Certainly it's modern enough for me! (Creative Zen Nano Plus 1 GB)

Member Name: mmblah

Product:	Creative Zen Nano Plus 1 GB
Date:	06/06/08 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: microphone, FM radio, great song, easy transfer, cheap

Disadvantages: none

Is the iPod craze still going on? I suppose it is; it's neverending. I look around and everyone seems to have an iPod of some sort, but not I. This, the Creative Zen Nano Plus, was released way back in 2006 and that's when I bought it. I still use it today; it sits to my right at this very moment.

Now, I was always one fairly easily influenced. In my search through the market, I wanted to be part of this whole "i" business without spending an excess of money. I came across the iPod shuffle which became what I thought was a certainty, but clearly not for long. I do a lot of research before settling on a product and I found a plethora of complaints and faults with the iPod shuffle; it was not something for me to buy. Review upon review, I finally came across another brand - Creative.

I was a little disappointed, I suppose, to leave behind the iPod fad and never to be a part of it. I can't say it lasted long after buying the Creative Zen Nano Plus here, though. It's a nifty little thing; a tiny thing, too, at only 33.5 x 65.5 x 13 mm. It seems the perfect size to me, for it can easily fit in the pocket or in your hand, but it's thick enough to avoid it feeling as though it could snap under the smallest pressures. I can hold it between my thumb and middle finger comfortably. It weighs only 22 grams.

There's a blue backlit LCD screen at right centre. I think I thought it a little small initially, but it simply doesn't need to be any bigger. It fits the necessary information neatly on the screen, with a scrolling mechanism if it's required. When turned on, the "Creative" logo and all that flash by, then it shows the typical "Please wait. . ." with a neat little egg timer. From that, whatever song it's currently 'on' or wherever it is in the playlist, it plays that track immediately. You can pause and play it with the button above the screen, increase or decrease the volume with the buttons along the length of the player, or skip the song with a flick of a three way button that lies beside said volume controls. That's it. Really. To say user-friendly would undoubtedly be an understatement if, like me, you are just one using it for simple listening of your own tracks.

Though there is more for those who desire it. If you press down upon prior mentioned three way button, you're taken to the menu. It offers you all the basic things you'd expect from a menu, things such as settings (want to flip the orientation of the LCD screen, up the contrast or change the language? no problem), EQ and the option to delete. But past these things expected, there's also the interesting FM Radio option. This is essentially a feature that allows you to scan all local FM radio stations which are available to recieve, saves them to a preset so you can automatically return to them, and, well - there you go; FM radio on your MP3! I can't really criticise this option for what it is; yes, it is quite weak, but not very much so for I'm able to recieve signals from about 30 miles away. Not bad, right? Nope, not at all; you can even record the songs you like!

Transferring music is simple to do, too. It's done quickly and easily via the USB 2.0 connection. It takes seconds. I have all my songs just in one gigantic mixture, but it doesn't need to be so. You can easily arrange your music into separate playlists and folders if you so choose; it's no trouble at all with the Creative Zen Nano. I often transfer regular files with it as well, such as word processing documents or whatever is needed at the time. It works with any USB cable, and, really, I'd consider the data transfer offered by this nothing short of excellent.

I'm having a hard time trying to balance this review with some sort of criticism. All I can think of is that the headphones that actually come with this product aren't too good in regards to quality. I replaced them immediately with different pair of Creative headphones. No problems since, and it's worthy of reiterating how long ago I actually bought this. Over two years, and not one single problem!

Overall, I'd recommend this product to anyone. Well, maybe not everyone; if you're a music junkie, then maybe the 'measly' 1GB isn't so attractive. But that's 250 songs, more or less. That's more than enough for me, and at the price...! It's only £41.73 on amazon.co.uk at this very moment.

Is it enough for you?

Summary: Excellent product.

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