Powerreviews on Zen
Written: Feb 16 '03 (Updated Feb 16 '03)
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Pros: Good price space ratio for 20 GB hard drive. Holds other data than mp3s
Cons: A bit bulky and instructions could have been better.
The Bottom Line: The Zen jukebox is great overall product that delivers what it promises. Any drawbacks or missing options could be solved with the remote control accessory.
ZenW/out remote=good product
ZenW/remote=great product
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| powerreviews's Full Review: Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen (20 GB) MP3 Player |
Pros:
This is great a product for around low 300 dollars after the rebate and taxes. Although there is no audio input for the Zen by itself, rest assured that there is an accessory out there that will fix the problem along with some others that will make this a perfect 10. However since the Creative Nomad doesn't have these features beforehand, the review rating would be ok rather than great. The audio sound system is great and is louder then my past CD players when compared using the same ear buds and speakers.
The battery type is said to be lithium ion on the box but I cannot see it since the battery (which last for a good 12 hours) is non-removable and hidden in the slick hard drive design of the Zen Nomad.
Just like a hard drive, this jukebox can hold other files than mp3s and music files making it sometimes pulling double duty as a portable hard drive for me when I periodically run out of space on my regular hard drive.
Cons:
While the design is slick and cool, is also brings its draw backs by being a bit too bulky. The dimensions of the Zen nomad are 1" (depth) by 4.6" (height) by 3" (width).
Although is a bit bulky compared to the other mp3 jukeboxes out there, it is still small enough to fit in my hand or my pocket for great mobility. Also, keep in mind that the device can hold 20 GB worth of data.
This is the only problem that will always stick with you whenever you have it. However there are other one time problems that could have been solved simply by having better instructions along with the box.
These come in the form of using the device in the first place and organization of songs when placed in the jukebox. After some trial and error it shouldn't be too hard to fully utilize all the functions that the Zen Nomad can do.
Overall:
The transfer rate is a mixed blessing since you can use USB 1.1 and 2.0 as well as the popular Mac’s fire wire. However as blazingly fast as it goes, when you first transfer about 10 GB worth of songs onto the hard drive, it will take at least 20-30 minutes.
The product comes in a complete package and supplies you with all the cables and such. They even give you a decent set of headphones. The headphones are the newly designed ones that sit on the back of your head.
Another mixed blessing is the EAX option that allows you to enhance the type of music you like to listen to and even has a custom feature that mimics the equalizer option on programs like Winamp. Although it is good, it feels wasted to me since there are many options that aren't practical and after playing around with all their options you wind up using only one of them forever or use your custom setting and ignore the rest.
Finally there have been some concern going on as to getting the songs on the jukebox and the error of some "illegal" songs that simply will not load, that will frustrate some consumers. From my experience, it seems that less then one percent of my songs has that problem and could be solved by downloading another version of the same song. However I still do not know what trait about the "illegal" songs make it "illegal" as opposed to my other songs which are ok-ed by Zen. (Both "illegal" and legal songs have been obtained in the same manner using the same program.)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 280
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Epinions.com ID:
powerreviews
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
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