kept hidden.
4. Longer Battery life. Again a deal breaker for me.
5. Good sound, with customizable EQ button on the player.
6. The ability to directly delete songs or folders from the player
7. Coolness Factor. Not a deal breaker, but important.
8. Supports many more Video formats than iPod, including avi., xVid, and Divx. This was a deal breaker for me.
Now, on the flip side, if any of these points are deal breakers, I suggest you get the iPod:
1. Very limited instructions on use. If you have never owned an MP3 player before, some features and instructions will be frustrating. However, if you have owned some type of player before, lack of instructions might not be a big deal.
2. Does not support aac format. If the bulk of your music is Itunes downloaded, dont buy this.
3. No games (not a deal breaker for me)
4. Some difficulty with creating playlists. It can be done, but it is not as fluid as with Itunes.
5. Cannot play when connected to computer, and computer is only source to recharge unless a separate power plug is purchased (same as iPod)
I would say that the positive deal breaker aspects outweigh the negative and make this player a smart buy.
- 2 replies to this review
-
I have wanted a portable player to download and listen to library eaudiobooks. My ipod does not read the books (license problems between Apple and OCLC, I think), and the Phillips Gogear which I recently bought drives me crazy, as its fast forward action is, actually, slow forward, and has no bookmarking function, like the ipod does. I have to start each ebook from the beginning each time I pick it up and then use the ff function for a half hour or so to advance to hour 4 of 11. So I'm thinking of returning it to amazon and getting another player. How are the ff and bookmarking functions on the Zen Vision?
thanks - drora. -
I'm glad to read the opinions of people with an open and objective mind. I should be receiving my zen vision m in a few days, and like to hear what other people think about it without the usual "It's not an iPod, so it can't be as good" bias.
Where to buy
Creative Zen Vision: M (30GB, white):
$412.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$412.99 | See Site |
|
%20user%20review%20and%20rating%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/creative-zen-vision-m/4864-6490_7-31632700-4.html){kind=small}