Creative zen mp3 player better than ipod. Review on Creative Zen V Plus

Hi to all mouthshut members , this is sumana sengupta from Kolkata India . I am a new user of mp3 player from Creative called Zen V plus . I have both +/- experiences with it and thus writing a review for this .

I never had a thought of buying an mp3 player although I do listen music much but mostly at TV or car-audio, even I didnt know much about this except Apple's Ipod . But I wasn't crazy about Ipod . What happened my friend was coming back from USA... she told that if I wish she can bring any electronics goods . I said an mp3 player like Ipod ...and instead result I got is a CREATIVE ZEN V plus at my hand after two weeks.

The Zen V Plus adds an FM radio, video playback, and capacities up to 8GB.However I have the 2 GB model. I can tell you one true fact that I got by searching the net that Ipod was actually a 'brainchild' of creative only . They are the true inventors of flash based mp3 players . Rest of the story I dont know.

Now  a most  interesting comparison......why its better than Ipod .?

because simply its better for your ears . listen the same song on ipod and examine yourself . In my office my friend have ipod nano , and I have heard 3 songs   the first one is a bengali sad-song by popular band Cactus named " sudhu tumi elena " . In which there is no heard music . So I clearly herad all the voice in the both mp3 players . next is a hindi number from saajaan , both are OK . but while I am playing Iron maiden's  Blood brothers..well its lot better in creative .

again Ipod's price is higher ..........ok u can say ipod shuffle is cheaper . but you cannot compare this player with ipod shuffle . you have to compare with ipod video .

Ipod have a lot of 'oops' with windows ....like media conversion .Zen dont have any such probs .

You cannot get voice recording , fm , line-in recording in ipod .

Last but not the least : you will feel much better to have a  Zen V +  because all your friends have the same Ipod .

Design

What the V lacks in its box, it makes up for in its design. It's not the sleekest player out there, sure, but it's still very nice. It's so glossy, in fact, that the only way I could get a halfway decent picture without reflection and glare was to place it in a white box.The Zen V Plus feels good in your hand - like a lightweight, polished river rock. It is one of those things you’d like to hold even if you were not using it, , seriously!!!. The player feels light and plastic-y, but it does have a sense of durability. The best way to describe the Zen V’s build quality is that it is like that of a very well-made toy.

Better you buy a casing for this ...because as its your own player ...you will care it as your child but not everyone at your office !!( and you cannot say anything to them if it hurts to your player)

navigation and Screen

Even though it's really small, the joystick is responsive and easy to use. It protrudes far out enough so that you don't need to smash your thumb onto the surface to get ahold of it. The slightly bumpy texture ensures a secure grip; I've never encountered any problems with my thumb slipping off of it.

the screen is not the best for displaying photos or watching video but will be sufficient for the average user.It should have been better for this price . Ipod's screen is better than this .

I

The one thing I would change about the navigation controls is the location of the back and play/pause buttons. It would seem to favor left handers because it’s easier to extend your thumb to reach the buttons than it is to bring your thumb in to press these buttons. If you have larger hands and you reach in for these buttons, you lose some of your overall grip on the player when using it in your right hand. If you were to move these buttons to the left side of the player it would be more comfortable for right handers, but lefties would find it more cumbersome. Putting both buttons at the top, one on the left one on the right, would make it more comfortable for both parties.

Transferring Media

There are many different media players that will allow you to transfer your tunes to your Zen V, including Windows Media Player, Winamp, and Media Monkey to name a few. The player comes bundled with Creative MediaSource 5, which is Creative’s answer to a media player slash organizer. While it is just like any other media player, it is less bloated than Windows Media Player so it runs quite a bit faster. This version of Creative MediaSource is a nice improvement over recent versions, but could still be improved on consistency and user interface.

If you have Windows XP and the latest updates, you can drag and drop your music on to the V. It works just fine but it is not as seamless as a drag and drop UMS drive. I really would like to see Creative add UMS support for their players so transferring music is more transparent and can be used with operating systems other than Windows XP.

The FM radio

The radio reception is on par with any standard FM radio. Reception can vary, however, depending on the headphones, because the Zen V uses the headphone jack as an antennae.

voice recording

Voice recording is very straightforward and the recordings sound as good as any other voice recording MP3 player. The recording screen shows the levels before and during recording. Recordings can be paused and resumed and still keep one continuous file. It would, however, have been nice to be able to choose the recording format rather than have only one option, the IMA ADPCM 16kHz mono WAV format.

Conclusion :

Comparatively, the Zen V has more of a “fun” feel to it. It may not be the most feature-filled player, but it’s straightforward, no nonsense, and feels great in your hand.

Pros

Easy Interface

Dedicated Volume Buttons

Scratch Resistant Design

Great Form Factor

Cons

No UMS Music Transfer

Windows XP Only

Impractical Video File Sizes

Low Refresh Rate OLED

Oh yes , I havent told you about the money ....Its come around 3600/- ( my friend bought from amazon.com she bought 2 at a time and thats why price comes very less ). actually 2GB is 90 US$.

and in 2GB it comes in Black/green or white/green . I have the white/green model but generally I prefer black .