Creative Zen Nano Plus 1 GB MP3 Player (Black)

As a former owner of an iPod, Mini, and Nano, I can say I prefer this device and it is simply sensational.I received mine approx. 2 weeks ago and have been using it while running and walking to work and now feel comfortable enough to say I can recommend it to anyone.PROS:-Small form-factor fits easily into pockets and is right at home in the supplied belt clip carrier.-audio playback (MP3, WMA, WAV) has excellent range and clarity. Sound is rich and impressive.-Customizable EQ that really does something! Makes a big difference.-Battery life performs as rated, or a bit less with rechargable batteries.-Built-in FM radio really comes in handy-navigation button on the side makes it easy to switch songs without having to look at the unit (big plus)-I have yet to use the in-line recording, FM recording or microphone features, but it's nice to know they're there-Drag-n-drop music playback keeps you free from being a slave to WMP or iTunes.-Comes with a arm band to attach the belt-clip holder to. excellent for exercising, as it stays out of the way and generally out of danger.-None of the cons listed below were worthy enough to drop the overall score.-You can use leftover space for whatever you want. Want to use it as a flashdrive too? want to save some homework on it? Well, if your player isn't jam-packed with mp3's, you can use the rest of the space to store those papers of whatever else...just like a flashdrive (because it is a flashdrive...just with extra features).CONS-supplied headphones are darn near obtuse if you're ears are normal size to small. Plan to get some new ones to maximize your sound (true with any mp3 player, though)-the belt clip holder's design isn't the best. the supplied belt-clip holder must be worn on the LEFT arm if running with it, as the mp3 player can pop out of the holder, based on it's design. It should be worn on the RIGHT arm if you're laying on your back.-the player *will not* play iTMS-downloaded songs.Why do I recommend it over the iPod Nano? Well:1.) This device is smaller than a Nano2.) It's audio playback quality is *better* than the Nano (particularly bass reproduction and range)3.) It's easier...yes, I said it...EASIER to switch music on it. With the iPod Nano, if you have it on your hip and want to switch songs, you really have to take it off of your hip and find the foward button to push. It's uncomfortable to try to do it still on your hip. With the Zen Nano, you simply push up or down on the protruding button on the side. It's effortless and comfortable.4.) Drag-and-drop > having to use iTunes or WMP or something else. You plug the device in and it pops up like a flash drive. You drop songs in via folders just like you would save anything to a flash drive, then the player recognizes them and sorts by folder name. Much less time then having to boot up an extra program to serve as a middleman between you and your music. But if you want to use something like WMP, you can do that too. Versatility is the name of the game here.5.) It has a FM radio.6.) It has in-line recording7.) It's less expensive.8.) see 1-7MY CONFIGURATION RECOMMENDATION:Zen Nano Plus + Shure E2C in-ear headphones = bliss.Go for it. For the same price as a Nano, you can get this SUPERIOR player AND those Shure headphones. Enjoy!

The bad part is after I got one for myself, both my wife and a friend wanted ones, so I've ended up buying three.Supplied alkaline battery lasted about the advertised 17 or so hours, so no complaints there. Rechargeable 750 mAh NiMH batteries indicate about half life when first inserted, and seem to last about half as long. When the battery dies, the thing just stops. Sometimes it remembers where you are, sometimes it goes back to the most recent place you powered it down.FM reception was surprisingly good our here in the SC swamps. The auto scan feature found several stations I didn't expect.The supplied buds just would not fit my ears, but both the wife and the friend are happy with them. I ended up with the Sennheiser plug style. With a pair of small Sony headphones that came with an ancient CD Walkman, volume was adequate when set to 15, about half way up the range. With the Senns, I have it set to about 5.The software is a tad clunky. If you are used to burning MP3 CDs, be aware playlists you've spent hours perfecting are nearly useless. The player will play the tunes in alphabetical order. The Creative software will, once the files are moved to the player, allow you to re-sort, by adding a numeric in front of the file name, but as a CD in MP3 or WMA format can hold over 200 tunes, who in their right mind is going to do that? Alternatively, using WMP, you can allow it to default to generating lots of folders along the artist / album lines.For me the solution was to use the Microsoft WMP plugin that spews a list of selected files to Excel. I load up a playlist, select all the tunes, use the plugin, then wrote an Excel macro to copy and rename the files to a dummy directory. Files are renamed "TRK 001.mp3", "TRK 002.mp3", etc., and the macro also generates a corresponding m3u file. I wrote this macro a while back as the player in one of my vehicles and a DVD player we have don't recognize long file names, and the DVD player didn't recognize playlists. Of course, if you prefer random playback as my friend does, then this really isn't an issue for you.What's interesting is that even with the files renamed as above, this Creative player displays the title as saved in the tag, not just the rather generic file name.One really handy feature of Creative's sofware is its ability to "make it fit" on the fly. I bought the 1GB version so I wouldn't have to chop tunes from those MP3 CDs I've created, as the CDs hold about 700 MB. With only minor experimenting, I discovered I can actually get two CDs worth on the Creative with this "make it fit" feature. It analyzes the tracks you're trying to load, then shrinks the larger ones (to get the biggest bang for the reformatting buck) to a smaller format. Smaller files it leaves alone. Most of my collection is in 160 KBPS MP3 format. The ones it shrank it converted to 64 KBPS WMA. I could not tell the difference even through my 5.1 computer speaker setup, though I'm positive repeated compression and expansion would yield sufficient losses to be audible.The supplied silicone rubber case about doubles the weight of the player. The case's belt clip is rather stiff, but if inserted into the arm band, there's no real need to remove it. The arm band itself is comfortable, and I sometimes forget its there. I tuck the thing under a T-Shirt sleeve, sort of like where the '50s and early '60s greasers used to keep their pack of smokes, then run the wires up the sleeve and out the neck.There's a tiny hole at the top of the unit that looks as though it was designed as a way to wear the thing as a pendant. That Creative doesn't mention this in adverts or manuals suggests the small bit of plastic that forms the top of the hole didn't stand up to testing. Haven't tried it myself, but can say it'll take a very fine thread to get through the needle-like hole. Your average lanyard isn't going to do.As for the "price is right" in the title, consider that last Christmas you couldn't touch decent 1GB flash player for less than about $120.Why 4 not 5 stars? The buds and the supplied software. Player itself is a little jewel.

I think I have solutions to two of the common problems reported in the reviews about this device.First, several people reported receiving devices that were dead-on-delivery. I initially thought I had one of these, too. The battery supplied didn't seem to work; a replacement battery had the same non-effect. Then, I accidentally found how to turn the thing on. The problem is that the diagram on p.1 one of the manual describes button #1 as Play/Pause. It doesn't mention that it's also the power on button. Most devices I use have a separate power on button. Even while investigating it as a likely power on button, I simply pressed and released it. You actually need to press and hold it down for a bit before the device turns on.Second problem. The device is described as USB 2.0. It does not mention that it is *NOT* backwards compatible with USB 1.0 ports. That's surprising because I have several other USB 2.0 devices that work just fine with my USB 1.0 port. A bit slower, but they still work. The Nano Plus just flat out does not work with a USB 1.0 port, whereas it works just fine with the USB 2.0 port on my newer computer at the office. [Guess I'll just have to be downloading podcasts at work ;-]I rated it a 3 because this web site insists on a rating, but I don't yet have enough experience with it to rate it.