Creative Zen Vision W (60GB)
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"The best Zen player available" on by Ffenix
Pros: Wide gorgeous screen, plays most of the video formats I want, plays MP3s about as good as an iPod, radio and picture viewer, removeable battery, compact flash card reader
Cons: Big screen sacrifices size, weight and a little bit of battery life; still a bit pricey at $400, but worth every penny
Summary: I'm a fan of Creative ever since the SoundBlaster 16 sound cards back in the mid-90s. I've practically owned most of their sound cards, but this is the first time I ever bought a consumer electronic product from them. Before purchasing the Zen Vision W, I was using the 5th generation iPod (the one with video capabilities). I loved my iPod, but I was still disappointed that I can't watch videos with the iPod unless I convert all my videos into Apple's proprietary MP4 format. So it became primarily just an MP3 player, but it's still a damn good one, and I don't ever regret buying it. But after 2 years with the iPod, I really wanted an all-in-one device, and thankfully Creative designed the Zen Vision W.
The Zen Vision W is all I could ask for in a PMP/MP3 player: it plays DivX, a competent MP3 player, a picture viewer; you can output to a TV without buying optional equipment; a compact flash card reader; and a gorgeous screen with a very nice looking menu system. Other Zen Vision models are okay, but the screen is too small, and it's bulkier than the iPod. Now, I understand that what I said was a bit contradictory, but given the Zen Vision W's large screen, I can easily forgive this particular model's bulkiness compared to the other Zen's.
Though it's a great system, the Vision W had to sacrifice weight, size and battery life (though not by much) in order to have the widescreen and massive 60GB space. Nonetheless, these things are easily overlooked, especially for the functionality this device offers.
I highly recommend Creative's Zen Vision W to anyone looking for an awesome "almost all-in-one" PMP. -
"THE BEST media player: Better than iPod and Zune" on by aalexsuprun
Pros: Huge (4.3"), high res (480*272) screen, Excellent-sounding earbuds, 60GB, comes with a case, basic USB cable used, easy to use, great samples given...
Cons: Its pretty big and bulky (60GB), fragile LCD
Summary: In my opinion, a Creative Labs player is the best choice in terms of quality because this company has been making high-end (like their E-MU series) sound cards for computers since the 1970's. In addition to this basic brand-based logic, the screen is bigger than that of the Zune and the iPod and it plays basically any format. What's not to love?
P.S. The Zune only rips music at a maximum of 192 KB/s, while the iPods and Creative Zens go all the way up to 320 KB/s. Also, with this Zen, there is no need to stick some rare and expensive USB contraption (like in an iPod and Zune): it just uses a normal USB 2.0 cable to share files. -
"It's a great multi-functional device, when it wants to work" on by yiang
Pros: Music, nice widescreen for video, FM tuner, etc. It does it all.
Cons: Really bulky, not convenient to carry around, long pauses when accessing large files (esp. by picture), hard drives crashes, overwrites ID3 tags, poor design
Summary: I've had this device since Xmas '06. Initially , I loved his thing for it's nice wide screen and multi-functionality. But just after a few days of use, I notice the hard drive needed to rebuild itself whenever I turned it on. I ignored it at first but then i started to notice this happen ever few days or so. I took it back and got another one. Again, the same problem. I could understand the hard drive needing to rebuild itself if I was being rough with the thing and taking it with me on workouts. But no, I mainly used it to sit on my desk at work. not to mention , other things started to bug me. The small buttons in the bottom corner are scrunched together, so sometimes you really have to take a second to make sure you're pressing the right button. Furthermore, FF or rewinding through songs or videos require you to hold it down so I can't always get back to precise moments as I'd like. Also, the thing tends to lag when you have it loaded with lots of media. As a tip, don't bother to search for movies or music by picture or you'll have to wait forever for it load picture to picture from page to page. navigating through screens is easy enough but the button layout on the side really doesn't work for me, it's too spread out and the buttons are too small and stiff. And the on / off and volume buttons feel cheap. They remind me of an old Walkman from the 80's. Not to mention that the flimsy on / off button can sometimes get easily on the edge of clothing shutting the thing off while you're using it. For example, I can't mention the number of times I'm listening to music while the player was in the front pocket of my hoodie only to shut off as I'm walking. And finally, the device also reorganized my music files. I fixed this before because the IPOD does the same thing. I fixed this problem by correcting the ID3 tags, but the Zen will not recognize it and still split up my music outside of the way I label it. Despite all the faults I listed, the device is great for all the functions it has but for me, it's just marred by poor design and poor interfacing. Hopefully they get it right next time.
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"So Cool, its Awesome" on by scottrug
Pros: The Screen is very sharp
Cons: Heavier than I thought it would be, but I can deal with it.
Summary: The picture on the Video side is crystal clear. The size of the screen is awesome. transfer from my audio and video were almost seemless. The sound quality is what you would expect from Creative Labs, brillant.
There are not many after market in comparison to the I-Pod but its been out longer. I had to go on-line since most chain store (Best Buy and Wal-mart carry other Creative Labs but didn't the Vision W in either 30 or 60 gb versions so I had to settle on getting it on-line and Amazon was the place to go. I would reccomend it to all of my friends and co-workers.Updated
When My 2g IPOD bit the dust i went looking for a new player. I compared the price per GB and then compared the extra that came with them. I have had other hardware from Creative Lab and I know their quality. I went for the 60 GB player. The interface is so easy to use compared to the IPOD. I told all my buds to check it out when they need a new one. The only drawback are add-ons, covers, docking bays. -
"Amazing Video-Q!! May-B even deserves a 10" on by eMiL-pR0p
Pros: Beautiful displaY, superb interface with WinXP, easy to use controlwize, Nice amount of storage, realtively good batterylife (even better than creative claims), it just goes on and on...
Cons: If I have to say something it has to be the non-existing kickstand. And it is a bit heavy (although I myself c that as a pro, Quote: SNATCH-Boris the Blade:"Weight equals quality";)
Summary: I am in love with this device! I had an Archos AV-500 but I never really got that exciting feeling when i was showing it of or using it. With this one I can honestly say that I am 100% satisfied! Gonna watch a video on it right now i think... THANK YOU CREATIVE
(anythingbutiPodwilldotho...)
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