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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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
Customer Review: Zen vs Nano G3
Summary: 4 Stars
I have an iPod Nano Gen 3 and I like it a lot, but needed to get another MP3 player because the wife wanted one too, so I decided to try the Zen. The iPod is great because it interfaces with so many accessories (I have a nice little desktop stereo that allows you to control the iPod through the stereo remote, and a I have a little FM transmitter so I can play my mp3s on the road via the car radio) I also found the iPod way more stylish then the Zen. However, the iPod was more expensive, and all the Apple accessories are way overpriced. Enter the Zen. It is slightly bigger, but I like the bigger display better. I also find it better for a runner because the volume control is not easily bumped (the touch wheel on the iPod is terrible when running). The stock Zen earbuds are way better than the iPods. Also, once you upgrade the firmware, it is much more windows friendly than the iPod/iTunes alternative (which still gives me multiple errors every time I sync, even after following all of Apple's tips). The Zen firmware still has issues, but it has gotten more stable, and I hope they will continue to improve it. One area that could use some work is album art. It's a shame with all that display area, the album cover is so tiny. They even have several views to show during music playback, but none of them do justice to the album art. The iPod coverflow is great in this regard. Another area that could use some work is the customization of the background. With all those great photos they include, it's a shame not to be able to set an image like that as your background. Note however, that you can not customize the background at all on the iPod, so Creative is already ahead in this area, I particularly like the purple background on the Zen display. There are also functional bugs that need fixing, but Creative will sell a lot more of these things if they tap the full potential of that beautiful display. Overall I like both the iPod and the Zen each for different reasons and I would give them each 4 stars. The iPod has the edge when it comes to interfacing with accessories, and in the style department. The Zen has the edge with it's nicer display and ear-buds, better controls, and lower price tag.Customer Review: SDHC compatible
Summary: 4 Stars
MP3 players have turned into a commodity. They're not terribly expensive, they sound fine, they're very small, they're easy to use. There's really not much to say, and even Apple is tying them in to web browsers and cell phones and video players, to make them stand out.
The big advantage of this player against the Nano (the obvious competitor) is that SD/SDHC cards allows a measure of expandability. I got the 4 GB version of the player; it's the smallest version but it still lets me put my favorite 60 albums or so on the player. If I want to listen to other albums, I put them on a spare SD card and pop the card in the player, it's easy.
Of course this will be more and more of an advantage - right now, 8GB SD cards cost about half as much as this player, and I'm sure over the next year 16 and 32 GB SD cards will get released, at comparable prices. I have a very large music collection, I like the idea of being able to stick a very large collection on a very small player.
The interface for this device is, like the iPod, pretty good but not great - sometimes you feel like you're working against the menu system. The worst fault is, music on the SD card is put in a separate list than the music on the device's internal memory - it's a little clunky, if not terrible. Also annoying is that the player takes about 10 seconds to boot up, whereas the iPod turns on instantly.
The screen quality is very, very good, the included videos look excellent - on the other hand, it's a small screen for watching a movie, and converting a normal .avi file to the required format requires a couple hours. So except in special circumstances I don't expect to be doing that often.
The battery lasts a very long time, and charges quickly off USB. The sound quality is pretty good, and I've heard it's better than the Nano, but I haven't done any direct comparisons so I can't really say.
Also, be sure to update the firmware off the Creative site, it only takes a few seconds. The firmware as shipped would constantly crash when I accessed the SD card. After the update I haven't had a problem once.
Customer Review: aulty Out of Box, Bad Customer Service
Summary: 1 Stars
I only gave it one star because it is not possible to give zero. If you are considering buying this, you should move along to a better piece of equipment. Because this company will not stand behind the pieces of garbage they sell.
Well since I am unable to comment on how well the product works, I guess I will have to base my review on their severe lack of customer service.
My player came with a faulty USB cable. It is apparent to even the stupidest person that if the player works fine with my friends cable, but not at all with mine, that it must be the provided usb cable.
Nobody I dealt with at Creative seem to believe me and had me do all this nonsense garbage to figure out the "real problem" as they put it.
After wasting several hours with their nonsense, they decided my original assesment was correct. So do they stand behind their product and send out a replacement part... NO.
Here is a direct quote from the last email I received from their supposed customer support:
Based on the description of the issue that you have provided, it appears
that the USB cable of your ZEN Mozaic player needs to be scheduled for a
repair or replacement.
However, it will not be economical for you to ship it for a
repair/replacement since you need to pay one-direction shipping cost.
I suggest you purchase a compatible USB cable from local electrical
shop.
If you want to return it for repair/replacement, you may follow this
link to have an RMA issued for your product
All applicable fees will be assessed at the time that your RMA is
processed in an effort to expedite the repair or replacement of your
product.
So basically they admit that the product was faulty right out of the box. And on top of that they expect me to pay more for them to repair their faulty product.
I urge anybody considering purchasing a Creative product to consider a more reputable brand. I for one wish I had listened to all the negative reviews on Creatives Customer "Support".
Customer Review: Great Player at a Great Price
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll make this short and sweet. I upgraded to the zen 4gb model for a player to use while riding my motorcycle and working out. Some of my colleagues referred to this player when giving some advice. I've had good experiences with some of Creative's earlier product lines, so I tried this out. I have to say, this thing is incredible. The music manager software is very intuitive and is simple for even the computer illiterate. The sound quality is incredible. I can't vouch for the headphones b/c I switched over to my noise canceling earbuds for my motorcycling needs. Overall a great player with very little drawbacks.
Pros:
Size (tiny, yet well-built)
Battery Life (makes it through a two hour workout and a few rides a day)
Interface (very easy to use)
Sound Quality (Second to none)
Screen (Beautiful picture on videos)
FM RADIO!!!!
Cons:
A little difficult to change songs when riding
No useful armband accessory for working out
Overall I can't be happier with the purchase. I also forgot to mention that I have SIRIUS radio installed inside the "trunk" of the bike and the fm radio feature has saved me headaches when trying to continue listening to it while riding. For those with a need to listen to sirius or just wish to listen to regular radio, this is the ticket. IPOD is lacking in the fm radio arena as well as the WOW factor that this has. Simply put, it's just a better player for the money.
Oh, and one last thing: the SD expansion slot is incredible! You can't utilize the fancy interface when accessing the sd slot, but believe me, it's not a big problem. For the cost of the player and a 30 dollar 8gb HCSD card from Amazon, you'll have a 12gB player for a fraction of what you'd pay for a solid state player. That and you can interchange the sd cards at will.
I highly recommend this product to anyone interested in purchasing a quality mp3/video player without having to shell out the big bucks for one.
Customer Review: Not much longevity!
Summary: 1 Stars
After three months of intermittent use, start up screen remained blank when device powered up. All knowledge base suggestions tried and new firmware installed to no avail. SanDisk Sansa e280 much more reliable and is only about $25 more plus you receive double the memory (8 GB vs. 4 GB). Caution advised when considering the Zen 4 GB as customer service practically not existent, difficult to get in contact with via telephone (placed on everlasting hold by answering machine) and website requesting RMA authorization difficult to negotiate.
Update February 6, 2007 After eventually obtaining a RMA number from Creative and shipping the device for repair with a lengthy letter enclosed describing the problem of white screen, the device was returned to me in the same condition with the exception that all my music had been removed and the demo music installed. I took it out of the box, turned it on and guess what: a white screen. I called customer service and chose to wait for a live person (29 minutes) and explained the problem. Per instruction of service tech, reloaded filmware, turned off and on, connected and disconnected from computer all to no avail--still white screen. Eventually tech support said I could ship it back and they would write a note in the file with the new RMA--will wait to see if Creative simply sends it back to me. PS: New customer service number: 405-742-6655. I quote: "If you still encounter any difficulty or problem, pleae contact our technical support at 405.742.6655." This sentence was in the letter enclosed with the defective unit when they returned it to me.
Update February 13, 2008 Creative shipped and I received a completely different Zen 4GB player. As of date, about one month after receiving, the replacement unit is working as designed. What a hassle--neat player, rates a 4 or 5, but customer service issues lower rating to a maximum of 2 and in reality a 1. Suggestion when your unit dies, be persistent and hopefully Creative will respond in a positive manner.