Why Buy Anything Else?
Written: May 16 '00 (Updated May 16 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Everything Everything
Cons: Wish It Had A Backlit Display
|
|
|
| radio1_mike's Full Review: Creative Technology Nomad Jukebox (32 MB) MP3 Play... |
I have spent the past few weeks reading epinions.com and cnet.com for opinions about mp3 players. It's a very large catagory, even though all the players do something very similar. For example, on epinions the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. On cnet.com the reviews are mixed; so I was not sure whether I wanted to purchase this model. But I took the plunge because it was very reasonably priced.
Specifications:
Model: Creative Nomad 64
-32MB (internal) and 32MB (smartmedia card) for a total of 64MB memory
-FM stereo tuner with 10 presets
-voice recording with built-in mic, up to 4hrs with 64MB memory
-4 EQ presets: normal, rock, jazz and classic
-dynamic bass boost
-variable bit-rate playback
-multiple file playback: mp3, realaudio and wma files
-variable repeat modes: all, single, shuffle
-file sharing: use as portable drive for sharing files
-parallel port transfer: in ECP mode, transfer rate = 800kB/sec
-battery life 5-9hrs+ with 2 AAA batteries
-8kHz mono sampling for voice recording
-scrolls artist, title and time of mp3 playing
Includes:
-Leather drawstring pouch
-Docking station for recharging NiMH batteries and data transfer
-Unlimited MusicMatch software to upload, download and rip CDs and mp3s
-Content software with freebies through Creative's partners
-2 AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries and power supply
-earbud headphones
-instructions and etc...
Pro:
Everything.
This player truly delivers. Great sound. Excellent versatility. Small size. It's smaller than a deck of playing cards. It really is that good. It's constructed pretty well with a magnesium case; but I would not go out of my way to beat on it. The rechargeable batteries charge from 30 to 90 minutes. Which is much quicker than NiCds.
The 64MB of memory folds 19 mp3s (400kB to spare) with 128bit/sec sampling. Okay, let's do some math!
64MB = 65536kB x 8bit/byte = 524288kBit / 128 bit/sec = 4096k.sec
4096k.sec / 3600sec/hr = 1.14 hrs (about 69 minutes) of music
Con:
Data transfer. If you want USB 'flash!' transfers. You won't get it here.
The transfer rate is 'only' 800kB/sec, which really is hell of a lot faster than your 5-6kB/sec (56k modem download) or even my 225 kB/sec (cable modem) download. It took me about 15 minutes to download those 19 songs to my Nomad. So, to me, it's not really a con. Speed is relative. But, some could take it as a con.
Backlit LCD. The lack thereof. This player would be perfect, if it had a backlit display.
Possible Con:
Earbud headphone. If you like them, they're fine. They do sound good. Well, enough for me, not to run out and buy a new set of headphones. If you don't like the headphones, just use another pair.
Conclusion:
If you must have the latest and best, get the NomadII or the new Rio. But these cost $225-$300. Slightly a bit more than my $150 at Amazon.com. I, for one, can not see, how anyone would buy any other brand. I mean, I like the looks of the Samsungs and the Audiovox. And I really did want to buy them first, before I checked out the Nomad. But you can buy those for $120-$170 with only 32MB and no FM and possibly no voice recording???
It's really a no-brainer.
Hmm. 64MB with FM and Voice for $150, vs. 32MB with no FM for $150 vs. 64MB w/ or w/o voice and FM for $200-$300.
These prices are recent. I ordered my Nomad from Amazon.com last week, I got it last night ($160 all together). Amazon has these, buy.com and computers4sure.com also have them too. These firms roughly charge $148-$152 for player and $12 for 3day ship. Outpost.com charges $180 with free overnight, which is comparable to Amazon with the overnight ship option.
If you're in the market for an mp3, go Nomad. If you have any questions drop me a note at my email.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
radio1_mike
|
|
Member: Mike Farris
Location: Malden, MA
Reviews written: 48
Trusted by: 16 members
About Me:
Still here, can only write reviews infrequently.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.