Rating: 
Summary: Ipod Who needs one..
Review: I recently bought a Creative Zen NX along with 5 other friends at the same time. After having played and setup an Ipod for a friend of mine I have to applaud the Zen and the Creative Software that comes with it. I'm an application scripter by trade and come across literally thousands of different software titles. I know when the user interface is intuitive and when it's not.. If any of you out there have tried both Microsoft's Outlook and Lotus's Notes software for your email system you will know what I'm talking about.. Lotus Sucks! I am yet to meet 1 user who likes it.. Same with the Music Match software that comes with the IPOD. Creatives Media Source is really nice and intuitive. I haven't as yet ripped any CD's with it, but making Play lists and uploading music which is so difficult with the IPOD software is a dream. I've read people complaining about connectivity and so.. But it's easily solvable with a soft reboot on the player and desktop. Well at least that's what fixed mine, when it did have a slight hitch. Now the player itself.. it's really nice to hold and is a nice weight in your hand. Looks wise it's got the quality and desirability thing going for it.. The menu's on it are very easy to master and anyone whose used a mobile phone will have it working and customised within minutes rather than hours. Obviously there are a couple of faults like the player's screen being covered when the case is closed and the lack of a remote control. blah blah.. but at this price for such a large amount of storage you can't complain, especially as Toms Hardware site said it sounds better than the Ipod. USB 2.0 SWEET!! the Music just Flys onto the player.. One whole disk in less than 30 seconds.. I think I put 7Gb as soon as I got it in less than 30 minutes or so.. but don't quote me on that.. I gave it a 5/5 because it does almost everything very well and not much badly. So basically if you get it and don't like any aspect of it.. it won't be bad enough for you to hate it, not the way I hated the software that came with the Ipod, and it's battery life, which seemed to run out easily.. Anyways, I hope that helps you out.. obviously people who have an Ipod will say how much better theirs is.. And all the reviewers who write articles don't have to pay for their own players.. I would say the only differences here is that the Ipod looks better and wins hands down on the desirability front..But it does comes with nasty software, has a lower battery life and worse of all it's battery is in built so after about a year and a half of solid use you have to send it back to them to install a new one, while you just open and replace it on the Zen and are able to carry aound spare ones which cost a pittence (thats, Not a Lot)..
Bottom line, buy a Ferrari and you have to change your lifestyle to accomodate the car and fork out a fortune, buy a BMW and it enhances your life.. Trust me I've been in both and own one of them.. No not the Ferrari.. hehe.. Have fun and I hope you enjoy which ever one you choose..
Rating: 
Summary: Customer service and device performance.
Review: I registered this product which allowed me e-mail support. My e-mail address and password were not recognized when I requested assistance. I was to receive a new password by e-mail and that was never received. Problems that I had that remained unanswered even after a toll call to Creative's Tech Support. A message that I'm plugging in a high speed device into a low speed USB connection, even if I have USB 2. The device should be plug and play, but it caused my Windows XP computer to freeze up. I removed and reinstalled the software and the unit would turn on when connected to USB, but was not recognized when I tried to add songs to my playlist. The final blow was when I found even after completely removing the software, device, and drivers in add & remove programs, the program still opened. This is why I place my orders with Amazon, as I know they have a good return policy.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps my best tech purchase ever
Review: I'm 40 years old, and I've loved music my entire life. I have owned countless stereo systems (home, car, and portable), TVs, comptuers (notebook, "luggable" and desktop), tape recorders and players of all shapes and sizes, digital recorders, and other media gadgets. I don't think it's an exageration to say that this is quite simply the best tech device I've ever purchased, and now I don't know how I ever managed for so long without one. I have had none of the problems that some people describe with using their players or the software that comes with it. From the time I sat down at my computer with the CD to install the software, it took me about 20 minutes to install it and figure out how to use it. Within a couple of hours I had transferred a library of a couple of thousand tracks to the Nomad, and that was only using a USB 1.1. It is no doubt a lot faster with a 2.0 connection. You just highlight the tracks or folders in the directory on your computer, click a button to point it at the Nomad, click a second button to start the copying, and let it go. I don't see how it could be any more painless or simple. I do have a couple of suggestions. First, I use RealPlayer to copy my CDs rather than the Nomad software. Maybe it's just what I'm used to, but I find it easiest to use. Second, the only problem with the Nomad is that it has some trouble if you have more than one track that has the same name. For example, I have a CD on which the first and last songs are called the same thing, and getting both tracks on the Nomad required some hand editing of the song titles. This is a minor complaint, since this situation does not really come up very often. The battery life is also surprisingly good. You should consider the 16-hour figure as sort of a theoretical maximum, if you turn it on and let it run constantly. In actual use (turning it off and on, etc), I get closer to 13 or 14 hours per charge, which is still pretty good and better than I expected. Although some people complain about it, I like the side-mounted jog-wheel to choose tracks. I find it very quick and easy to use once you get used to it and it can easily be maniupulated with only 1 hand. The headphones that come with it are, naturally, terrible. So plan to upgrade. Overall, I would say this an exceptional buy. Now that I have my entire CD collection in one box, I don't know how I managed before I had it.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Product
Review: I've had the Nomad Jukebox Zen NX for about 6 hours now, and quite frankly I'm pleased. After hearing from my brother "you know what mp3 player you have to get, the iPod" I saw this one at Best Buy, along with the over-priced iPod, and thought it was a good looking. I've already had much trust in Creative because I have a set of computer speakers by them, and they're incredible. I do have three complaints about this product. The first which has already been listed, the scroll button on the side. I anticipated this going out, so I bought the 2-yr. warranty. Secondly, the first time I turned my Nomad on after charging. it froze up on me, and I had to reset it. I'm not sure if that'll happen again. And lastly, the blasted case with no opening in front for the screen. Otherwise, this product is amazing thus far. I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: I love it
Review: It is simply great. Got it, immediately loaded it w/ 170 albums (128 sampling quality) & it still has 20GB left. I got a car adapter & a couple of extensions. I play it at work, at home (on two different stereos), in the car & outside. The sound's good, the menu options are good. The software's is ok, it is a solid product, it is actually smaller & lighter then I expected, it is slick. I got two other brands in the past & returned them back to the store. I am going to keep this one.
Rating:
Summary: New Paradigm in portable tunes
Review: It's got a good beat and it's easy to listen to barely describes this wonderful little machine. Setting it up takes about an hour and is somewhat confusing but I was ripping CD's with ease in no time. Other reviewers are correct on the software but I found it useable and functional. I was able to intuitively grasp the functions without the manual. After reading tha manual, the rest became clear. This device does push your PC. Quite a resource hog. Keep an eye on the requirements and get what you need before installing. By plugging in the USB cable, you become another device and are able to see and manipulate the songs. Quality is outstanding, but only when recording at the higher bit rates. I finally settled on 224K after ripping about 8 hours worth of CD's. I erased everything and started over. I figure I'll get about 3,000 songs instead of the 4,000 at 128K (default). That's still plenty, believe me. The "jog" wheel needs to be either beefed up or redesigned. When building playlists on the fly, your thumb gets sore and the wheel needs to be pushed "hard" to accept your choice. The ease of taking 800 hours of music with you and playing any song or album in any order far outweighs any negative points. Get an extra battery! About the size of a casette walkman but half the thickness. Heavy though!
Rating: 
Summary: Sleek and Solid
Review: Like many others who have written reviews for this product, I was drooling over the ipods, but was reluctant to spend that much. I decided to get this 30 gig for less than the price of a 20 gig ipod. I think that the aluminum case is much more stylin' than the ipod, but the ipod might have better controls. The little black scroll button that you also push to select is a bit funky. However, I've only had it a week and I'm already getting the hang of it. All in all, I think it is a good purchase. The software was easy to install and the transfer easy and FAST. Ripping your cds is as simple as putting the disc in the drive. I still have about 20 gig left for future music. I am very happy with this purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Rename it JUNKbox
Review: Mine died (hard drive) in less than 6 months but the warranty only lasted 90 days. Customer Service was utterly unsatisfactory. Their solution was to send it in for repair, price $190 and wait (likely) 4-6 weeks. When asked for some kind of assurance that the new drive would not fail...something like a 1 yr warranty that they currently offer on the newer designs, I got nothing more than "these things tend to fail early."
The controls are an ergonmic nightmare and the software is weak at best.
Keep shoppng, this one is a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Good Bang for buck!
Review: My three options were to wait for the Rio Karma, the Iriver HD or spend scary money on the IPOD. I needed more than 20G which ruled out the Iriver and as far as the Karma goes, it's expensive, thick, has taken forever to come out and they've got bugs, so I took the creative route and went with the NX. The reason being the quality of sound. After comparing the IPOD to the NX, the sound quality of the NX is far better sounding using Sennheiser PX-200 phones. The replaceable battery is a nice addition and I'm averaging 12-14 hours of battery time. The ipod my sister uses has about 6-7 hours of usage between charges at the most. Yes, the new IPOD is noticeably smaller, but I care about the sound more than the look and the IPOD just didn't do it for me ( distortion, terrible equalizer, 60W compared to the NX's 100W ). Also, the NX you would think is a brick, but it's only 1 1/2 ounces heavier than the IPOD and still looks tiny in my eyes. The biggest attraction was the price and for 30G's, I think I got a good deal especially with the added 3 year warranty I purchased. Negatives are crummy headphones that come with the unit (Don't even bother using them), the Mediasource software ( I purchased Notmad which is brilliant ), the smaller screen, and the case provided which doesn't have a window to view. Small downsides to a solid unit that if stays reliable I won't have any complaints with whatever else comes out. Just think you've got your entire music collection with you no matter where you go. That's brilliant!
Rating:
Summary: Spanks the iPod
Review: My wife begged me for an iPod, so I got her one. I really liked the form factor over my MP3/CD player, so (naturally) I wanted one. But, I didn't want to shell out another 4 bills for an iPod, so I took a chance on the Zen NX. Wow. This thing is fabulous. The sound is great and the battery life far exceeds the iPod. It also plays WMA files which are about 1/2 the size of MP3 files. On the other hand, the interface isn't as cool as the iPod. The case that comes with it stinks (get a $40 Vaja case instead). The earbuds are useless--I threw them out. There is no "remote". The green screen looks like old technology. The recharger is 5V, which is not a common voltage for DC adaptors, even at Radio Shack. It's bigger and heavier than the iPod. If I had it to do over again, I'd still get the Zen NX. If you want a small MP3 player, and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is the unit for you. If you want it to play WMA files too, skip the iPod. BTW: Creative Labs just announced the Zen Xtra (I think). It has a larger, higher resolution, blue screen. Just a few bucks more. Looks cool.
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