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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative ZEN Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player (Black)
Customer Review: Not a bad try - but still no iPod.
Summary: 3 Stars
While this is certainly the best player to come out to compete against iPod, it just doesn't quite execute as well as Apple.
A quick summary: The Vision: M costs more per GB of storage space, is harder to use, and just isn't as cool and sophisticated as the Apple iPod. While the Creative has a great screen and a built-in radio, these just don't make up for the cost and cheep-feel of the device.
While the screen quality is great, it is not that big of a deal. The screen resolution is the same as the iPod video (storage capacity and battery life are also virtually the same between the two products). The only difference is the number of colors the screen can display, which is hardly noticeable at that screen size. I imagine Apple will have a similar screen soon if you really need the color.
As far as storage space is concerned, the iPod is a better bang for your buck. While Creative claims to have a 15,000-song capacity, it is making this claim based on a 64kbps audio file. I don't know of anyone who has a file lower in quality than at 128kbps file. Apple is up front about their capacity. For their 30-gigabyte iPod, they claim 7500 songs at 128kbps (to get 15000 you need the 60gb, something Creative doesn't offer). Your Creative player would have the same capacity since it also has a 30-gigabyte drive. Cost: $299 for a 30gb Video iPod or $329.99 for a 30gb Creative Zen Vision: M. Take your pick.
Besides storage space, another item to consider is to is ease-of-use. While they may look similar when it comes to input layout, they are not. The Creative is much more difficult to navigate than the iPod. Apple's menu navigation with the touch wheel is very intuitive, and simple to pick up on. Creative's approach is, well, creative. The menus are slow, and while you can learn how to use the touch pad, it is not very natural. Stick with Apple if you appreciate ease of use and not having to look at your screen every time you want to do something.
Apple's wonderful iTunes software is another reason to stick with the incumbent here. It is sleek and easy to use. It organizes music better than any other jukebox out there, and interfaces perfectly well with your iPod. Even though iPod doesn't play as many video formats, iTunes converts and optimizes video to play on your iPod for you. Simple as can be.
Finally, just take into account quality and style. Apple has been making quality iPods for years now, and they just keep getting better. The iPod is proven, while the new Vision: M is not. If there were significant benefits, it might be worth the switch, but the features are pretty much the same (except the radio, I must concede). Apple simply makes a classier product. The lines are simple and elegant on an iPod, and they feel great in your hand. The Creative is very plastic and feels more like a toy than a sophisticated music device. Even when Apple offered color on the iPod Mini, they still did so with a touch of class - the Vision: M just looks and feels cheep, although it is well build. Besides, with the iPod, you not only get quality, but you get to say you own an iPod. No one will know what you're talking about if you say you have a Vision: M.
Customer Review: There are so many little things wrong with this.
Summary: 2 Stars
The zen plays music; it doesn't play it badly, really. I suppose it does what I wanted it to do. There are just so many little things wrong with this player than make it inferior to the iPod that I cannot justify my purchase of it. Before purchasing this for myself, I owned a 4th gen iPod, and I loved it, but I abused it and after it broke I decided to try something different. After a year and a half I am STILL frustrated with this thing.
The good:
- I like the feel of the player in my hand. I know it's thicker than an iPod but that actually works for me.
- FM radio is nice to have on occasion
- Modifiable backgrounds, colors, etc.
- The personalized button is great! I use it for "Random Play All", which is really fun.
- Headphones aren't bad
- Mine is bright green, I never lose it
- I have to say, it has worked without major functioning flaws under pretty heavy use for a year and a half
The bad:
- Very slow startup, especially if you haven't started it in a while.
- Battery life isn't so hot after a year
- I still like Apple's click wheel better than the touch pad
- The four buttons on the sides are annoying to use; they require a very strong push.
- There is no "All" tab when selecting albums and artists --- on an iPod, this exists. So it is impossible for me to view all the songs by an artist. I HAVE to view them by album.
- The software is horrible. I am pretty good with most technology but I can still not figure out how to make playlists on this! The software freezes all the time since I have over like, 10 songs, and I can never get anything accomplished. iTunes can be slow but it blows this out of the water.
- If I open up a folder that has nothing in it, it freezes.
- When it loads songs sometimes, it makes an annoying clicking "processing" sound for a second.
- Sometimes upon starting a song you'll get strange feedback in the song. This happens at random and not very often, and if you restart it goes away, but it's still annyoing. I've seen this in other reviews.
- The font looks cheesy, I'll just say it.
- The charging device is ridiculous, with its various attachments.
- Menus are slow in general
- When on hold, the screen goes black, and I can't see what I'm listening to.
- The date and time are always wrong, no matter how many times I set them correctly.
- Also, the time is not displayed at the top of the screen like in an iPod, so I can't use this device like a watch.
- No smart playlists; I miss this from the iPod
Overall, former iPod users will be very dissappointed with this. For a first mp3 player it might not be horrible, but at this point there are so many better, cheaper options out there. I've never tried a Zune so I can't comment on it compared to that. I just don't understand all the reviews praising the Zen. It has major flaws that make it annoying to use, and make it feel very second rate. Its one saving grace is that I have not had to call customer service ever; it has functioned "well" for a year and a half. However, I still can't use half the features on it, so I won't be buying another one when this one dies.
Customer Review: Best MP3 player!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a gadget junky and have many MP3 players and PVP players and for the money and features it gets no better than the Creative Zen Vision:M. In reference to the iPod which in my opinion is also a good device, this has it beat in several areas that no other MP3 players have been able to do until now. With the Vision M you get a longer battery life than the iPod both in music and video, you have a wider variety of music and video formats that can be used with this player and you also get superior audio from this player. The Vision M also has an FM tuner which also allows you to record straight from radio to MP3 format so if you hear a song you love on the radio you can simply record it and have it stored for later listening. This player also has a voice recorder, calendar which can be synced with your PC and something that is a big plus is the Vision M allows you to customize your own wallpaper for your player and you can even use your own pictures as the screen savers something no other player allows you to do. The one thing that truly stands out aside from all those features is also the fact that this player has such an outstanding screen and it must been seen in person to believe as opposed to the iPod this player displays 262,00 colors to the iPods 65,000. Video playback is very smooth with no frame rate lose whatsoever and even if you get this purely for music, once you see the screen and the video playback this player will make you want to watch videos on it no doubt about it. The Vision M is very simple to use and the software makes transferring music, movies and pictures so simple its as easy as dragging and dropping which unlike the iPod requires you to use iTunes and as a consumer who purchases products at my own cost I want to be able to use my player as I like without having restrictions that I am bound to. The music play back on this player is superb and displays album art, artist info, artist track and you also have the ability to customize your own playlists, album of the day, rarely played and most played, ect. The Vision M comes in 5 colors and all look great, but just like the black iPod the black Vision M can scratch easier than the other colors so a case would be highly recommended, but then again with all things if you take care of your "toys" scratches can be avoided. I would also recommend a different pair of headphones as the ones included with the player sound great, but for true audio heads they won't be enough for your listening pleasure, but that is with any MP3 player new headphones are always a must. The Vision M is still brand new to the market so accessories are limited right now, but rest assured that as the market starts catching wind of this quickly sought after player, Creative will start pushing accessories just like Apple does and we will all be overwhelmed with the wealth of accessories. I truly don't have any cons against this player as it has far exceeded my expectations and if you are in the market for a new MP3 player and are debating between the iPod and this player, make no mistake you will be happy with either one, but why settle for what is the rule of thumb and go with what everyone else on the block owns and buy the Vision M and be the exception toCustomer Review: Solid features give plenty of bang for the buck, excellent PMP
Summary: 5 Stars
First off let me say I have experimented with the iPod Video (friend got it for Xmas) and generally liked it. Just for my needs, it wasn't the right choice. I use XP mainly and wanted more video and song compatibilty options. After much research (iAudio X5, iPod Video, and others) the Vision:M came out on top. Now that I've received mine and had a chance to play with it some, I think it's obvious by some of the alleged "reviews" posted by obvious iPod fans, they really haven't even tested this excellent unit.
Some highlights:
1- works with the subscription based music services, which was high on my list. iTunes may someday offer this option, but at least for now does not. I like to try out all kinds of music before purchasing and can do it with this portable media player (PMP). Sound quality for music is very good, with an EQ to tweak to individual tastes.
2- video quality is top notch, with several different formats supported. It was quite easy to transfer recordings from my Snapstream PVR setup on the PC to the Vision:M, so now I have several episodes of The Simpsons, Scrubs, and 60 Minutes to watch during trips. Nice.
3- The menu navigation is just like the Creative Zen Micro, and I think most people will get the hang of that relatively quickly. It's not perfect but I had it pretty much down in the initial hour of playing around with the unit.
OTHER INFO:
I haven't had a chance to play video for a long stretch to determine true battery life, but specs and reviews on sites like CNET indicate it is about 4 hours for video and 14 or so for music. That is plenty for me. iPod is more in the 2-3 hour range for video.
As for size, I've seen some who make a big deal that it is thicker than the iPod Video. However, the Zen feels solid and comfortably fits in my hand. I have no problem at all with the size. It's plenty small.
I've noticed some people claim Creative has ripped off iPod for the look, but really, the Creative Zen Micro MP3 player (about 2 years old) is what struck me as a near replica as far as size/design goes. Similar to iPod Video, sure. But far closer to Creative's already long established MP3 player.
Features like microphone recording, FM play and record, Outlook calendar / contacts compatibility, etc. are nice little bonuses but weren't a real factor in my selection criteria.
With the upcoming vast increase in choices for video, podcast and music download availability (as evidenced by recent announcements at CES and elsewhere), the Zen Video:M should be a great choice for anyone who rates features/quality over the "hipness" factor iPod currently has over the masses. I give Apple credit for how they achieved their iPod success with great marketing and a solid product, I just think if you do your research you may end up choosing the Video:M as well. I wouldn't hesitate at all to steer a Windows XP user to it.
P.S. Tested out the ZenCast feature (in beta as of my writing) and it shows promise as a way to collect video and audio podcasts from a centralized location.
Creative Zen Video:M gets a big thumbs up from me...
Customer Review: 4 1/2 Stars - My 1st MP3 Player
Summary: 5 Stars
(Please Amazon make it so we can rate with half stars.)
I've had my Zen for just under 2 years and I'm very pleased with it. I originally bought it because it was cheaper (only $200 when I purchased it) than an iPod.
Pros:
1) It has always worked fine. I've used it with Amazon Unbox, Amazon music downloads, Audible, iTunes, pictures and many of my old music downloads and almost everything has been compatible (see Cons #4).
2) Videos are amazingly clear. I've always been skeptical of tiny mp3 screens, but WOW. I bought a cable to use it with my TV and that works great too.
3) Adding tracks and creating and managing playlists is easy.
4) I've never had any problems with the button system or touch pad. I love the shortcut button. You can set it up for almost anything; I have mine set to Playlists.
5) Comes with an FM radio/recorder and a voice recorder. I don't use either a lot, but it is nice to have them, and you don't have to pay extra.
6) It is also nice to customize a background with pictures. Not important really, but a feature that iPod doesn't have.
7) It comes with a pouch for carrying, that I use all the time. Screen protectors are recommended for all mp3 players, I just have yet to get one.
Cons:
1) When you turn off the Zen, DO NOT pause tracks, as this makes the track start over when you turn it back on. It took me quite a while to realize this. This wouldn't be a problem for music, but I mainly use it to listen to audiobooks. I realized that if I just turn it off without pausing, it opens up at the same spot in the book. Or you can set a bookmark; I recommend this if you are listening to something long, like a book, and want to be able to switch to music or a video without losing your place.
2) You can use the random option for a playlist, but for the DJ options (least played, highest rated, etc.) it plays all tracks. In other words, it will play music, audiobooks, my voice recordings, lectures, etc. Not very helpful. But cool in theory.
3) I use Audible for my audiobooks and it is compatible, but for some reason in the Creative Playlist Manager these files don't show up.
4) I had a bit of trouble adding a few tracks to it. It comes with an audio converter, which helped with some of the tracks, but not all. In the Zen's defense, these tracks were given to me and some may have been corrupted so it's possible that's why it wouldn't accept them, but on the other hand, my sister's iPod didn't have a problem. I also noticed that one song I downloaded from Napster about a year ago won't go onto it. Weird.
5) It has frozen on me twice. Both times, I got a paperclip, pressed the reset and it worked just fine after.
6) The 1st thing people notice is that it's a little thicker/heavier than an iPod, but I don't care. To me it feels sturdy.
7) Why the extra piece for charging? I'll never know.
Overall, I'm satisfied and glad I didn't pay extra just for a "name brand". Also, it's nice not being chained to iTunes.