Creative ZEN Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player (Black)
by Creative
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List Price: Our Price: $150.00 You Save: $99.99 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative ZEN Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player (Black)
Customer Review: A real Vision M Review...
Summary: 5 Stars
****Updated Review**** 1/17/2006 (original below)
I've installed Windows XP as a dual boot on one of my machines. I was able to install the Zen Vision M and Creative Media Source software without any issues. I also successfully installed WMP10 without issues.
While I was getting my pc ready to install XP I played with the player to see what I could do with it alone. I figured out how to quickly adjust the settings using the slide and tap paradigm. The Zen Touch has a similar paradigm but the Vision M extends it, the touch pad actually has left and right clicks as well. After a bit of frustration I realized that sliding through menu's should always be done with the finger on the surface of the pad, if you lift and reseat your finger the player would interpret that as a "tap" and thus commence whichever setting you happened to be on when you were sliding..I did this a few times before I got the hang of the slide and tap. Also, it took a few minutes to figure out how to enable submenu options using the lower right icon. Once I was up to speed (took about 10 minutes WITHOUT consulting the sparce instruction book) I quickly went through the task of selecting my name for the player, adding a background (I used one of the samples provided in the picture section), setting the date and time. I then moved on to checking out the radio feature, you can set the device to "auto" scan and it works perfectly. It picked up and preset every station inside of 10 seconds, awesome!
I live in a basement apartment and I was suprised at how clean the signal was coming from the radio from such a small (read: tiny FM antenna) device. The next thing I wanted to try was recording, from the radio I was able to enable recording, the sub features are really very intuitive. Again, I did this all without consulting the book within a space of 20 minutes. The hardest part was the first 10 minutes of getting used to the slide and tap paradigm. Now on to the XP experience...
I finally got XP up and running, I installed the software and fter the obligatory reboot, I plugged the port doc into the player and connected the mini usb plub into the doc and the doc into the pc's USB port. Within seconds, the sync screen flashed on the player and the pc reported the synch process had been started. The Vision M software loaded up and showed my connected player fine.
The layout is very intuitive and nice, the inards of the device were layed out by category (music,video,recordings..etc.) and subcategories and folders where necessary. I could freely create or delete subcategories under the main categories. I am still miffed as to why this functionality couldn't have been provided in basic form for every known OS but only Creative and Microsoft have the answer to that riddle.
I proceeded to upload a ripped album ( I have several hundred cuts waiting to go on the player) unfortunately, I have USB 1.1 on the box I installed the XP on so the transfer is not as fast as it could be but it is acceptable. The entire folder of 14 mp3's took about 4 minutes to copy to the player. I tested a cut, the sound quality is really excellent. ( I rip at 192kbps)
Now that I have gone through the inconvenience of installing windows XP just to use it, I am very happy with the player itself. It is a shame that broader OS support isn't in place but that should be easily rectified with firmware upgrades (are you listening creative????). As much as I'd love to give the player a 5, the pain I went through to get it to work really demands something lower but not quite a 4. Hmm....I guess I'll have to give Creative the nod, after using the player now for a week I am really impressed with it's performance in all areas. So 5 stars it is (this should tell you just how good the player is despite the hell I went through to start managing media on it).
Player highly recommended but make sure you have XP!
**ORIGINAL REVIEW 1/13/2006**
**ORIGINAL REVIEW 1/13/2006**
How some are claiming to have this at Christmas time in the US when it wasn't even available until this week is telling of the mental disturbances behind some peoples needs to assert the superiority of products they prefer because of one one manufacturer or another. Sad.
That said, here is my real world review of the Creative Vision M. I just took possession of it today, UPS came through 2 days as promised by Amazon.
Previous player experience:
I have used a few other mp3 players but have never owned one until now. I've used the Apple Nano, Ipod Video and the Creative Zen Touch.
Packaging and box:
The box is well designed and sturdy, a sleave and box design gives it a artsy touch, however it makes it more difficult to get at the player..no matter it's just a box.
Player and contents:
Upon taking out the parts I enjoyed the well built and finished look of everything. The cables , port adapter and the player itself are very well made. Contrary to what some have said, the size of the player is quite small in my medium sized hands. I wouldn't want it any smaller, it fit in my hand comfortably and was a lot lighter than the Zen Touch which I bought for my ex girlfriend last Christmas. In comparison to the Ipod Video it's about twice as thick but weighs and "feels" about the same. In the hand they feel similarly, so all talk of the weight/size being a drawback is bunk or those complaining need to do hand strengthening exercises ;) The surface of the player is very cool, much like the Ipod video the black (the one i got) surface is glossy. After charging the battery (takes 2 hours) I turned it on, the screen is quite beautiful to behold with rich vibrant colors. In comparison to the Ipod Video, though technically the M has more colors both have enough that video on them looks amazing, I guess I'd have toplay something on both that stretches the gamut of the players to see which is better.
Software Installation?:
The first major issue I ran into with the player was installation of the software. First, Creative includes a warning card indicating that Quicktime versions 7.0 and 7.0.2 will crash the installation so you should upgrade first to 7.0.3 (which fixes the bug) or uninstall Quicktime, install the Creative software then install Quicktime again.
This isn't the deal breaker however, the insurmountable problem for me is that I use windows 2000 and windows 2003. I don't have XP on any of the 8 running pc's in my home/business network. I own an IT business and have no use for the annoying "features" of Windows XP, why Creative didn't think to maximize software support to as many OS's as possible is beyond me (actually it is not I have some ideas..). Beyond that, why the player just doesn't attach to any pc using the USB port as a drive is also inexcusable.
****Creative! wake up, many , many users still are on windows OS's that are not XP and if a thumb drive can auto doc without software surely your $330 player should be able to as well!!!****
Now that said, I had to figure out how to add content to my player. I figured Creative has to have software available for windows 2000 so I decided to contact customer support to find out. Page 2 of the "product information guide" indicated that customer support services are located on the installation cd in the "support" folder, I explored the CD and found the english phone number on the "customer support service center" page.
For service in the U.S. in english (french,brazilian,spanish numbers also available):
405 742 6622
I called the number expecting a long wait time, 2 minutes turned to 5, 5 to 10...and then I realized the number was long distance, "complementary" service should always be on a 1 800 number other wise it is not really complementary is it???. The nerve of Creative to call this so called "complementary" service. I hung up quite pissed off. I figured maybe I'll have more luck at the website. I went to www.creative.com/support/downloads , and tried to select my product from the list, of course there is no listing for the brand new "vision m" player.
Now I was really seeing red, how can a company release a product for sale and then not provide the necessary support services??!!. Not one to give up (ever) I decided to see if anyone with my issue had posted to the public forums (always the best place..should have done this straight away)..I went to the mp3 player forums page and queried "vision m and windows 2000" and the results were not encouraging at all, of the 8 total posts that referenced the words together, only 1 had ANY replies. (I guess the Creative support team is keeping away from answering legitimate customer complaints about this issue???)
I dug into the only thread that had responses hoping a solution to my problem would be found there in.
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=pmc&message.id=4967
Bad news was waiting, only one post was by a Creative moderator and they offered no help at all. I do have a copy of windows XP on site that came with my Dell Laptop, back then I immediately ripped out the XP and put the more functional windows 2000 on. The idea of installing XP is anethema to me just to use the player really sucks. If I didn't have XP I would have no choice but to return the player! There is no way I would give M$ $100 bucks just because Creative has a secret deal to lock us into M$ proprietary protocols.
The most egregious aspect of this situation is that the older players (Zen Touch I bought for ex) did support 2000 in file mode, why Creative went the restrictive route of only supporting the Micro$oft proprietary protocol exclusively has something probably to do with some "relationship" they struck with MS no doubt. It really stinks, here I am unable to use the device on my desired OS. I am seriously debating weather I should just send it back or if I should install XP on a box JUST to use my $330 mp3 player. (which is a pretty deck of card size brick otherwise)
Conclusion:
***WARNING TO ALL PROSPECTIVE PURCHASERS, IF YOU HAVE ANY OPERATING SYSTEM OTHER THAN WINDOWS XP , YOU CURRENTLY CAN NOT USE THE VISION M TO DOWNLOAD OR MANAGE MEDIA. IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS 98,ME, NT, 2000, MAC OS, YOUR ARE DEAD IN THE WATER.***
Hopefully with enough of a stink being made of this ridiculous situation Creative will move to provide a firmware update that provides the WIDE OS support that existed PRIOR to this NEW product. The player itself works fine, the sample videos that were on it played with excellent clarity and color, the sound was excellent. The touchpad was a bit sensitive on first touch but that was rectified by turning down the sensitivity in the settings. However, the OS support severely hampers my ability to give this player a top rating. In fact I would have given it a 5 if it just worked with my OS but it doesn't (not even as a removable drive..come on Creative even a $30 USB thumb drive can do that!!!) so I will have to take the rating down 4 points to a 1 out of 5.
...now I'll have to find that old copy of windows XP lying around to grudgingly install it on one of my boxes.
Regards,
David
Customer Review: A non-iPod-based review
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll start this out by saying that I've never used an iPod. Ok, so I tinkered around with one for all of 30 seconds once, but I couldn't figure it out, so it doesn't really count. So, with that in mind, this review won't be full of the normal iPod comparisons. I will say that I'm generally anti-Apple, which is the reasoning behind my lack of i-experience. That's quite alright, however, and it doesn't detract at all from the wonderful player that is the Creative Zen.
I got the Creative Zen Vision: M in the mail a couple weeks ago, and have yet to use all of the features (specifically, I haven't used the coax cables to watch video on my television, or the FM radio), so I'll leave out those things. What I have used, however, which is almost everything, I've been incredibly impressed with. While I haven't used an iPod before, I have used other MP3 players, and they would invariably grow unstable the more I loaded, deleted, and reloaded files onto them. Not the Creative Zen. Maybe it's because I bought it after it had been out for a while and Creative has had ample opportunity to tweak the firmware and whatnot, or maybe it just had a solid operating system to begin with. Either way, I have yet to experience a crash, freeze, loss of any data, or any other technical snafu. That alone is a huge plus in my book.
I got the 30G version (though did debate on the 60G size...for only $70 more, it's a hard bargain to pass up), and after uploading every music file I have, along with a large number of videos, I still have 10G of free space. I do realize, however, that space is more a matter of individual need and preference. Speaking for me, the 30G size is more than enough.
Now, as for the interface itself, as I said, it's a dream. It runs smoothly and intuitively, and, for those of you who are more hands-on (as I am), you can edit nearly every bit of info of every individual file using the included software. This works well for those who have more of a hodge-podge music collection (and for those who have aquired their music through less-than-legal means, since the ID3 tags of downloaded music can be sketchy, at times...but I wouldn't know anything about that). A couple small touches that I really like, that I've been told are not common among other players (though I could be wrong), are the abilities to delete files directly from the player, instead of using the computer interface, and the ability to build playlists on the go, or rather, to build a new Now Playing list every time, if you want. Normally, with other players, if I wanted to play 10 different songs by 10 different artists, I would've had to play a song, go into the player once it was over, select the next song through the menu, listen to it, go into the player, etc, etc, repeat until my fingers were tired. With the Creative Zen, you can simply build up your Now Playing list and let it go, just like the Ronco Set-It-And-Forget-It. Really, it's pretty similar to Windows Media Player, which I use religiously, and because of which, I can appreciate all the more.
Speaking of WMP, I really like the fact that it's possible to upload files either through that, or through the Media Explorer software that's included with the Zen. The WMP interface is for those who are less hands-on and who would rather just make a few clicks and have their player fill up with their music, while the Media Explorer program is a drag-and-drop interface that's slightly more involved. I've used them both, and prefer the drag-and-drop method, though that's one of those things that'll come down to particular preference or need.
One thing some might say is a downside is the fact that the Zen is a little big and heavy. I will admit that, to do much on it requires two hands: one to hold the player, and the other to navigate the buttons. Some might like that less than others...personally, it doesn't really bother me, since I don't mind taking a few seconds to focus on whatever I'm doing in the player. The controls do take some getting used to, and, at first, it's easy to hit Select on the slide bar instead of Up or Down, but once you get a handle on it, it's pretty easy and intuitive.
Another thing that others have mentioned is it's easy to get the player dirty or scuffed. I ordered a skin for it, along with a screen protector, since the included bag is kind of a joke, if you ask me. It reminds me of a biblically-themed money satchel, and doesn't have any clips or anything. But, from what I've seen, the included accessories in most players are pretty substandard. I haven't even tried the included ear buds, mainly because I hate that style of headset, so I can't say how well they sound. From what I understand, Creative used to include a wall charger for the player, but they don't anymore. I ordered one of those, as well, from a vendor on Amazon, since I don't really want to have to plug the Zen into my system for 6 hours every time I want to charge it. So, the included accessories kind of suck, but, as I said, that seems to pretty much be par for the course.
A couple more things: the video display on the Zen really has to be seen to really get how vibrant and crisp it is. I was absolutely blown away the first time I watched a video on it. It's renewed my interest in music videos overall, which is the best compliment I can give it, and with the 10G of free space I still have, it'll take a while to fill it up. Granted, the screen is pretty small, in comparison to, say, a TV screen, but if your eyes are even moderately strong, you won't have any problems. One of these days, I plan on uploading an entire movie or two onto it, just for the novelty of it.
The picture display works wonderfully, too. Before I got the Zen, I never really thought I would use an MP3 player to watch videos or show off pictures. I realized I was wrong, however, this past weekend during a hospital stay, where I found myself whipping it out to show off some vacation pictures to my nurses. They were all quite impressed....with the pics themselves, and with the display on the player. I suppose the picture display is one of those things that's cool to have, and if you do have it, you'll use it as the occasion rises, but if it's not there, it's not a big deal. I've never been able to show off vacation pics to random people before, and never really thought much about it, but now that I can, it's pretty nifty to be able to.
Ahh, and before I forget, the battery life of the player has been pretty impressive, so far, though I haven't used it for hours on end. I lean more towards the Turn-It-On-For-An-Hour-At-A-Time-Several-Times-A-Day mode of usage, and at that rate, I only have to charge it every few days. Even watching video and looking at pictures only moderately drains it. I imagine that watching a feature-length film would take the battery down pretty far, but I have yet to get around to that.
So, with that, I'll make a brief list of little things I dig about the Zen, along with the few cons I've found...
- you can set your own background picture, as well as customize the display in a bunch of other ways
- the interface is so similar to WMP
- the level at which you can work with your own files
- the stability of the software
- battery life
- the beautiful display
Cons...
- included accessories suck
- it attracts dust like a magic wand
- the controls take a bit to get a good feel for
- this is less of a player issue, rather than an included-software issue, but I have yet to successfully use the Video Conversion software. I'm not sure why, but every time I try, it fails. Maybe it's the files that I'm trying to work with, or maybe it's the software itself...I don't know. I'll keep working with it, though. Then again, out of everything I've tried to load onto the Zen, only two things have required a conversion, though I'm not exactly sure why, so it's not that big a deal.
- it's a tiny bit big
With that, I'll round this out by saying that if you're in the market for a very well rounded, stable MP3 player that can also play back amazingly vivid videos and pictures, get the Creative Zen. For the price, it really can't be beat.
Customer Review: Fantastic.
Summary: 5 Stars
I played around with my friend's 30gb Ipod and thought it was okay. But what turned me off is the restrictiveness of Itunes. I know now that there are programs to override that but I'm lazy. Also for as long as I can remember I've only heard good things about Creative players. So I decided to give the Creative Zen Vision:M a try.
I've had it for a few months now and I have to say that it is a great little device. The controls really are intuitive and if they aren't then I can't imagine that they'd take long for you to get used to. One problem is that when you're walking around and you want to raise or lower the volume you sometimes have to pull it out of your pocket to see what you're doing. A tiny tap of of touch sensitive will pull up another screen. Luckily it's only with the touch sensitive that this is the case(and when listening you'll only use the pad for volume). All other controls are great and it has a neat button to send you straight to random all play of your whole library or you can change the button to jump straight to several different uses.
The interface for adding to the player is very simple. You can either use the software that you're given to add to it, or you can do without.
Adding songs is easy and it groups them well as long as you make sure the tracks are labled properly. If you don't know how to do it you just right click a music file and select "properties" and then "summary." Then just label your track how you want it to appear on your player. You can also highlight all the songs in an album and repeat above steps to group label albums and artists. I suggest you check every album and song you put in your player or you'll end up with some "Unknown" in your library.
The display is AMAZING. No joke, way better than Ipod. Even Ipod fan friends of mine gave oohs and ahs when they saw it. Vibrant. Sharp. Beatiful. It also has a pretty large screen for a good viewing area. Some complain about any mp3 video device being to small to watch movies on, but I myself have zero problem watching an entire motion picture on it.
Creative says battery life is something like 14 hrs of audio and 4 hrs of video. I tested it and got more like 11 or twelve hours for audio and have yet to test video. But one thing to keep in mind, which I never thought about, is always WAY less due to tinkering and clicking around. When I'm bored I'll just skip around and listen to some of this and then some of that. Doing that absolutely drains the battery like crazy. Goes down to about 6 or seven hours is what I would guess. This is probably the case for all players, but it was something that disappointed me. Of course that isn't such a problem for video since you're not tinkering around, only watching. For car trips you might want to pick up a car charger.
My M didn't come with a wall charger and due to it not being an Ipod I was absolutely unable to find one specifically for it in a short notice. It also has some block on it that won't allow just any charger to work on it and it definitely won't allow any other USB charger but its own. I needed a wall charger for a three week trip I was taking so I scoured the net and saw that many claimed that PSP chargers work. I bought one and sure enough it worked like a charm. They're also cheaper than Creative's and you can buy them at Best Buy. Do yourself a favor before you go running everywhere trying to match up a generic charger: Just go buy a PSP Sony brand charger. Save yourself some frustration.
One downside is the sound. While when you can figure out settings to make a song sound AMAZING and DEEP, this might not be a good setting for a song by a different artist in a different genre. Doesn't make it sound bad, just not as it should. Luckily it's easy to navigate to the sound area that has several different EQ settings to choose from. This player also gets very loud. Louder than expected and louder than necessary and louder than is healthy for a person. You really won't listen to it at full blast - even when walking through a crowded college campus.
Another plus is you can use a portion of the device as a removable storage device.
I hate earbuds and that's what the M comes with. I have some small Sony ear-phones for walking around in and those 15 dollar Sony wrap-arounds that you find everywhere for other times. The sony street style phones are in no way top of the line; However, they're cheap, they sound pretty good, and they'll last you forever. I sleep with them every night and end up laying on them and rolling over them and smashing them, but they're flexible and last me about 6 months. I seriously mean every night of my life. Do yourself a favor and pick them up.
It also has FM radio which is a huge plus. It gets great reception. Better than the sony boombox in my room. Very crisp and clear and easy to make presets. Only negative there is that you can't listen to the radio and navigate the player at the same time. When you leave the radio screen the radio shuts off.
The microphone that records sound is actually really good. I tested it during class one day and it clearly picked up the teacher from a good 30 feet away. However, this feature is pretty much of no use to me.
Also for a cover I would suggest the Silicone Kroo Skin. You can get it here on Amazon [...]. So overall this is a great player with just a few flaws. Recap on flaws: Battery life is massively lowered when you're clicking around in the player while it's playing. Actually that's about the only major problem I have with it and would assume that this is inherent in all players.
Do yourself a favor and pick this up if you're looking for a heavy duty player. Remember: 30 gbs so only get this if you are seriously addicted to music and have a crudload of it to store on it and not just for something to listen to during workouts. Also look for a flash drive player if you're just looking for something small to get you through the day. This guy ends to feel slightly bulky when in your pocket.
So that's it. This review is massive and ridiculous and probably a bit late but here it is.
Customer Review: Stand out from the I-pod crowd!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had the Creative Zen Vision: M for about three months now, and I absolutely love it! I've had no major problems whatsoever and I learn something new about it everyday. Before purchasing the ZVM, I had considered the i-pod, however I did my research and came upon the ZVM, and I am glad I did. While both devices got universally positive reviews from critics, the ZVM got better reviews from users, whereas user reviews for the i-pod were a little more mixed. Here are the pros and cons of this great little device:
Pros:
1) Beautiful screen - The screen has 262,000 colors, compared to i-pod's 65,000 colors. What a difference a few thousand colors make! When you compare the picture and video quality of the ZVM to the i-pod there is a noticeable difference, pictures and videos just look more vibrant and brighter while video on the i-pod looks sort of washed out. There's no ghosting (same can't be said for my Archos player), and scenes are smooth and crystal clear. I have no problems watching my favorite TV shows on the go!
2) Interface and Controls - The interface is so intuitive! It's so easy to locate everything. Of all the electronic products I own, the interface on the ZVM is the most intuitive and one of the best. I also love the controls. I will admit, the touch pad takes a little getting used to, but it only took me a day or two to get the hang of it, and now I can zip through menus and my music library with speed and accuracy. While I like the i-pods clickwheel, I find the touchpad a little more precise. The shortcut button is also a very useful control feature. The controls also have mysterious sapphire blue led lights, which makes it easy to navigate in the dark not to mention the fact that it looks cool.
3) Customization - With the ZVM you can customize your background with your own wallpapers. I am a customization freak, so being able to customize my own background with my own photos is a must. One of the reasons I didn't get the i-pod was because it doesn't give you the option of customizing your background, it just has the same ol' white interface. Even my i-pod owning sibling thinks its sort of lame that you can't customize the player with wallpapers. You can also customize the player with six themes, which change the font color and the color of the highlighting bar. And you can organize your photos and videos in different folders however you want, instead of having them all lumped together.
4) Sound - Sound quality is superb! I am not an audiophile by any means, but even with the stock earbuds (which are pretty good to my ears), I can notice a lot of nuances in my music and videos that I never heard before.
5) Delete on the Fly -You can delete music and videos directly off the player! I think the i-pod only allows you to delete items off the player if it is connected to a computer, with the ZVM you can delete off the fly, without having to connect it to a computer. Useful for travel.
6) Feature Packed - The ZVM is packed with features, and offers the most bang for your buck. The player has a radio, voice recorder, contacts and calendar features, hides folders/media that you don't want anyone else to see (and that is unlockable with a password), plays all the popular video formats, and supports subscription music services like Yahoo music and Napster.
7) Battery life - Compared to a lot of other players I have had, battery life is exceptional! I watched four episodes of Futurama and the battery meter was still more than halfway full. For my daily usage, I have to charge it probably once or twice a week.
8) Price: You get more bang for your buck with the ZVM, and the price is comparable and depending on where you shop, often times cheaper than the ipod. The ZVM is 199.99 here at Amazon, while the ipod is 237.00.
9) DJ features - There are various DJ features that go beyond just plain shuffling. There's Album of the Day mode, which randomly chooses an album to listen to (say you don't know what you're in the mood to listen to, well let album of the day choose for you). There's also Most Popular and Rarely Heard, which play either your most or least popular songs. And of course there's standard random play all, and theres a highly rated songs mode that plays songs you've rated.
Cons:
1) Thickness - Now personally I don't find this a problem, the ZVM is actually smaller than you would think if you see it in person. Granted, the ZVM is thicker than the i-pod, but the thickness does make it more ergonomic and comfortable to hold. I really don't understand our populations obsession with electronic thinness. It may look sleek, but its thinness makes it fragile.
2) Scratch Magnet - The front is definitely susceptible to scratches. However, the back is made of a pearlescent magnesium coating, so its not susceptible to scratches like the front plate. And the screen does come with a protective screen cover.
3) Not as many accessories available - Compared to the i-pod, the ZVM doesn't have as many accessories available. However, the only accessories I need are a good leather case, silicon case, wired remote, and travel speakers, and all of those items are available for the ZVM. A lot of the accessories out there for the i-pod are ridiculous and unnecessary anyway...
All in all, I would highly recommend the ZVM, it's one of the best purchases I've made! I recommend the ZVM for all those looking for a feature rich player with a great screen, intuitive interface and loads of customization options. The i-pod is also a good device, though I think its a bit overrated. I would recommend the i-pod to those looking for a simple music device with a nice design and simple interface, and who don't mind being dependent on i-tunes. However, if you want the most bang for your buck and want to stand out from the crowd (seriously, i-pods are everywhere now, having an i-pod is no longer trendy since everyone has one) then get creative and go for the ZVM.
Customer Review: A Truly Unbiased review! Very good portable media player
Summary: 4 Stars
For those of you looking to read something with substance, here's a review from someone who actually owns both an Ipod and Zen Vision M and has used the Ipod Video.
I've been looking for a feature rich portable media player (PMP or PVP) and was about to jump on an Ipod Video when I saw the press release for the Vision M in December. I already own a regular 4G ipod and loved it. The clickwheel made using it so easy. I borrowed a Video Ipod from a co-worker and was impressed with the video capabilities; however I really wanted something with FM radio and better video codec compability.
The early reviews of the Vision were fairly positive, but had a few bugs like video buffer issues and no on the go playlists, but both are now fixed via new firmware. The clincher was CNET's awarding it the Best In Show at the 2006 CES. For a reputable site to recommends this as best in show over the hundreds of other new devices says a lot.
Ok, on to the real review.....
I purchased the Black Vision M and the two things that stand out is the clean front layout and thickness. It is about .7 inches thick so it's signficantly thicker than the Ipod. Although I would prefer the slim shape of the Ipod, the thicker Vision M was fine as it still fits in my pocket comfortably and is quite snug in my hand. The instructions require you to do two things first:
1) Update Quicktime if it's version 7.0 through 7.0.2 before installing Creative's software
2) Charge it up first using the AC adapter which only takes about 2 hours (great advantage over Ipod)
User Interface and Slide Touchpad:
The software is pretty straight forward and so is using the menu system on the Vision M. The slide touchpad takes a little getting used and I have to admit the Ipod clickwheel is much easier to use. However, it does have its advantages. You are able to very quickly scan though large song lists by holding down at the top or bottom of the touchpad. Alternatively the user interface allows you to search alphabetically via song, albums, artists, and genre. This is something I wish the Ipod had as going round and round on the clickwheel sometimes gets old if you're looking for something in particular. The touchpad also doubles as a previous/next or rewind/fast forward button by pressing it the left or right respectively.
Additionally, there are four buttons located around the touchpad: Play/Pause, Context Menu (Options), Back, and Custom Shortcut where you can set it to whatever you want (almost, you have a list of options). These buttons light up in aqua blue which is nice for night time use.
Sound
So how's the sound quality? Very good! The headset that comes with the Vision is slightly better than the average as they fit snug in your ear and have good response. In my opinion, both the sound quality of the Ipod and Vision M are good, but the Vision M is slightly better. Additionally you can enhance your listening experience with the built in preset or custom equalizer and bass boost options. I only wish it saved more than one custom equalizer setting. Be careful when using bass boost as doing this combined with boosting the low end using the equalizer may distort the sound.
Oh, did I mention you can bookmark your music so you can pick up where you last left off which is something the Ipod doesn't do.
Other info
Radio: Very very good. your headphones is used as the antenna and the reception is very good. You are able to preset up to 32 stations (including renaming them) manually or thought the auto seek option. You also have a signal strength bar (similar to ones found on cellphones)
Video: The player's codec supports DivX4/5, XviD5, MPEG-1/2/4SP, and WMV9 as well as Motion-JPEG. The included software will convert your videos to the proper codec and resolution including cropping if you so desire. My only complaint is the 4-6 seconds of wait time when you start playing, but since this is a hard drive based device, it's understandable. Oh yeah, you can even password protect files from viewing.
Screen: Excellent, the 2.5" screen is bright and the colors are vivid; it's capable of displaying up to 262,000 colors. Easily better than the Ipod Video which I thought was good to begin with.
Pictures: The viewer allows you to choose from specified folder and displays contents in a 5 x 4 format. You then pick the one you want to see via touchpad and then you have the option of zooming in. Again, colors are vivid and you can even get picture details (via context button).
Miscellaneous features:
Voice Recording, Custom Wallpaper, Sync your Outlook Calendar option, Button lock (disables the touchpad and buttons), song and picture rating, Play music while viewing pictures, Compatible with Windows Media Player 10, 6 hours of video battery life, Smart Playlists (higher rated songs play back more frequently I think), Smart Volume (Normalizes volume of all songs), Video Out, power saving options, and PlaysforSure compatibility.
Weakness:
So what keeps me from giving this unit a 5 star rating?
An overly sensitive touchpad (should get better as I get more used to it), lack of accessories at this time, lack of a removable battery, lack of lyrics display support, can't do anything with it when docked to the PC, separate 3 in 1 dongle for USB, AC connectivity and Video Out. Overall these are fairly minor complaints.
In summary, if you just need a decent mp3 player with video and photo capabilities, then the Ipod is a fine choice. For those searching for a more feature rich player, this is an excellent option. This item is selling well and I hope that translates to more accessories for this wonderful player.
I have thoroughly enjoyed using this player and hope you find this review informative.