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Creative Zen Micro 5GB MP3 Player (5GB Internal Hard Drive)
| Ease of use | Good |
| Features | Very Good |
| Internal memory | 5GB |
| Memory card slot | 0 |
| Formats supported | MP3, WAV, WMA |
| Voice recording | Yes |
| Battery | Lithium ion |
| Software | Creative MediaSource, Creative Media Explorer |
| Other features | Built-in FM tuner, voice recorder, equalizer |
| Support policies | Fair |
| Policies | One-year parts, 90-day labor warranty; 9-hour toll-call support on weekdays |
Creative Zen Micro
Zen Micro 5GB MP3 Player (5GB Internal Hard Drive) Review, by Melissa J. Perenson March 25, 2005
The Creative Zen Micro 5GB digital audio player packs a lot of functionality into a small space. This ambitious player does a lot of things ably, but we found room for improvement.
The $230 player eschews the admirable tapered design of the Rio Carbon in favor of a streamlined rectangular form that nevertheless feels comfortable in the hand. It comes in a rainbow of colors--ten in all--and includes a thin fabric slipcase and a holster that doubles as a desk stand. The rechargeable (and removable) lithium ion battery supported 12 hours of use per charge in our tests.
As in earlier Zen models, the vertical touch-scroll at the center of the Micro's case is the device's primary navigation tool. The unit's slick scroll navigator responds nicely to touch; you get different options depending on which menu you're browsing. For example, if you're playing a song, the scroll navigator acts as the volume control; if you're browsing through your music library, it moves you through your options (backward or forward). At the top of the scroll are the rewind, play/pause, and fast forward buttons; to the lower left is the back button; and to the lower right is the context-sensitive option menu.
For the most part, we liked this approach to navigation. Because the menus are customizable, we could adjust the order of options and the information displayed on screen. Occasionally, however, we inadvertently invoked the wrong function, and the player's design makes it a bit difficult to use sight unseen--say, if it's still in your pocket. Another drawback: Some functions (such as the equalizer) are buried in the menus, and a few tasks (such as adding music to an on-the-fly playlist) take more effort than they should.
Another quibble involves the 1.5-inch LCD. The display is bright and readable when the backlight is on; but without the backlight, the screen is too dark for comfortable reading. And unfortunately, you can't adjust the screen's backlight--or the gimmicky blue strobing light that encircles the Micro and flashes whenever you press its controls.) Not only would an adjustable backlight help conserve battery power, it would make the device more discrete when used in a darkened environment (such as an auditorium or an airplane).
We have no complaints about the clean, robust sound transmitted through the included earbuds. The unit supports MP3, WAV, and WMA files, and it can record from its FM tuner and integrated microphone to MP3 format. Other handy features let you view your Microsoft Outlook contacts and calendar (thanks to the included syncing software), and use the device as an external USB 2.0 hard drive (you can allocate between 128MB and 2GB to the data partition).
The player ships with two software applications: the inelegant Creative MediaSource (for ripping CDs and syncing your music library with your Zen) and the Zen Micro Media Explorer (which simplifies viewing, sorting, and copying Zen Micro contents from within Windows Explorer).
Upshot: The Creative Zen Micro is a solid choice if you're looking for a highly portable music player that supports FM radio playback and recording and includes a voice recorder.
Melissa J. Perenson
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: monkey5678
Strengths: High storage capacity vs it's price, removable lithium ion battery, built in fm radio, can record radio broadcasts and save them as an mp3 on the player, cool back light.
Weaknesses: Battery life kinda stinks and touch pad is weird when you first use it.
Overall: I am very plaesed with my zen micro becuase it's a great mp3 player. The mp3 player holds 5gb at two hundred dollars vs the ipod mini which only holds 4gb at that price ( prices when I bought it). The mp3 player is easy to use and is compatible with all kinds of music devices. It has a calendar and built in fm radio. One of my favorite features is that you can actually record the radio music onto your player. Another great feature is it's removable lithium ion battery which actually saves you money in the long run. The only real draw back is that the battery life sucks and if you don't have the outlet piece you have to charge it via it's usb cable, but other than that this player is pretty good. P.S.-When I say that the battery life sucks I don't mean that the battery needs to be replaced I mean that it has to be recharged.
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Reviewed by: pixiestick5
Strengths: I like the sound and the fact that you can use the radio. Being able to record things is also very nice. I like the sleek look and such.
Weaknesses: Durability
Overall: My brother and I each got one a year ago, his headphone jack broke in about a month so we sent it back to the company and got one for free.Mine lasted much longer, I just got another one from the store, (warranty), because mine started to act possesed. The headphone thing happened to mine, and it started to turn itself on, which wasted the battery and was really annoying seeing as I was on a trip where I didn't have access to outlets to charge it.It worked fine for the first 11 months I had it, no problems, the software is great, and recordings are amazing, but I caution you to get some type of warranty with the store so you can bring it back if things start to go wrong, because it really is nice, just take care of it.
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Reviewed by: mikememo
Strengths: EVERY THING- THE SOUND,THE NAVIGATIONS SYSTEM, THE CAPACITY AND THE BATTERIEY LIFE TO
Weaknesses: NO COLOR, FEW ASSESSORIES
Overall: THIS THING ROCKS THE BEST MP3 PLAYER OUT THERE. THE TOUCH PAD TAKES A BIT OF GETTING USE TO BUT AFTER THAT YOU WILL LOVE IT. I WOULD RECCOMEND THAT YOU UP GRADE THE FIRMWARE RIGHT AWAY AND DO IT FIRST BEFORE YOU PUT MUSIC ON IT MAN. I HAVE HAD FOR 3 MONTHS SO FAR AND HAD NO PROMBLEMS SO FAR MAN. I KINDA WISHED IT HAD COLOR BUT BESIDES THAT IT IS PERFECT MAN. IF YOU ARE DEBATING ON GETTING AN IPOD OR THIS CHOSE THIS BIG TIME BECOUSE IT JUST HAS SO MANY MORE FETURES THAN A **** IPOD.
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Reviewed by: bendownsouth
Strengths: Amazing sound! Holds more songs than you can listen to. Great package, has everything you need: Ear phones, belt clip, charger, and USB cable.
Weaknesses: VERY FRAGILE - it slipped off the belt clip and died.EXPENSIVE REPAIRS - a new hard drive is $122. Very dissapointing when the unit is only two days old.
Overall: If I were just a little younger, I would have to cry. My 25 year old son gave me this ZEN MICRO for my birthday! After I pried it from my sixteen year old daughters hands I started downloading music from my CD collection and listening to it with the little (included) ear phones. WOW what a sound! I was instantly addicted. Then it slipped off of the belt clip and hit the floor (can't remember if I was sitting down, or getting up, but it didn't fall from a standing position) It was dead. When I was trying to figure out what was wrong, I read in the detailed owners manual that you should not jog while wearing this unit! It can't take the vibration. I called customer support and they told me the hard drive was bad, and it would cost $122 to have them send me a new one. If it is that fragile, they should have a better belt clip; and with the mark up on electronic equipment, I think they could provide replacement of this very fragile device for less money than that. I would NOT recommend that anyone buy this, but if you do treat it like a TWO HUNDRED DOLLAR RAW EGG!
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Reviewed by: popesuburbanii
Strengths: Its creative, so the sound quality is amazing, and its very small. Looks much better than a Ipod. Bright light helps alot in the dark, and it looks very cool with it on!
Weaknesses: scroll is a little too sensitive, but you can fix that easily with the lock. Sometimes its a little hard to hold, you might hit the skip button.
Overall: Great MP3 player, until it reached the 3rd month. Like what others have said, the headphone jack messes up, and you have to keep moving it around until you get the sound back. It's not just them. I do not recommend this to anyone.
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