Let me begin with the product description. I bought it off of Amazon.com off a recommendation of a friend. I read some reviews and it looked like a great product. Some specifics:

*64MB of memory...good for an hour's worth of music
*recording music capabilities
*memory card...can be used in other products such as a digital camera
*adjust the bass/treble/etc
*adjust brightness/light
*comes with a program to load your mp3s onto the player as well as a separate program to play mp3s in (not a great program so just use winamp or whatever else you use)
*FM/AM Radio
*nice headphones that wrap around the side of your head...not on top
*remote on the headphones wire so you can tuck your mp3 player away when walking
*small enough to stick in a pocket
*only need one Double AA

Now that I mentioned that..I feel it is important to give a detailed description of the problems I've had with the player. A few weeks ago I accidentally dropped it and the volume broke. Here is a detailed account of my terrible encounters with Creative Labs, Ltd.

Three weeks ago from tomorrow I mailed off my Nomad II mp3 player for repairs with Creative Labs. First problem I had with Creative Labs is I needed to call a toll number to talk to tech support in Stillwater, OK. This is all good and fine if it is quick and painless, but it took me 45 minutes to get someone the first time...and I was hung up on. The next time I called it took another half hour to get a person...so the call was probably close to another 40-45mins once done. Once I finally got through to technical support, I was told that I needed to mail the "broken" parts off via UPS/Fed Ex already paid with the needed information enclosed. I followed those directions and was told that I would have it back in my hands (at most) 2 weeks after they received my order. In addition, since my 90 day warranty had just expired, I was told it would be $20 to repair or replace the player if need be. He said they probably would replace it since the volume was broken. So I said fine because this seemed reasonable and not too bad..sure I had problems calling but the technical division was surely different.

So I mail it off and is received February 2. February 9 I am called around 4PM by a person in customer service that my player was received and would be looked at by Monday, the latest. In addition, I got my first news that varies from what I was told originally...prices. Now I was told that to replace the player it would be an additional $77...which now started to anger me. That would mean that would add up to another 100+ dollars if that happened...it's not hard mathematics to realize that it is a different story than $20+shipping. Because the 90 day warranty had worn off, I will either: A)get lucky and have it repaired for $20 B)have to have it replaced for another $77 or C)have them mail it back to me because I don't have the money to spend on a replacement. So I figured, OK, let them look at it and we'll see what happens Monday...

Monday roles around...no call. Tuesday...nothing. Wednesday...you guessed it...more of the same. Thursday (today) I decided to call to find out what the story was...it had been almost another week after all. So this time I get to call toll free (HOORAY) at which point another variation to the rules comes about. The person looks up my RMA #(kinda like the problem number for the repair) and tells me it's only been 10 business days since they got it and it could take another 5 til they test/repair it. WHAT? EXCUSE ME? What is it doing for 10 days? That's what I want to know...or why do they have someone call me to say that someone will work on it that Fri afternoon or Monday?

Instead of a quick 2-4 week process, this is turning into a 5-6 week "painful" ordeal. For a $250 product that I spent my hard earned work money on, I expect a lot better service than I received. I know this may not be normal for every call but I believe for expensive products like these there are should be much better technical support. I hope you take this into consideration before diving in and buying from Creative Labs. I'll update on the situation as soon as more is available. Overall nice product but terrible support and not durable at all!

UPDATE: I received the product a few days later after writing this epinion. However, though the player worked the remote was worse off than the condition I sent it in. Not only did the buttons not work, but you could only hear out of one ear when connecting the headphones to the remote. So as you can only imagine, I was not very happy.

I called them back on the toll free line via customer support. Naturally, they send me back to the toll number which is expensive. Also, it should be mentioned I am told I can call anytime before 10PM central time. The first time I call I am told to call back tomorrow because the RMA staff is home for the day...real happy about this one after being told another story. Also, should be mentioned I am told that "probably" they can just ship me a new remote since it is their mistake in the first place. Sounds reasonable.

Call #2. I call around 9:30AM EST which is 8:30AM CT because I am told this is the best time to catch a representative quick. First off, the guy never tells me his name. Second, he was very rude to me as a customer. I got responses like "yeah it's expensive but that's the way it is". Third, I am told I have to ship the remote back to Creative and they will "test" it or ship a new one if need be. Hmm doesn't this sound familiar. He used the excuse of "well something probably happened after we shipped it". Unbelievable. So he got rude with me and I said well I'm not sure if I think it is fair to me to have to spend more money on this for your mistake. Again I get "well it's not OUR fault." So fine...I say goodbye after another 14 minute phone call.

Call #4 in the past two days. Basically I spend another 23 minutes on the phone arguing with the fact that they have been rude and inconsiderate with me. Again, all we can do is another RMA #. So I accept and take the RMA...I'll be mailing it this afternoon...after being told this will be "quick." Hmm...sound familiar? I will be calling back the toll free number to tell them some issues need to be addressed within the whole customer service department before they not only lose my service but many other dissatisfied customers...

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 250