Electronics : Creative ZEN 16GB MP3 Player

Rating: - Great gadget
I recently bought this item from Amazon after a short bit of deliberation. I, like many others read the reviews on this player and thought about whether or not I wanted an alternative to the iPod.

Its true, the iPod is one of the most successfully launched products in the history of the world but by god, can this player compete!

The player does everything that the iPod does with ease and in half of the size too. The player has an added bonus of being expandable to the High Speed SD format which is a real plus.

Its cheaper than an iPod Nano and better looking too.

The gloss finish makes the player look slick and really helps to finish off the unit. I think you will be impressed with the lightness of this unit too, compared to the iPod this unit is light, small and is exactly the same size as a credit card.

The sound is great, many different preset equilisers and a function which lets you customise your own levels.

Added features such as the organiser and calendar could be useful although I have to admit that I leave that sort of stuff to my smartphone.

This player is a showstopper and is a real rival. If comparing on price, you will not regret this for one second.

Cases and accessories are cheap on the market too.

5 out of 5 from me.

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Rating: - Very Impressed
I'm one of those people who hate the fact that people are so fixated with ipods, yeah they are nice to look at but are very overpriced. I bought this 16GB Creative Zen for £89.99, it is also a very good looking piece of kit, the same size as a credit card and only 10mm thick. The menus are very easy to navigate and transfering music/photos/video is a doddle (Just drag and drop in Windows Media Player/Centre or Windows Explorer).

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Rating: - problems
have had to return two of these within a week and amazon's policy is that they do not send a third item out and so am awaiting refund.
first one worked fine for a day then refused to switch on. second one never got going and screen was constantly white. pressing buttons had no effect. (amazon replied to my email saying that this has been a common problem!). nay mind - have to go to the "other side" and get myself an ipod! gutted coz for the day that i had the first one it seemed a fantastic little mp3 player.

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Rating: - Good enough
I had to return my first zen after 6 days because the screen went white and had no control. Amazon sent the replacement straight away and it's working fine now (see for how long?)

Cons:
The headphones are a bit big for my ears (I would prefer them smaller).
The usb cable is ridicously short.
The radio doesn't seem to catch many stations in London.

Pros:
Screen, design and price are very attractive.
Quality is good.
It's not an ipod.

Overall a good buy.

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Rating: - Great player
I have only had mine for just over a week now. The first one I received was faulty - the screen stopped working every time I used the keypad lock, only fixed by a reset whilst connected to the PC.

I was *very* impressed with the Creative customer support, who replied to my email promptly and gave me instructions about the reset. Then I emailed back saying that the fault persisted and they again replied quickly saying to get a replacement through the retailer. (Amazon were also very quick at sending me another and also gave me credit for the postage, so 5 stars to them too).

My experience with the Creative customer support made me feel that this is a company who cares for its customers. I didn't even have to make expensive phone calls which seems to be rare these days.

As for the product itself...

It is a great little player, and the 16GB is enough for me to store all the music I would ever want to listen to.

I can't compare the sound quality with anything else because this is the first MP3 player I have ever owned! I went for this over the ipod nano because I've read lots about durability issues with the ipod. I am obviously in no position to say anything about the Zen's durability as I've only had it a week.

The menus are straight forward.

It has a radio which I thought to be an added bonus I was not expecting. I don't seem to be able to pick up many stations though!
The only videos I have watched are the ones that were supplied with it, but I can say that the screen is a good size for videos.

I am not convinced by the claimed battery life though. The software doesn't let you rip CDs to MP3s unless the Zen is connected to your PC which I think is a bit daft. You may already have better software for ripping CDs anyway.

The only way to charge without paying extra is through USB and the mains chargers don't seem to be particularly cheap.