Advantages: Massive multi media capacity. Backs-up your digital camera without a PC
Disadvantages: Easy to scratch. It won't record radio. Getting DVD files ready for download is fiddly

...-in recorder; no-one's stopping them from recording digitally from the radio. It makes you wonder whether it'd be possible to revert it to older firmware. I can't help thinking that there's a nerd's forum* somewhere just waiting to have me sign up! (*Aha, there is, and it's called www.anythingbutipod.com so I've joined it. Unfortunately, the 60gb version emerged after the RIAA edict, and never will be 'retro-upgradable' to older firmware - it never existed. Damn!) NOW I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO USE IT Having just returned from southern Spain, I can report that it put in sterling work, both on the outward flight and during the first week. It was at this point that I found out the hard way that my wife's mini-USB charger, intended for her cell-phone was not man enough for charging the Zen, although by all accounts it should have been. This then led... Read review

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Advantages: Not an Ipod, easy to use
Disadvantages: Lacks ipod's accessories, no charger in the box

...it if a separate charger had been supplied in the package. You can buy these as extras from Creative web site. The Zen lets you: * Listen to Music * Watch Video * FM Radio Receiver * Sync with favorite Podcast [I am BBC fan] * Video output to TV * Personal Organiser * Calendar * Voice record to MP3 audio file * Store lots of Photos The Zen file structure can be manipulated as another device on your computer so its easy to organise and transfer files. The two software packages that come with it are, Creative MediaSource which converts your files and control over your lists, Creative Media Explorer is specifically a file organiser. Both easy to use, and more importantly u don't have to use unless its what u want to do. Accessories = This is one of the areas the Zen is a bit lacking in at present. I only... Read review

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Advantages: Great battery life, easy to use and attractive design
Disadvantages: Heavy, bulky and the accompanying software isn't up to much.

.../off button above the volume up and volume down buttons. All buttons are silver, and the on/off button is backlit in blue when the player is on or charging. (It flashes while charging). The menus are easy to use and there are various settings you can modify - for example the length of time the blue backlight stays on for, the sensitivity of the touch strip and time&date. The battery life really is fantastic. Advertised as 24hours, I've had mine on almost constantly for three days and only needed to charge it once. The Zen Touch doesn't come in a box, rather in that awful clear plastic vacuum-packed stuff. This lets you see the product before you buy it, but you have to cut the stuff open with scissors, thus spoiling any chance of long term storage. Included in the package is the player, a pair of decent headphones, a carry case, charger, 2... Read review

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Advantages: Very easy to use, massive battery life, excellent value
Disadvantages: A bit heavy, hard to make playlists, casing

...it really wins out is on its battery life. It lasts forever! In the 4 months I've had mine, I've only had to charge it twice! Therefore, if you're taking it on holiday or something, don't even think about needing to bring a charger and a foreign adapter or all that nonsense! Because its an MP3 player, sound quality is digital therefore excellent, and the capacity of 20GB is fantastic value for money - because this is about 4,500 songs - the kind of huge library the MP3 player was invented for. Some other players for a similar value hold a bare 512MB (about 150 songs), so you'll never need to delete tracks from your library in MediaSource! All in all, the Zen Touch is the closest you're going to get to an I-pod without actually buying one. Mine was £150, now they're probably cheaper - and with the I-pod maintaining such a stranglehold... Read review

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Advantages: Sound Quality, Photo and Video Features
Disadvantages: No charger

...charger provided with the MP3 player. WHY????? and unfortunately my old Micro charger doesn't work with it either as you can only use the docking hole to plug a charger in (which you have to buy separately - luckily they are widely available). I don't like the fact Creative have changed from a USB plug in to the docking hole as this is located at the bottom of the player so if you want to charge and listen to music and you have one of the cheapy docking station speakers you can't put the player in the place holder! These are only small gripes though as the applications and sound are excellent. Note for Creative, stick with the things that worked for the old Micro Zen (ie better software and charger) with the additional features and upgrades of the Vision (larger capacity, photos and videos) and you would have a seriously brilliant... Read review

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Advantages: Easy To use, Looks Good, Nice extras
Disadvantages: A bit fragile, Headphones a bit big, Navigation takes a little practice

...is that burning your CDs using the software is fine but I myself use programmes specific to burning CDs (Like CDex). Though that is a personal choice. Although this is a wonderful product and definatly better than an iPod there were a few downsides. My Zen came with a USB 2.0 cable and not a plug in charger which I would have had to buy seperately (luckily my Dad had already bought the earlier version which did come with one). The USB cable was also quite short which made it quite difficult to sit it on top of something so it would not get trod on. The headphones were also quite big and chunky but gave quite good quality of sound. The zen does also feel a bit fragile and you do have to give it quite a lot of respect. Overall the zen is a great product and you will be surprised how much stuff you can get on it. I've estimated at a decent level... Read review

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Advantages: small and compact, funky colours
Disadvantages: not as many accessories available as iPod

...Well I received my Zen Neeon about 3 weeks ago. I got it imported from Singapore as it had not been officially released here - and looking around I still don't think it is available. I cannot find any official UK stockists - which is a bit weird. If it is out in other countries, I would have thought they would have released it here in time for Christmas Maybe it is not the "zen" way...... Anyway, having decided that I wanted an MP3 player, I had spent an age looking and researching them on the web. I trawled through the spec of what seemed like a never-ending list of available players and found myself getting very frustrated and confused. I decided that in order to get anywhere I had to decide what aspects of the spec were important to me and home in on a shortlist of the most suitable. My main reason for buying an MP3... Read review

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Advantages: Long battery life and very good quality sound
Disadvantages: Touchpad can be hard to contol

.... (Although I think that an ac charger can be purchased separately from their website) Another slight annoyance that I keep coming across is the fact that photos can't be viewed at the same time as listening to music. If you do try to do this, the music gets cut off. The Zen comes with "High Fidelity Creative Earphones" which are good quality but don't fit the ear particularly well, so I am using a different brand of headphones with my Zen. The radio feature and microphone recording are also of a high standard and are easy to use. The Zen is compatible with Napster and Yahoo unlimited, but not with iTunes. The Zen comes in 10 colours, mine is pink and has had mixed reactions from people as it is quite bold. I have found that 8Gb is an ideal size as I haven't managed to fill it up yet. And the battery lasts a long time. Overall, I... Read review

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Advantages: Fits in your pocket, Display Screen
Disadvantages: Sensitive Touch Pad

...charger so I can charge up and play at the same time. If your battery severely dies you are able to buy replacements from many suppliers, something that I believe you can't do with the iPod. I am also able to play the MP3 player through the car via a small FM Transmitter, although these aren't strictly legal in the UK they are very common and provide a decent enough sound through the car speakers. For someone who drives a fair amount I find this satisfactory for my needs. In all I can't imagine what my life was like before this little beast. I love my music and the Creative Zen Micro lets me carry it all round with me so a full 5/5 stars from me. *******UPDATE*******30/04/06 Just under a year since I bought my MP3 and I am still really happy with it, I did have one major problem with it recently when it wouldn't turn on. I... Read review

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Advantages: Small, great looks, compatible with most formats
Disadvantages: Touch screen a little to fiddly

...?' or 'Have you done your report on the new pricing model yet?' - When could I use a portable mp3 player? So with that resounding conclusion that a personal music player was a gadget I really didn't need, why did I buy the Creative Zen Micro? I'll answer that later, just in case you are interested, did my gadget heart beat my mind into submission for a £140 gadget? In this review I have two parts, general info about music players and then a review of the Creative Zen. I have tried to cover all of the questions someone might have about a portable music player. If you are new to media players you should spend some time learning about the major differences in players. It will help you make a better informed decision before you buy. If you already are up to speed with music players and just want to know what's different about the Creative Zen... Read review

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