Solid, Stable Player
Written: Feb 09 '05 (Updated Mar 02 '05)
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Pros: No Cables, "Plug-and-Play", Simple to Use
Cons: Weak FM Reception and Microphone
The Bottom Line: If you want a easy-to-use player with a few bells and whistles, then this one is for you.
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| nathanhuth's Full Review: Creative Technology Nomad MuVo TX FM (256 MB) MP3 ... |
I returned my last player, a Sony ATRAC-CD player (see my other reviews) after struggling with the horrible software. I was tired of burning MP3-CDs, adding to them, and then not being able to delete any of the songs on the CD without erasing everything. I was in the market for my first MP3 player. I saw this particular model in my local WAL*MART’s electronics department. I decided to do some research before buying, so I clicked on over to the CNET review site. I searched for the model and found it. It scored an 8.3 out of 10 and an “Editor’s Choice” award. I watched the video and saw something I didn’t think MP3 players were capable of; connect directly to a PC with no cables required. I was amazed and knew I had to buy it.
Included in the package is; the player, cheap earbuds, a case with beltclip, an armband, a quick start guide, and installation disc. Included on the CD is Creative MediaSource (Creative’s music management software), WAL*MART music store software, drivers, and the full instruction manual. When I brought this thing home, I immediately plugged it in. I didn’t even read the manual or using the CD. I was amazed that Windows XP automatically recognized it as a USB 2.0 capable mass-storage device. This means it acts like another drive in Windows. This allows you to drag and drop files without using any software, true "plug-and-play" simplicity. You can also format it like any other drive. This feature is available on Windows XP/2000/ME. Yes even the infamous Windows Millennium Edition. Trust me, I’ve tried it. Windows 98 SE user will be forced to install the drivers so that Windows can recognize the new drive. The actual available space on the drive I got was about 246MB. The other 10MB is needed for all the features, I’ll get to them later. The only software I needed was Windows Media Player to take the songs off my CDs I actually legitimately bought, I’m not a bad boy. I chose to use the WMA format at 64 kbps, because I have a lot of songs and don’t want to compromise too much on sound quality. I managed to squeeze over 140 songs onto it. This player plays back WAV, MP3, and WMA (including DRM-protected files) music files. And yes, audible files can be played too after a free firmware upgrade at the Creative website. File storage doesn’t end there. You can store any file type you like on this little machine and transport them to other PCs.
Battery life is nothing to brag about. 15 hours for 128 kbps MP3 files (11 hours for 64 kbps WMAs) with a new AAA alkaline battery. Yes one AAA battery, that’s the power source. I just use rechargables to keep from buying more and more batteries. A handy, little on-screen battery-life indicator lets you know how much juice you have left. It is divided up into thirds. The only ID3 info you'll see when it's playing is the track title. There are nine play modes; “A-B”, repeat track, repeat track, repeat folder, track once, shuffle repeat, shuffle once, shuffle folder, and normal. The “A-B” playback mode repeats any part of a song you want. From A to B, get it? A 5-band EQ is a nice feature for this player. The presets are Rock, Pop, Classical, or Jazz. You can also adjust each band on the EQ to your liking for your own sound. The included FM tuner is a nice addition. It can even automatically preset all available radio stations in your area. You can manually preset as well. 32 presets are available. The reception isn’t that good, giving that your headphone cord will be serving as your antenna. The stations it does pick up come in crystal clear. The features just keep on coming. How about an FM recorder? Yes you heard me right, this thing cam record music coming in through FM waves directly into your player. There is a microphone and voice recorder included as well. The internal microphone is very weak. You have to put it close to your mouth for it to pick up sound. You have hours and hours of recording time on any empty player. So don’t worry about recording time, even if you have it loaded with music. You have to go to the menu to skip folders (no button). My favorite feature on this player has to be the ability to delete a song directly from the player. Yes finally, music my way!
Time for a new paragraph. There are also some personal settings you will probably want to adjust. You can rotate the LCD display 180 degrees for right or left-handed use. I’m left-handed and use the display just the way it came, no rotation. You can also set the display contrast. I like it just fine at 0% contrast, plus it saves batteries. You can also set the amount of time the backlight is on. Oh, I haven’t told you the display is backlit? I’m sorry. The default is three seconds, which was too soon for me. I adjusted mine to five seconds. This way it is timed perfectly with the menu timeout. You can set the time it takes for your inactive player to automatically turn off. They call this “Auto-shutoff”. I set mine to the lowest setting, two minutes. I don’t want my player to waste any more batteries then it needs to! There is also a language selection; English, Dansk, Deutsch, Espanol, Suomi, Francais, Italiano, some Asian language, another Asian language, Nederlands, Norsk, Portugues, Scenska, Japanese, and Chinese. This thing must be very popular, it’s all over the world. If you live in Japan, you can also change the Japanese FM region. I wish they could’ve taken out all these international features so I can have more space for my music. There is also an option where you can check your firmware version, total storage, remaining available space, and the track count. If you have an updated firmware version, you also get a new feature called “Cue/Review”. This option allows you to hear the music while you are fast-forwarding or rewinding. It is off by default. A lock feature allows you to lock your player from accidental button-pressing.
Button layout is very simplistic; two buttons for volume, a play-pause/on-off button, and a skip back or forward, rewind/fast-forward, and select button. I just love that little button. You hold it to the right or left to fast-forward or rewind, click it to the left or right to skip, or press it in to select. You’ll get used to them in no time.
After all is said and done, this player is one I’ll keep for a while to come. With all the positive aspects of this player, the few, small cons can’t bring it below a score of 5 stars.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 106.04
Recommended for: Beginners - Easy Enough for Tech Newbies
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Epinions.com ID:
nathanhuth
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Member: Nathan Huth
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 1 member
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