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New Creative player unveiled: Zen V (Plus), already reviewed by Cnet
comment: 123 | Tuesday, June 20 (2006) 07:57PM | Posted by Robert Sinke
Hey, what's this then? Why, it's Creative latest addition to their DAP line-up, and it's called the "Zen V" (sic). There's a version with FM radio and that one's called the "Zen V Plus". The Zen V Plus is a flash-based DAP that comes with 1, 2 or 4GB worth of storage capacity. It'll be available in black & white editions, with green, blue and orange accents denoting the various memory ranges. There's a 1.5-inch OLED display on there; the whole thing is pretty compact (2.6 by 1.5 by 0.5 inches = 67.5 x 43.5 x 15.9mm) and lightweight (43.5 grams).


MSRPs are $129.99 (1GB), $169.99 (2GB), and $229.99 (4GB) for the "Plus" version. The "FM-less" Zen V can be bought at $119.99 (1GB), $149.99 (2GB), and $199.99 (4GB, not yet listed on the official site somehow) respectively. Voice recorder and line-in encoding seem to be included into the package deal as well, as is a 15-hour battery life per charge, album art support and several PIM functions.

As for formats supported: "MP3, WAV, WMA (including subscription), and Audible audio; MPEG-4, WMV, and DivX, among other video formats; and JPEG photos", according to Cnet. The "regular" Zen V won't support video playback, judging from the official specs. Drawback-of-the-day: it's MTP, so you'll have to use Windows in order to upload tracks to the ZV(P). Mass Storage Device compliance is listed, but "for data files only". Should come available by July-August.

Official Zen V product page | Official Zen V Plus product page

Like many other recent players. Cnet already got ahold of one of these thingies, and were quick to publish a review of it on the day of its announcement

The good: The Creative Zen V Plus offers a cute, pocket-friendly design without sacrificing screen real estate, and the vivid OLED display is viewable from any angle. The player is packed to the gills with features, including an FM radio, voice and line-in recording, photo and video playback, and compatibility with subscription WMA tracks. Oh, and the sound quality and battery life are great too.

The bad: The Creative Zen V Plus's joystick is really small and has a cheap feel to it, and we wish Creative had included all the buttons found on the Vision:M. The screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight, and there's no UMS support.

The bottom line: The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you're looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), check out the iRiver Clix instead.

Score: 8.3/10.0 (Editors Choice Award)

LINK

Thanks, Jasmine & Aoshi98
Comments

Breakdown

Comments: 228
 		Jun 20 (2006) 08:14PM  

they recommend the clix over this? I have the clix and the new Zen seems just as good, if not better (minus a smaller screen and no support for OGG)
[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 08:22PM ]



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jun 20 (2006) 08:52PM  

Only 15 hours for battery life? Thats kinda crap, along with the lack of ogg vorbis support... But it looks very stylish...


bob2300NX

Comments: 42
 		Jun 20 (2006) 08:56PM  

I disagree on the sylish part, I think it looks ok but the joystick looks small making it look weird.

But does remind me of Rio. If you look at the video on cnet it is curvy has a joystick and the colors are kinda plasticy like Rio (not in a bad way)



MrX

Comments: 40
 		Jun 20 (2006) 08:58PM  

What is the shadow that one can see on the video? Is that from the video or is the screen like that?



Steve

Comments: 1197
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:02PM  

Nice enough but I can't take video seriously on a 1.5" screen.



bob2300NX

Comments: 42
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:06PM  

MrX it is from the camera, most video products will blink if recorded from a camera, ex. tv's.



Swmr617

Comments: 23
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:09PM  

The screen is blinking in the video because it's an OLED screen. If you watch any Cnet videos of mp3 players with OLED screens, they'll blink like that. That's not how you see it in person, though.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:18PM  

not bad....looks nice. Hopefully they'll have additional colors down the road if this sells.....

I also hope they use a more durable plastic with this one, since it's for both the front & back......

it's priced lower than like-capacity nano's at introduction, with more features. That's the idea...



Kam3

Comments: 53
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:19PM  

i believe the blinking is the refreshing rate of the screen.



anthonyofvenice

Comments: 9
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:21PM  

darn...I really hoped they would offer a true upgrade for my Zen Micro. This seems more of a tradoff.



jbhitter24

Comments: 351
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:23PM  

eww...what a let down, just another generic little flash player, dont really see anything that would make me want it over any other one of its class except for its cheaper price.

and are you sure this is made by creative, looks more fit for playskool.

edit. wait, on the creative site it says plus plays video, well maybe this over a nano now.
[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 09:25PM ]



HipHopScribe

Comments: 126
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:27PM  

Nice, I might get one, I've been looking for a flash player, this is pretty much what I expected from Creative. If the only differences between the regular and plus are video & fm, I don't think I'll get the plus, I don't listen to the radio and video is probably pretty useless on a 1.5" screen, basically just a feature to have just to say you have it.
[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 09:28PM ]



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:27PM  

Controversial design, apparently, which is good since ppl will at least recognize it (unlike with many other bland-looking DAPs out there). Bit plastic'ish but the black one looks ok to me.

They obviously had to fill in a blank at the entry-level for the Zen range, so they did.

Next stop, Zen Micro upgrade .



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:28PM  

HHS, the "Plus" version also plays video files if I'm correct. So that's an FM tuner + video compatibility as the main pluses there.



anthonyofvenice

Comments: 9
 		Jun 20 (2006) 09:36PM  

RE: next stop zen micro upgrade

I really hope so, but I fear that wont happen. The trent seems to be companies carrying a 1-4gb flash player and a 30gb+ HDD. Skipping all that is in between. Some companies have players in the middle but wont bring them to the US (Sony, iRiver,etc). Maybe they think no one wants one.

Creative could easily take the MicroPhoto chasis and just add Video support and maybe 2 more gig hd and have a 10gb ZenVisionMicro.

lets hope that happens



dap_pad

Comments: 519
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:05PM  

no offense but the zen micro wasn't that great... though i thought it had AMAZING sound quality it just looks and feels too plastic... The new black and orange Zen V reminds me of the Sony Ericsson Walkman W900 and 950i. I think it was a waste to onli include 2 of the ZV:M buttons though now it looks kinda odd



Mr_Anderson

Comments: 43
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:25PM  

It's so average,Clix's better of course.



painkiller

Comments: 109
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:33PM  

Damn, Cnet already reviewed it?



painkiller

Comments: 109
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:36PM  

Is it just me, or is shape is really similar to the Rio Carbon?

Anyways, I think this player has a lot of potential to steal some marketshare from the nano. I think it's pretty stylish, although the stock photos make it look pretty bland, but like the ZVM it looks a lot better in real life. What's up with the funky color schemes? White with green, red with black...?
[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 10:44PM ]



Utew
Location: Oregon USA
Comments: 351
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:40PM  

I agree the Clix has this beat.. video is nearly pointless on a screen this small.. for music only, it would be ok.. but it's hardly revolutionary..........

.. add in the new Sigmatel chip (with the requisite features).. make it the successor to the Rio line.. and then we'd have something...



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:45PM  

In this this thing's defense, $149/169 (ZV/ZVP) is quite noticeably cheaper than $199 for 2GB.

Judging by first looks, I'd also prefer the Clix because it looks more "mature" right now. But hey, this just came out of the oven, so to speak... so we'll see for ourselves if it's any good, hopefully in due time.



konechiwa

Comments: 89
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:48PM  

BORING!

next please. Talk about idiotic.

Black and orange? white and green? wow creative. talk about dumb.



Utew
Location: Oregon USA
Comments: 351
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:49PM  

BTW, the white and green.. makes it look like a baby monitor..
.. which might be a handy feature to add....



painkiller

Comments: 109
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:57PM  

This still kind of reminds me when the ZVM was first announced.

Nearly everyone hated design. Just to show you to not judge a book by its cover.



bloodycape

Comments: 705
 		Jun 20 (2006) 10:57PM  

Man I remeber cnet making a note of this two days ago saying how DAPreview and Epizenter has some info on their new player but how she(the lady that also does MP3) has seen the player in their cnet office or something. Man this is quick.



Thebassness
Location: In a crappy little place called duluth,ga
Comments: 168
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:00PM  

clix wins over this simply because it doesnt look "kiddy" like this one does and the scrteeen is bigger. although if i was gonna get a flash player i'd consider it. But im still happy with my new toy(zvm)



HipHopScribe

Comments: 126
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:04PM  

the Vision:M looked better in person than the product pictures, might be the case for this too



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:05PM  

I'll say the same I said over at epizenter:

Unlike most of you, I really like this player. It has a lot more features for its money than other high capacity flash players.

Just look at the comments when the Vision:M was first released and then look at the praise it gets now. We have not seen this player enough to automatically rule it out.

There are a few things I am not that fond of including the lower battery life, color combination and the smaller screen.


How many flash players do you know can play divx natively?



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:10PM  

bloody, she didn't say she saw it in the office, she said she knew more about it. which means she was currently finishing reviewing it. 20 hours battery life is nice. when i first saw the image, i honestly thought it was a joke with some knockoff brand. i agree with rob, the clix is a much more mature design, this thing looks like a toy. i'm curious if the 1.5" screen is the same as found on the zen micro photo
[Linky]

if they make it available and the nano doesn't upgrade soon (its been out for almost 10 months) i think it will be a good addition to the high capacity flash market.

i wonder if cnet's review will be edited before the week is over (jasmine seems to be the anti-ipod voice at cnet).

edit: regarding battery life, jasmine said it went for over 20 hours.
[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 11:12PM ]



Design Fabulous

Comments: 1038
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:17PM  

Looks OK, defidently a better choice than the iPod. But the Clix is better, much more elegant and powerful. The V looks too much like a DAP for kids. And Creative should stop making these fat and short DAP's and make more slender ones. But it does looks like it has a potential, we'll have to see. I really want a 2GB Clix, it would kill everything else.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:30PM  

you mean 4GB clix?

ssj, divx is definately an interesting addition, but on a 1.5" screen i don't see it being a selling point for anyone at all. if the screen is the same as the micro photo, i don't see it being a pro at all (unless it can output hi res to a tv - and in that case i'm curious about battery life).



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:31PM  

I don't really get all the kids toy comments. The black and blue combo doesnt look kid-like at all to me. It looks like a bigger version of the Rio Nitrus if anything

Also I think video is just merely a bonus for flash players nowadays. The clix is definitely better for video than most other flash players, but it's pretty much the only one that is. People looking for a flash player will like the Zen V, and simply think of video as an extra.

I should be doing a review of this player at epizenter in the upcoming weeks.
[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 11:33PM ]



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:32PM  

does it really support true divx? from this on the spec page, i'd say no
wrote ...
Transcoded Video Format


the rio nitrus looks much sleeker than this.

[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 11:35PM ]



ZaphodB
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Comments: 129
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:33PM  

I was rather hoping that Creative would move away from the 'cute' school of design which they used for the Vision:M, but...evidently they haven't. I certainly don't have any problems with the specs, but for me the design alone nixes whatever interest I might have had in it. There's not exactly a lack of similarly-featured players out there; design is one of the few areas left in which a company can distinguish themselves from the competition, and Creative has done so here in a less-than-favourable way. Call me shallow, but as I say, there's not exactly a lack of full-featured flash players these days. Why settle for something less than ideal?

But regardless of the design, the MTP-only connection is also a fairly sizable minus in my book. I own a PC and a Mac, both of which I use daily, and I'm tired of having to jump through hoops to get a DAP to hook up to both machines. UMS or nothing, as far as I'm concerned.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:42PM  


zip22 said:
does it really support true divx? from this on the spec page, i'd say no
said ...
Transcoded Video Format


the rio nitrus looks much more sleek than this.


the ZVM transcodes many video formats, but with avi's (w/Divx), you can just drag-&-drop the video's onto your ZVM, & playback without transcoding...

how thin was the nitrus? The Zv is 0.5" thick....


edit: the nitrus was 0.6":

[Linky]


[ edited Jun 20 (2006) 11:48PM ]



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:49PM  

i'm talking about the creative zen v plus, you know, the player at the top. it doesn't list any video formats. only "transcoded video format" on its spec page. this is what the creative zen vision:m lists under the same spec "DivX™ 4 & 55, XviD5, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP, WMV9, Motion-JPEG" which is why i think the creative zen v plus software can just transcode formats for the player and doesn't support then natively.

the official spec for the nitrus is 0.6" but its a wedge shape


by "sleeker" i wasn't necessarily talking about only the thicckness either. looking at the 2 pictures its very evident to me which one looks more like a toy.



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:51PM  

Ahhh, I don't know now, this looks pretty damn good for the price. I am particularly turned off by the lack of a removable battery. I'm pretty accepting of buying HD players without removable batteries, though I take a different view when purchasing a flash player. does anyone know if the Clix has a removable battery?



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 20 (2006) 11:54PM  

Zip, have you ever even held a Carbon (close in design to the nitrus)? The V plus and the Carbon have completely different form factors.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:03AM  

yes i have held one and done bad things to it. i know they are different form factors. i'm not the one who brought up the nitrus. ssj said it looks like the nitrus and not kid-like. i'm saying the nitrus looks a lot less like a toy than this.



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:08AM  

I can agree with that, i'm not sure this is the Micro replacement I was looking for. I don't think it looks very sophisticated, but the feature set is awsome.

What bad things have you done to the carbon :\



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:13AM  

zip22 said:

i'm talking about the creative zen v plus, you know, the player at the top. it doesn't list any video formats. only "transcoded video format" on its spec page. this is what the creative zen vision:m lists under the same spec "DivX™ 4 & 55, XviD5, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP, WMV9, Motion-JPEG" which is why i think the creative zen v plus software can just transcode formats for the player and doesn't support then natively.


yes, I know what this news post is about, and you're right, the Creative spec-page only says "Transcoded Video Format", but ssj mentioned native divx, which the ZVM supports, so I assumed...we still don't know for sure, until a review is done by ssj.

and I only pointed out that the nitrus is thicker than the Zv, but you're right, the nitrus does appear to look sleeker...however, I don't know what your point was about that anyway, since ssjmichael didn't say the Zv was sleeker than the nitrus, only that it held a similar form factor....

but I don't know about whether or not the Zv looks more toy-ish than the nitrus, we'll have to wait on ssj's review - photoshops tend to give an artificial aspect to DAP's - surely the black Zv will look similar to the nitrus.

lol, it will certainly look a lot less cheap than that blocky, white crappy plastic stick called the iPod shuffle....



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:16AM  

^heh :p . Its not all about style anyways. Unfortunately we live in the ipod age where design and formfactor is valued over style.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:21AM  

3284lmm said:

heh . Its not all about style anyways. Unfortunately we live in the ipod age where design and formfactor is valued over style.


that's right, hence my confusion about that blocky, white crappy plastic stick called the iPod shuffle....



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:25AM  

lacene wrote ...
I don't know what your point was about that anyway, since ssjmichael didn't say the Zv was sleeker than the nitrus, only that it held a similar form factor....


his comment was "I don't really get all the kids toy comments. The black and blue combo doesnt look kid-like at all to me. It looks like a bigger version of the Rio Nitrus if anything"

so he thinks it looks like the nitrus and not kid-like. nothing to do with the form factor.

and did you just diss the beauty that is the shuffle? :p as a matter of fact, i think this thing looks more like a toy than the ipod shuffle.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:29AM  

this is boring me... but ssjmichael states that it looks like a BIGGER version of the nitrus, and you argue his statement by saying the nitrus is SLEEKER than the Zen V.....makes sense to me......

and I won't start on the shuffle, I'm sure you've had to defend yours to an inch of your life more times than you care to remember......



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:41AM  

opps.... I mean to say that style is valued over performance and formfactor.. tsk tsk, I need to read over my comments before I post.



Lone

Comments: 973
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:42AM  

Ugh, very underwhelming. I'm not sure if I'd call the design bland or ugly, but I'm not a fan. As someone else said it looks like one of those plastic Chinese players that come with an SD slot. On the plus side I like some of the more interesting color combos (black and orange in particular).

Video on a device with a screen this small is mostly gimmick as far as I've concerned, no big deal here. Other features are there with e200 (sans line-in recording).

I like joysticks on DAPs but this one looks a bit too small. I'm glad they ported the Vision:M interface but where's the shortcut button?

Battery life is basically the same as the Nano, not close to the e200 (20+ hours) or YP-Z5 (30+ hours). Price is competitive but the e200 is probably cheaper at most online retailers.

Overall, very blah Creative. I can't think of any compelling reasons to take this over the Sansa e200, and depending on the controls I may even go for the YP-Z5 for the V Plus.
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 12:45AM ]



koppite1

Comments: 248
 		Jun 21 (2006) 02:56AM  

Like I expected, an uninspiring design

When will companies, particularly Creative, realise even if you throw features galore at the consumer, it is about style. Don't anybody here deny it. If you're gonna respond by saying you don't care rnough to take your DAP outta your pocket all the time, you've proved my point



LaBreaDAP

Comments: 33
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:18AM  

But what does it sound like?

Yes, it looks a little more like a workout gadget or even a toy than some of the other brands ... but does that have to be a deal breaker if you're going to use it while working out or on the go? Especially if it sounds good? What if it sounds really good? My Rio Karma looks kind of dorky ... so do I have to stop listening to it now?

I would like to read some reviews and hear it for myself.

I appreciate good industrial design as much or more than most people, but I would keep a flash dap in a pocket, or maybe on an armband or (nerdy) belt clip while it was playing. I don't have to look at it every second, and I would use it to listen to, not to show off. Besides, virtually every DAP I've seen looks better in person than it does in online photos (the Zen Micro and Rio Carbon come to mind).

Also, I think there's a different visual and cultural aesthetic going on with a lot of Creative's stuff. I've always liked the way iPods look (except for the Mini) ... but not every DAP needs to have that particular Euro-restroom look.

I'm going to give this one a chance to appeal to me, before dismissing it out of hand -- just like I'm still letting the idea of the Sansa and YP-Z5 sink in. It's nice to have choices ...



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:20AM  

Nicely said LaBreaDAP.



Roger767

Comments: 206
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:53AM  

Very Cool Flash player. I Think the Price is the big plus here 130 dollars for 1 gb is cheap. The downsides are that is has only a battery life of 15 hours, very weird considering its pretty fat. And you cant choose your colors thats pretty lame too. You can only choose black or white, not the color of the joystick ring and such.



X-Nemesis

Comments: 56
 		Jun 21 (2006) 07:29AM  

15 Hrs? How could they not do better than this? I just don't get why these companies are popping out flash daps with measly battery life. Is 25+ too much to ask for? I'd pay extra for that.



enigman

Comments: 216
 		Jun 21 (2006) 08:04AM  

Cnet tested it and got 20Hr.



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		Jun 21 (2006) 08:05AM  

One minor complaint, from a journalistic perspective: the name. "Zen V"? I used to abbreviate the original Zen Vision as "ZV"... now we have the "ZV" and the "ZV". Good thing there's a "ZVP" as well, then .

I dub thee "Zen MiniV". Oh Wait, no, that might be confusing with the ZV:M around. (Ho-)Humm-Vee? No, it's too small for that.

Zen V4Vendetta.



HipHopScribe

Comments: 126
 		Jun 21 (2006) 08:07AM  

virtually every DAP I've seen looks better in person than it does in online photos (the Zen Micro and Rio Carbon come to mind).


Exactly, I think these "toy-like" comments may be a little premature, even looking at the small video CNET has, the player doesn't look the same in these pictures as it does in the video. If you look at pictures of the Vision:M, on Creative's site for example, it looks much more toylike than it does in real life also, one reason is the glossy look of the player doesn't come across, just like it doesn't in these pictures on here of the V.



LiQuiD_FuSioN

Comments: 111
 		Jun 21 (2006) 09:10AM  

Wow, I love news that has to do with new DAPs! It's cool that they're upgrading their players again.. this design, I like. Still, It lacks 'excitement'.. I think they'll do away with all the buttons soon enough on the front-side of the player as well; like with the iPod.



koppite1

Comments: 248
 		Jun 21 (2006) 10:10AM  

I see I struck a nerve somewhere

I never care for cNet...but for once they hit the nail squarely on the head. I don't want a "cute" design. I apologise whole heartedly if it turns out this DAP is aimed at the ladies
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 10:10AM ]



_Ender

Comments: 50
 		Jun 21 (2006) 10:40AM  

Cute design.
An option to rotate screen seems handy, too.


Parijizzle

Comments: 58
 		Jun 21 (2006) 10:49AM  

I think it will be a bigger hit with the females then the nano.



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:22AM  

So the choice is between the Sansa e2xx series, the Zen V, (plus), or the Nano... Its a hard decision between the sandisk player and the creative player. They both have a good price point and pleanty of features. The trade off between the two players to me seems to be the screen size and a micro sd slot, (of the e2xx) for line-in-recording and a smaller player size, (of the zen v).



Lone

Comments: 973
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:26AM  

So is there an "unannounced" 4 GB version of the plain Zen V? Doesn't seem to be on their press release.

Edit: Nevermind, the Singapore site doesn't show a 4 GB Zen V but the U.S. site does.
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 11:58AM ]



FatalAce

Comments: 33
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:29AM  

this is pretty cool



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:30AM  

kinda cool......not for me, but i'm sure ppl will buy it.....

Parijizzle......am......no....i SERIOUSLY doubt that.....unless you are talking about the zen nano and not the ipod nano



HipHopScribe

Comments: 126
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:58AM  

So the choice is between the Sansa e2xx series, the Zen V, (plus), or the Nano... Its a hard decision between the sandisk player and the creative player. They both have a good price point and pleanty of features. The trade off between the two players to me seems to be the screen size and a micro sd slot, (of the e2xx) for line-in-recording and a smaller player size, (of the zen v).


I've found Creative players always have great sound, don't know about the Sansa, I don't think the Sansa has a custom EQ, which is always a feature I like. Also, from the pictures it seems like this player will have a very similar GUI to the Vision:M, and personally I think the VM has the best GUI of any player I've seen.
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 11:59AM ]



dasmenneke

Comments: 135
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:13PM  

Quote from cnet video:
plays back divx "natively"
exact same playback formats as "bigger brother"

aaah nice



enCORe_XTG

Comments: 317
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:46PM  

sounds cool for divx support,
5 minutes for MTV break, aaahhh


jgiam

Comments: 7
 		Jun 21 (2006) 12:49PM  

Zen V photos



granite

Comments: 14
 		Jun 21 (2006) 01:41PM  

looks pretty interesting, i don't think it has the best looks but that may change when i get a chance to see it in person. def looks better and cleaner than the zvm imo. i'd like to know how the frame rate matches up against the clix's 15 (at least i think it was 15). 15 sounds paltry but in practice though, can anyone with a clix comment on how 15 fps looks?



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 01:50PM  

HHS said:

I've found Creative players always have great sound, don't know about the Sansa, I don't think the Sansa has a custom EQ, which is always a feature I like. Also, from the pictures it seems like this player will have a very similar GUI to the Vision:M, and personally I think the VM has the best GUI of any player I've seen.


the Sansa has very good sound quality, albeit the volume is not as high as I'd like, with good IEM phones, it's more than fine.

the lack of a user EQ is a bummer: I'm still keeping an eye out for a firmware update that will correct that..

I also agree with Allen, having to decide between the sansa & the ZenV would be difficult for me. I'm glad I made this a moot issue by getting the e260.



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 21 (2006) 02:23PM  

okay, put it this way. The human eye can differentiate individual frames at up to 8fps. So 15fps is almost twice as many frames as your eyes can distinguish. Does it look choppy? A little... Is it okay to watch stuff on? Yeah, it just makes hi-motion stuff look kinda strange.. Its best suited for lo-motion or simple stuff like cartoons.



kineticarl

Comments: 31
 		Jun 21 (2006) 02:42PM  

I wonder if Apple will beat Creative to the punch by announcing and releasing a nano replacement before the ZV+ is available for purchase. Remember the amount of time eapsed between the ZV:M and the MicroPhoto announcements to when they were actually available?

I do think that a 6 gig option would be very good for this thing.



Will

Comments: 75
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:28PM  

16mm thick, Windows only, no analogue controller - garbage. At least the design is not too ugly.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:37PM  

granite look at my iriver clix review for a video showing the fps compared to the Vision:M. It plays a lot smoother than you'd think.

See here: [Linky]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:41PM  

granite & Saijin Naib, I cannot discern any framerate stuttering for either music videos or cartoons (south park, ren & stimpy) on my Sansa e260, @ 15fps. I imagine the Zen V will have a similar performance....
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 03:45PM ]



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:46PM  

yea, it depends on what your used to.. I cant really pick out the roughness at 15fps but I can tell that its weird. Its hard to explain but you can sorta tell that its not as it should be. Mind you, im used to watching videos on my gmini400 so im spoiled a little But yeah. 15fps is fine for most anything. Especially something like this... really cool package im liking it, though i think the control pad should be a mimic of the ZV:M.. lose the joystick



vidas7de7jesus7

Comments: 52
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:52PM  

"no analogue controller" ~WIll
What are you talking about? It has a joystick. Unless it's a digital joystick (WTF??) then it's analogue. I don't mind the joystick, what I don't get is the ring of plastic around it. Unless it has a purpose, why? Why creative. It would have been a better design to make that ring have 4 buttons (think carbon) and a button in the middle. Like the Carbon. Would have worked.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 21 (2006) 03:56PM  

It would have been cool if the ring actually lit up or something. I don't get the use of it either.



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 21 (2006) 04:00PM  

looks like a styling accent... :C poorly implemented imo



Peacemaker636

Comments: 104
 		Jun 21 (2006) 04:13PM  

If it weren't for the screen, this thing would look pretty kiddy.
Personally, I think the design is pretty good, even if it looks like a iPod Nano swallowed a Vision M, it doesn't look too bad.'
I'll admit the white ones look too toyish. If they replaced the white with orange and green for blue and black, and added a black with white, then it'd look a lot better.



Peacemaker636

Comments: 104
 		Jun 21 (2006) 04:23PM  

Oh, and watch the CNet video review before commenting about the design, because it looks way better in the video review than in the pictures.



Who ME

Comments: 41
 		Jun 21 (2006) 08:06PM  

Looking at the website it seems there is a method to the madness... The color circle madness that is.

It looks like the Orange circle is only on the 1gb Zen V, the Green ring in on the 2gb Zen V or Zen V Plus and the blue ring is only on the 4gb Zen V or Zen V Plus.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 08:44PM  

^ uhhh, Who ME, you stun me with your intellectual prowess...


Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 21 (2006) 10:49PM  

if only he was right..

The green and orange are on both 1 and 2gb players.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:01PM  

not according to cnet or creative.com

[Linky]


[Linky]



Who ME

Comments: 41
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:08PM  

[Linky]

[Linky]

This is how its listed on creative.com

Orange accent = 1gb unit V or V plus
Green accent = 2 gb unit V or V plus
Blue accent = 4 gb unit V plus only



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:21PM  

lol, if zip22 wasn't allowed to be the Uber-Meister of corrections for "All That Is In Error", I think he would explode into a soft, pink mist.......

by the way, what's the record here for most comments to a news post??
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 11:22PM ]



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:31PM  

much higher than this one



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:38PM  

The more I look at this thing, the more I like it , but I don't like the fact that theirs so much wasted space on the player. The front plate design looks off balance. Feature wise this thing has me sold though.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 21 (2006) 11:39PM  

this one must be close to a record for comments actually on topic. until now of course.

3284, thats because it is off balance. i dont care for the asymmetry either.
[ edited Jun 21 (2006) 11:42PM ]



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 22 (2006) 12:55AM  

Anyone wonder where the submenu button went? This is a big no no for me. I wonder how they implemented options for deleting songs, removing tracks and adding selected tracks to an OTG playlist.



master

Comments: 7
 		Jun 22 (2006) 01:16AM  

Maybe DAPreview can generate a poll and see how many people like it's ID? Well, ID only.



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 22 (2006) 09:15AM  

ID? :C what this mean? And I hope someone gets their hands on it for a review! Im really fascinated by it and I want to see what that tiny thing can actually do



solace

Comments: 2
 		Jun 22 (2006) 09:45AM  

saijin: id stands for industrial design

3284lmm: the context "submenu" is activated by holding onto the return button.


Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 22 (2006) 09:53AM  

oo.. Thanks, im not really knowledgable about design and marketing.. Im more into hardware and software design. yeah, poll sounds good.. But i wanna actually see this and hold it first before i pass judgement



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 22 (2006) 11:08AM  

^^^ditto that



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 22 (2006) 11:34AM  

word... though the curtain test i doubt would fly at BB if i did that to the display model



Peacemaker636

Comments: 104
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:30PM  

According to Cnet, the player is covered in a scratch resistant coating. Now it officially blows the nano out of the water.



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:35PM  

lol.. probably wont crack in half when you sit down with it in your pocket either



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:42PM  

of course its better, its like 9 months newer....



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:42PM  

comment `100, are many ppl here planning on getting this?



Lone

Comments: 973
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:53PM  

Oddly enough despite my initial comments I'm considering picking up the "regular V" version when it comes out.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:56PM  

heehee...you double-posted, Dominic, just to be the infamous 100-post poster....I'm on to you



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 22 (2006) 02:59PM  

hahaha, damn lacene, you spotted me.......not really, but why not......will you get this?



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 22 (2006) 03:04PM  

I don't think so, not while my e260 is still working, plus there's some interesting things cultivating with rockbox right now, so I'll wait....if the sansa suddenly ups & croaks on me.....well, no - I'd just get it replaced, since it's warrantied.

However, the Zen V is infectious: look what it's doing to poor Lone, after barely a full day.....in a week, I may be willing to steal from the blind to get me one, so who knows....



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 22 (2006) 03:08PM  

hell, its got me sold on it. Too bad im broke :C



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Jun 22 (2006) 04:38PM  

i thought creative was supposed to be slimming down their product line. whyd they introduce 2 versions?



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 22 (2006) 04:52PM  

they have so many 512mb & 1GB flash DAP's out, they could still shave off anywhere from 5-7 different models, keep the nano, the muvo (S200), and the zen V's, and still reduce their inventory...



3284lmm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Comments: 358
 		Jun 22 (2006) 10:20PM  

Let me see what people say about the audio quality and the avg battery life, then i'll take a serious look at this thing.



ramian
Location: Singapore
Comments: 8
 		Jun 23 (2006) 04:03AM  

I just bought the 2Gb Zen V (apparently the V+ will only be shipped in August). It's a birthday present for my sister's 15th birthday. I played with it at Creatives' store before buying it and I didn't feel there was anything wrong with it not having all the buttons my ZVM has. GUI is very intuitive (like the ZVM) and joystick is actually very easy to use, even for someone who has big hands and long fingers like me. The unit at the store was plugged into a 2.1 creative speaker setup and the demo songs on it sounded clear; don't know if the quality was due to the speakers or the unit itself. I will update with photos and battery-life info once my sister has received it and enjoyed it for a bit.
[ edited Jun 23 (2006) 04:06AM ]



Sebhelyesfarku

Comments: 398
 		Jun 23 (2006) 06:42AM  

Creative is dead.



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		Jun 23 (2006) 08:15AM  

:C nooo, they make good stuff!



Who ME

Comments: 41
 		Jun 23 (2006) 09:33AM  

[Linky]

cnet comparision of nano alternatives

Model:__YP-Z5______E200series_____V(Plus)___

Height:_3.5in______3.5in__________2.7in______

Width:__1.7in______1.7in__________1.7in______

Depth:__0.4in______0.5in__________0.6in______

Looks to be more compact than I thought. According to cnet the Zen Micro Photo is 3.3 in x 2.0 in x .7 in which is about the size of a credit card.

Wow! I can't wait to see it!

[ edited Jun 23 (2006) 11:37AM ]



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 23 (2006) 03:37PM  


Sebhelyesfarku, your old comments used to be so much better. No mention of paperweights anymore?



erratic

Comments: 10
 		Jun 23 (2006) 10:45PM  

Hmmm. My Vision:M is already on the verge of dying (battery only holds 20 minutes of charge, which is nice) and the warranty repair is going to take at least two weeks. I might just consider this as an 'in-betweener' to see me through that period. After all, I'll still be able to use it for jogging afterwards.

It is getting a spot on my 'to listen to' list.



pdream

Comments: 65
 		Jun 24 (2006) 09:13AM  

...Just when you think a new mini-harddrive will be launched...-Sigh-



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 24 (2006) 07:16PM  

I don't think anyone thought that



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 24 (2006) 08:45PM  

he did



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 24 (2006) 09:15PM  

it was a dream...........of pdream's...



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 24 (2006) 09:16PM  

poor pdream, when will it ever be his turn!!!



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 24 (2006) 09:22PM  

*cries*



Rose
Location: Somewhere
Comments: 1
 		Dec 11 (2006) 01:28PM  

Video playback? VIDEO PLAYBACK?!!
When I checked another site.. It said no video playback.
Mwahhah.. I should get it.
[ edited Dec 11 (2006) 02:01PM ]



PwnStarFTW

Comments: 1
 		Jan 22 (2007) 01:41AM  

I don't know what you people are talking about when you say it looks stupid... Go buy one and try it out, its actually not dumb looking when you hold it in your hand. And I don't really mind watching a 1.5" screen.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jan 22 (2007) 06:21AM  

actually in my opinion it is very finickity to hold, at least in my hands, which I would not consider to be overly large. It is a pretty device, but for me it is too difficult to operate, I don't know if others feel the same way. My opinion is that operating the zen v each day would certainly aid arthritic development



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TheDarkSide
Personally, I didn't buy any of those clips, great deal nonetheless - enjoy!!!!

DaHarder
TDS...

I couldn't help myself - In for 3 of those WOOTs - LOL!

DaHarder
Yea! It's here Android 2.1 for the DROID

TheDarkSide
Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player for $32.99 on woot: [Linky]

Dominic
lol

Step666
[Linky]

TheDarkSide
Forgot the link: [Linky]

TheDarkSide
OMG!!!! I can't post the meaning of my name, but #2 & #3 is actually me. But, I did get a decent amount of action cause I'm great @#1,............

Dominic
That's great...my skills are average at best

Step666
Yeah but my one's true


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