40GB hard drive holds approximately 1,333 hours of music at 64 Kbps (or 666 hours at 128 Kbps) * plays MP3, WMA, and WAV files * backlit LCD displays track info * adjustable 4-band EQ with 8 presets and 1 custom setting * USB 2.0 interface (cable included) *
1 Decent player... while it lasts
After a little over a year my Zen Xtra has stopped playing sound. Everything else works it just appears to be a faulty headphone jack which is a common problem on Creative's players. On a dinky $30 portable I wouldn't expect much but on a $300 device this is just unacceptable.
Their warranty period and customer service is a joke. Go have a look at their forums. Stay away from Creative products. There are other alternatives out there.
2 Steer clear of all Creative MP3 players
I love my Zen Xtra 40GB - well at least I loved my Xtra. The player is great, except for one major detail - the shoddy quality of the headphone jack. IT WILL FAIL! If you get lucky it will still be under warranty. If you aren't expect to pay at least $40 for the clowns at Creative to fix it. If you think I am just flaming them, check out their forums.
3 Still Happy After a Year
I got this for Christmas in 2003, and have used it regularly ever since (every day to/from work, plus during travel, in the car, etc.). I've still got tons of storage, and it's no worse the wear even after a couple of drops. I find the software very easy to use, so no complaints there either. It's not as cute as the iPod, but frankly, I didn't find the trade off of price vs. size worth it -- the Creative is still plenty light enough to loop on your belt while you're walking.
The only complaint I have is that if I haven't used it for a couple of days, it needs to re-boot on startup. This takes about three minutes, so it is annoying. Still, this jukebox gets my hearty endorsement -- a friend got it on my recommendation, and I got my wife the 30MB version this past Christmas (to her great delight).
4 This player rocks!
Yeah, the Zen is awesome. I debated back and forth for about three months over buying the Zen and the iPod. Eventually, I decided on the Zen. Why? Mainly for the issue of the battery of the iPod. From what I understand, the iPod's battery dies and will not hold a charge after about 18 months. And, when it dies, Apple replaces if for $100 and doesn't even send back your original iPod - so all the music which you put on it is lost. This does not seem to be the case with the Zen. However, now that Creative has (or is coming out with) a 40 GB version of the Zen touch model, that might be a better purchase, simply because the battery seems to last much longer. I can get the Zen's batter to last for about 9 hours on 20% contrast and a 5 second backlight, while still skipping tracks frequently.
Also, the headphone jack problem has been mentioned in some of the previous reviews. From what I understand, that problem was an earlier model of the Zen and Creative has fixed the headphone jack. I certainly have not had any problems with mine. Definitely a good buy!
5 THE ZEN, iPod's shadow
When I looked at all the reviews, and saw the price, i said wow.
I got a 40GB Creative Zen Xtra, and it was LESS then the 4gb mini ipod.
but, after a few days, it slipped out of my hand, onto the lanolium floor in my school office.
Unfortunatly, since the product was created very poorly in MALAYSIA, it was destroyed, and i coulnd't do anything.
Ipod vs. Zen
they both have their own strengths. The iPod, has a more easy and secure system that wont crash as often (my zen crashed 4 times in 1 day, 2 days after i got it).
but, the zen has longer battery life and a less sensitive wheel that is easier to navigate around in.
(this is the big one)
the iPod has a ONE YEAR warranty, as the zen has only 90 DAYS. and, since it was "my fault their player can't withstand one 2 foot fall", i either can go back to the place i got it (best buy) or give it to them and pay them to fix it.
i have heard from numerous people that the iPod can withstand quite a few falls, but the creative i now know, can only withstand one fall.
from my jeans pocket to the floor ( i am 5'11). now it is dead.
spend the extra money, get the smaller and better iPod.
6 Really, Really Good
Well.
I really wanted a iPod or this Poliard one, but my dad said that Poliard makes Cameras not MP3 Players!
So we bought the Creative Labs Nomad Juxebox Zen Xtra 40 GB and I LOVE IT! So small, very good sound Quality holds up to 11.000 MP3 Songs and 667 Hours and WMA 1000 hours,
It includes:
. 1 Nomad Juxebox Zen Xtra Player
. 1 pair of Stereo Earphones
. 1 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
. 1 Travel Pouch
. 1 Universal Power Adapter
. 1 USB 2.0 Cable
. 1 Installion CD
. 1 Quick Start Quide
I would recommend this product to everyone!
i hope this Review was very helpful to you?
[...]
Thanks for viewing my review-
:)
7 Zen Xtra Review
In April of 2004, I received a birthday present which happened to be the Zen Xtra 40 GB. I was thrilled, but also a bit hesitant. I have had numerous other mp3 players, ranging all the way back to the Rio 600. None of which really met what I considered to be a good player. They all had some flaws, but had some good points about them as well. The last creative product I owned was a Jukebox 3, which was flawed as well. The hard drive failed, and so I called their customer support (this was at least 2 years ago), and asked if they could repair it. They said that they could, so I sent it off. They send it back saying it wasn't repairable. So I went with my first instinct and replaced the harddrive, and then not 2 months later the headphone jack went dead. So it was all line-out for me after that, what a pain.
So that brings me to the Zen Xtra, and I have to say that after some abuse, but also some TLC, that the Xtra has performed like a champ. I have had no problems whatsoever. Apparently, Creative fixed the headphone jack issue, because after switching between the home setup and the car setup at least twice/three times a day, it still performs flawlessly.
I am now going to comment on some of the other user's issues.
1. The battery life- I honestly have not had any problem with battery life, last time I checked and ran it dead at work one day while listening to it, It lasted 11.5 hours. (I wasn't at work the whole time, but I never stopped playback from when I got up, to around 7:30 that night.) This was listening to mostly VBR mp3s encoded with LAME with --alt preset standard, and some extreme.
2. The headphone jack- As I said before, I have not had any problems with the headphone jack, as I have with the NJB3 headphone jack. (Which by the way I resoldered and fixed and then the whole unit broke, cheap parts?)
3. The battery cover lid - Honestly, I leave mine in the leather (pleather?) case pretty much all the time, and this keeps the case from coming open. It also keeps the unit from getting scratched, so thats another plus. All I did was take a hobby knife, and cut away a screen (inbetween the layers of fake leather, there is a plastic screen layer, so I just left that, and cut a small square hole for the power plug. I usually never have to remove it.
4. Its so much bigger/heavier/crappier than the Ipod - I have used Ipods before, and honestly, yes the xtra is thicker than the ipod, however, is less than .5 inches thickness worth losing the USER replaceable battery, and costing at least 100 dollars more ( I think it's more like 150-200, but I'll be generous). To me it was not worth that extra money. And to the guy that posted a link to a free ipod site, Uhh.. That sounds like a scam.
5. Frequent Crashing - Mine has crashed maybe 5 times, out of everyday use, and when it froze, I unhooked the battery, and replaced it. After a few minutes of the library rebuilding, I was back to enjoying my music.
This unit has literally worked flawlessly for me. The fact that it has multiple format options, It can also be used for external storage, which works nicely. I do not use the Creative software, I use Red Chair's Notmad Explorer, and do not have any problems.
I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a good mp3 player, and an even better price.
--Rob
8 Buyer Beware...
Mind you I did not buy my Zen from Amazon, however I bought myne back in May - 40gb.
Within 3 months, just after the warrenty expired, the headphone jacks died. I have a friend who has been trying to work on the jacks now for several months, and still no luck. Apperently they are attached ON the board instead of through the board. They have apperently been made horribly. For the price you pay for these things, they should work.
At this time, I'm very skeptical about buying another Zen due to this problem. I have read some reviews which states new ones have been made in July with a case with a window. Unfortunatly, it is very hard to figure out if you bought a new one or old one when your buying them.
I'm not sure how trusting it is to buy another one of these machines as they seem to be crafted for 10 cents and sold for 300$
I'm thinking spending the extra 100$ for the Ipod might be a smart idea at this time. You get a 1 year warrenty and you will not have to worry about this jack problem, at least nothing ive heard of anyway.
Buyer Beware... Think and read this before you buy the Zen.
9 Don't buy it!
I bought this product about four months ago. I really liked it. It was a little bulky, but I have never been too worried about the style of a gadget. It did everything I wanted it to do: It held my whole music collection with plenty of space for the rest of my life. I brought it to college and used it all the time. I never had any problems with it besides the minor fact that the battrey life was a little short. But then about a week ago, I was using it, and it randomly broke. All the buttons stopped working. I don't know why this happened, because I hadnt loaded any new songs onto it recently, so I don't think it could have been a bad file or anything, but nonetheless, it just stopped working. I ended up removing the battery and replacing it. When I turned it back on, It was in "rescue mode" and said there was a problem with he harddrive. I called customer support, and they said that since I had bought it more than 60 days ago, and hadn't bought the extended warranty, it would cost $150 to fix (which is more than half of the price I paid for the item). I obviously did not do that. I ended up buying a new mp3 player, by a different company.
I thought this would be a great product, and the price was excellent (for 40GB). However, if you want a quality item that will not break in a few months, then pay a little more for a better quality product. I ended up spending the same amount of money that I spent on The Zen on a 20GB player, because I realized that I will never need 40GB of music.
It's not only the fact that the Zen broke so quickly, but the fact that Creative does not back it's product for very long (60 days!) shows that they don't trust their own products to work.
Don't buy it!!!
By the way, I ended up buying the iAudio M3 20 GB player (they sell it here, so just put it in the search)
10 2 versions of this player are available (one good, one bad)
I was afraid to get the Nomad because of many bad reviews,
but I learned many of the negative reviews are because of the old version,
which had problems with the headphone jack, etc.
As long as you get the model with item#70PD055000032, you will be fine.
(the older trouble-prone model is item#70PD055000017)
The Creative Nomad has a MAJOR advantage over the IPOD.
(a USER replaceable battery).
Over time all rechargeble batteries fail and can no longer be recharged. (usually takes a year or two)
The IPOD battery is NOT user replaceable, and the ENTIRE IPOD has to be sent back to Apple and you pay a fee. ($108 with shipping)
If you read Apple's fine print, they state that for the sake of quick turnaround time, they give you someone's elses IPOD.
>>>and because of this, they ERASE the harddrive and you have to redo all your songs, etc
>>>who knows how your "used" replacement IPOD was treated or if it was ever dropped.
I don't need all this agravation just to replace a simple rechargeable battery.
(just read the fine print on Apple's website on IPOD battery replacement).
This is why I went with the Creative Nomad instead of the IPOD, and after four months of ownership, i have no regrets with the purchase.
11 Bet buy
GET THIS. Not that having a cool MP3 player is the most important thing in the world,but I think everyone can agree that the ipod is the coolest. But who cares. If you are going to buy an MP3 player go all out. Get one that will last, one that has more space than youll need. This is the right one for everyone. This player does everything you need it to. and its not as expensive as the ipod.
12 Excellent Player with Limitations
I've had my Zen Xtra for about a year now. It's hands down the best MP3 player on the market, but it does have its limitations.
Let's start with the good:
-- Removable battery. Those of you with iPods, you know exactly what I mean.
-- Huge capacity for a low price. Apple now makes a 40GB iPod, but it's more expensive than the Zen Xtra, so unless you like paying more for the Apple cachet, I'd suggest the Zen Xtra. Mine isn't even half full yet.
-- Great sound. I have the Belkin FM transmitter for the car and a small pair of speakers for work, and everybody's always stunned at the sound quality from "that little thing".
The not-as-good:
-- It's not well-suited for athletic activity, and don't even think about what happens when you drop it. I broke my first one when it fell out of my purse, and I've managed to scramble the disk drive one other time. Fortunately, it was still within warranty. Creative could DEFINITELY have made this one a little more sturdy.
-- The headphone jack breaks with very little contortion. I accidentally pulled VERY hard on the headphone cord once and had to return the device because the jack broke away inside the case. Again, good thing I bought the extended warranty.
-- Comes with a crappy headset. Fortunately, headsets are plentiful in stores.
-- Clunky, unintuitive interface. Also, as I discovered, you HAVE to make sure the USB cable is well-seated in the unit, or your computer will not make a connection to it. But the interface is very powerful and has some very cool features once you get used to it. But while we're discussing the interface...
-- Its interface ONLY works with Windows products. I got a Mac recently and was very upset to discover this. Fortunately, Mac users are innovative people as a group and there are a few Mac shareware utilities that allow you to get around this issue. A good copy of VirtualPC also works around this problem.
All in all, well-worth the money, but not perfect.
13 **Great player, but but for newbies**
I personally like the control that the Zen Xtra gives you in organizing and classifying your music. It also creates playlists on the go for you (combining tracks by the same Artist, the same album, or same genre) for easy playback retrieval.
The software that it comes with, Creative MediaSource, is great also, however may be a little complicated for new computer users. It lets you edit all track information (Artist, genre, album, track #) regardless of what ID3 tags were used when recording.
Also do I need to remind you of the removable battery. Poor iPod users have to shell out almost $100 to get their battery serviced/replaced when its dead. Also you can store, data files, video files, etc. on the Zen Xtra (it's a portable hard drive also)
The only negative is the buttons on the case are oddly positioned.
Overall I don't recommend this item for newbies. But if you want great control and organization over your MP3s, this is definitely the player for you!!!
14 broke within the 3 month warranty and still no replacement
When I originally bought this item I was thoroughly pleased with its ease of use, generous screen size and scroll wheel but within a month the unit ceased to work.
I contacted Creative Labs and they gave me an RMA. I sent the RMA back to them and then heard nothing from them anymore. Then I contacted them again and they created a new RMA and then sent me to fill this one out. I did and when they received it they claimed it was past the expiration date. I explained to them that this second RMA was necessary only because the first one wasn't processed but they would have none of it. As of right now they have both my defunct mp3 player and no replacement in sight.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DO NOT BUY FROM CREATIVE.
Their customer service is atrocious and the mp3 player is flimsy in spite of appearing otherwise.
ADDED ON MARCH 17TH --- 2005.
Still nothing from Creative. Worst company ever.
15 very reliable great battery life
I've had this unit for about 4 months and am very happy with it. The battery life is great, the sound is awesome, the software is simple to use, once you get a hang of it.
I did buy it at a local store and I did, just like another reviewer said, I bought a 2 year extended warranty. I also never buy an extended warranty unless I am buying a telephone, a cd player, or a device like this WITH A HARDDRIVE. Anything that has a harddrive may die at any point because hard drives fail. So I did not want to take my chances and bought the extended warranty.
I also bought a tape-adopter for 10$ at a local store and use it in my car - it is great that you can play it in your car for hours, don't need to run to your trunk to change these cds all the time. I filled about 25GB from 40GB available with music.
I also liked that it came with a case that can clip to your belt. The only thing I wish is that this model be a bit smaller - it is just big compared to ipod and a new zen, but it has 40GB not 20GB as others and the sound is very very good. Just buy a pair of decent earphones - it comes with a cheap ones. I am very happy with it, especially great sound and great battery life.
16 Yet another broken headphone jack.
After roughly a year of fairly reliable use, I've also fallen prey to the faulty headphone jack. Now i'm wondering what to do with an item that I paid nearly $400 because the limited warranty conveniently ran out eight or nine months ago ("limited" being somewhat of an understatement). No one should ever have to consider "fixing", and possibly further marring something they paid that much money for.
A month ago I would've given this item four stars. After coming here and seeing so many people with the exact same problem that Creative continues to neglect, I'm outright angry that I'm not alone.
17 ZEN MASTER 40GB
So far so good,(3weeks)two complaints is the headphones that you get are very uncomfortable?I purchased the Sony Fontopia¨ In-Ear Headphones (MDR-EX71LP),they are great you can almost shut out the world! You can fall asleep with these bad boys on.they are like a stethascope(you know the thing doctors use to hear your heart)!Second issue is it froze once,first day easy re-set with small safety pin,got scared I guess? This Zen comes with pre-loaded classical music too!Once you get the hang of it's use you can download from walmartmusic.88 cents, musicmatch .99 cents(both have no monthly fee if you choose).The only thing is their(ceative labs) tech support is not toll free and nowhere does it show you how to "TRANSFER" music to Zen,it's just an arrow pointing right(one underneath points left,don't touch this one).Once you plug in your USB and highlight your music and open(far right side tab)of the creative media PC MUSIC Library,make sure it says zen THAT WHERE IT'S DOWNLOADING(rips then writes and it's done!)it's ready to listen too!Plus downloaded songs can be dragged to other music software for buuuuuuuuuuuurning!So far I have 1,908 songs downloaded!It holds over 6,000 songs!Don't waste your money on the 256Mb ones they hold I heard about 20-40 songs?
18 A Windows iPod, plain & simple
Like others I did plenty of research before plunking down $300 for an mp3 jukebox. I'd had a RioVolt CD-R mp3 player for about 3 years and was very happy with it. I didn't want to be an early adopter of the portable hard drive players, they were too expensive & seemed too fragile.
But now I wanted to step up to the convenience of a jukebox (actually, for me the only real drawback of the RioVolt CD player was its just too big). An iPod wasn't really an option as I don't care for Apple's proprietory (and overpriced) hardware. So Creative's Zen units looked like the way to go.
After using it for about a month the only complaint I have (and the reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) is that the software that comes with it is a little cumbersome. Once you get the hang of it it does the job, but its bloated and slow. Also, the program uses an annoying, curvy, neon-style skin that everything seems to use these days. And you can't set it to look like the normal Windows interface. But like I said, it does what it needs to do.
One other minor complaint regarding the unit itself. The jog wheel is overly sensitive when scrolling but you have to press it too hard to select things. It also 'times out' too quickly. And it has 'PLAY' as the default selection whereas I feel 'OPEN' would have made more sense.
And although it only comes with 'ear bud' style headphones they sound surprisingly good (though I found them uncomfortable).
* * * I M P O R T A N T * * *
You may have noticed the 'binary-ness' of the reviews for these units here. That is, they are either totally positive or totally negative. The fact of the matter is these units are little PCs. They have a hard drive, an OS, memory etc. and therefore when they fail, they fail completely. If someday it doesn't 'boot up' there's really nothing you can do about it. So a word of advice:
BUY A SERVICE CONTRACT!!!!
I don't know if they're available here on Amazon. I bought mine at a local store and it was only $39 for a 2-year contract. And let me make one thing very clear: Normally I never, _EVER_ buy service contracts! They're a waste of money for something like a $99 DVD player (too inexpensive a unit) or even for a $600 big-screen TV (no moving parts, not likely to break). But they are perfect for these very compact and expensive mp3 players!
19 Excellent, but...
I have this Zen Nomad and love it! It's sleek and stylish, much like the iPod. An excellent less expensive solution.
One critique, the USB and various plug ports are open to the elements. Less than suitable for walking near the beach.
20 Good idea, horrible reliability
This is the fourth Creative MP3 player I have bought over the last 4 years, starting with the old 3GB jukebox and upgrading over time to the newest 40GB jukebox. Creative is great at putting out products with lots of storage for a comparatively low price. Where they fail is in the reliability of their products. Each of the Creative jukebox products I've had has become unusable because of technical defects. I bought the Zen Xtra in June and had it for about 2 days before it had to be returned due to a sudden inability to transfer from my PC or laptop to the device. The replacement unit I received lasted about a month, and is now being repaired due to the power supply port snapping off of the device. Without exception, each MP3 product I've bought from Creative over the past 4 years has experienced similar types of defects, most often memory-related or power/charging related. These design flaws perhaps explains why they are cheaper than I-Pods, but if you add up the time spent reloading music onto each replacement unit, the cost of mailing defective units back for repair, and the overall frustration of being without the player for 3 weeks or so each time it fails, I don't think it's worth the cost savings versus other products. So this is the last Creative device I will purchase, and I unfortunately cannot recommend it to anyone looking to buy a high-storage MP3 player.
21 Not as advertised
My Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 40GB only worked for 6 months. I no longer have any sound and the battery doesn't charge. When I called customer service I was given the excuse that it wasn't supposed to be used in the gym. As you all know it is marketed to fulfill your portable music needs. If you can't use it in the gym then it is not truly portable. I know many people who use their ipods in the gym and have had no problems for years. This product has fallen far below my expectations. It is not worth the $300, not to mention the fact that it only has a 90 day warranty. Can you trust a product that is only guaranteed to work for 3 months? No.
22 Pay For Quality, Not A Name
When I was researching MP3 Players last fall, I knew one thing: I didn't want an iPod. The iPod is a good machine, but you have to pay for the name as well as the player itself. Anyway, I stumbled across the Creative Nomad Jukebox, and let me tell you, it is great. The sound quality is fantastic, it is very sturdy, and its software is very easy to use. This player may not have the recognition that the iPod has, but that is almost an advantage in and of itself because this allows it to be cheaper than the iPod, and the two machines are nearly identical. I would reccomend this to anyone who is unsure of the MP3 Player they want. The Nomad will never frustrate you and will never let you down.
23 Solid Player without the "iPod Mystique"
I purchased this player over 4 months ago. I read all of the reviews and I was aware of the pros and cons going in. This player is slightly thicker than the same capacity ipod. On the upside, the battery is user upgradeable, which iPod users can't do. The main downside to this player is the software. I highly recommend NotMad Explorer from http://www.redchairsoftware.com as a replacement for the poor Creative software. The upsides are great sound quality, great capacity, decent battery life and a good price. If you don't care about looking trendy carrying an iPod, take a good hard look at the Creative Nomad Zen players.
24 breaks easily and has bad warrenty
the warrenty on this device is only 3 months and it breaks quite quickly. the cover kept popping off and when it broke creative said the warrenty ran out
25 Amazing product
Cheap, Efficient, and Reliable
By far the best mp3 player i have ever used.
People gripe about the size but i dont want something that is so tiny that im gonna lose.
I mean think of what you would be hauling with you if it were a cd player and the over 800 cds you can fit on it.
Second off the battery life is astounding, I get two days of use out of it in a single charge. I use it for about 6-7hrs at work and the trip to and from work in the car and i get about 2 days out of it.
I don't know if people are not charging their batteries right but after reading the booklet it has not given me any battery related problems other than EAX will tend to shave off about 2 hours of life when enabled.
I can't say enough about this thing, it's a new appendage. I mean I've left my house without my wallet before and had my mp3 player with me.
After showing it to people at work 2 coworkers have already purchased their own.
26 Pay for PERFORMANCE and CAPACITY, not STYLE!
I have had my 40 GB Nomad for nearly a year now, and recently had the opportunity to compare it with my brother's 20 GB Ipod. I have to say that, all in all, the Nomad is in nearly all ways superior. First of all, even with twice the capacity of the Ipod, the Nomad is still cheaper. The computer software interface (Creative PlayCenter) is simple to use, and makes it easy to move files around not only on your computer, but within the player itself. So it's a little bit thicker and very slightly wider than the Ipod - so what? I didn't look for an MP3 player to wear to a fashion show. I wanted the top-of-the-line, I wanted something that worked, and I wanted the best price-to-capacity ratio I could find, because I own a lot of music. Bottom line is: if you want to be trendy and stylish, go ahead and blow your money on a device like the Ipod that's twice the price. But if you're a REAL music lover who owns tons of music, and wants to carry everything you own in the palm of your hand, this is the machine to own. BTW: If Creative Labs ever puts out an 80 GB unit, I'll buy it in a heartbeat!
27 Great Player, A Lot Less Than iPod
I just got my Creative Labs Nomad And I've Already Put Most Of My Cds On It And Am Hard Pressed To Fill It Up, I'm Going To Borrow My Friends CD collection But 11000 Songs Is A Lot To Come By. I Love It And It Was A Lot Cheaper Than the 40 Gig ipod and the ipod has some questionable reviews.
Great Player. Great Deal. Cheaper.
28 Nomad a Great mp3 Choice for Price and Sound
Ok, so an iPod is completely out of my budget, so I shopped around for alternatives and came upon the Nomad Zen Extra. I bought it because it seemed to be the best deal around, and I really wanted the 40 gig drive for all my music, without forking over my net worth.
I've had it for about a month, and I'm extremely satisfied.
My only two complaints are:
[1] it was a little larger than I expected (though it certainly isn't the size of cassette players as another reviewer said). Just don't expect it to be iPod sized, and you'll be fine- I mean, you're paying $250-ish for something that can probably hold EVERY SINGLE CD you've ever owned, and your friends' too. The bulk/weight (and the difference isn't even that much) isn't gonna be worth the extra $100-200-ish you might pay for a smaller unit of the same disk space, in my opinion.
[2] the scroll wheely thing is annoying. when i first got it i kept accidentally erasing the whole playlist-in-the-making by not getting the right balance with the little wheel. However, it's not hard to learn - once you get used to it, you'll hardly notice it. (basically, you tap it up/down to scroll through stuff, and straight in to select whatever you've landed on - it's the pressing straight in that's hard).
No complaints about battery life. I don't think it's as good as advertized, but still good.
Transfering files is fine - the software is great. One thing i've noticed is that, when i transfer files i ripped with iTunes, it doesn't read the artist/album of that file, making it really hard to find in the Nomad. maybe this is just me being inept. *shrug*? it was easily fixed in the software.
Sound quality: amazing.
It doesn't have the little thing on the headphone wire (like iPods and iRivers) that lets you play/stop/skip tracks easily, so if you want to skip/repeat something, you have to dig it back out.. that's another drawback.
Anyway, this is solid for its price, and I'm in love :) I got everything I was looking for, so.... woot. I hope it works out as smoothly for you!
29 Works Great, Nice Price
I've had the Jukebox for a few days now and I'm really pleased with its versatility and ease of use. The battery life seems rather good and the playback is great. I've even been able to hook it up to my surround sound through a headphone jack adapter. It's a touch larger than the new Zen, but at twice the capacity it's hard to pass up. I have enough room to store all of my music (6000 tracks) and my entire "my documents" folder on the data part of the hard drive and still have 20gb free. I wish you could play tracks off of it on to your computer without transferring them to your computer hard drive; maybe you can, I just can't figure it out. I've made the mistake of unhooking it from the computer while it was transferring ... the first time I let the battery die and the second time my computer turned off. Doing this is a hassle because you have to reinstall the firmware and rebuild the library. It's a simple process, it just takes a couple of minutes to let the machine fix itself. However, at $150 less than an ipod I think it works just fine. The software supplied is easy to use, it also will work with Windows Media Player. The headphones aren't great but the free case is a nice touch, you don't want to bang up these hard-drive based players. All in all, great player at a great price.
30 What more could you want - and the price is right!
I finally bought an MP3 player when there was a reasonable alternative to Apple. I was involved with Apple when they built the first one and had an Apple 1 in the late 70's. I saw them get very close to the vest and I was closely involved with IBM when they broke all their "Big blue" rules and turned a group loose in Boca Raton FL with but one charge - to get out a PC in two years regardless. I had a Beta test model.
That led to creation of a VERY open software platform, the relagation of Apple to schools and graphics types, and the creation of countless numbers of millionaires and the VERY rich William Gates. So now that I don't have to deal with "my way or the highway" Apple, I can get it my way.
The Nomad Zen Xtra 40 GB is every thing I want and then some. Those who fault the size being bigger than iPod did not grow up in the days of 30 pound luggables with a whopping 64 KB like I did. The software is top notch and works seemlessly and rapidly with my PC. The manual leaves a few holes but once you play around, you find that you can do all sorts of stuff with the Nomad connected to the computer that you cannot do with it disconnected.
The data storage is a big plus. I will still use my flash drives (128MB & 256MB) for portability of a lot of my data, but to back up my growing digital picture files this will be invaluable. I can take my entire picture collection around with me.
This is a real winner and I have not even gotten my FM attachment yet!
31 Almost 1 year!
I received this player as a gift in the fall of last year. I have never had a problem with it. It has been great on trips and I bought an RF adapter that plays it through my car radio.
I take this thing everywhere. I know a lot of people like iPods. I have never used one. I HAVE used this player and can tell you that it has been nothing but great to me! I have only used up half the memory so far. I upload tons of CDs all the time. I even have a book on tape on it (28 compact discs alone!) the memory is huge on a 40 gb.
32 Great Travel Mate
I take this unit everywhere, and love it. I use this in my car with a C. Crane FM Transmitter and boy is it oh so nice to essentially have your own radio station.
I have to admit that the case could be a little better. You have to open it to see the display and make music selections.
I also wish it came with a car power adapter, I'm still trying to hunt one down for this particular model so that I don't have to run it off the battery all the time.
Other than these two minor issues, this unit is a great value. The battery is easy to get to (meaning you don't have to take the thing apart like the Ipod) and it will play wma files and hooks up to my Windows Systems!
33 Buyers Beware
I usually expect quality product from Creative, however, after buying this product and trying it out for a week, I felt ripped off and returned it. Now I'm starting to realize why the iPod is such a superior product compared to the Zen Extra (FYI: I am not a big fan of the iPOD or Apple if you're accusing me of being an iPOD fanboy).
First of all, it's such a pain to navigate through your collection with the way the buttons are placed. My fingers felt cramped after operating it for a few minutes. The hard drive in the unit vibrates when it is searching for songs. The unit also freezes up on me many times and requires pushing the reset button. It does it for me after reseting the unit for more than 10 times and discovering that more than 80% of all the songs I upload were no where to be found when the unit "rebuilded the library" after resetting it. However, when I looked into the database, the missing songs appears to take up disk space, yet no where to be found in my library or with the Creative MediaSource Organizer.
The EAX console and the 97dB Signal to Noise Ratio were the main reason I bought this product. The unit produce excellent sound quality which is about the only good thing (not with the earbuds it came with, which is no good). However, the EAX console was a big dissapointment. When you enable the EAX enviroments, the volume is cut in half, maybe even more. But I found myself reaching for the volume up button whenever I turn this feature on. I just gave up on it after trying it out a few times.
My friend owns an iPOD and it sounds good with easy controls. I was just turned off on the $500 price tag for a 40GB player and the "extra" accessory I needed to purchase to get the most out of the iPOD so I went with Creative (haven't triend the iRiver yet). I must say that buyers beware of purchasing this unit. I recommend purchasing the product at a place where it is returnable and trying it out.
34 After 7 Months, Here's What I Think
Pros:
Durability
Screen
Capacity
Sound Quality
Software
Battery Life
Price
Cons:
Size
Side scroll button
I've owned my Creative Nomad Zen Xtra for 7 months now. In all honesty, I use it everyday. I plug it into my speakers at home; use it with a FM adapter at work, at the gym, and walking to classes. The $300 I spent on this product has been well worth it.
After 7 months and frequent use, the battery still makes it through 8 hours at work and 1 at the gym, with 1 of 3 bars remaining. Battery life: Great
Things happen, the player gets dropped. I almost always have it in the case, which seems to have provided enough protection against the numerous (but infrequent) slips and falls. There is even a battle wound / dent on the back from one of its falls. Still works without a problem.
Now as far as the firmware and software goes, I admit that it was frustrating at first. Sometimes the device wouldn't be recognized, sometimes the library wouldn't load correctly, and sometimes files wouldn't transfer. Creative has done a great job of addressing these problems. With the most recent firmware and software updates, I can tell you that 1) the device NEVER freezes anymore and 2) the software does everything I want it to do. The only thing that seems to be an issue is that some song files do not play properly on the computer. I believe it only occurs with files that were loaded either from another source (i.e. external HD) or ripped with earlier versions of the software. The problem is fixed simply by removing and then re-adding the files to the media library. I don't usually play music through creative media source so it's not an issue for me.
I'm not sure if I'll ever use all 40GB of the HD. I have over 2,300 songs loaded and it's just over 1/4th full. We're talking 200 CDs here and many of which I don't remember listening to more than 3 years ago. However, I don't use the device for anything other than music. Capacity: More than enough for music needs.
Other highlights include the stylish blue screen and excellent sound quality that you can expect from a leading sound card manufacturer.
Another feature I find myself using quite often is the EAX audio. I use the Custom EQ when I want everything to sound its best. As many listeners may have realized, not all recordings are mastered at the same volume level. You can be sitting at work quietly listening to Led Zeppelin, recorded decades ago, then an associate comes in the room for a quick word just as a Dream Theater track comes on, twice as loud as you expected. This can be a nuisance, but when the auto volume/smart volume feature is turned on, all songs are played at an equal level. This feature comes in handy when your play list has music that ranges in production quality. Some sound quality is sacrificed since no other EQ can be used, but then again, if your main concern is volume, you probably aren't going to be listening close enough to notice quality.
The design of the menu is very intuitive. After some playing around with the buttons, anyone can catch on and work it like a pro. There are so many features that I am still finding out new ways to tweak the player to my needs. Some people like these things, and other just want to 'plug and play'. For the latter, again, the device is easy to figure out, making the time from plug to play minimal.
I have only two minor issues with the player that concerns the physical design. It's a little big. It fits in my pocket, but takes up the whole pocket. The other is the scroll button doesn't allow for as much navigation control as I'd like.
I don't see any other player on the market today that I'd rather have. The Creative Nomad Zen Xtra does it all, does it well, and that does it for me.
35 would have been great, but...
Many other people have complained about the headphone jack and I would have to say that that this is reason enough to not buy the player. Sure you could hope to get one of the few that have held up but PLEASE don't buy this mp3 player! I purchased this player before heading to Spain to study for three months. About two weeks into my trip the left headphone went out, but with some manuvering i was able to listen to music, given i did not move the player around. Half way into my trip the whole thing went out and I was left with a $300 piece of junk. And the whole reason I bought it was because of all the favorable reviews I had read, I figured it would hold up. Since i was overseas for the duration of the warranty I was not able to return it to creative labs. Now I'm stuck finding someone to fix the thing. Final warning: save yourself the hassle! DO NOT buy this player! If you're a risk taker, go ahead, but it's not worth it!
36 Good Unit
I've already dropped it, (unit was off) and it's fine. It's a little larger than I expected, so is more of a pocket unit than an armband or clip-on. The creative software is not too good - I did some searching and found some recommendations for Notmad Explorer - which does truly rock as accessory software for the Nomad. It will copy over playlists from most other media players without a hitch- which was problematic with the Creative application. Overall I'm pleased with the purchase.
37 A fine choice
Other than the infrequent 'rebuilding music library' message on startup, my Zen Xtra (40GB) always works great, has great battery life and stores more music than I have time to install on it. The software to add/delete music from the player is intuitive and easy to use.
The only thing I wish would work better is using the device as offline storage. Too bad it doesn't work just like a memory key in terms of moving non-music data to/from your PC.
38 Watch out for the price on this one!!!
Was advertised on Amazon at $244 with a 2-week delay in shipping; I ordered it then. When the price went up to $269, Amazon cancelled my order. It's still available cheaper than this in stores, so scout around. I did, and I love mine. Slightly less-enthused about Amazon.
39 Hands down over the ipod
I did a ton of research on mp3 players before I finally bought the 40 GB Nomad Xtra over the ipod. I have a lot of music and needed a large player but didn't know if I wanted to spend the big bucks and splurge on the ipod--which I had convinced myself is what I wanted. But after talking with reps in the stores and doing my own research I realized that there are just too many obvious problems with the ipod and I can't spend the money on something that will eventually at some point need to be re-worked on (the non-removable battery). At the stores I was told more people bring back a ton of ipods--but never the Nomads. The Nomad is small, holds a ton of songs and doesn't cost a lot for all the storage space you get-and I spent my extra money on a good 3-year service plan just in case something breaks down. I have had NO problems with the player out of the box, and I keep it in its case and take special care so as to not drop it or knock it around. Take my advice and skip the ipod!! Its not worth it!
40 It's great!
With the new hard drive based MP3 players, I wanted to rip all my CDs (about 200) and put it on a player. This meant one with at least 20GB. I decided to rip at 224Kbps for higher quality. I ended up using 16GB for 2229 Tracks from 225 Albums. To give myself more head room I decided that 40Gb should be my choice.
Some of the features out there...
*Hard Drive - Definitely needed this to rip all my CDs to MP3.
*FM tuner - This was a nice to have...so, I wasn't disappointed that this doesn't have it
*Voice Recorder - This is also a nice to have....so, I wasn't disappointed that this doesn't have it
*Line in to record - This is also a nice to have....so, I wasn't disappointed that this doesn't have it
*Use as a hard drive - I really wanted to have this, but as you'll see below, I kind of didn't get it.
So, everyone's question is why didn't I get the iPOD? It's definitely the coolest. I played with one a little at a Bose store and really liked it. Also, heard it could be a hard drive and has some other stuff like address book. But, in the end, it was too much money for me to spend. I got a 40GB Nomad for the less than a 15GB iPOD.
I'm pretty happy with the Nomad Zen Jukebox Xtra (besides the week it took me to rip my CDs, which isn't the Nomad's fault). I didn't use the app that came with the Nomad to rip the MP3s. I started a few days before getting it, so I used a shareware tool called dBPowerAMP Music Converter from download.com. It worked fine.
I use it...
...in the car and now I don't need the CD changer anymore. I have playlists of my kids CDs for them, or when it's my turn, I can play my lists. In my car, there's an auxiliary jack; in my wife's car, we use one of the tape player accessories.
...in my office while I work...hooked up to my PC speakers' secondary source (Megaworks 250D)
...in my family room when guests are over for background music. In the past, we only had a single CD player and kept having to change it. Now, I can set a playlist and let it go the whole night.
...in the gym while I work out. On the treadmill, I put it in a small fanny pack and hang it which limits the shock to it. I wear the pack when I do weights.
Pros
-Navigation - Although there is some complexity to it, I got used to it very quickly. I really like the flexibility. I found that it's possible to do what you want whether it's removing a song from the selected music list, removing the whole list, starting a new list, finding an artist/album/song..I haven't found any instance where I thought, "Gee, I wish I could do that...."
-Playlists can be made on the fly from the current "Selected Music" list...I hear iPODs can't.
-Has a Replaceable battery. Honestly, I'll probably get a new one before this one dies, but it's always nice to have a choice.
-The case that comes with it fits well and seems to protect it.
-You can use the Nomad Explorer to change artist, genre, and album. This is useful when the CDDB isn't exactly right and I missed the misspelling or something.
-You can shut it down and it will pick up right where you left off.
-Battery life has been pretty good, but not spectacular. I've done alot of downloading (which kills the battery) and creating playlists and changing music, so it's hard to tell what I'm really getting.
-The headphones are pretty good and fit well. They seem a little more cushier than most earbud headphones.
-The sound is great.
Cons
-The scroll wheel is a little weird and takes a little getting used to.
-It's a little big. Can't fit in your pocket well.
-Doesn't have the accesories that an iPOD has.
-It has no "stop" button. This is kind of weird, but you get used to it. There is a "pause" to stop the music anytime you want. The only difference between "stop" and "pause" is that (I guess) "stop" will go back to the beginning. But, this concept does need some getting used to.
-Using the Nomad as a hard drive needs to use the Nomad Explorer, so you have to have that installed to load files. It's not very useful since most folks don't have that loaded on their PCs.
-USB only, but USBv2.0 was pretty fast. I used 2 computers to rip MP3s. The older one uses USB v1.1. I didn't know how slow v1.1 really was. It took overnight and then some to download about 5GB of music. The Nomad was getting a little so hot that I turned a fan on it to cool it. That seemed to work pretty well.
Conclusion: If it's a big MP3 player only that you're looking for, this is a pretty good one. The navigation is pretty flexible, but takes a little time to get used to (because it lets you do so much). I'm pretty happy with my choice. And, pretty happy with the big drive MP3 type that allows me to pretty much use it anywhere and listen to any song in my collection. That flexibility is nice...
41 a good product--but possibly a better one coming soon
There must be a new cover for the Zen Xtra because the top is very sturdy and there is no way it can fall off accidentally. The carrying case also now has a window so you can always keep the cover on and you dont have to worry about damaging it.
I recommend if you really want/need one now, just buy the Zen Xtra at a store, get a 2 year warrenty (about $50), and then you can exchange it for FREE (because it is the same price) for Creative's upcoming model, the Zen Touch, which looks as sleek as the Ipod and has a said 24-hour battery life, which is probably more like 15 (being pessimistic)--still MUCH longer than that of the Ipod, and cheaper. The Zen Touch should be coming out within the next few months--and it looks very promising. It comes with a 12 month warrenty (as opposed to the 3 month warenty than comes with the Zen Xtra).
To save you some trouble, when installing music into the Zen (which is very fast), make sure you have everything titled correctly on your computer (song titles, albums, and artists)--that way you dont have to worry about re-titling anything on your Zen.
42 Nice MP3 player, but prepare to get "jacked" around
Having purchased this player as a gift in Dec-03, I was dissapointed when headphone jack became severely intermittent after 4 months of "careful use". Since I am in technical electronics (and player was out of warranty period), I opened it up to find the problem. The Headphone jack is only secured by three small solder pads, and the metal pad for the left channel had broken between the board and jack, and the right channel pad was almost broken. This jack is not reinforced on the circuit board, so it easily breaks. My repair was to remove the cheap internal jack, and then solder a flexible extention cable through the original jack hole to an external female jack (available from most electronic shops). Works great now...but looks a bit strange with this cable coming out of it. Future plugs and unplugs of the jack will not place any strain on the player, Creative Labs...fess up to the poor design, and fix these players that many others are having issues with.
43 lacking file format support is not for me
this player supports ONLY mp3 and wma
unfortunately, my own-made music format is ogg, and downloaded radio recording is asf format, this player don't support both
and lack of digital recording is a major drawback too, unlike iriver, it has digital in and out, this is a necessary for me
sorry, zen, this is not for me
44 THIS PLAYER IS TRASH !
The price looks good do not be fooled.Mine also worked ok for the first 6 months reguardless that the software would not transfer a portion of my music. The death of this unit was when I had fixed the ID3 tages to get all my music to be able to be tranfered to the player , I removed the music library and then reloaded the repaired lib at this point the player will not play anything corectly. parts of tracks play and parts are garbled.
This is true when playing over headphone jack usb to pc will still play normal. This is not the same problem as the phone jack breaking like happens to 2/3 of the players.
45 Awesome player!!!
I must say that Im extremely pleased with my new player. It's become my new best friend.
It's so simple to use anyone can get the hang of it. The price is reasonable and a better deal than most other players out there. Under 300 for 40gb? That's unheard of these days!
Im already done transferring all of my essential stuff and still have room for more music!!
I have no complaints about this player it's just awesome.
The only thing though my headphones came messed up one side being longer than the others but that's ok cuz I don't use those little ear pieces anyways :)
The size might be a little larger than an ipod or a mini sized mp3 player but its not that big of a deal. We all had cd walkmans and those were way bigger..It's about the size of a palm pilot I would say. The design is also great. No annoying buttons everywhere or joystick controllers.
Trust me when I say this is probably one of the best mp3 players around. The sound quality is also amazing :)
46 HEADPHONES JACK ANGUISH!!!!
Firstly, let me say that a fully functioning Zen Xtra player rocks. Great features, huge memory, etc., for a relatively low price.
But...I am on my THIRD player after replacing it twice due to headphones jack problems, and it seems to be happening AGAIN with this one!!! The left ear speaker cuts out from time to time, then stops working, then both stop working.
Does anyone know how to fix this, either by reinforcing the jack, or if there is a brand of headphones that won't cause this problem? Thanks.
47 Standing the test of War
As a soldier in the US Army stationed here in Iraq, I can testify that the Zen Xtra is well worth its weight in gold. Its taken more than its fair share of bumps and bruises and has never skipped a beat. While many of the guys here have opted for MP3/CD players, they are constantly cleaning the lenses and the moving parts often get fouled with sand and dust. The Zen Xtra is a sealed unit with no moving parts other than the rocker wheel on the side. While I agree that the wheel could be a little more responsive sometimes making it a little difficult to make your selection, this is an outstanding piece of equipment. Once the MP3's are uploaded to the unit (I have well over 5,000), you can generate your own playlists and sort by artist, album, or genre. It even has a sleep and wake function. Its a little larger than the iPod but I think its a bit sturdier as well. I know that I'm quite impressed with my purchase and my platoon enjoys it as well. (I often plug it into a set of computer speakers I carry in my Hummer.) If and when I get redeployed back here, I know that I'll have one of these tucked away in my ruck.
48 Zen
I have been using my zen xtra for 3 months now and i am very pleased with it. I can drag and drop songs with the nomad explorer. I can listen to it for 15hrs at a time before it needs a recharge and it holds my whole collection of cds.
There are however a few cons to this product.
The plastic clip that comes on the carring case snaped so I replaced it with a nylon strap I sewed onto the back of the case and havn't had a problem since.
There are two things that could really improve this product, a line out and a fm transmiter to use to play in cars that have only a cd player.
This is an awsome mp3 player and well worth the money.
49 Doing the job for less money!!!!
If you want space to carry your music everywhere...this is your device. For all those reviews about the cover, now the cover included with the player has window to the screen, no need to take the player out of the case, unless you are changing the battery. A USB cable is included...no extra purchase. And the fact that you can copy the music back to your computer is a plus for me. The buttons takes a little getting use to it, but for almost $200 less, I can deal with it. The software is easy to learn, and the fact that you can replace the battery with ease...big plus...
50 Phone Jack Faulty
I loved this thing until 2 1/2 months after purchase... The phone jack is not working properly. Now I am very disappointed. Glad I got a 2 year replacement plan from Best Buy. Recommend you protect yourself if you buy this product. I don't think the phone jack problem is a rare one from what I have read here.
51 wish that they didn't have their own software
If you've already got a big music collection in Windows Media Player or MusicMatch you're in for a lot of pain as you transfer your library into Creative's proprietary software application on your PC. All of the information about Music Genre will be stripped out during this process (despite the fact that Windows Media Player was able to read it from my database originally created with MusicMatch).
Battery life is only about 5 hours (bad) but you can carry extras and replace them quickly (good).
It is relatively easy to change tracks or volume by feel thanks to some little bumps in the controls. A pretty thoughtful mechanical design.
52 What a great toy!
I had an RCA mp3 player that used cards. I decided to purchase this one based on its reviews and cost. I'm not sorry. The only thing I had challenges with was transferring music from my PC and CD's to the player. I searched and searched and finally figured it out. I think Creative needs to have a picture of the software in the quick guide so people know which window is which.
I love the ability to organize and listen to music using several options: genre, artist, etc.. It transfers very quickly (using a 2.0 USB hook-up) and sounds great. I'm just beginning to play with it so I'm looking forward to finding out everything I can about it. It isn't much larger/heavier than an IPOD and is very versatile (not to mention a whole lot less expansive). I also like the fact that it's a "mini" external hard drive so I can store large files on it if necessary.
53 Worth every penny and more
I have not compared my player to other brands, but I am very happy with it.
I have not experienced any of the problems discussed in the negative reviews. The cover has never come open accidentally. I have also dropped it dozens of times and it still keeps going. Of course, I always keep it in the leather case, which seems to absorb the force of the impact. My only complaint is that the headphones were not durable at all. They went bad within a week. No problem though, since headphones are really inexpensive. I go through a pair of Sony headphones every few months.
What I love most about the player is that it contains my entire music collection with lots of room to spare. I store my mp3's at 96 kbps, so I have room for about 13,000 tracks. I can't tell the difference between the mp3 and the CD in terms of sound quality.
When I meet other people on campus with mp3 players, almost all of them tell me that they paid close to the same price for a unit with much less memory. Freud might have a field day, because when I see other people with mp3 players, I think to myself, "Mine is bigger than yours." And I smile at that thought.
54 BASIC DESIGN FLAW
Forget how this unit works because it has a basic design flaw that will drive users crazy! The front cover has a release button that allows removal of the front cover to access the removable battery. Forget about the release button. You don't need it. just tap the lower left hand corner of the case and the cover pops open! Convenient, huh? No way! This design flaw is a total pain in the ass! And it's not just my unit. I tested two other new, out of the box units and both did the same thing. Simply bad design and no quality testing. Do yourself a favor and avoid this unit at all costs unless you don't mind continually closing the case after it has popped open on it's own.
55 New to Creative Labs
So far, so good. No problems at all with the product. Ripped about 70 CDs on to hard drive. Software very easy and intuitive. Takes < 1 minute a song to rip to unit.
Had concern about the reviews related to unit being fragile, but have not experienced any problems so far. Controls very easy to learn.
EAX - overrated. Sounds fine without it.
Battery - nowhere near the claimed 14 hours, but I used the .wma format rather the mp3 to store music.
Overall, what I expected for the money
56 Not a fan
I took my zen back after a week of problems.
It's really fussy about id3 tags, which is a problem if some of you collection didn't come _directly_ off cd. I fiddled around with various automated taggers, but never got things working to satisfaction. The player crashes every 3 to 8 hours of operation and frequently takes 20+ minutes rebuilding it's database of tracks after a crash (i hear this process is made long by incomplete id3 tags).
Two days ago the left headphone channel started cutting out, as it has for many other reviewers. That was the last straw. I'm over it, thinking about a rio Karma or nothing at all.
57 Great product , greater with addons
This is important. Make sure you are running the most recent firmware and drivers from Creative. Recent updates have done loads for stability. Also, I use Notmad from RedChair software for manipulating the data on the Zen Xtra (40Gb). This software takes managing the device to EXACTLY where it needs to be. It also has a web based streamer with it to play songs via WinAMP streaming from other machines. The cons to the unit is that it has a history of headphone and USB jack problems, plus the faceplate is a little to quick to pop off when the case is not on it. The case annoyingly, covers up the face and power jacks. The power jack isn't a big deal, but the face is. Cutting a hole (as someone recommended) is ok, but no longer provides protection like a vinyl window would. I would recommend reviewing the Zen NX cases from Vaja(vajacases.com). They are the same layout as the XTRA. Despite the small issues, the unit has performed very well with the recent firmware updates and RedChair software. Also, there is a Gnomad package for Linux.
58 Built like Crap, works like a dream
The case is mndblowingly awful. If I squint very hard at it the front cover pops off. I only have to slide the catch a fraction of an inch and it pops off, exposing the battery, which is packed loose and so can fall out immediately depending on the angle. The front panel slides across the front of the device if you press it, in a disconcerting way. Basically the build quality is on a par with a sub 10 dollar tape walkman from a backstreet in Hong Kong, and is criminally shoddy for Creatives flagship mp3 jukebox.
Having held an Ipod for a few minutes, it feels as if it was hermetically sealed in pressurised chambers by aliens who breathe through their arses once every six years. Build quality is a chasm of difference between this and the obvious comparison of the ipod.
That aside... I love the damn thing more than any other gadget I have ever owned. It is very easy to use, works ok with windows (buy Notmad on the web for a user friendly, powerful and funky companion), and packs a punch sonically. The inclusion of WMA encoding lets you pack alot more music on than MP3 at higher quality, which is a massive bonus not to be overlooked. It just takes a moment to weigh resenting microsoft against having a much larger, better encoded wma library.
You mixologists will agonise over the break between songs; it is a split second, often not noticeable, sometimes quite noticeable, but much better than the second of silence the ipod jams between all tracks. For purists the only way to go is an album in one file I'm afraid. I have alot of mix albums, mostly down temp and it doesnt seem to hurt them at all. Something more driving is a bit more noticeable but not much.
EAX = so so. The normalisation of volume is a godsend late at night or when playing tracks encoded by different packages, bitrates etc. Although the geezer below me who listens to everything as if he lives in a church has me mystified. The only person I know of who lives in a church is Peter Stringfellow. Yike.
Great product. I love it. I was going to go for the RIO Karma but it hasnt really hit these shores. I don't regret my purchase for a second.
Oh, the sound quality (small point) Creative have been in this game a long time, and were building the first generation of music sequencers when I was in short trousers, so as far as I can tell nothing touches this device in the sonic stakes.
59 Review of Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 40GB
This product is junk. I am using Windows XP and I have had repeated problems.
Here is a quick list:
1) When I try to copy a file to my Zen it will copy one or two files and then error out telling me that the Zen is busy or that it can not write the file. Some times it will even error out on the first file.
2) When anything goes wrong the Zen seems to lock up and I have to reset it. So far I have had to reset it about 20 times in 2 days.
3) The Creative Media Source software that comes with this product also locks up when an error occurs during file transfer and I have to kill the process to shut it down.
4) I checked Creative's KB for the errors I received and it was no help. I downloaded and installed the driver updates, firmware updates and all the patches I could fine but I still have the problem.
4) Creative has no weekend support which stinks and their support line is only open 9am to 6pm during the week. So for those of us that work, I guess we are on our own.
I had high hopes for this product because I did not want to buy an IPod but it looks like Creative leaves me no choice. For any one thinking about buying this product, just remember, you have been warned.
I only gave this product a 1 because the system does not allow me to give it a 0.
60 High Quality, Cheap
I have to say, this product is a great buy. I got it for Christmas of 2003, so I've had it for roughly 3.5 months. It's easy to use, with track selection and control that is very comfortable. The software that comes with it, MediaSource Organizer, works terrifically, ripping the music off of CDs very quickly. I haven't had any problems with this product thus far. I have bumped it into walls and such, but I have not experienced the problems some other consumers are finding. The headphone jack works as good as new. Yes, it is bigger than an iPod, but it still fits in my pockets, and it is incredibly cheaper.
61 Headphone Jack Problems
The headphone jack on my Zen Xtra stopped working day 40 (1st day on a 7-day cruise, no less!) While Creative did replace the unit, why haven't they recalled all Zen's?
This is my second Nomad -- I had a Nomad 2.0 20GB, but it's screen stopped working. Creative refused to repair unless I paid $105, so (silly me) I bought a new unit instead.
Never again, Creative!
62 Lyra vs. Zen vs. iPod: A 40GB MP3 Player Guide
I've owned all three 40GB players available today: Creative Zen, RCA Lyra, Apple iPod. This is the review I wish I had read before I started shopping. It was a originally more comprehensive but I had to trim it to 1000 words.
For the most part, the Creative Zen has the best features of the three, as well as the best price. It sounds like a no brainer except for the fact that these things break like crazy! If you read some of the other reviews on here, you'll see a few people mention that their headphone jack shorted out when they dropped the player....well mine shorted out while the player was sitting on my desk not moving at all. I don't know a single person who bought one of these players and didn't have their headphone jack malfunction! Many reviewers suggest buying an extended warranty because of this problem. I would most definitely agree with them on that one, but personally I don't have the patience to wait a few weeks every time the player decides to stop working. Those warrantees are supposed to be purchased just in case something goes wrong; not because something most likely will! The Lyra from the moment it came out of the box to the moment it stopped working for no apparent reason, four hours later, was on the whole a piece of junk. That said...on to the comparisons.
PRICE: As just about every anti-iPod reviewer mentions, THE IPOD IS MORE EXPENSIVE AND DOES PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING. The iPod is basically the BMW of mp3 players...the other mp3 player work like, and cost about as much as a Kia. They all do basically the same thing, but the cheaper ones are cheaper for a reason!
SIZE: All three players are smaller than a walkman, so it's kind of silly to even discuss this, but it seems to be a hot topic in the other reviews. From largest to smallest the players are ranked as follows: Lyra, Zen, iPod. The Lyra is the only one of the three which will not fit easily in your pocket. It is the widest /longest /heaviest of the bunch, and personally, I hated the way it felt in my hand. The Zen and the iPod were both a pleasure to hold.
CONTROLS/NAVIGATION: iPod gets first place here simple because it's touch sensitive navigation wheel allows you to get from the first album in your collection to the last in seconds and it stops on a dime anywhere in between. The Zen's controls are very good however it takes longer to scroll through your entire collection and when it really starts moving fast, it continues scrolling after you release the button sometimes skipping past another 50-75 albums! The Lyra had decent navigation, but the buttons had to be pushed more than once before they responded almost half of the time! The Zen and the iPod can be operated easily with one hand.
PLAYLISTS/SONG RATING: The Zen wins here without a doubt. It is the only one of the three where you can create, edit (even while it's playing) and SAVE multiple play lists on the player itself without connecting it to a computer. The iPod allows you to make ONE play list on the fly, which cannot be edited or saved.
The Lyra allows you to tag songs you like or don't like and it makes play lists of each...yes, it makes a playlist of songs that you tell it you DO NOT LIKE...if that doesn't explain what's wrong with this product, nothing will! The iPod allows you to rate songs 1-5 stars on the player, and then make a play list automatically based on those ratings when connected to a computer.
BATTERY: Again, Zen is the winner here. Not only does it offer a battery that lasts 14 hours instead of iPod and Lyra's 8 hour batt. it is also the only player of the three where you can remove and replace the battery when it deteriorates with age as all rechargeables do. It should be noted that the battery times I listed are the official times given by the manufacturers. The Zen actually lasts about 10 hours the other two go between 5 and 6 before needing a charge.
SCREEN: The Zen not only has the biggest screen of the bunch, it also scrolls the album title in the directory screen allowing you to see the whole thing instead of just the first few words.
TRANSFER TO PLAYER: All three units use USB 2.0, the iPod also can be used with Firewire.
TRANSFER FROM PLAYER: The Zen allows you to transfer music freely from your player to any computer loaded with it's software. The iPod does not allow this however third party software that can be purchased and used to pull songs from the iPod. In all honest, the Lyra broke before I could find out if you can pull songs off of it.
SOFTWARE: iTunes is easy to use and offers tons of ways to organize your music. Creative Media Manager takes a lot of getting used to but is decent once you figure it out. Musicmatch, which comes with the Lyra is garbage. It`s slow, difficult to figure out at times, and constantly badgers you to buy the upgrade to its premium version.
EXTRAS: The only one that actually has extra features is the iPod which comes loaded with 4 different games, the ability to read text documents that are stored on the hard drive on the player's screen, a date book, and an address book. The Lyra's ONLY advantage over the other players is the fact that it comes with a complete car kit (charger/tape adapter)....which is pretty nice, but useless when the player turns itself into a paperweight after just a few hours. All three players come with a case....iPod's is the only one which does not give you access to the player's controls when it's in the case.
Hope this helped.
63 What's with the low sound?
I bought the Zen Xtra 40Gb yesterday, taking it back today. The sound is awful. The volume range goes up to a 25, and even with the EAX or whatever it's called on, it's barely audible. I don't know if it's the jack gone like you all say or if this is just designed for easy listening. No good for loud music. Prepare to listen to background noise, not your music. This thing sucks. Don't buy it.
64 Best for price
I've only had the Zen Xtra a couple of weeks but am totally hooked on it. I was wary on buying a Creative Lab product after the Jukebox I bought 4 years ago from Creative which crashed with regularity. This one is different, so far no problems with playing or downloading to it. The volume on this player is sufficiently improved as well. It does have a couple of minor drawbacks but they are over shadowed by all the advantages the player has. After downloading the newest driver and updated software it was a snap to upload music to the player. It take less than 30 seconds an album to upload to the Zen using USB 2. For simplicity, I'll compare the Zen Xtra to an 20 gig Ipod.
Ipod 20 gig
25 % smaller than the Zen
Simple interface
Bauhaus design industrial white
Zen Xtra 40 gig
Twice the drive space for a LOT less
WMA capability
Since the same quality WMA is 1/2 the size of MP3, the Zen holds 4 time more music
Has more sound controls
Has more play choices
User replaceable battery (what was Apple thinking!)
Leatherette case included
File drag and drop from File Explorer
Mass file tag editing
On the fly Play lists
65 First and Last
This product is the the first Mp3 Player that I bought and it has turned me off from buying anything from creative again. As others have mentioned the headphone jack breaks quite easily, but not from rough use, it just breaks down. I barely had this thing a month before it started giving problems, and I only used it to go from home to work. This I guess is why people flock to the Ipod, cause you may not be able to replace the battery but it is damn sturdy. This is just a piece of junk
66 warning! headphone jack breaks
This is a great player in every respect (I'd rate it 5 stars otherwise), I loved it, right up until the headphone jack broke. I use mine for snowboarding so it takes some pretty tough abuse, but I notice that my iPod's headphone jack is part of the case rather than part of the PC board and the iPod is still playing fine after years of snowboarding. The Zen's headphone jack is completely separate from the case and is only held to the PC board by three small solder joints which, as it turns out, break quite easily.
So be warned, if you use the Zen for any physical activity it will break.
67 Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra (40 GB)
Opened my Jukebox Christmas morning and have used it everyday since - I love it! I should point out that I have not used any other MP3 players. Where to start - it's a great place to store all the CDs that I only ever want to hear one song on. In addition, it's wonderful for long car trips - I can avoid dragging my music collection along for the ride. I make one play list that lasts hours. It's easy to use (as is the software - I'll get to my complaints about that in a moment) and works on my home or office computer. It's larger than some of the others but I'm not one to complain about that. I like how it looks and the carrying case works fine for traveling to and from the office.
I wanted an MP3 player for my new Element which came with an auxiliary jack. The problem was when I drove my other car (without an auxiliary jack) I couldn't use it. After shopping at Target and inspecting iPOD accessories, I found that they too work for the Jukebox. I can use both the Belkin FM transmitter for my car and RCA jack to hook my Jukebox up to my home theatre system. The other attractive feature for me is that I can use the hard drive to carry computer files to and from work - I have both a Jukebox and memory stick that are easy to use.
Complaints:
I've never had a problem with the software but did notice only a few days ago that I cannot burn CDs of my play lists - BIG BUMMER. I checked with the Creative site (which is not the best for customer service or simple fact finding) and it said that only "certain versions of the software have the option to burn CDs." Problem was it didn't tell me which versions. The best solution to that is to use RealPlayer to organize my files instead (both RealPlayer and Windows Media Player will recognize and transfer to and from the Jukebox). I have heard of other "organizer software" for the Jukebox which is available for download but have yet to find it.
My second complaint is the volume of media is so large on my Jukebox that it is a nightmare to find one song - if you don't use the play lists you'll be fumbling a lot in the car.
I also have experienced the "rebuilding library" message that lasts from two to five minutes if I have not turned on my Jukebox for several days - I'm unsure if this is due to the other computer files that I store on the hard drive or that I simply have not used it.
Just my thoughts.
68 Cool Player but softwear was hard to use
If you want to get yourself a Hard Drive MP3 Player, you need to go out and get this one. Couple reasons why: 1. price is the same as IPOD-20GB 2. Has lots of great features that comes with player.
The bad parts of the player is the softwear. I had a hard time getting my computer to recgonize the hardwear. I suggest you read the mannual that is on the CD real carefully. If you do not follow the installation process correctly the player will not work on ur computer(I have windows XP home edition).One thing i think that it lacks is a FM tuner but with 40GB i guess no need for it.
69 Excellent quality product
I couldn't be happier with the performance and ease of use of the Nomad Zen Xtra. The software is simple to use to sort your existing music and rip new music. CDDB functionality allows you to automtically label new CDs and tracks.
Clearly the iPod is the popular choice, so I'll go with why I think the Nomad is more practical than the iPod:
*Longer battery life
*The 40 Gb Nomad is about $100 LESS than the 20 Gb iPod
*Windows friendly (especially if you're PC only supports USB and not firewire).
*The buttons are more consistant with old school walkmans that I've been using for years (Volume control, track selection, etc.)
Why the Nomad isn't the iPod (not so good reasons):
*Accessories. You can't dress it up like the iPod.
*The included case is functional. It's protective and has a belt clip, but it is a little awkward.
*It's bigger than the iPod: noticably, if you have them next to each other. Don't get me wrong, though. It still fits easily in all my pockets.
*The iPod is a pretty stable device, from what I've read. In the month that I have had my Nomad it has "hung" once. I had to remove the battery and turn it back on. Everything came back to the state it was the previous time I had turned it on. (Ironically, this happened as I am writing this review. Thus, the rating of 4 stars and not 5) I think electronic/hardware stability is pretty important cause if that goes what can you do? I have a particular concern living in a foreign country with absolutely no way to return this should it die.
If you absolutley must be cool, get the iPod. If you want to save some money, buy the Nomad.
70 Zen Xtra Vs. Polaroid Juke Jam
I went to Frye's Electronics 3 weeks ago to purchase the Creative Labs 40GB Zen Xtra, when I noticed the Polaroid Juke Mam. I was impressed by the FM tuner - complete with 10 presets (it even records FM programs to MP3 files), the voice recorder, and nice large LCD screen were nice too. It was also priced within $10.00 of the Zen Xtra, so I opted for this unknown (unresearched) option.
The sound was great, and I really loved how easy and logical the modified joysick-style selector button works. A week later, and after loading over 19GB of data to its hard drive, the thing simply locked-up and would not reboot. Fry's promptly replaced it for another. The second player's screen began to fade beyond readability after 4 days. That window gave me time to remove most of my data, and return the second Juke Jam to the store.
This time, I traded it for the 40GB Zen Xtra. I have had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS with the Creative Labs model. The product rep was there in the store. He told me they recently upgraded the firmware, allowing simple drag-and-drop tranfer of data. It not only performs better, but it also has an AWESOME EAX sound enhancement tool. Honestly, it made my very basic car stereo sound like I was listening to my BOSE home theater!!!
He mentioned they should be releasing a player with an FM-tuner soon, but I wanted my portable music options now. The features of the two items may appear to be similiar; in fact, the Polaroid features look better at first glance. But, I have to put my money (nearly $300.00) where the quality is. Creative Labs created a portable music experience! I don't mean to sound like some kind of spokesman for CL, but this thing simply ROCKS!!!
Did I mention it's nearly $200.00 cheaper than the IPOD (which by the way, does not play the smaller sized, better quality WMA files). I LOVE the size of the IPOD, but that feature doesn't come close to justifying it's $489.00 price tag. Macintosh has once again, priced themselves out of the market. Sure there are thousands of people that have IPODs, but they could have cornered the entire MP3 portable player market. Fortunately, Apple once again let the competition create feature-packed players for $100.00's of dollars less.
If you want real quality in a player that plays MP3, WMA's, and features an unmatched sound processor, go with the Zen Xtra. If you've got the money, and don't really need as much space as I do, get the IPOD. Otherwise, wait for more of the research and design to shake-out in this industry. There are sure to be some very interesting innovations coming to this Christmas!!!
Today - ZEN XTRA ROCKS HARD!!!
71 What a junk
What a junk. Every time NOMAD thinks the file is corrupt the OS freezes. The only way to recover is to plug the power cord and go into recovery mode. So if you happen to be out of the house and you have a frozen OS you can't use NOMAD until you get home. After OS froze twice on me in the subway I returned the jukebox.
72 Why can't it be rated ZERO stars?
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT--I took perfect care of this player and still it died in the week after the lousy 90 day warranty ended. Nearly 4000 songs went up in smoke. The software is not good either and the driver has trouble working with other SOUND BLASTER products, which is very dumb.
73 I don't see what everyone's problem is- I love this player
This is an excellent player, especially for the price, with features that are comparable to and even excel the Ipod. For a price that's still less than even the lowest level Ipod I was able to get this 40GB monster, and the best part is it works as great as it was advertised to and then some.
Here are the pros and cons (few there are) in detail:
Look/Design: The system is terrific in size and design, IMO looking better than the Ipods. It's bigger, but people have grossly exaggerated the size differences- it's only about half an inch longer and 1/3 inch thicker than the new-generation Ipods. It's very solidly built, and has a nice dense feel to it. I find all of the controls well-placed and not flimsy in the least. The scroll wheel is better than the Ipod's as well, in that you don't risk giving yourself a cramp running your thumb around in circles endlessly- just a small nudge of the finger and you're there. The screen's large and easily read. The only beef I can raise in this regard is the pop-off face, that sometimes comes off a bit easily, but besides that it's perfect.
Sound: Exceptional, though I can't really compare it to the Ipod. From what I've heard it's at least equal. Like others have mentioned, you can manage to hear new things in songs even though they're on lower bit levels. There's no so-called background hiss that I've noticed, at least so far.
Interface- Practically seamless. Songs are recognized automatically by ID3 tags, which at first I was against since I had organized my files by folder with a previous player from Iriver. Yet after ensuring that all the ID3 tags are in order (with the software which is actually not as bad as people make it out) it actually turns out to be really handy. It's a dedicated music playing device, anyway, so this serves it better. You can find any song quicky by an artist, album, or genre search. Playlists can be generated on the fly (which is a bit clunky but still a really nice bonus) or by using the software, and there are a bevy of EQ options. The only thing missing is an option to adjust the balance.
Software: As I mentioned before, the Creative Mediasource software is actually really robust despite what others have said, though Notmad may still work better. It's easy to transfer, preview, and organize files. The in-program ID3 tag editing is a strong point, as well. It was no problem for me to use their software. Some may complain that there's no drag-and-drop capability, but what they should realize is that this is mainly a portable music player, not a computer accessory or hard drive. The software and design are geared towards enhancing the music experience.
Overall, I'm giving this 5 stars as I've seen nothing of the problems people have repeatedly cried havoc over, but as I've only had the player for a while I leave room for doubt if the headphone jack, hissing, or scroll wheel problems show up with me too. So far, however, I'm a very happy customer. Please consider this much superior piece of equipment before plopping down half a grand for an Ipod.
74 Great Player
Have had the player since Xmass and love it!
Pros: Great sound, very long battery life (I routinely play it for 12+ hours), very fast recharges rate, removable battery, storage size, nice screen, firmware updates, and great price.
Cons: Short warranty (3 months, so I got the extended warranty at Best Buy), occasional freeze up (easily fixed by popping out battery), somewhat flimsy navigation wheel.
Neutral: I didn't even try the included software. I just bought Notmad manager ($25) and file transfers are easy drag and drop, songs stored by ID3 tags not by folders, needs to have software on computer to transfer files, no window on case (nice case otherwise.
75 Good for the price
I have had mine for a month now and have to say I have enjoyed it. The Pros:
Price! Almost half what an ipod would cost you! I don't care how it looks and I always drive so the size is not important to me.
Sound quality is wonderful, I really like the smart volume sound normalization. Yes the included earphones suck but everyone replaces them anyway. I quickly got to use to the interface and can find any song/playlist etc fast enough. I also liked the fact that you can save custom playlist you made on the player not just the computer!
Cons. Creative software stinks. It's horrible. redchair software makes nice software that allows you to do everything you would want to and more! The front cover can pop off easily but I always have mine in the case so I didn't notice after first day.
76 Easy to use, massive storage space, sounds great.
And also, it's priced very affordably. With 40gb of storage I have about 7,500 songs on the player (everything music file I have is on there) with room for about 2,500 more. A similarily priced 15gb Ipod wouldn't have been nearly enough room. Having my entire music collection is great when travelling (both on plane and car trips) and I don't have to decide what to bring or copy onto the player--it's all there. Having to copy/delete files would be time-consuming and is rendered a non-issue with 40gb of storage. The software interface supplied was very easy to use but I went ahead and got Red Chair's "Notmad" software because of some advanced features I wanted. The sound is great even with the supplied earbuds--but I find earbuds uncomfortable so I use different headphones. On planes I use a splitter so two headphones can be plugged in for two people and the sound is equally good. Sound settings can be adjusted for personal preference. Accessing files by artist and album (I mostly look things up by artist) is easy and intuitive. Possibly the biggest advantage this player has (if price wasn't enough) is the fact that the user can replace the battery him/herself by opening the lid and popping in the new battery. Since batteries do run out on everything, this will also be a big money-saver since Ipods, Irivers, RCA, Dell, all have built-in batteries that need to be replaced by a technician (Apple charges 100 bones for the battery replacement). Try before you buy if at all possible: although I am a Mac addict now for over a decade and everyone I know has previously bought an Ipod, the Nomad Zen Xtra was a far better value and is just as easy to use with regards to both hardware and software interface. I personally am not crazy about the looks of either the Ipod or the Nomad. The Ipod's white plastic look/surface doesn't suit me. I like the Nomad's color better, but it's not terribly flashy. The mini Ipod's look the best to me--but with only 4gb there's no way I would ever buy any mp3 player with a measly 4gb of storage. My advice to mp3 buyers: consider how much storage space you will need, then try and listen before you buy--mp3 players can only fully evaluated by holding and listening to them.
77 Good for a little while, but....
Sure, this thing is definitely more cost-effective than an iPod. But with a low price, comes lower quality. Our special friends at Creative gave this thing good sound quality, great features, long battery life, and an unbeatable price. The catch is it's built like a piece of crap. It lasted about 1 1/2 weeks. I didn't abuse it, I charged it every day, but the headphone jack just sort of fizzled out. I tried re-setting it, I tried just about every pair of headphones in my house (10 pairs), and nothing worked. So I contacted customer service at Creative, but they said, "If the product seems broken, we cannot help," or something to that effect. Wow. Don't get me wrong, the thing was like heaven for about a week. If you want a quality mp3 player, splurge on an ipod. If you really need to save, buy this thing on Amazon, they eventually gave me a full refund. I bought myself an RCA mp3-cd player, and I'm happy with that until a cheap, worthwhile mp3 player coomes out.
78 Hard Disk MP3 Players
If you read reviews for the 4 main contenders in this market - the iPod, Creative Zen, Rio Karma and iRiver iHP - you'll notice that each has their pros and cons; none are perfect and you should decide whether you want to take to take the plunge now or later.
If your view in life is that you are going to pay $x00 to get a device then it must be near ideal - ruggedly constructed, fault proof, good product support, easy to use software - then do yourself a favor and don't buy yet. All the products have drawbacks and are not mature yet; if you expect value and reliability then wait a while. If you are OK paying $x00 for something that can be used now, but is likely to both get better and cost less in the future then try to determine which device is the lesser of evils for you.
iPod clearly has the most buzz. Great design and looks cool. Most people love the appearance and praise the touch sensitive buttons. It has a hold button to deactivate the buttons to avoid accidents; however, enough reviewers have complained that the hold button is easily broken and then the device can't be used. Some of the more geeky (non-Apple type) reviewers complain that the scrollwheel is annoying after a while and they resent being forced into this Apple-like interface. Everyone complains about the non-replaceable battery, yet this is the price of sturdy construction. iPod can be used as an external disk, and apparently stores files without problem. However, the music and data are apparently not separated; iPod reviewers complain about "white noise" in random feedback mode that comes from appointments / contacts created on the iPod during synchronization. Synchronizing music among computers, if you have more than one, seems to be an issue; research this before buying if you have multiple computers you want to be synchronized. Reviews for sound quality are generally (but not universally) positive. Reviews of Apple's support are generally poor; they seem to address issues in warranty, which covers a short time after delivery / pickup of item. After that it seems like you're on your own. iPod has no stop button; when new users mention this iPod veterans call it "unnecessary" and "so 20th century".
Creative Zen feedback suffers from construction quality, poor product support, difficulty of using the scroll wheel and reasonably consistent feedback about problems with the headphone jack. Construction quality is a difficult item. The Zen has a detachable face plate that allows the battery to be replaced. What is added in functionality (battery replacement) detracts in build quality as the face plate is prone to popping off. Drop if just a few inches on a hard surface and the faceplate pops off (but not if it's in its case). Many reviewers say the faceplate simply didn't fit well so they returned the Zen. Feedback on Creative's product support is universally poor; this is not limited to the Zen, it applies to all the company's products. The scroll wheel is finicky; it works most of the time but there is a learning curve for pressing it just right; new users say they have 50% - 75% success rate; some find it so frustrating that they just return the device. The Creative software is awkward / difficult to use and just plain doesn't load on some computers. Enough people have reported that their headphone jack doesn't work after a month of using the device to believe that Creative has some inbuilt manufacturing or quality control problem. The Zen doesn't support folders so it is not really a storage device; even with third party software that "creates" folders, documents and programs can't be launched from the Zen, so it is not a hard disk, it's a storage device at best. Reviews for sound quality are generally (but not universally) positive. The Zen has no stop button. Veteran Zen users have explained how to stop if that's what you want.
The Rio Karma feedback suffers from sensitivity in the hard disk. It seems like movement, even small movement, causes skipping in playback and even the device freezing. If you plan to carry the device around (it is a mobile device, right?) then this is something you might want to think about. Karma gets consistently good reviews for sound quality and connectivity from its docking device, which has RCA output jacks and Ethernet jacks for connectivity. Usability (button usage, feature selection, menu structure, display size and quality) also has good feedback. Repair seems to be an issue; some say the repair don't exist - you just have to buy a new player. Perhaps because of its smaller user base there is also a lack of accessories. Like the Zen, the Karma does not support folders and is not designed to be a data storage device. It only comes in 20Gb; enough for most people, not for those with large collections ripped at high sampling rates. The Karma does have a stop button.
There aren't many reviews for the iRiver iHP. Those that have it like it. The only complaint seems to be that the disk rotation is slow, leading to longer delays in some functions (playback and even a slow display of the menu?). Otherwise feedback seems to be good. No comments on reliability, warranty, repairs, accessories. No-one mentions whether there is a stop button, but the photos don't show one.
None of these are perfect. If you have the appetite choose the one that you think has the least deficiencies or is best suited to you. Accept that there will be better devices (or new generations of these ones) in a year or two that will cost less. If that is for you then pay the money, learn from the experience and you'll be a more informed buyer when you buy device #2. If you aren't into paying $x00 to learn and experiment, or the cons outweigh the pros, then wait a year or so.
79 A Possible Discontinued Item?
What's going on Creative Labs? Is it a coincidence that I no longer can get any of your Nomad Zen Xtras (worst name ever) at Best Buy and now the 60GB Nomad Xtra is "sold out" or more likely "discontinued" at the almighty Amazon.com? hmmmmm....
80 Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 40 GB
Overall, a good buy for the price. Easy enough to navigate through, although I'd prefer a sturdier button besides the thumbwheel scroll/pushbutton. My biggest complaint is the battery life or lack there of. There is no way the battery supplied lasts 14 hours! At best, I've gotten 3 hours+. I've tried draining it until it won't turn on & recharging it overnight. No difference. If you're intrested in buying a spare battery It'll run you another $50, a little steep I thought. I've also had the Nomad Zen lock-up several times. The good news is if you can't get it to reset/reboot you can still pull the battery and reinstall it. That's a huge plus by itself compared to the infamous IPod and similar MP3 players where the battery is permanently installed & removing it voids the warranty. The Nomad Zen could use a little sturdier construction like the Archos Jukeboxes or some kind of shock resistant case. At the very least, a sturdier more protective carrying case would be nice.
Pros: huge storage capacity for the price, easy to navigate, can modify existing playlists on the fly, has a removable battery
Cons: Battery life is about 1/4 of that advertised, no operators manual available for any of the Nomad Zen players (on or off-line), occasional software lockups, replacement battery is expensive
Note: about 2GB (5%) of the advertised 40GB of storage capacity is used for the operating software (Firmware). This is nothing new, every MP3 player, memory card, etc., used for digital media today has some kind of preloaded operating software on it.
81 Headphone jack
I got the 40gb jukebox zen xtra for christmas. So, I've had it for a month, and the headphone jack went out. I called creative and they said to send it in and they would decide if it in warranty. It'll take 10-15 business days for them to decide form when they get it. Nothing but hassle with this company. What kind of product goes out within a month?
82 The 3 (?!) month warranty should be a warning
Like many reviewers, I really wanted to like this product. The price/performance looked just right. When I bought it late last year, there were enough reviews that I knew the navigation wheel and software would be less than ideal, but it sounded like a fair tradeoff.
Boy was I wrong. Reading the reviews, it looks as though people really love this device for a month or two and then come to hate it. That's been my experience.
If I'd been paying attention, I would have noticed the 3 month warranty. But I didn't because I'm used to electronic products having a 12 month warranty. Now I know better. I've had this thing just over a month and the headphone jack has already come loose. A $300 device and they skimped on the headphone jack? So now I've got to call their customer "service" (of course, no 800 number) to send the thing back.
From the other reviews I've read, it sounds like that won't be the end of my troubles. I fully expect it to go bad again in the same or some other way in the next 6 months because, as other reviewers have pointed out, the construction is pretty flimsy.
Now let's talk about the software. Like other reviewers, installation was hell. Subsequent behavior even worse. About 10% of the time it can't find the device when I attach it to my PC. After I had it a couple weeks, it got into a state where it could never find the device, no matter how often I rebooted my PC, reset the device, reloaded drivers, etc, etc. Creative's online support was no help at all. In fact, I'd have to rate it among the worst I've ever encountered.
Finally, I uninstalled and reinstalled the software, the usual measure of last resort for this sort of thing. To my amazement, even that process was error-prone. It took several days of attempts before things finally "worked" again and I haven't a clue why. That doesn't leave me with a good feeling about its future stability.
I did buy the Notmad software a week ago and found that a vast improvement. But that's a moot point now. My gut tells me the Nomad will in the long run be, at best, a 40GB portable hard drive, albeit one on which I can't create folders, or, at worst, a very expensive lesson in companies never to buy products from again (I have their Audigy sound card and find it in many ways equally frustrating). My gut tells me I'll also end up buying an iPod. Which means that in trying to save a few hundred dollars, I'll end up spending more than twice that.
Be forewarned. I would have given a 3 to 5 star review in my first few weeks, depending on how mad I felt about the crummy software. Now, even 1 star seems like I'm giving Creative the benefit of the doubt.
83 Great memory, quality?
I just bought one and returned it as defective for good reason. In a quick summation, here is what I found.
+ the memory (40 gb) is staggering. I had downloaded about 1000 songs and had room for another 9000! It may have taken several years to fill this up.
+ I had no problem using musicmatch software already on my computer to load songs and albums onto this unit
+ Screen was good, easy to read
+/- Sound quality was good but it was going to take some tweakings with settings to try to make it great.
- The software that came with it was tough to load. I got weird messages about it not being ok'd by microsoft (or something like that), then I thought it failed to load, then it loaded.
- The top that covered the battery kept poping off without much of a touch near the bottom latch. Not good if you're taking this traveling. the top did not fit well into the unit. (felt defective)
- the cover that came with it didn't fit very well
- the flywheel you use for most of the navigation wasn't in tightly and it was uneven as far as the amount of pressure to make it engage. I wasn't sure how long it would take before it would break.
- this DID NOT feel like quality construction and I wasn't sure how long it would last.
84 Important Zen Information
This player is an overall disappointment with a couple of big flaws that potential buyers should be wary of; and all readers need to know about a third party software company that resolves virtually all of the Creative MediaSource file transfer issues.
Zen Good points:
1. I achieved my basic objective; my entire CD collection is on a portable device with lots of room to store more.
2. Most MP3 players have a gap between the end of one track and the start of the next; it's annoying in music that is intended to be continuous. The Zen has minimal stoppage between tracks; when listening to music that continues from one track to the next the gap is just a hesitation - a slightly audible click; if I am not listening for the progress from one track to the next I don't even notice the click.
Flaws:
1. Creative MediaSource software is OK to rip, catalog & burn music if you are starting from scratch; but I used MusicMatch to rip my CDs before I bought the Zen (278 CDs; 3,400 tracks; 12.5Gb of music all ripped at 128bps) and guess what? MediaSource did not recognize my tags! My choices at that moment were to manually re-tag my music or re-rip using MediaSource. I don't think so. BTW, if you *are* ripping your CDs, MediaSource accesses the CDDB music catalog over the Internet and the few CDs I experimented with all provided good quality [correct & uncluttered] tag information.
2. Despite most reviewers giving kudos to the Zen for music quality, I experienced a flaw using EAX. After about 45 mins of listening there was audible static in the player. When I turned EAX off the static disappeared. When I turned EAX back on the static was also not present. Creative are *the* sound people for computers, I can't understand why EAX would introduce static. Is EAX faulty? Is my unit defective? Was I just unlucky at that moment? Was it a full moon that night? I haven't figured it out yet.
3. MediaSource is an application with serious user interface flaws. Do not underestimate this in your purchase decision. Many reviewers refer to it as "clunky" or "difficult" - heed their warnings. Some Amazon reviewers say it corrrupted their music files; I didn't use it long enough to know, but clearly you need to use it with caution.
4. The Zen *stores* data files, but does not allow a folder structure nor does it allow documents to be opened or programs to be launched from its disk (they must be copied to another hard drive to be launched). In other words, the Zen is not a convenient data storage device; only buy the capacity you need for your music collection (see point 1. for some sizing information). My goal of using it as a music player *and* data storage device has not been met; don't make the same mistake.
5. The Zen does not have a Stop button! You can stop playback by pressing 2 buttons, first the Pause button, then the "Next Track" or "Previous Track" button. But this is *not documented* in the Zen manual - neither the hard copy nor the CD version. To discover this I had to read about 10 online reviews (with many complaints about the lack of Stop button) before I found one reviewer who was smart enough to both figure it out & document it.
6. The Zen NX battery requires the AC adapter to recharge; it does not charge by USB cable; this is not tragic, but USB recharging would be a convenient (additional) choice. If you are buying a Zen Xtra check whether the battery recharges via USB; it does not on the Zen NX.
7. MediaSource did not install on my personal notebook. It referred to a "Microsoft Jet Database Engine" error and the install program suggested I download a service pack from the MS website to fix the problem; I did that and re-installed the software but had the same error. Creative provided e-mail support; I followed their advice but that failed, too. I experimented with installing MediaSource on 2 other computers at home and it worked fine. So it is probably "just bad luck" on my part that the personal notebook I own had this install error. However, it did motivate me to find a work-around solution.
Third Party Software To The Rescue
After much frustration (above) I found the Notmad Explorer; cute product name for software that resolves virtually all of the Creative MediaSource FILE TRANSFER & ORGANIZATION problems. I am not associated with the company, I am not providing a URL, but search for NotMad and you should find it pretty easily. This provides drag & drop transfers of music between the computer & Zen; each time it transfers music to the Zen it asks if you want to generate a playlist; it allows playlists developed in other software to be transferred to the Zen (.m3u files are used by most mp3 players like MusicMatch and Winamp, but not Creative - without Notmad you need to manually recreate your playlists); it doesn't care what software you use to rip or catalog your music - Creative or any other company - all my 12.5Gb of music were transferred to the Zen with correct tags - hooray! Notmad has other features too, but this is not an advertisement so please see the company's web site for more information ...
Conclusion:
If I knew then what I know now I would have paid the extra to get an iPod & avoided the Zen. Given that I already have the Zen the only reason I am happy with it is because of the Notmad software. And I am hoping the static I heard when using EAX was a blip ...
To summarize, I am using the Creative Zen as a mobile device; I am using MusicMatch to rip & catalog (and if I choose, download) music; I am using Notmad Explorer to move music & playlists between the Zen & my computer. The only Creative software I am using is the device driver(s).
85 The Best iPod Alternative
I shopped around for a while before buying a hard-drive MP3 player. I read reviews, compared specs, and visited user forums. Despite all the hype about iPods, I knew I wanted something different, because I wanted more storage than the iPod I could afford would offer, and because I wanted more flexibility in where I purchased music online. After some consideration I chose the 40GB Nomad Zen Xtra from Creative, and I have not been disappointed. I purchased it at a retail store, and got an extended warranty.
First, the battery is replacable by the user, because Creative intended it to be - unlike Apple with the iPod. It was easy enough to remove the front plate, and there was only one way the battery could be inserted. Creative also sells batteries via its website, so there's no shipping off my player and waiting for it to be sent back to me with the new battery.
The new organizer software that ships with the Nomad Zen Xtra couldn't be easier to use. Point the "Media Sniffer" to your music files and let it do the rest. You can create playlists, drag & drop songs and playlists to your player, and rip directly from CD to your player. And with USB 2.0, transferring music to your player is incredibly easy. You can also delete songs from the player itself, and create playlists - on the fly - on your player.
The sound is great, and the volume is more than satisfactory for commutes and shutting out external noise. I thought I'd have to buy a set of headphones to use with it, but the included earbuds work quite well. They could be more comfortable, but no complaints in the sound department.
I've played around with the equalizer settings and am satisfied at the range of choices I have there too. There are plenty other features that I haven't checked out, but I'm sure I soon will.
It ships with a carrying case that has a belt clip on it. However, I don't like to carry it on my belt because the clip isn't secure and the case can slip off. It happened to me once. So now I keep it in my pocket. Also, the carrying case that came with mine covers up the display, so even though the side controls are reachable, I have to open it up to see the display. It would have been better to have some sort of window on teh carrying case, so you could see the display without opening it. That's my only real complaint about the Nomad Zen Xtra, though.
86 Buy an extended warranty - you'll need it!!! :(
I'll state up front that I do not own a Zen Xtra and have not used one at all. But you might find my review useful, nonetheless.
I purchased a Jukebox 3 from Creative almost a year ago. Two months ago, an internal part failed (NOT due to customer abuse; it just failed). I got an RMA from Creative, sent my player in to them for repairs. It took them twice as long to get to my unit as they said. Moreover, they want a total of $107 to repair it. (This includes the $20 that you have to pay up front, just to get them to look at your player.)
If Creative offered a 12-month warranty on their MP3 players, I'd be covered. But they offer only a 3-month warranty (on all of their players, including the Zen Xtra). So I'm screwed.
But you don't have to be. If you buy a Creative MP3 player, be sure to get the optional extended warranty. Or better yet, buy from another company that stands behind their products with a 12-month warranty.
It's really a shame, because otherwise, Creative MP3 players are very good, and have the best sound quality of any players on the market.
87 Excellent way to carry your music collection!
After investigating a multitude of player options, I asked for and received the 60 GB Zen Xtra for Christmas. Despite its being slightly larger than the iPod, I must say I was surprised to see how small it was when I unwrapped the box! I am ripping my CD collection into 160 kbps WMA files; this gives an average of around 60-65 MB per CD, good for about 900 CDs in the ~57,000 MB of free memory available to me. File transfers are fast, nearly a song per second via USB 2.0.
Several people have complained of difficulty transferring multiple songs with the same title. THIS IS POSSIBLE!! Since the Zen Xtra does not use a folder structure, the "duplicate name" problem stems from the actual file name, NOT from the song's title/artist/album. Solution? Simply configure the MediaSource software (or Windows Media Player, or your ripper-du-jour) to create file names that include artist and (especially) album names in addition to track names. Using this method, I have not once encountered a situation where a track was rejected, and I have PLENTY of duplicate tracks on live and compilation albums. Even if there happened to be identical track titles on the same disc, you could still edit the file name manually and get them both onto the player.
My one issue with the MediaSource software is that, despite pulling ID3 tag data from the CDDS service, the ripping process fails to populate the "Year" field. Weird.
How does it sound? To my ears, a 160 kbps WMA file sounds just as good as the source CD, and the Zen Xtra sounds just as good as a portable CD player. No complaints there. The EAX features are pretty cool, as well, as Creative has included a number of EQ adjustments that, for example, compensate for the extraneous noise encountered in a car or on a train.
Navigation could be better, but there isn't really anything the Zen Xtra can't do once you've gotten comfortable with it. At the end of the day, what I wanted was a large-capacity player which allows me to easily play any album from my collection wherever I go, and the Zen Xtra's combination of price, capacity and features easily meets those criteria.
88 Review for Folks new to mp3s
I purchased this mp3 player just last night after doing some scouting around.
Here's a basic run-down from what I learned:
Flash card memory vs. Hard Drive ( i.e. Why does a 256 mb player cost $$$...and a 40 GB (40,000 mb) player only cost $...?)
mp3 players have either flash card memory or a hard drive in them. The flash card memory is more expensive but is very light and compact. That's why you have these things that can be keychain size. Tiny! mp3 players of this kind of memory are typically small and light and have between 64 mb - 1.5 GB of memory. I am averaging 4.5 mb per song, to give you an idea of how many songs you can get by the amount of memory. (1 GB = 1,000 mb)
Hard drives (this is what most iPods have - and just about all mp3 players over 3-5 GB of memory). Cheaper to produce, holds a lot, heavier and has moving parts which means it's a little more prone to damage from being banged around. That said, they are pretty sturdy machines and I wouldn't let this dissuade you from getting an mp3 with a lot of memory. Just be aware of it.
This explains why you see what appears to be such weird pricing on mp3 players. A 256 mb player (roughly 60 songs for me) is about X amount of dollars But a 30 GB (30,000 mb) player (roughly 6,650 songs) sells for only slightly more. It's because the 256 player uses flash memory (smaller/lighter) and the 30GB uses a hard drive. That's the first thing to understand. So consider what you're going to use the device for. If you're a jogger and you want to strap it to your arm, I'd recommend flash memory. If you want to listen to tunes while you travel, I'd get a hard drive because you can put so much on the thing - including audio books.
REVIEW OF ZEN XTRA - 40GB
The device is larger than an iPod of similar capacity. This didn't bother me too much because it's still a decent size. It comes with a good case that fits it snuggly. The front cover (which you remove to take out the battery) feels flimsy but when snapped on, the device still feels pretty solid. As some other reviewers noted, after it was connected to the computer for a bit, it somehow stopped reading the player so I had to replug it. It did not lock up my computer or require a reboot. The software lets you pop in a CD and then scans the internet to name the artist, track name and album name. Extremely convenient. Then it rips the tunes into mp3s and puts them on your computer. You can even skip that step and rip them directly from the cd to the player. (won't leave copy on your computer.)
The pros and cons of it: Great price. The iPod costs more for the same amount of memory. I thought the software was decent enough - it wasn't complicated to learn at all. The scroll button is sort of annoying to push - a nice button would be nicer but eh, not a big deal. It also stores data so I can see myself placing some data files on here.
It is slightly larger than an iPod, no doubt about it. For me, that was the only drawback. I'm really happy with this purchase. Also, when I installed the software, it said that Windows XP hadn't approved something with the drivers, etc - and that continuing it install may cause instability. If you're like me, that will definitely make you pause. After I reviewed the manual (a pdf file included on the cd), I felt better because they warned you about the message and said it wouldn't cause problems and, in fact, it hasn't. So if you have XP, be prepared for this and don't be alarmed.
If you are out for an mp3 player with a lot of memory and do not want to spend a ton of money, I think this is a great purchase and strongly recommend it. I would have liked to have given it 4 1/2 stars docking that 1/2 star only for the size.
89 Excellent
I got this player for Christmas & this was my first time using an MP3 player. I have a large collection of CDs and have loaded over 100 of them so far. The software is quick & easy to use & I found the entire process very easily mastered. As mentioned in other reviews the headphones are useless and need to be replaced right away! The unit works great with my cassette adapter for my car & is also easily worked without taking your eyes off the road! I have tried the Belkin TuneCast Mobile FM Transmitter but found there was too much interference. Overall it is a great unit & hopefully creative labs or some other vendor will soon come out with some accessories for it.
90 Zen versus iPod
I just got a 40GB iPod to replace my Zen (a 20GB model). While the iPod's form factor is much nicer, here's where the Zen is better.
Software: A lot of people complain about the Creative Software, but I actually find Creative MediaSource Organizer to have some strengths over iTunes. First, the Zen lets you sync to more than one computer. The iPod is a one way only machine - from computer to player. The Zen is an outstanding way to shuttle music between sources, you can't do this on the iPod (except for a cumbersome work-around using the iPod as a hard drive instead of a player). Second, the "automatic" sync on Creative lets you review the songs before it begins its transfer. Since the iPod lacks this review feature on its auto-sync and it only allows one-way transfers, the first time I connected my iPod to my laptop, I wiped out the 20GB of music I had transferred from my desktop to the iPod. If the hard drive on your computer should fail, better have your music backed up somewhere or its gone! The Zen serves as a back-up device as well as a player. Third, Creative software allows you to keep two windows open to look at both the content on the player and the computer. Only thing missing from Creative is a CD burner. Lastly, iPod/iTunes will not play WMA formatted songs. If you have a lot of those, be prepared to convert to MP3.
iTunes does what Apple is famous for, makes software that works for the less computer saavy. For those of us that like to tinker, I think Creative offers some advantages.
Player controls: Here's where the iPod drives me nuts. The player controls are too easy to hit accidentally. If you happen to push the wrong button, you can wipe out the order of songs you had put in. The iPod also does not let you see what's coming up next on the player. Zen allows you to scroll up and down the song list selected on the player. It also lets you remove songs from the play order. If you bring up an album, but absolutely hate some of the tracks, the Zen will allow you to delete that from the playing order. You have to skip to the next track when your hated song comes up with the iPod. Lastly, you cannot manage anything on the iPod itself. While you can create a temporary playlist, you can't store it permanently, delete songs, search very easily, etc. None of these features are available because of the iPod's 1-way transfers - you cannot make changes on the iPod that are premanent. Again, the iPod is a beautiful thing to look at and touch, player controls are less functional.
I think the iPod versus Zen typifies differences between Apple and Win machines. Win software can be a little cranky, but much more easier to customize to your needs. With Apple, you get a good product, but you get it the way Apple wants you to have it.
If I had to do this again, I might get the 40GB Zen. Its ability to serve as a back-up for my music collection is a huge plus.
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