I went after this product when the pre-order price dropped to a more palatable $199 (originally $299 prior to the announcement of the iPod mini!). Actually, at first I didn't want it as a MP3 player... I wanted to open up the unit and use the 4GB Type II Hitachi Microdrive in my digital cameras (The drive by itself costs over the $350 mark at most internet stores!). But now having the unit, I didn't have the heart to tear it apart... at least not yet. Now with the iPod mini in my possession and a host of Creative Labs equipment and software, I wondered how well the 4GB Muvo2 lived up to the Creative Labs other products and against the MP3 Juggernaut Apple iPod mini.
Short Take
The Muvo2 basically is a pure MP3 player... it isn't as stylish as the iPod mini and the interface could be better as well. However, I would actually argue that this unit sounds better than the iPod... even though it is only by a slight amount. The unit is smaller than the iPod in volume and weighs a bit less. The Muvo2 trumps the iPod in price and the ability to replace the battery on your own. However, like the iPod, the Muvo2 unit price is still expensive against larger hard drive based MP3 players while it may not be as reliable for exercise and other active sports as a flash memory based MP3 is. Heck, I'm not even getting into MP3/CD based players yet either.
The Muvo is still an excellent choice as an alternative to the iPod mini for those who want pure music playback at a high quality while saving a significant amount of bucks.
Pros:
1) $199 price tag
2) Excellent sound reproduction (98dB signal to noise ratio!)
3) User Replacable Lithium-Ion battery
4) 4GB hard drive
5) USB 2.0 support
6) 14 hour battery life as per Creative
7) Creative accessories add many functions to the Muvo2
Cons:
1) Basically a 1 line display
2) Limited controls as well as small control pads
3) Creative seems to have overstated the battery life but still better than the iPod
4) Plastic casing doesn't feel as nice as aluminum casing
5) Questionable reliability for use with exercise and other activities... a flash memory based player is likely to be more reliable.
6) Falls into the same price range for smaller 512MB to 1GB flash memory based players
7) Spending another $50 can get larger hard drive based models with 15GB to 30GB (Dell DJ 15GB and Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 30GB for example)
8) Spend another $100 gets you a 15 GB iPod!
Pricing
I got the Muvo2 for $199 from Creative's www.nomadworld.com online store link (us.creative.com). It is pretty much $199 at a couple of stores including Amazon.com and Buy.com. You might be able to get one for as low as $185 with an online coupon at Buy.com.
If you waiting for the price to drop... I think it will be difficult especially with the demand so high... even though it is not an iPod. With the price of iPod mini from Apple at $249, the 4GB Muvo2 looks like a relative bargain... especially to people who want to open up the Muvo2 to get the 4GB MicroDrive to use in a digital camera (originally the reason I bought the 4GB Muvo2). Note that a 4GB Hitachi microdrive is hovering the $400 price range as I write this.
With the iPod mini aside, as you read in my cons, the major issue with the 4GB Muvo2 is still the price. While it might look like a bargain against the iPod mini, price wise... it doesn't stack up as well as other competitors in the same price range. The $199 price tag is decent for the excellent sound quality you get but... from the gigabyte (GB) to dollar ratio, the Muvo2 is sorely at the losing end for a hard drive based player althought better than the iPod mini as a price ratio. The much larger (more than twice the weight and volume i.e. cubic inches!) Dell DJ runs $249 for 15GB (as low as $224 after discounts!). A Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 30GB (yes 30GB!) runs as low as $269 although the unit is much larger than the original iPod! People who want a unit for exercising and other active sports may want a flash based player since it has no moving parts... although the GB to dollar will be much higher than the Muvo2. However, a flash player will likely be more reliable for these type of people.
Tech Specs
Dimension: 2.6 x 2.6 x 0.8 inches (Square shape but 0.3 inches thicker than iPod mini)
Weight: 3.2 ounces with battery installed
Casing: Molded Polycarbonate
Hard Drive size: 4GB Hitachi made drive
Battery Life: rated by Creative as 10 hours
Display: 1.37 inch diagonal grayscale with blue LED backlight
Major Control Interface: Small circular silver D-pad with seperate play/pause/power button
Other ports: Remote and Headphone port, mini-USB, power adapter port
FM capable: Yes but only with $69.99 FM enabled wired remote option
Battery: Removal Lithium-Ion
If you need to replace the battery, you can buy it from Creative.com right now at $49.99.
Battery charge time: About 3 hours to full charge.
Formats supported: MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps sample rate), WMA (16 to 320 Kbps sample rate), Audible files, and standard WAV files. Creative claims support for music files with DRM... but I haven't tested this.
Buffer memory: 32 MB I think... I can't find it in the manual!
Included accessories: USB 2.0 to mini-USB 2.0 cables (one long and one short cable), AC adapter, carry case with belt clip, cheap earbud headphones, CD with Creative's MediaSource software and drivers.
Packaging: Clear plastic blister pack.
Sound and Interface
What Creative has always done right in their MP3 players is sound quality. The Nomad 4GB Muvo2 is certainly no exception... I would even say it slightly edges out the iPod mini. With a rated signal-to-noise ratio of 98dB, harmonic distortion output of less than 0.05%, 75dB channel separation, and 30mW of power through the headphone jack, this certainly is no surprise as to the extremely high quality of the sound! Note that is only 4 preset equalizer settings and one custom mode.
Do yourself a favor though, buy a better set of earphones. The included ones do not do the Muvo2 any justice... I stuck the iPod mini headphones into the Muvo2 and got much clearer sound. Some of my higher end Sony earphones with the Muvo2 exhibited pristine sound quality!
The controls for the Muvo2 are apparently the same as the other Muvo2 incarnations (1.5 GB and the 256MB and 512MB X-trainer models). On the right side of the player is a small circular D-pad type controller with a small silver button for play/pause/power. The D-pad controller adjusts for volume, fast forward/rewind, and choices in the menu system. Pressing in the entire D-pad enters the menu system. Overall, the controller felt very cramped especially after playing with the iPod mini! However, this is not a deal killer!
Battery Life
The 1.5GB Muvo2 is listed at 10 hours of battery life. CNet's review listed the 4GB Muvo2 at 14 hours as per Creative. Regardless, on two full charges (battery is supposed to be fully charged in 3 hours), I got 9 1/2 hours on the first charge and a little more than 10 hours on the second charge. Not bad... but you might want that extra battery around if you're on a really long trip! Kudos to Creative to sticking with a removable battery!
Screen
Okay... time to take the Kudos back from Creative! What's with the pathetic screen?! Although fairly easy to read, It is too small! 1.37 inches is a decent size if the screen was more squarish than a very long rectangle. This effectively makes the screen a 1-line song display after accounting for the other line needed to display various icons to tell you the status of the player.
Creative should have learned from this mistake from the other Muvo2 models.
Since you can't make playlists on the player itself, the screen isn't as big a problem as it sounds... but the size is still annoying.
Case/Exterior
Well the Muvo2 is made of a tough polycarbonate plastic housing that looks like it will hold up to abuse... but isn't nearly as sexy as the aluminum casing of the iPod mini.
Creative includes a carry case... but you have no access to the controls while it is in the carry case.
Software
Unlike the iPod mini, the Creative Muvo2 4GB player is not married to any internet music service. Creative includes a decent music cataloging and ripping software in the Creative MediaSource but their is much better. Otherwise, you don't get much else.
As an External Hard Drive?
For Windows XP systems (I have XP and 98SE on my computers), it was plug and play! The Muvo2 appeared as a removable drive and all my files were available to move to and from any computer I connected it to. This includes my music files too! No playing with the Windows Explorer settings to find my audio files (like in my iPod mini).
Note that I did have an occassional lock up with the Muvo2 when using it as an external hard drive on battery power. With the AC adapter, I have yet to experience a problem.
Extras
Hah, ha, ha, ha....
You pay extra for any extras! No Calender, Alarm Clock, Games... nada, nothing!
Parting Shots?
Although not as intuitive as the iPod mini, the Creative Nomad 4GB Muvo2 is a solid performer in music playback. It's $50 cheaper than the iPod mini and has the ability to change batteries on the fly... which is always nice! The controls, screen, and overall style leaves something to desire but I can live with it. Overall, if you want a small reliable portable digital music player, this is a good choice especially if you don't mind the small shortcomings... it certainly provides enough to sway you from the iPod mini for at least a few moments if not completely.
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