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"Point Blank - Simply the BEST!"
on by 00sirisPros Aggresively priced - Brilliantly beautiful screen - Intuitive control settings and placement - Compact Flash Slot - great versatility - great sound
Cons No kickstand - Poor instructions/documentation out of the box
Summary I've heard (read) ENOUGH!
Some of you really need to stop rating this thing based on a personal wish list. Sure it would be great if ... However, when you compare this to other machines of the like, it is by far the best bang for the buck - BAR NONE.
Let's first tackle the critism (the unfair criticism).
1) - It's too big. --- too big for what? Sure it's bigger than your Ipod but that doesn't mean that it's too big.
Can it fit in my pocket? - YES - that makes it pocket sized.
Can it fit in my hand confortably? - YES - that means it's hand held. Personally, I think some things are actually too SMALL.
2) - It's not WiFi enabled ... This is true but that's hardly a con. My PSP is WiFi enabled and I barely use that funcionality because the overall design of the unit renders it quite cumbersome. I suspect that WiFi on the ZVW would similarly have very limited advantages as well.
3) - Poor battery life - Maybe it's me, but there's no way anyone can convice me that 13 hours of music or 5 hours of video on one charge is poor battery life. If I listened to music for three hours a day at an average, then it would be 4 days before I started charging again. That's not bad at all.
4) Compact Flash - I read somewhere that the compact flash is really unecessary. It portrudes and can not be considered removable storage and therefore, is a waste. Huh??? Wait a minute! I have a 4 gig Compact Flash card and a CP converter for all my other storage devices. This allows me to be able to go to a photoshoot and quickly view my shots on a beautiful screen. This also allows me to be able to get any media from my friends at any given moment and immediately transfer those files to my unit WITHOUT the use of a computer or laptop (which is really really really big in comparision) and that's considered a waste? - Sheesh.
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Yes, there are products that will have better performance in certain areas but I maintain that those areas are very specific and will have poorer results with all other functionality when Juxtapposed to the Vision W.
There are only 2 real cons that I can think of ---> 1) there is no kickstand and 2) although the ZVW is very intuitive, the boxed documentation is really unacceptable. For that reason this rating should really be a 9.5 but CNET doesn't allow for half scores.
Here's what you do get.
1) - A wonderfully beautiful 4.3 inch screen that plays a slew of vid formats. It is also just about the best quality of them all.
2) - An MP3 player that has a variety playback options and playlist setups (including this thing that they dubbed "DJ")
3) - A great FM radio
4) - The device has a Compact Flash slot. Regardless of how some see it, I find this very useful and convenient.
5) - The ability to view files on your television at respectable resolution - WOW
6) - A removable battery. And on top of that, the Vision W's battery automatically charges while hooked up to your computer via USB. That's a really cool convenience.
6) - A whole lot of machine at a fantastic price point. I bought mine from B&H at $279 dollars.
Hope this helps. -
"Great machines"
on by nutjobPros Plays more formats then any other machine
Cons slightly expensive and video battery life should be longer
Summary Just got this machine and put it through lots of paces. It even will play podcasts (via zcast). My yahoo music subscription works but I got it for the video and newscast/podcast I want to see on long plane rides. Goodbye Ipod, thsi size screen makes it worthwhile.
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"My One-Gadget Solution"
on by sjhpubsPros Great screen, excellant sound quality, CF card slot, wide collection of functions
Cons A bit bulky, would like to see some firmware changes
Summary Originally, I was looking for a pda, a portable hard drive to download photographs, and an mp3 player, not only for music but for ebooks and podcasts. When I stumbled across the Vision W, it was a lot more expensive than I had planned on for any one of these gadgets, but put together, it seemed to make sense.
I have to say that I am very happy with my choice. I have only had it for about 2 weeks, but I have listened to an ebook, listened to daily podcasts, loaded and listened to some music, referred to the calendar and task and contact lists that I synched from Outlook (would love to be able to update these and synch back also), recorded memos to myself, loaded and shared photos for viewing, and listening to FM radio-- all the things I bought it for. Although some of the menus are a bit confusing at first--getting used to which button to use for what in what mode--I have to say that I figured it out vbery easily, which is good because the documentation that came with it is lacking in this area. I also think the headphones that come with the Vision W are surprisingly comfortable and the sound quality is very good. I may replace them because I find all earbuds annoying, but I feel no great preassure to do that right now.
Overall, I am very happy with my choice. I have not taken it on a long trip yet, but I do a fair amount of walking every day and I really enjoy slipping it into a pocket and listening to any one of a number of things to pass the time.
Some of the things I would like to see improved are:
* Firmware updates to allow input into the calendar, tasks and contacts lists.
* More customization of menus possible or hot buttons that allow you to access often-used functions more easily
* Longer battery life
* A slipcase with a belt clip
* Better documentation, including some information on keeping the screen clean and navigation
* The ability to move things around once they are on the machine.
In conclusion, this is the first "mp3" player that I have owned, and certainly it does that very well. But that is not the reason to buy this pvp. If you are looking for the video capabilities and/or the combination of features that the Vision W offers, playing MP3s is gravy, and this is certainly a very good choice. -
"Wonderful player with an abundance of features."
on by ArtC1Pros Almost a perfect 10 for my intended purpose.
Cons Could use some firmware changes.
Summary My primary reason for purchasing the ZVW is storing and viewing photos while traveling and I believe I have made a good choice. I purchased a CF card adapter and am able to upload photos from all of my digital cameras. Thanks to the ZVW I no longer need to lug my laptop around on photo shoots or vacations.
The screen resolution, color accuracy, viewing angles, etc. are excellent.
Sound quality is very good and I was quite surprised with the sound quality of the built-in speaker.
The graphical user interface (GUI) does the job in a fairly reasonable manner but I can think of many changes that I would like to see.
Voice recording is fair to good but given the size of the unit I didn't expect much.
The unit is very well constructed although a bit heavy.
I don't care for the positioning of the Navigation, Options and Play/Pause Buttons, they are too close together for large fingers.
Moving data within the ZVW is prohibited which is especially frustrating when it comes to importing photos from a Compact Flash. A minor firmware revision should easily fix the problem.
Overall, I think the ZVW is a fine product but unless you intend to watch portable movies or use it for photo storage as I do, it is much too big and heavy for an MP3 player. This is not a knock on the product, I don't think it was designed to be an MP3 player with many options, rather it is a Personal Video Player that plays MP3's. -
"Everything in one package....it's perfect"
on by armoangelPros doesn't lag <br>photos, videos, music in one <br>large, clear screen <br>sturdy construction
Cons lack of accessories
Summary After having my creative zen micro stolen, I decided that I needed to upgrade myself to a really nice player. At first I wanted just an mp3 player, but then I saw the zen vision w and I could not resist. I did a lot of research between this and the new ipod video...and though you cannot really compare the two because the CVW is definately a media player rather than a music player, which the ipod is more so.... i still felt like when it came between quality of video, music and such or quantity of accessories available...i decided that the CVW was definately worth it...and plus it was only 20 dollars more for the 30gb CVW than the 30gb ipod video....i absolutely love it.....and yea its not very slim compared to the ipod video, it is still small enough to travel anywhere, its a real headturner, great screen, clear colors, viewing angles are great for showing videos to a bunch of friend without worrying if they can see from where they are viewing the screen from, and the sound is crisp and clear........i highly highly recommend this if you want to get something above the ipod video, and are willing to sacrifice slimness and like 20-50 dollars more....... A+
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