(Zen) Touch too much? (Creative Zen Touch 20 GB)

Member Name: rlcross

Product:	Creative Zen Touch 20 GB
Date:	20/08/05 (303 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Price; compatibility; battery life; 3rd party support

Disadvantages: Styling; User interface; Supplied case, software and headphones

I'm not new to the world of MP3 players, the Zen being my third 'proper' player. Unfortunately, my other flash-based players just wouldn't cut it for company on a transatlantic flight - I needed something bigger!
Like most I hankered after an iPod (or mini) - but three things put me off: battery life (most reviews seem to say it'd die before I landed); support (not keen on using iTunes) and availability (I wanted one asap!). So, on the strength of a couple of good reviews in magazines I bought the Zen Touch (ZT from now on) from Dabs.
Battery life isn't the claimed "24 hours", but it's pretty darned good nevertheless. I'd guesstimate it at around 14-18 hours in real usage, which is useful.
Comparing it side-by-side with an iPod and it's obvious which is the 'designer' product, (not the ZT unfortunately, which is "functional" to be kind). It seems to be notably heavier than the iPod, but not so much as would be a pain in the pocket. I'm really not that impressed with the touchpad controller either, (I'd prefer a Sony-style jog dial!), as it needs a bit of practice to master, (tip: turn off the touchpad-click function, this makes it much easier to use)
The supplied case is not the best I've seen, but it does the job, with a nice belt clip. Likewise the supplied headphones are pretty naff - I followed the advice of a couple of ZT-owning friends and bought 3rd party ones, specifically Shure E2C's which are expensive (approx £70) but give very good performance. Sound performance with the ZT+E2C combination is flawless, handling the full gamut of my musical taste from bluegrass and classical through to AC/DC (the inspiration for the review title) and ZZ-Top with equal ease.
Compatibility is good - MP3 plus WMA, (including DRM), but no Ogg/AAC/etc. Software compatibility is excellent, with support in Windows Media Player and MusicMatch, etc.
The supplied software (MediaSource) - like the styling - is 'functional', but not the best. CD ripping is pretty slow when compared to CDex or MusicMatch. I'm also less than impressed with Library administration, it's not as good as MusicMatch. Upload speed with the Creative software is very respectable, being notably faster than the competition. I eventually replaced the MediaSource with MusicMatch and find this is a nicer to use. Whether you do this too is personal preference, maybe you like MediaSource, or maybe you'd prefer to use Windows Media Player?
A tip for prospective users: when you're uploading content, connect the mains charger to the ZT. Without mains power the upload speed is very poor - is the ZT's disk in a 'power saving' mode perhaps?
Overall, I'd say that the Zen Touch is the buy for the user who doesn't want to pay a premium for the 'designer label' of the iPod. The Zen's got a better feature set and it's notably cheaper than it's Apple equivalent, and I'd have no hesitation recommending the Zen, (although I'd still like to get an iPod - sometimes looks ARE important! [grin])

Summary: A cheaper, longer-lasting iPod competitor. Buy it!

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