The Best bang for My Buck was the Creative Zen Micro...
Written: Jul 09 '05
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Pros: Removable battery. Very well priced. Very Durable. Works as advertised.
Cons: Power button seems awkward. Touch buttons can be very touchy.
The Bottom Line: After researching multiple MP3/WMA players, the Zen Micro won hands down. Not only in price at $179 for 5gigs, but in quality.
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| jimyster's Full Review: Creative Labs Zen Micro (5 GB) Black MP3 Player |
INTRO:
Being a big music fan, I initially wanted to try out the music rental subscription services. But found it would require an MP3 player that had a hard drive, not just a flash player like I had at the time. So I researched a number of them including the famous iPod line, and a few things drew me to the Creative Zen Micro MP3 player over the other brand. First of all it supported WMA¡¦s as well as MP3¡¦s. And secondly important to me was it¡¦s removable battery, I wouldn¡¦t have to send it in to get the battery replaced. And I could even order a backup battery if I needed. Though not the best price, my purchase was at Best Buy due to it¡¦s extended warranty they offer. I figure this is something that will get dropped and knocked around a bunch. My purchase was a black Zen Micro 5gb model. They also come in 6gb and 4gb as well.
OUT OF THE BOX:
This player comes in a cardboard box about 12¡¨ x 6¡¨. The cover slides off to expose a plane white box when little writing on it, and the cover flips open like a book. It comes with some accessories that are not impressive.
„h High fidelity earphones - These earbuds are pretty weak, but I knew this during the purchase, and bought some Sony earbuds. The wire looks very flimsy, and the buds are flat wafer style buds. Rarely do I see a player that comes with some high end listening phones, except maybe Bose CD players.
„h Belt Clip & Stand - It comes with a cheap plastic player belt clip / stand. This cradles the player like sitting it inside a bowl with clips to hold it. And depending on which back you slide on, it can be a clip for the belt, or leg for sitting on a table. This belt clip broke the first day when my player scrapped the wall while I was walking. I ended up purchasing a few different style carrying cases since. One leather case, one belt style for the gym, and one arm style for the gym.
„h Li-Ion Battery ¡V An unusual looking battery to me, it¡¦s square with three contacts in the side corner. Does not really seem to have as much play time as advertised which is twelve hours. At work I timed it, and it was more like maybe nine hours maximum.
„h USB 2.0 Cable ¡V Looks to be about five feet long, and seems to work fine here. I did read in one of the forums where someone claimed they were sending out faulty USB cables at one time. And if you find yourself having problems syncing, you should purchase another cable. But I have yet to see or hear any other complaints about this. So this maybe more like someone that had lack of knowledge and was attempting to troubleshoot the problem.
„h Pouch ¡V This pouch was thin nylon with a zipper and offered zero protection to the MP3 player. I ended up using this to hold some rechargeable batteries when I tossed them in my briefcase.
„h Zen Micro Player ¡V This is what my purchase was all about! It¡¦s very small and compact, and has a solid feel when holding it. I think the power button could have been better thought out. It¡¦s on the top by the earphone connection, and you have to hold it over to power it off and off. I guess that could also be a good safety so I don¡¦t accidentally power it off during my playback. It looks very cool too, mine has a black faceplate, but they come in a variety of colors, ten as I type this. When it charges it glows blue on the buttons and edge of the face like something off an alien ship. It¡¦s a good eye catcher at work when it¡¦s sitting on my desk, playing over a 125 music CD¡¦s I have loaded on it. And I really enjoy the shuffle option, either shuffle all, or shuffle currently selected playing.
INSTALLATION:
Hardware ¡V Installing the hardware is pretty easy, even without reading the manual. The back cover slides off the player, there are no locking devices on the cover. But it¡¦s a snug fit, and won¡¦t just fall off. The USB cable plugs in like any other. Like any USB device, you should always install the software drivers before connecting the hardware. I also recommend downloading the latest firmware drivers.
Software - Like any new product, your best bet is before installing the software, go to the website to see if there have been any updates. Which in this case, there were multiple firmware updates, one that enable subscription software to work, which is what I wanted. Initially, when you install the box software and use it¡¦s original firmware, it works off of playlists, and tosses everyone on the root of the drive. But after the firmware update, I could connect to the Zen Micro just like another drive. And now I just drag and drop my music to the player without using any special bridge software to transfer my music.
Check for the latest updates before installing the CD here: http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/download.asp
LEARNING CURVE:
I picked up on this without reading the manual at all. The biggest learning curve for most seems to be the touch pad. It¡¦s sometimes hard to select what you want with its default settings, and some feel it¡¦s too sensitive. But I found that by turning the sensitivity up all the way, I could more easily select something, as opposed to turning it all the way down on sensitivity. Once I updated the firmware with the subscription (beta) firmware, then it was very easy to load music. I just dropped my MP3¡¦s in. I haven¡¦t used the other features it has like its organizer or clock. To use the clock, you have to go through the menu to find the time, and it¡¦s very inconvenient. It¡¦s just easier to find a clock nearby for me.
THE PLAYER:
Many want to compare this player to a Mini, and it¡¦s usually in a positive light. Because it is so compact in size, 3.3¡¨ in height, and 2¡¨ in width, it¡¦s very easy to carry. And let me mention it just looks awesome! The readout is clear for me, but guess it might be rough for someone who has bad eyes, because the fonts are rather small. The LCD does light up, along with the buttons so your not lost in the dark. Like it¡¦s brothers, the Creative Nomad players, it offers different DJ style balances like pop, classical, disco, rock and roll.
Refer to here for further specs: http://www.nomadworld.com/products/Zen_Micro/specs.asp
USING IT:
The middle up and down arrow serve as the music scroll, sliding your finger up and down. And a double tap on this same button selects the MP3 or WMA you want to play. It¡¦s has a menu button in the lower right, a back button in the lower left, back a track upper left, forward a track upper right. Sometimes it would lockup after a charge, and I have to reset it by removing the battery and putting it back in. This doesn¡¦t delete anything, just resets the player. So it does get a few hiccups now and then, but is easily resolved.
FEATURES:
-FM Radio, which not only plays, but you can record it direct to the player!
-Removable rechargeable Li-Ion battery. Something not many other MP3 players can not claim.
-Voice Recording, I¡¦ve never used this myself.
-Address book and Calendar, which I¡¦ve never used.
-Curved to fit in the hand, and feels good to hold.
-Ten different colors to pick from, though black and white seem to be what some only carry.
-Manufactured by Creative, they are the leaders in computer audio, and build solid equipment.
CONCLUSION:
Like most things I purchase, this was heavily researched and found to be the best bang for the buck in my book. You are not limited to using only iTunes like the iPod. It also supports WMA¡¦s as well as MP3¡¦s. And can be used with a variety of subscription services, and with the new popular Podcasting. This gets all five stars from me, and after months of playing with it, still can say I totally enjoy the Creative Zen Micro player!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 179.00
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym
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Epinions.com ID:
jimyster
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Location: Carrollton, TX
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 3 members
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