Creative Nomad Jukebox ZEN XTRA 40 GB

Creative are a worldwide company pushing innovation to the limits. Originally famed for the excellent Soundblaster sound cards, the company has been expanding its product range over the past couple of years, and developing high quality speakers, webcams, mice, modems... and mp3 players.

The mp3 player market has soared recently, following the huge success of Apple's iPod. With virtually every well known electronics manufacturer trying ...
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~ THE CREATIVE NOMAD JUKEBOX ZEN XTRA ~


The Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra is at the higher end of this range, with a very impressive 40GB hard drive. Now, I'm no techno-junkie, so I won't even try to explain how much this actually is, other than it can store up to 11000 songs, or up to 600 hours of music !!
Considering that I have already added my entire music collection, which adds up to a paltry 1044 ... more

Creative are a worldwide company pushing innovation to the limits. Originally famed for the excellent Soundblaster sound cards, the company has been expanding its product range over the past couple of years, and developing high quality speakers, webcams, mice, modems... and mp3 players.

The mp3 player market has soared recently, following the huge success of Apple's iPod. With virtually every well known electronics manufacturer trying to grab a slice of the market, (and many more unknown ones from Asia !), competition is fierce, where only the best will survive.

There is a huge range in storage capacity and quality on mp3 players, from tiny 64mb ones that only hold up to 30 tracks, to a huge 60GB which can hold up to 15000 songs !!

~ THE CREATIVE NOMAD JUKEBOX ZEN XTRA ~

The Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra is at the higher end of this range, with a very impressive 40GB hard drive. Now, I'm no techno-junkie, so I won't even try to explain how much this actually is, other than it can store up to 11000 songs, or up to 600 hours of music !!
Considering that I have already added my entire music collection, which adds up to a paltry 1044 songs, the storage capacity should last me for years to come.

Upon powering on the Zen, you are presented my a clear, simple menu, effectively lit by a blue neon backlight. The menu has the following options...

Music Libary

As you may expect, this contains all the music stored on your MP3 player. It is sorted into different catergories - albums, artists, genres, all tracks and Playlists.
From here, you can select the track or tracks you wish to listen to or, if you can't find it, there is a search function too.
If you want a surprise, you can select a function called "Play Any Track" and it will select tracks from your entire libary at random !

Selected Music

The beauty of this device is that you can create a list of songs you wish to play. This can be done prior to downloading the songs in the form of a playlist. However, if you are out, and wish to select a number of different tracks this can be done just as easily. You simply go into the music libary and select the first song, then choose additional songs and "add to play".
The Selected Music menu lists all the songs you've selected to play so far.

Now Playing

This shows the current track playing, along with other details such as the artist, the album, the genre and duration of the track. This will be updated as the song changes.

EAX Audio

EAX Audio is an innovation that does to the mp3 player what the graphic equallizer did to the stereo. EAX digitally adjusts the sound on tracks with a number of possible outcomes. For example, if you are listening to music as you drift of to sleep, you may not want dramatic volume changes in the music. The EAX can adjust the music to prevent this happening. Simarily, if you want to listen to particular lyrics, it can slow down the playback speed to give you more time to hear them.
Another use would be if you were in a car - the EAX can increase the volume of sounds that would normally be droned out by the sound of the engine !

Play Mode

You can select how your tracks are played back in this menu. The standard playback mode is "Normal", but you can choose to repeat a track or playlist, or play songs at random from the selected tracks.

Settings

From here, you can adjust the software settings on the device - for example the date and time and the profile settings.

Button Lock

Quite simply, the Button Lock prevents any action being taken from touching any button, and puts the screen into the "Now Playing" state. To unlock, you need to press the scroller button, and select "unlock" from the window that appears.

You navigate the menu by using a scroll wheel - similar to that on many PC Mice. You move it up and down to scroll through the menus, and press it in to select an option.
It is located on the side of the device, but is easy to navigate using one hand.

The other buttons are the fairly standard volume (up and down), track skip / scan (up and down), play and pause, back, menu and the power button.
These are basic, but have a reassuring "click" as you press them.

~ SOFTWARE ~

There are three pieces of software that come with the device, and these are supplied on a CDRom format.
The first is an electronic registration form. This is completed when you first install the software, and it sends your details via the web to Creative. Whilst some may find this intrusive, it actually allows the company to keep you informed of software updates, and important information about the product.
The second is an electronic manual for the product. Over time, paper instructions will get lost or destroyed, but online ones can sit on your computer (or on the CDRom) until such a time you require them. These instructions are in PDF format, and can be viewed by using Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded from the internet free of charge.
The instructions themselves are clear, well written and easy to understand. They are divided up into different chapters, so you can quickly and easily find the section that you are looking for.
The final piece of software is the all important Creative Mediasource Organizer.

The Mediasource Organizer is much like other programs, such as iTunes or Media Player. Basically, the screen is divided up into three panes. The first contains all the music stored on your PC, whilst the second shows all the tracks on a selected source - either the MP3 Player or a CD. Finally, there is a playlist, into which you can click and drag songs in the order you wish them to be played.
The first two windows display a range of information, that can be changed to the users own preference. Generally, the track name, artist, album title, track length and user rating are displayed.

Adding music to your Zen MP3 player is easy, and can be done in a number of different ways.
If you wish to import a CD, you simply insert the CD into the CDRom Drive. The software detects that a CD has been inserted, and after a click of a mouse button, it will gather the track details from an online source. (You will need to be connected to the internet for this feature to work !).
You then simply click on "Rip Now", and the tracks - along with the info - will be stored on your hard drive.
The transfer time from the CD to the PC averages around 9 seconds per track - although this will vary depending on factors such as your PC specification and track length.

It is then simply a matter of plugging the player in, via the USB cable provided, and clicking on "Sync" to transfer files between the PC and the MP3 player. This takes between just one and two seconds per track.

If you already have tracks stored on your hard drive, the program has a nifty tool called "Media Sniffer". This will scan your hard drive, and monitor any additions or changes to mp3 files in order that you do not get broken links to the tracks.

Another tool in the software is called "Music Analyser". The Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra has a great feature called "Smart Playlist". Basically, you can select music to suit your mood, based upon volume or beats. You may want to chill out, for example, after a stressful day and the player will select tracks from it's playlist that would be more relaxing. The Music Analyser scans all the music on your PC to catergorise different types of music and produce these playlists.

Finally, there is the "Player" feature. If you want to listen to music from your hard drive whilst doing other things on your PC, you can select the player. This appears as a small "remote control" on your desktop, from which you can select music, increase or decrease volume and skip or rewind tracks. There are a few different skins available, but I am sure that there are more available to download.

~ ALSO COMES WITH... ~

The device comes with quite a few extras included in the price.
Obviously, the device would be useless without a battery, and a rechargable one is provided with the player. Similar in shape and size to mobile phone batteries, this holds (according to the documentation) up to 14 hours worth of playback time. Again, this will vary on a number of factors, but I found this figure to be a bit high. The battery does drain fairly quick whilst you upload tracks to the device, so it is recommended that you leave the charger plugged in whilst you do this. Overall, I'd expect to get between 11 and 13 hours of playback on normal usage.
The Nomad also comes complete with a charger, to recharge the battery. I purchased a US Model, and it is important to remember if you choose to buy an overseas model, that you get an adaptor with it !!

As before, the device would be totally unusable without headphones, so these are also supplied. These are the "in-ear" type headphones.
Overall, the sound quality from these is excellent - although I know that some people cannot get on with this type and prefer the headphones that you wear on your head. These can be purchased, however, from most good outlets at very reasonable prices.

Also supplied is a very good quality leather and vinyl case. This thick, black cover helps to protect the device, and also has a belt clip on so you can wear it whilst walking or jogging.

~ SUMMARY AND OVERALL OPINION ~

The first priority of an MP3 player should be the quality of the sound. The player comes with a number of classical tracks on it, performed by the Bejing Philarmonic Orchestra, and inevitably this will probably be your first experience of the device. Forunately, the tracks selected really do knock you back with the sound quality. The sound is crisp, and you can hear almost every individual instrument and note played. The first time I actually listened to it, I got goosebumps, and excited with the prospect of using the product !!
There is also a playlist, demonstrating the effects of the EAX Audio. This is part spoken word, and part music showing the different effects, but again is worth listenening to when you first use the product.

Next, you have to consider the hardware - the look, feel and features of the device.
The product looks similar in size to a Walkman, measuring 3" x 4.4" x 0.86". However, weighing in at just 7.9oz, it is quite light which compensates for this.
The casing is a mixture of brushed aluminium and sturdy white plastic, which looks stylish and modern, and when the back light is on it looks really great.
The battery is easily removed, so in the event that over time it may lose it's charge, it can be easily replaced - (unlike some competitors !).
The storage capacity is a staggering 40GB - which as I explained above means that you can store up to 600 hours of music on here ! As this is stored on an internal hard drive, which has moving parts, there is a chance that music may skip if the product is shaken. Fortunately I do not go out jogging, so haven't experienced any problem, but even shaking it gently has very little effect.

Finally, you need to consider the price. This obviously varies on how and where you purchase the Zen Xtra, but UK prices are typically around £230 for the 40GB model. I chose to purchase mine on eBay from a U.S. supplier at a cost of £170 - around £60 cheaper. Be warned, though, that you may find you have to pay duty when it is imported into the country, and this can add up to £20 on the price !!!

Of course, people will automatically compare this to the iPod - something I have tried not to do in this review, as this is an excellent product in it's own right. However my choice to go with the "Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra" was swung by two interlinking factors - for less money than an iPod, you get more storage capacity !!

If you are thinking about purchasing an mp3 player, I would strongly urge you to consider the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra... you won't be disappointed !!! 

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