| Product: |
Creative Muvo NX 128 MB |
| Date: |
01.09.05 (224 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Light, small, easy to use, good support
Disadvantages: Discontinued product
Although the version I have of this player is the 256MB version, rather than the 128MB one, hopefully this review will be useful for prospective owners of both models. After all, they only differ in the amount of music you can stuff on them!
Apple have managed to get a good reputation with their iPod disk-based digital music players, and have recently introduced a 'Shuffle' model, which stores it's music in non-volatile memory. The MuVo NX is one of the competition, (albeit this was available well before the iPod Shuffle), this time from the Creative Labs company (http://www.creative.com/). Memory-based players store less music than those based on computer disk technology, but have the advantages that they're generally smaller, use less power, and are very resistant to shock. This, unlike their larger disk-based siblings, makes them ideal for joggers, gym usage and other active persuits.
If you're used to the non-Shuffle iPod, (or the Creative Zen's), then you'll be shocked how small the MuVo actually is!. If you lay it, (with it's battery pack attached), on a credit card then you'll find it covers about 2/3's of the card's area. It's about the same size as a cigarette lighter. As to weight, it's pretty light at 42 grams which includes 10 grams of AAA battery. To put this into perspective, try holding a 9V (PP3) battery or two normal AA batteries - the MuVo is lighter than either of these!
The smallish size and light weight make the MuVo easily pocketable, and certainly no stress on a belt attachment. On that note, Creative don't give you a neck strap as standard, preferring instead to give you a holder with a belt clip that can also be attached to a supplied arm strap - ideal for that long jog or extended gym session...
Other that the unit itself, the belt-clip holder and arm strap Creative supply a manual; quick start guide; a spare battery pack (in a different colour); earphones; and software CD's. The software is the usual Creative bundle - it's not the best, merely workmanlike. The manual's pretty clear though, which is helpful. The supplied earphones are okay, but selecting your own set is probably to be recommended. I've replaced them with a set of Philips earphones which fit around the back of my ears and are better if you're being active while listening to the MuVo, (I use mine in the gym).
The controls are small, (to be expected on a system of this size), but work pretty well, (actually better than the equivalent controls on the larger Zen Touch). The controls are volume up; volume down; play/pause; and a multi-function 'jog' dial. Unlike the iPod Shuffle, the MuVo also features a tiny LCD display. This can be backlit and is very clear - a nice trick is that the display can be turned upside-down if that's more convenient for the way you're trying to use it. The jog-dial can be moved up and down to move around the MuVo's menus and can be pressed in to select a menu item. The jog-dial does double duty as a next-track/previous-track selector too.
Like most digital music players, the MuVo takes it's music in MP3 format, although it can also handle the competing WMA format that is Microsoft's invention. The software supplied can be used to convert your CD collection into whichever format is chosen, (WMA is supposedly technically superior, although MP3 is more widely compatible) - just launch the software on your computer; load in the desired CD and press the convert button - then the track's will be converted and added to your digital music library. Once the music is available on your "host" computer, simply pull the player out of the battery pack - which will reveal a standard USB plug, which is then plugged directly into the computer.
Transfer uses the older USB 1.1 standard, which is slower than that used on the Zen Micro/Touch etc but is pretty reliable, and when the MuVo is 'docked' power is taken from the host computer. As to capacity, I've had four albums, (in MP3 "variable bit-rate" format), on the MuVo, which is pretty acceptable. Battery life is a claimed 11 hours, although my experience seems to indicate that anything over 8 hours is readily achievable. Best still, since the unit uses a single AAA battery, replacement power is easy/cheap to come by. Sound quality is acceptable once the standard earphones are replaced.
The MuVo NX has two other tricks in it's bag - in addition to being a digital music player, it's also capable of taking digital dictation (there's a built-in microphone) and also acting as a "thumb drive" for storing computer data files. I've not used for either, but the capability is there if required. What's missing? Unlike the later MuVo TX, the NX doesn't have any radio capability. In addition, maybe being water-resistant would have been useful - ah well!
So in summary, the MuVo is small, light and easy/cheap to run. It's got a decent set of controls, coupled to a clear LCD monochrome display. There's a decent set of accessories supplied and sound quality, while not being "HiFi" is quite pleasing to the ear. My 256MB model cost me £60 when I bought it, so it's pretty average value for money. Being a Creative Labs product means that 3rd party software support is very good, certainly better than the iPod Shuffle. The NX model has now been replaced by the TX, (which has the faster USB-2.0 interface), which works out at about £10 more than the equivalent iPod Shuffle. If I was in the market again, then I'd choose the Creative product as it'll be easier to live with than the 'trendier' Apple product. The Shuffle's apparently cheaper, but Creative give more 'standard' equipment, so in reality they're probably about the same price! If you're in the market for one, then I'd recommend buying the biggest memory capacity you can afford - having a choice of music is desirable!
Summary: Small, light, easy to use, and resistant to rough handling.
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