New Creative Zen vs Ipod Nano 3g

[Tenkiprince]

hey i need lots of help.........im thinking of getting a new mp3 player and i really want the new zen player from creative, but i also kinda want the ipod nano 3g.


Please give me some advice and tell me what u think

[Jogga]

The Zen would be my choice. More robust than the iPOD with better controls and form factor. The sound quality is awesome and you are not hogtied to Apple & their iTunes software for the lifetime of the device.

On the downside: the screen is rubbish in daylight (and I do mean rubbish).

I'm very happy with my Zen and as Jogga says it keeps you away from Apple and iTunes etc. The only downside (I haven't noticed the screen problem) is with available accessories. There are many more for the iPod than there are for the Zen.

[Tenkiprince]

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I have a Zen V plus and love it. I gave my wife a Zen V and she loves it. My daughter keeps trying to steal my V plus.

As my friends from the UK have said, it also keeps you from being hog tied to iTunes.

Choose the Zen..... I have never had a single problem with my Zen mp3 products...... :coffeedri

[ScratchyPDX]

Plus, with a Zen you get a FM radio tuner. That's a big plus for me. :)

[stevenator65]

The Sansa View is another good alternative. See my unboxing. It offers 16 GB flash, a micro sd/sdhc slot that fully integrates with the player (unlike the Zen, where stuff stored there is separate) and sells for only $200.

I would agree with Stevenator on the View over the ZEN, until at least Creative comes with a firmware update that allows for content on the SDHC to be integrated with content stored on the internal memory. Otherwise, the ZEN's screen - like Zen Vision:M - is among the best portable viewing screens on this market, the ZEN's audio quality is a tad bit better than the Fatty's, and you get up to 16GB of internal memory, compared to 8GB with the Fatty. With the Fatty, you get a larger accessory package, and a more readily available social acceptance..... :)

Stevenator, I left a comment on your review of the View....how does one exactly view review comments? I clicked on the "Read All" link above my comments, but it just takes me to your "view all articles posted" page.......

[stevenator65]

Lacene, your comment didn't show up unfortunately. Can you try posting it again?

As for the View, I was quite unhappy with it and remove my recommendation. I have never tried a Zen, but iPods are very user friendly and easy to use. You can buy music from any service and convert it for use on the iPod. Of course, you pay a premium for iPod's design and name.

Lacene, your comment didn't show up unfortunately. Can you try posting it again?

As for the View, I was quite unhappy with it and remove my recommendation. I have never tried a Zen, but iPods are very user friendly and easy to use. You can buy music from any service and convert it for use on the iPod. Of course, you pay a premium for iPod's design and name.

Strange.....I posted my comments to this page: http://www.aximsite.com/boards/vbart...&articleid=456 . There's a side bar to the right with star ratings and comments. I could find no other option on the page to submit comments for the review, nor could I locate a link on the page that directs me to a forum thread elsewhere for comments, like Chris has set up on other blogs he has.

I also question your comments about the iPods' ease of use. As with the View, digital audio players (DAP's) that have MTP and/or MSC/UMS compliance allow for audio - and often photo and video - content to be loaded directly to the player via drag + drop, without the need for a media managing/syncing program such as iTunes, Windows Media Player/Media Center, RealAudio Player, etc. to sync with the player first.

What this means is with such a player, a user can connect with any XP or Vista box (with MTP), or with any operating platform (with MSC/UMS), and the player will be recognized, and the content will load. This cannot be said for the iPod as an audio/video player (an iPod can be used as an external storage device using the MSC/UMS protocol, but any audio or video content - even content that's supported natively by the iPod - loaded in this fashion will just be "data", and cannot be read or databased by the iPod for playback).

Further, your comments about the iPod, where you can "buy music from any service and convert it for use on the iPod" needs clarifying. You cannot subscribe with any online stores that offer DRM-WMA - or PlaysForSure - music, using an iPod. This includes sites such as Yahoo!, Urge, amazon.com, Napster, etc. You can transcode the music into a supported format for the iPod, but the music will be rendered worthless. This also includes protected music subscribed with Real Player.

If you out-right purchase protected WMA music from the above sites, you can transcode that music to mp3. But I cannot see how all this supports the argument that the iPod is user friendly and easy to use in comparison to the Sandisk View or Creative ZEN, when both of those players support all those online sites and formats out of the box WITHOUT the need to transcode everything. And as I said, without the need for media managing software like iTunes.

[sour~skittlez]

I'm not a big fan of Apple but I love my Nano 3G. I had a creative zen v plus 2gb, but it quit working 15 months in and I didn't chuck it around or mistreat it, it just stopped working. At least creative has good cutomer support. What I don't understand is how people say you are attached to itunes. So very untrue. I use mp3 rocket and my friends all use limewire and zero problems. Apple was my last resort because the store I baught it from only has two choices, creative or ipod and their the ones warentying it so not much choice but I really love it. Don't listen to the ipod haters. This is one case where its good to jump on the bandwagon