Just what (I thought) the doctor ordered!
Written: Nov 11 '02 (Updated Dec 09 '04)
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Pros: Sound, capacity, user interface, flexibility, battery life, USB 2.0, attractive case, EAX.
Cons: Awful Creative firmware. Doesn't show up as removable harddrive. Needs driver installs on every computer.
The Bottom Line: Excellent hardware spoilt by awful firmware (the software that runs the jukebox). Creative is COMMITTED TO NOT ADDING critical, useful features. Firmware upgrades don't fix anything and are infrequent.
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| hsjawanda's Full Review: Creative Technology Nomad Jukebox (10 GB) MP3 Play... |
Ok, after having used the NJB2 (Nomad JukeBox 2) for a little longer, I am forced to downgrade my review. My original review is given below as-is. I apologize to those who may have bought this jukebox based in part on my earlier review.
The reason I am downgrading is because of the firmware. I have experienced frequent crashes and reboots in the middle of playing music. Creative hasn't released updated firmware in almost a year.
The Creative Nomad Jukebox doesn't show up as a removable hard drive when connected to a computer. Despite huge demand, Creative has not deemed it necessary to add this super-useful functionality. For transferring any music or data files from or to a computer, you need to install software (a one-time install per computer, of course).
Most other players show up as detachable hard drives in Windows Explorer, and you can just copy files over. After this, the jukebox goes through the files stored on it, cataloging the music files (to enable MP3-tag-based searching). But the NJB2 is one of the very few jukeboxes that doesn't support this functionality (no Creative jukebox supports this functionality) and apparently Creative has no plans of adding this functionality either. Having your jukebox double up as a portable hard drive is super-useful.
I am never going to buy another Creative product. Their treatment of customers is very apathetic.
Since the iPod is still horrible bang for the buck, if I were to buy a jukebox now, I would probably opt for one of the iRiver models (iRiver iHP-100 or iHP-120). That is one company that seems to come out with quality, feature-laden products and also listens to its customers.
----- Original Review -----
I first started looking at hard-drive based jukeboxes in the summer of 2002 and was instantly hooked. I researched and researched and knew I would end up buying one someday - the temptation was simply too great!
Now, at long last, in November 2002, I have been able to spare enough money (not to mention a $50.00 Mail-in Rebate and 3 month interest-free repayment ;-) to buy this Creative Nomad Jukebox 2... and I am very, very happy!
The advantages of a hard-drive based jukebox over memory-based MP3 players and MP3/CD players are too obvious and apply equally to all jukeboxes, so I won't go over them here.
FEATURES COMMON TO HARD DRIVE BASED MP3 PLAYERS/JUKEBOXES:
They all have hard drives (of course :-). At a bare minimum they can play MP3 files (the Jukebox 2 plays MP3, WMA and WAV files), can transfer music (and in most cases data files) to and from a computer (PC and/or Mac) and offer you some way of organizing (usually by Genre, Artist, Album, Playlist etc.) the huge amounts of music that these jukeboxes can hold.
So then, what sets the Jukebox 2 apart?
WHY THE JUKEBOX 2 IS SUCH A GOOD DEAL:
Simple: it does all that other non-Creative jukeboxes do (and then some) and is reasonably priced.
First off, the sound quality of all Creative Jukeboxes (at least from the 10GB Jukebox onwards) is amongst the best (if not the best) out there.
Second, the Jukeboxes (including the one under review here, Jukebox 2) come with good, rechargeable batteries and AC power adapters. The rechargeable batteries don't need to be removed from the Jukebox to be charged -- just plug in the AC adapter and you can have your batteries recharged while you listen to songs. Battery life is good on the Jukebox 2 -- they last at least 7 hours (I have used one for upto 10 hours) on a single charge -- and it takes only 1-3 hours (Creaitve's claim, and it holds true) to completely recharge a battery.
Third, I don't know of any other jukebox that offers features/technology comparable to Creative's EAX (found on Jukebox 2) for tailoring the sound to your needs. I haven't used/tried all the features yet, but Sound Leveling, my favorite and always-on feature, works great. Now I don't need to reach for the volume control every time the track changes. The downside here is that *only one* of these EAX settings can be used at any time.
Fourth, the Jukebox 2 is one of the very few jukeboxes out there to offer USB 2.0. The biggest advantage of USB 2.0 is that it is backward-compatible with the older (and now nearly ubiquitous) USB 1.0/1.1, yet has a transfer speed (480 Mbps -- if connected to a USB 2.0 compatible computer) greater than that of Firewire/IEEE 1394. This means that the Jukebox 2 is ready to work with your old computer out of the box and, if you feel like it, an investment of $20 (for a PCI USB 2.0 card) will give you transfer speed faster than Firewire.
Fifth, the interface of the Jukebox 2 is simply awesome (more on that later). The Apple iPod is also supposed to have a good interface (haven't tried it out myself) but I seriously doubt that it could make finding, organizing and playing your music on the jukebox any easier.
Sixth, the price. Period.
THE USER INTERFACE:
As with all other jukeboxes, you need to have your music organized on your PC (or Mac) with the proper ID3 tags to make full use of Jukebox 2's capabilities. Jukebox 2 lets you search for music (on the Jukebox) by Genre, Artist, Album, Track and Playlist. Most of this is implemented in one form or another, to some extent or other, in most jukeboxes. What sets the Jukebox 2 (and other Creative Jukeboxes) apart (as far as I know) is the the ability to create, play, manipulate and store playlists ON THE JUKEBOX!
Jukebox 2 maintains a queue of songs to be played. Songs can be added to this queue by selecting (and adding) Playlists, Genres, Artists, Albums and/or Tracks (in any order/ combination). Once in the queue, the ordering of the songs can also be changed (not 100% sure of this). When you're satisfied with your queue, you can save it as a playlist. The best part? All of this can be done away from your computer, while the Jukebox 2 is playing your favorite music!
Unlike most other players, not only can the Jukebox 2 be sync-ed with your computer, your computer too can be sync-ed with your Jukebox 2 automatically (with the proper settings, of course)! So now you can transfer the playlist you created on the flight back home to your computer automatically. This two-way sync capability makes it very easy to keep your work computer, your home computer, your laptop etc. in sync. I bet the RIAA (Recording Industry Artists Association) doesn't like this two-way sync feature... and that makes me love it even more ;-).
I am not sure whether this feature works for data files too, but it certainly works very well with music files.
MINOR GRIPES:
Why did they have to delete the double line-outs and the single line-in that can be found in the lower Jukebox and the higher Jukebox 3?
Probably in an effort to bring it out at a price point very close to the older Jukebox. The Jukebox gains a better, higher capacity, longer lasting LiON battery and USB 2.0, and loses the aforementioned features. A fair trade-off for a price that is very close to that of the older Jukebox, methinks. Oh, Jukebox 2, at 8 ounces, is also lighter than the older Jukebox (14 ounces).
The behind-the-neck headphones could have been better.
There should have been a separate Hold switch, rather than having to go through the Jukebox's menu.
The output voltage from the earphone socket could have been higher -- when at home, I hook up my Jukebox 2 to my JVC Receiver (using the headphone socket rather than a proper line-out) and have to turn the volume control all the way up to get decent sound levels.
But, all in all, a very good piece of gadgetry at a very reasonable price. Highly recommended. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 160.00
Recommended for: Beginners - Easy Enough for Tech Newbies
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Epinions.com ID:
hsjawanda
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Location: Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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