Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
by Creative
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List Price: Our Price: $45.00 You Save: $54.99 (55%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
Customer Review: really enjoyable, capable player
Summary: 4 Stars
I've owned this (8 gig model) for a bit over a year and have used it heavily. A few fairly minor cons and a raft of important pros:
++++pros
*good looks
*acceptably quick power-on
*solid manufacture (doesn't at all feel hollow or cheap)
*has survived one drop from waist-height to tile floor (yikes)
*8gb model is so roomy that it's difficult to overflow with music (different story for vids)
*highly configurable menu (lets you remove items you don't want to see, change order of those you leave)
*skinnable (you can put your own image as the wallpaper)
*bright screen (see cons, haha... can be used as a nightlight, no joke)
*great battery life (20 hrs or so without excessive browsing songs and with display @ 10%)
*almost limitless memory expansion via SDHC card (though see cons)
*easy to navigate (max of about four levels)
*quick search by first letter (scroll through quickly)
*reset button doesn't clear your stuff...just fixes hangs (see cons)
*has radio (decent enough reception using your headphone cable as the antenna)
*doesn't necessitate buying into the whole itunes proprietary nonsense
---- cons
*black shows every smudge and fingerprint. if you're OCD about this, don't... just don't. if that's nbd for you, fine.
*does play movies and does so well, but unless you have hours and hours to convert size and format, fuggetaboutit
*sometimes gets hung (reset button to the rescue)
*SDHC card is treated as separate memory with separate browsing
*cannot play a song while charging (though very occasionally that has worked; usually though it stops play)
*window scratches fairly easily (e.g. don't throw in pocket with keys)
*perhaps the biggest gripe: its bundled software is not exactly likeable (it works but i am irked by it), and doesn't work at all in xp/64 (fine in 32-bit environment, but the unit can be browsed to and loaded via windows explorer)
*occasional song corruption occurs if you don't use the installed software (fix is to delete the song and re-add using the sw or the wmp11 mtp update)
*screen is really bright -- only goes in 10% increments, and 10% is still really bright at night, yow
*only recharging option is USB, which necessitates the purchase of 12v accessory if you want to charge in car, for instance, or 120v accessory if you don't have a computer handy
+++ final verdict
despite a list of cons, most are minor for me and easily overlooked. most of the pros shine, or at least glow. i'm giving it 4 stars **** but not 5. a 5-star product would surpass all expectations and really blow me away. this is highly recommendable and if a few quirks (say, ahem, software, and the annoying separation of main memory from SDHC cards) were banished, i think this would go into the 5-star realm. still, a very nice unit, one that i use happily and friends and family ooh and aah about.
Customer Review: Lovin' My Zen
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my first mp3 player. I chose between the new, smaller iPod Nano 4GB and the Zen 4GB. Went with the Zen for the price & look and not having to rely solely on iTunes for downloads. The complaints I have with the Zen: most changes to the my playlists have to be done through the computer with the Zen software; as with most mp3 players, there is no "battery" that can be replaced; the USB cord that came with the player is VERY short (about 5 in total length); and it takes forever for some videos to be converted to a format that is playable on the Zen. Otherwise, I'm very pleased!
I've had my Zen for almost 6 wks. I use it mainly when working out. I bought a generic cell phone case w/a belt clip for $10 from Walmart to hold my Zen when working out... The Zen is so tiny, light, and sleek. My friends immediately ooh-ed and ahhh-ed when they first saw it! The Zen is very easy to use and it took me no time to figure out the menus... The sound is clear. I don't have to use the equalizer b/c the music sounds fine without it (and I've read that helps to save on the battery life). I use the earphones that came with the player and have never had to play the volume above 7 or 8 (and that's when my surroundings are extremely noisy). If I decide to just watch TV while working out, the headphones do fit in the gym equipment's connector... The pictures and videos are very clear and colorful. I can comfortably watch videos on the Zen while walking on the treadmill... I have had to reset it couple of times when I was adding a lot of songs/videos at one time and it got "stuck" (nothing would happen when I pressed the buttons). But that's no different than when your computer gets bogged down with too many programs running at one time and you have to ctl+alt+del or reboot. When I reset the Zen, I did not lose any of my media.
The battery life is okay. If I only use it during gym time, I don't have to recharge for a week or two. If I listen to it around the house, then I have to recharge at least once a week. The Zen is recharged whenever you connect it to the computer... The software that came with the Zen is easy to understand & use. It allows you to create playlists and organize the media. Sometimes it does not recognize that the Zen is connected to the computer, so I have to close and reopen the software and/or unplug and re-plug the Zen to the computer... Memory is fairly good. I have over 500 songs (most at least 5 min long), nine 30 min videos, and 50 pics and there is still a little memory left. Depending on the availability, the album art is added with each mp3/album and shows when the respective mp3 is played. There were some mp3s & pics that came pre-installed on the Zen which can be deleted. I have a Digital Media X 1GB memory card that I use in my digital camera that also works in my Zen, so it's fairly easy to increase the memory if desired.
Despite a few quirks, none of which are major, I'm very satisfied with this product. Unlike some other reviewers, I've had no issues with the screen going blank or with the software crashing. Would definitely recommend!
Customer Review: This could benefit from a video out... but that's probably too much already.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had mine for almost a month now and so far it's still working like it did on the day I opened the box. I've got some words to say:
HAPPY WITH:
1. The battery life is very good! The longest I've used it straight on audio is about 16 hours.. maybe more. It was on while I was sleeping, I kept it on all the way to work and while working, by the time I got back home, it was still playing. Another day, I watched a couple of movies during a long ride before it turned off.
2. The whole thing looks sturdier than the iPod Nano. But I'm still careful not to drop it on hard surfaces.
3. Syncs fast; easiest through WMP. I like the fact that it uses standard USB.
4. FM Tuner is great when I'm sick of whatever I uploaded and I'm away from my computer.
MOSTLY NITPICKING:
1. Video and pictures look good, but the colors aren't as "colorful" as opposed to watching them on a monitor. I don't know if there's a problem with my device, or that's just the way it is, or there's something wrong with my eyes. But color is the only problem regarding the screen... for me, the screen is big enough and the picture is sharp enough that I can read embedded subtitles.
2. As it goes with most of all bundled earbuds, ditch those and plug in a decent pair. (My mom's sansa earbuds had a better sound...)
3. I had the opportunity to test the microphone a few weeks ago and I think I'm bringing this one when spring term starts so that I could record the lectures.
4. I've been having some problems with DivX/XviD movies encoded in 24bit colors... the audio starts to lag behind after about 20 minutes.
5. The bundled encoder fixed said problem. Although it encodes at a snail's pace, it does the job... I just put in 2-3 movies to convert before I sleep and when I wake up, they're done! I just hope they would release an update that will allow it to play videos over 320x240 so that conversion would mostly not be necessary.
6. I KNEW I should have gotten the 16G one... I'm always running out of space, deciding what to delete to make room for the next movie. Good thing there's an SD card expansion slot which is going to be put to the test once my order arrives.
7. EDIT (01/16/08): Works fine with a newly-purchased SDHC from Transcend... no lag time on audio/video... BUT it doesn't save where you left off when you're playing from the card. Once you push that back button, the counter resets to 0:00:00. I also tried using a regular SD card but that failed miserably...
8. The front is not too scratch resistant, imho... mine got scratched on the day I started using it. Get yourself a screen protector and slap it on the moment you take your device out of the packaging. Mine is now wrapped in an invisibleSHIELD... got rid of those small scratches, too.
9. Freezes sometimes, but it's nothing a good poke at the reset hole doesn't fix.
All in all, I'm not disappointed with my purchase... I've had iPods before, none of them compares to this one in size, quality, and price.
Customer Review: Not a bad little flash player
Summary: 3 Stars
A nice little MP3/video player. Price is good, sound/video quality is excellent, but ease of use issues mean this is no iPod killer. This will replace my shuffle because if its cheapness and extra capacity/screen
Ease of use issues: The buttons are hard to press, there are too many of them, there is no slider or click wheel type of function, memory card integration is non-existent, see below. The PC software part for transferring files is extremely minimal, replace it with Mediamonkey or Windows media player ASAP. Files are a hassle to transfer. Booting up takes about 15 seconds. (similar to a hard drive iPod) I'd like a clip for active use, but the large screen means its not really meant to be worn.
Features
Microphone: Its there, i have no use for it, this should not be the first item on the menu, i took it off the menu list.
Photos: They look nice on the screen, this replaces any of those silly key chain image viewers, its far better. I have no real use for this, except for the ability to set one of my images as wallpaper for the player, which is very cool.
Music: Sounds good and displays the art as a small image. Has meta data functions, and plays albums in order. There is no slider, and the lame buttons make it hard to scroll through lots of content. Most non-iPods have this problem, but without a slider its worse.
Videos: Look nice, but they may have to be converted specifically for this player, which is a hassle and time consuming. Do this overnight on any large file. I don't use this feature.
FM Radio: Works well, except for scanning, which is a hassle. Set up the presets first, and you will have no problem. I got an MP3 player so i dont have to listen to the radio, but its there. No song metadata for radio songs or tagging, those are nice features of the newest nano.
Extras: Sync with Outlook. Its nice, about equivalent to iPod on this. The built-in alarm is cool, wake to radio or random track. I would like more options for this (playlist and buzzer options would be nice)
Memory card: Terrible, the worst feature of this player for sure. There is absolutely no integration of the memory card content into the player at all. Its really just useful for archive or overload content only. Get a player with enough internal space for all the music/images you use regularly, or suffer. Nothing on the card appears in any menu but 'memory card', none of the meta data of the music can be used at all, no search of the content, no way to play it but alphabetical order from a file folder, no slideshow, no playlist, no rating, no album art, even if you have it integrated into your files !! Occasional listen items or video are the only content that make sense to put here. If you use this for mostly video, this is not as bad, as video takes tons of space, and does not need good search, like music does. It works with HC cards, and can cheaply add 16 GB to the storage, if you can deal with that data going to a separate but vastly inferior location in your player
Customer Review: EXCELLENT PLAYER!
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros
Surprisingly noticeably clearer screen (I had the zen vision m before)
Looks nicer than promotional pics
Very light
Thinner than I thought
small usb cable (I like it, but some may not)
Easily recognized by computer and even easier to sync
Sd card slot is a little sunken in so it is hard to accidentally pop it out
Fast sync with window media player
New interface shows album covers kind of like the new ipod nanos
If you have external speakers you can use it as an alarm clock (settings also allow you to have a reoccurring alarm, so you don't have to re-set it every time)
Cons
small usb cable
Cant rotate the screen
Software for video conversion (very easy to use)
Cant bookmark sd content
Doesn't resume playback on sd content
Might have to use an external card reader
SD card slot
-a neat feature is that I can take pics with my digital camera (canon sd 750) take out the card and view them in the player
-there is no lag time in loading audio tracks
-there is no lag time in loading video (video was 25 seconds long)
-there was about a 1sec lag time in loading pics (maybe because the pics were in multiple folders)
-in order to use the sd card as a removable drive you have to be in "removable disk" mode
-if you are in removable disk mode your player will not be seen in Windows media player, the memory card will and you can sync like that if you wish
-when I transferred files with the sd slot in my computer the player did recognize the files and had no trouble playing them
-when dragging and dropping WMV files the player would start to play it then freeze...if you use the software to convert the WMV files it plays it perfectly
-you CANNOT bookmark audio content on the sd card (bad if you want to store audiobooks in it)
-it does not resume playback of sd content if it is turned off then turned back on again
-when you "random play all" it does not include the audio in the sd content (good thing if you want to store audiobooks in it)
I had a zen vision M but I always wanted something smaller. when I heard about this I sold the M and bought this one, so far it's basically the same product with the SD card slot, refresed graphics on the user interface and a suprisingly clearer screen. It was either this, the new nano, or the samsung yp-t10...
I'm glad I chose this. In my opinion for this price range nothing can really compare
(I uploaded some pics from the player)
-if anyone has this player please respond...
if the hold switch is on for at least 30 sec. and then released does your screen turn a blank white but the player still functions? If I turn it off then on again it works fine, but I want to know if its a glitch in the firmware. have you already installed the new firmware? please respond, I need to know if I should send it back.