Creative ZEN Vision:M 30GB Media Player - Black (2.5

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Creative Zen VisionM

ZEN Vision:M 30GB Media Player - Black (2.5 Review, by Eric Dahl August 15, 2006

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• Latest User Reviews 7 reviews
• Reviewed by: Xiad

  Duration of ownership: 2 Months

  Overall: does any one can recommend it from apple ipod classic, according to the sound quality ONLY (since everyone knows that ZVM is better in features). please advice me about this. i`ll appreciate that &thanks in advance. ziad

• Reviewed by: Philatanus

  Duration of ownership: 1 Year

  Strengths: Screen color, sound quality, firmware

  Weaknesses: Scratches easily (except the screen)

  Overall: I've been using it for a year and never had any big problems with it (a crash once in a while). It has 256 mil colors making it great for watching videos, and the sound quality is really good too. The firmware is also really good and stable. It's everything iPod is and more.

• Reviewed by: pablitomon

  Duration of ownership: 10 Months

  Strengths: other than appleMP3

  Weaknesses: low battery life, low or no tech support, you are lucky to get to the maze of voice mail directio0ns.."press1, press2, press3" Tool bars are so pre-set you can only edit music on two or three fields. Nothing else. In the markes as of today Only ONE speaker connector at 80.00 cost.

  Overall: I'm terribly sorry I spent 220.00 on a silly paperweight. Better lock next time.. maybe Apple has the answer...

• Reviewed by: abctaxes

  Duration of ownership: 3 Months

  Strengths: Microsoft Outlook can be installed and accessed

  Weaknesses: I am having a difficult time in getting it to play though my car radio. The FM way is not very clear which seems to be the only way.

  Overall: Don't buy it if plan to use it in your car.

• Reviewed by: djlobb

  Duration of ownership: 1 Year

  Strengths: Absolutly awsome Screen, Video Playback, Features, Options and the Audio Quality!

  Weaknesses: alittle bit thicker than an iPod, but it feels just the same in my pocket, and its tougher. It's not compatible with iTunes, but if you don't use iTunes then you might prefer using WMP11 anyway.

  Overall: In 2006 I got an iPod video (then thought to be great) but afew months after purchase it kept shutting off and freezing, so I took it back and got a replacement, and I didn't have any good luck, Long story short, I had to get a new MP3 player, I looked around, and a friend pointed me to this. I Couldn't believe how nice the screen was when I watched Madagascar on it, The sound is just extremly nice too! The menu is great! rather easy to get through (for me and most my friends) I really like how sturdy it is too! for a Hard Disk based player it sure takes a beating! Photos look stunning on it, I don't know how to describe it. And Video playback is great too! No more converting my movies and Family Guy eps, every video format ever made goes on this thing simply with a drag and drop of the file. It syncs flawlessly with Windows Media Player 11, no software needed. The FM Tuner and Voice Recorder are just bonuses, I listen to the radio frequently on the train, listening to the talk shows. I Absolutly love the ZEN Vision M and could never IMAGINE going with another iPood.

• Reviewed by: opusg17

  Duration of ownership: 2 Years

  Strengths: I like the way all Creative Players work with Windows Media Player.

  Weaknesses: My unit can be weird about downloading AVI files.

  Overall: This MP3 player has done everything I have expceted of it. Battery life has never let me down. For that reason, I will not comlpain, that it's a little chubbie.

• Reviewed by: pwcorgi2

  Duration of ownership: 2 Months

  Strengths: I love it.

  Weaknesses: I do wish the accessory ports were built in instead. Companies need to realize that there's more mp3 players than just Ipod and Zune. therefore they need to make stuff for other players, and stores need to offer more non-ipod stuff too. STOP THIS CRAZY BANDWAGON Mentality.

  Overall: I'm happy that I didn't ride the Ipod bandwagon. Yes, the Ipod is nice, but if people would do their homework, they'll realize that there are other products better than Ipod. I'm really happy that the Zen is more open source than Ipod, even though it would be great if it could use itunes. Vice-versa for Ipods. They should be open source too. The Zen M is incredible, with it's many features such as FM & microphone, excellent video. People, please do more research before choosing an Ipod. Don't get one just because "everybody" has a Ipod.

• Reviewed by: rusblue

  Strengths: Sleek, gorgeous screen; very good battery life; Menu is very user friendly and make it the way you want; I was truly surprised with the different type of videos you can upload.

  Weaknesses: Video interruptions due to buffering, surprsiingly no pre-loaded games; battery cannot be removed....could be a long term nuisance. The touchpad is touchy.

  Overall: The Creative Zen is very feature-rich. The button layout is simple but at times not very intuitive. The video capability and compatibility is very good and I was impressed with the beautiful and lovely screen. Plenty of juice left after watching a full length movie (1.5 hrs).Within 24 hours of owning this product, I had uploaded over 3000 songs, 600 photos, 4 audio books, and 22 videos stored on it. Super simple to use. I use this in my car for my hour commute to work by using a cassette with the headphone jack hooked to my Zen. Sound quality is EXCELLENT!

• Reviewed by: roadrunnercleo

  Strengths: Easy to operate. Fits great in your hand. Not flimsy. Screen is large with great color.

  Weaknesses: Center slide is very sensitive. Need a little bit of knowledge to load a cd onto it.

  Overall: I never had a MP3 before, but this one has a large screen, easy to see whats playing. Center slide button is a little sensitive but you just need to get the hang on how to use it. Outstanding sound quality. I did not want to turn it off. I mainly purchased it for my car but find myself listening to it all day. Don't know what I did without it. Would recommend highly.

• Reviewed by: cotebryan

  Strengths: (1) Holds lots of music, movies, etc. (2) Nice, bright screen for menu operation and watching stored movies (3) Supports many audio and video formats (4) Comes with software to convert video

  Weaknesses: (1) Does not come with a standard wall charger, just a USB charger that requires a computer to be "on" while it charges (2) Does not play MP4 video files, these must be converted using the software

  Overall: The Zen Vision:M is a very nice alternative to the iPod. It is available (at this time) in 30GB and 60GB models which provide plenty of room for your music collection and converted movies. It is a stylish device and relatively compact, considering the high quality screen and large (at the time of this writing) hard drive for storage. It is very easy to use as the touch-sensitive slider button makes menu selection and navigation a breeze. I own the 30GB model and I have been able to use the included video converter software to convert my MP4 PSP movies (which I created with PSP Video 9) to create WMV movies that will play on the Zen. It would've been nice to play the MP4 format on both devices that I own, however, it was nice of Creative to include an easy to use converter program. In all, this is a great device that is a tremendous value (especially as it continues to drop below the $200 mark). There are a few missed opportunities, though. One glaring omission is a wall charger. Currently, the only way to charge the Zen (out of the box) is with the included USB cable. This requires you to charge the Zen while you have it hooked up to a computer. That makes for 3-4 hours of downtime for the device when someone might want to use it. I would prefer to plug it into the wall and charge it overnight. If you do some searching, however, it is not difficult to locate a wall charger to purchase online.

• Reviewed by: snowyhaha

  Strengths: Easy to use, Price, FM tuner & FM tuner Recording, microphone, nice video quality, user-friendly interface

  Weaknesses: Size, speed, design

  Overall: People always like to compare this MP3 player to the IPOD; I have owned both and I must say Ipod has better design and the best quality. The Zen looks good too but it is kind of bulky. The Ipod is able to load up pictures alot quicker than the Zen; for a reason Zen is very slow loading up pictures and you really need to maximize for a clear view; pictures look blurry at thumb nail;the IPOD can show the fit-to-screen clear picutes. If you are a PC user! The Zen Vision M is so much more PC compatible. Additionally, its cheaper, and much more customizable. It is very easy to upload the video and unlike the Ipod, it only supports MPEG-4 and you need to pay $30 for a software for conversion. I must agree that once you buy an Ipod, Steve Case will keep on draining your wallet for more money, buying into expensive accessories and iTune..It is not a cheap investment.The Zen is a better MP3 player, in terms of cost, features and accessories.

• Reviewed by: myxcure

  Strengths: Features, Movie and Picture Clarity, Not an Ipod!

  Weaknesses: Size and Accessories

  Overall: Fantastic player, I absolutely adore it. Must better than my ipod. I use it often and I used to have to charge my Ipod every night, I only have to charge this ever 3 days or so. It took a little getting used to but now it's very easy to use. The software is also hard to get used to but once you figure it out it's nice that you can pick and choose what goes on the Zen. Fantastic product, pass up the ipod and grab the Zen, it's a way better choice, wish I would have gotten this before I shelled out the $350 for the Ipod that no longer works.

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