Why-POD? Be more Creative (Creative Zen Vision:M 30 GB)

Member Name: bondgirlk8

Product:	Creative Zen Vision:M 30 GB
Date:	15/10/08 (357 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great player, easy to use, really pretty, price, oh...everything

Disadvantages: Do I have to? OK, you might find it a tiny bit bigger than the I-POD, but who cares?

I spent a long, long time rummaging around the internet and a whole host of electronics shops in my quest for the ultimate MP3 player. A few failed attempts with I-Pods (plus a number of less than glowing comments from the 'proud' owners of pretty I-Pods with disappointing battery lives, or the tendency to randomly 'just break') had left me with the definite feeling that there must be something better out there. If only I could find it....

The brand power enjoyed by Apple with the I-Pod has been quite something. Personal experience with them, however, has brought me back to the long-held belief that people really are, at the end of the day, sheep. How boring.

After more than enough excruciating hours of internet surfing to make me truly dizzy I stumbled upon the Creative Zen Vision M. The reviews were really good. It looked pretty. It was a great price. There was a wonderful deal on the player itself and a really pretty docking station though which I could achieve the wonderfully magical process of charging my player and listening to it all at the same time. I'd had enough. I bought it.

18 months down the line it still works (more than can be said for any I-Pod I ever owned) and the battery life is as good as ever. I still stand by the somewhat strong declaration I made within a day of my shiny and exciting purchase arriving on my door step (isn't that moment a good one? - so optimistic, so exciting, like an extra Christmas just for you), that it is the BEST purchase I have EVER made.

I love my music, I really do, and this player has allowed me to re-discover it all over again. Creative seems to me to really understand what it is that we lovers of music want, and makes sure we get it.

I generally use my player for music - this being why I chose the 30GB version over the 60GB. I have no desire to use it for full length, or even any video at all (although the video capabilities are very good - more on that later). To me, it is a music device, but the Zen caters to so much more than just that.

I'm no techie, and can't review all the techie-specie stuff that might be quite helpful to some of you (may have been helpful to me pre-purchase had it in any way resembled English) so I'll just talk you through the features instead.


MUSIC: Brilliant. Really...brilliant! It holds tons and tons of the stuff and organises it really well. Finding the music you want is really quick and easy and you can search in all manner of ways: by song title, album title, artist, genre etc.

My only (very minor) gripe is that my 'T' section is massive, it being filled with bands such as The Beatles, The Doors, The Libertines etc. This is only a pest in that the first time you look for a band, you may have to look under both T and B (which is really easy given the scroll menu and the letter jump functions), but after the first time, you know where it is and is no longer an issue.

It also has lots of cool little features in the music section, such as the DJ function. This funky little number allows you to choose things such as 'most played', or 'rarely heard' or indeed 'album of the day' - select it and your Creative friend will select some lovely music just for you.

Playlists can be created on the player itself, or if you create any in Media Player (or whatever it is that YOU use on your computer) it will sync this automatically whenever you plug your Creative into the computer. You don't even have to ask.

PHOTOS: Holds lots of pictures and the clarity is really good. The colours are really bright and whole viewing experience is much better than I expected. Via my dock I can connect my player to the TV which was great for boring family with our endless holiday photos when we trekked up to see them.

Like with the music, this seems to sync automatically, but it will arrange it nicely in albums for you based on however you have them stored on your PC. I can only see this becoming a problem if I run out of space for music. If such a horror should occur, I might have to work out how to make it NOT auto-sync so that I can choose what pictures to have on there (I'm sure this isn't hard, I haven't tried). For now, however, it isn't a problem.

VIDEO: As I said before, this isn't why I bought the player, I didn't expect to use it and to be honest, I don't much. I've used it twice, both times to upload choreography I needed to learn (I'm a bit of a dancer) - but in both cases, it's been great. Both the picture quality and sound are really good, and it was great being able to watch and learn during the commute on the tube (people do look at me a bit weird though when I'm squirming around in the seat marking the moves. Still, preserves that all-important personal space until over-crowding finally makes it inevitable to stand near me).

FM RADIO: The very existence of this feature is one of the things that Creative have that was strangely lacking in I-Pods when I was MP3 scouting, and definitely something that drew me towards them. The quality of the radio is remarkably good for a portable device for which radio is not the premier function.

MICROPHONE: Ahhh, the fun to be had in recording ones own voice.....or any other random noises for that matter. I use this mainly to help me learn lines or to put down harmonies (for singing and stuff) so that I can practice on my own. Again, the sound quality is far superior to the expectations I had - remarkably clear (unfortunately if you sound like me!!!)

OTHER STUFF: No, it doesn't even stop there. Have a further look and you'll find all kinds of other features in there, like an organiser, calendar, task manager, contacts section, etc. etc. all that can be easily synchronised via your PC. I don't really use any of this, for me it was all about the music, but I can see the benefit in having all this stuff in one place.


Beyond the actual features of the player, there are a few other things I have to mention which puts the Creative so high above the I-Pod in my opinion:

PRICE: The Creative is SO much cheaper than its Apple equivalent. Under the deal I got when I purchased mine, I got the player itself and a gorgeous docking/speaker thingy for a combined price which was STILL lower than just for the I-Pod

SOUND QUALITY: Remarkable. My little Creative can produce the most stunning sound, even with the basic type headphones that are supplied. Plugged into the dockie thingy, the sound produced is simply stunning. The tinny sound of the I-Pod is put to shame in comparison.

EASE OF USE: This is definitely, without a doubt, the easiest to operate and navigate around of all MP3 players I have ever tried. Even without the manual, it's simpler than a simpleton gone simple.

COMPATIBILITY: It works with ANYTHING. And you don't have to be tied into that hideous I-Tunes (I hate I-Tunes with quite a passion) or any other similar nasty.

BATTERY LIFE: The battery life is really good - it goes on and on! Having now owned it for over 18 months, I've noticed no decrease in this either.

IT HASN'T BROKEN YET: This is the longest that I have successfully kept an MP3 player alive! Hooray!

IT'S JUST SO PERRRTY: The Creative Zen is really good looking if you ask me. I have it in black, which looks great with the blue colour of the buttons when they light up. One of the nicest looking electronic items I've ever owned, definitely nicer than other MP3s.

I suppose I better pick out a fault. I suppose it is a bit thicker, a bit bigger and little bit heavier than the I-Pod. Personally, I don't care. I use the 2GB Creative Stone when I require something more lightweight, for travelling, or sport for instance. I'd prefer a machine that is a bit bigger and actually works rather than a small trend-setting lightweight machine that will soon break (not that this will matter to the I-Pod sheep who will have already spotted the glint of the newer, smaller, more fashionable version that has been released since they bought their now embarrassing last season I-Pod).

My other frustration is not to do with this product as such, but more to do with the fact that I-Pod stuff (accessories and the like) are everywhere, but it's so hard to find anything else. Where are all the Creative accessories? Hiding, that's where. I console myself with the knowledge that it makes me, my product and his (yes, HIS, what of it?) accessories all the more exclusive.

My search is over. Creative is definitely the way to go for the ultimate in MP3. When I do eventually manage to break it, I'll be straight back on the web searching for the current best deals on the Creative Zen - or whatever incarnation of it is around in 20 years time.

© BondgirlK8 October 2008

Summary: Stop being a sheep, there is SO much better stuff out there. Get Creative.

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