Built like a brick but plays like a charm (Creative Muvo² 4 GB)

Member Name: raeny

Product:	Creative Muvo² 4 GB
Date:	27/11/08 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Durable, so simple to use and has everything you need in a compact package

Disadvantages: Design wise it doesn't gain any points.

This is quite an old model of mp3 player, but I have to vouch for its durability and miraculous staying power. About 1.5 years ago, I dropped my (almost 4 year-old player!) into a hot soapy bath and only realised when the sound spluttered out. I quickly fished it out but the screen was flashing erratically and just blacked out completely. After a quick 15-minute google search (and after completing my bath, of course!) I found out that the best thing to do was to NOT switch it on again, and open it up as much as possible to let it air dry completely and only then try to boot it up again.

So that's exactly what I did. And it WORKED. Perfectly. No data lost, corrupted, no screen damage, no control problems. Everything was still running as smoothly as before - what a trooper. That, couple with the player's outstanding performance over the years cemented my faith in Creative.

As you can tell from the picture, this is no-frills, no nonsense player - the screen is tiny and the words scroll from one side to the other, so if you have songs with really long titles it'll take a while to display the whole thing. Design-wise it's not extremely attractive but it's built like a brick - I dropped mine countless times over the years never once did any problems crop up, unlike the iPod shuffle which some of my friends managed to break my sitting on it...

Controls are relatively simple to navigate, there is a main menu and you just click left or right to choose. Options are quite limited though. There are folders, playlists, volume, radio, microphone, password and lock functions - everything you need, but nothing fancy. The display is simple and a bit too small to my liking, but you won't be spending much time staring at it anyway.

The sound quality is really good, I have to say. As you probably know Creative are famous for their soundcards and speakers, and thus many of the older generation mp3 players boast fantastic sound. It's clear, bass is well-rounded and treble comes out well. You can customise your volume presets to get your favoured sound, too.

Overall the player is quite small and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, and the buttons are easy to use and placed conveniently. The main controls on the larger button are (left) (right) (+; volume up) (-; volume down), and the smaller button is for the power. You can also use it as a recorder, and can record both voices and radio (in segments of up to 10min)

So don't be too enamoured of flashy design and gazillion functions of other brands to pass up this little gem. It is an mp3 player, no more and no less, and does its job damn well.

Summary: If you want something that plays great music and will last you ages, get this!

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