Creative NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra 40GB MP3 Player

Now that I have over 4000 songs on it and have use ...

Posted Mar 10, 2005 - Now that I have over 4000 songs on it and have used is for a while, this player is showing its worth. What first sold me on it was the great reviews its gotten and being 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of a similar Ipod. The player has not failed me on these. In general I like this player. It can hold a lot of songs (over 4,000 so far, with plenty of room left), and can be accessed by track, album, band and genre. So find a track is relatively easy (well kinda, it gets harder with increasing number of tracks, but this is not necessarily the problem of this player.) The program that comes with the player to organize and rip music works but is definitely the slickest piece of software out there. One great advantages of this player is that you can create playlists on the fly (on the player and on your computer.) Although with over 4000 tracks its getting more combersome to do this on the player (a hole lot of scrolling involved). Another advantage is the removable battery. Although I must mention that without the case to cover the release button, it can be too easy to remove (i.e. accidentally opens the lid). This player is relatively durable,especially when in the provided case. The player itself has a metal covering, and then the case is relatively well padded. After dropping the player on the ground its still going without a problem. Now for the negatives: The scrolling wheel is definitely not as convenient as the ipod. Creative has moved to design similar to ipods on it new player, so I think they realize this inconvenience. With that said, the wheel works fine and I've gotten used to it. Another thing I've gotten used to is the size. This player is a little larger than an ipod, especially the newer ones (don't even compare it to a ipod mini, it will seem like a Hummer). But again, I've gotten used to the size, which really is not that big, especially if the case is removed. So with all these positives and negatives, would I buy it again? Definitely considering the price. (I would not pay the same price as an ipod though). For the price, this player is great and performs its job. Now that Creative has gotten smart and increased the warrantee to 1 year, there is not as pressing need to get an extended warrantee (although its probably a good idea, although it will probably be obsolete in a year like so many other electronics.)

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After a year my only complaints are: 1) Twice I h ...

Posted Nov 10, 2005 - After a year my only complaints are: 1) Twice I have had the unit lock up on me, screen is visible but you can't select anything. Had to pop open the battery to reboot it, which is easily done 2) Many times after I start it up the first one to three songs have back ground noise which sounds like distortion. I clears up by the end of the third song. Otherwise it has been very dependable although I only use it about 18 to 24 hours per month when flying.

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The NOMAD Zen Xtra is an excellent MP3 player. It ...

Posted Oct 19, 2004 - The NOMAD Zen Xtra is an excellent MP3 player. It is perfect for use in car and/or home stereo or listening to at work. It's size and weight does not work well for running, but not a problem on stationary bike, eliptical, or treadmill. The nomad explorer (works within windows explorer) is very easy to use. Creative MediaSource is a decent program for organizing your music collection, but not great enough to replace existing software (i use musicmatch, wife uses media player). Overall we are very pleased.

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First, the price is right. The 40GB Nomad Zen Xtra ...

Posted Nov 28, 2004 - First, the price is right. The 40GB Nomad Zen Xtra costs less than the 20GB iPod. So, you get more storage space for less money. Second, it handles MP3 and WMA files, so you have a broader range of choices in format. The biggest thing that sold me on the Zen Xtra was the ability to create a playlist on the fly. While I'm playing a song, I can search for other songs and put them in the list to play when the first one finishes. It is so easy to use, I was able to create an on-the-fly playlist of 30 songs with one hand while one song was already playing. I also like the flexibility of file formats and transfers. Sound is great. Battery life is great. The EAX sounds fantastic. Listening to the classical songs that came with the Zen and closing my eyes made me feel that I was at a concert. Bravo Creative!

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This is a very nice MP3 player. The sound quality ...

Posted Oct 25, 2004 - This is a very nice MP3 player. The sound quality is fantastic, as good or better than any other MP3 player I've heard, including the iPod. The interface is just "ok"; the scroll wheel is a little jumpy, as some have said. The only other complaint I have with this device is it is fairly large - it'll fit in your pocket, but barely. The new Zen Touch is much more pocket sized, if you want a small MP3 player, that might be a better choice.

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My first mp3 player purchase. I was choosing betwe ...

Posted Dec 2, 2004 - My first mp3 player purchase. I was choosing between the iPod 40GB and this one, and honestly, the only reason why I would consider an iPod was the click-wheel. But I hardly regret choosing a Creative Nomad Zen Xtra player to the iPod. The longer battery life, lighter weight and cheaper cost are more than worth it, especially when the EAX sound quality is very good. Without doubt the better choice of the 2!

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Excellent bang for the buck. The softwware install ...

Posted Oct 21, 2004 - Excellent bang for the buck. The softwware installs smoothly (Win XP SP1) and is easy to use to say the least. All you need to know is how to use windows explorer. The quality of the headphones is pretty decent. It also comes with a nice leather case.

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I love being able tostore all of my files onthe xt ...

Posted Aug 11, 2004 - I love being able tostore all of my files onthe xtra. Not only my whoel music library, but all of my pictures, programs and other files simply by dragging them to nomad explorer, there were a few errors with the transfer of my 32gigs, but it must have been my files, I have not yet tried to transfer files to another computer, btu I have a bad feeling I will have to install drivers on any computer I use it on. As a portable hard drive that will store all of my files, plus play my mp3s using simple menus, it's a great product, and the price is right. The EAX settings are also fun to play with, adding a little more to your listening experience. One thing that i would like to see from creative is a bundled program to manage the music on the xtra and computer. The Rio music manager is a good example of this, I found the creative software not very helpful when trying to organize my music to make it easier to find on the player.

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it is a great machine, the sound is awesome, the b ...

Posted Sep 7, 2004 - it is a great machine, the sound is awesome, the battery can support around 15hs of playing, and also it is easy to use. I even didn't read the mannul before my first operation. However, the most upset thing is, you have to install the drive on you computer before you can use it, either as a mp3 or a portable storage. So far, for a mp3 player, it is great, while as a portable hard drive, you should bring the installation CD with you.

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I liked Zen a lot. It has a high quality looking d ...

Posted Oct 7, 2004 - I liked Zen a lot. It has a high quality looking design, with lots of storage space. I even use it as a mobile drive to carry some files. The price is very affordable. And Creative is a very good company with high quality customer support.

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You might have heard that this mp3 player has some ...

Posted Dec 4, 2004 - You might have heard that this mp3 player has some issues such as the headphone jack and the pop-off lid. However, Creative fixed these problems with the newer models. So far the only problem I have had is a playback error with some of my mp3s. All these mp3s were from one album. This could have been just a problem with the songs, but they play fine on my computer. Other than that, the Zen Xtra plays all mp3s. It's not as bulky as some people may say. It's just that it's a little hard to grip the whole thing with one hand. It can at least fits into almost any kind of pocket if your not using the clip on the travel pouch that come with it. But for the price per GB, it's definitely worth it. I have been carrying around this mp3 player everywhere with me, and it's very nice to have around. The only thing I have to figure out now, is how to fill up that 40gb space.

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This product is amazing. I cannot believe I was go ...

Posted Mar 4, 2005 - This product is amazing. I cannot believe I was going to spend $400 on an ipod, when the Zen Xtra is every bit as good (if not better) for about half the money. The fact that it has a user replacable battery alone makes this product better than an ipod (which charges $99+shipping to have the battery changed). Other than that, the Zen xtra is just as easy to use and sounds at least as good as an ipod. And, did I mention, it's HALF THE PRICE!!

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This is an excellent buy. Simple to work with and ...

Posted Dec 27, 2004 - This is an excellent buy. Simple to work with and music organization is great. Terrific sound especially when using the very detailed EAX equalizer function. Even though it's a little bigger than some on the market, you can't beat the price for 40GB of music enjoyment.

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I am very pleased with the purchase of this produc ...

Posted Nov 16, 2004 - I am very pleased with the purchase of this product. It was quite an exercise to do all of the research to find which mp3 player would be best for me, but after all of the legwork I decided on the Zen. It has all of the space I need, sounds great, and has lots of cool features. I can't seem to find a better reason to buy any other - especially the overpriced, over iconed symbol, Apple iPod. I really don't think one should spend more money (or more time learning the product) only to become another one of the crowd. The Zen is GREAT!

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On the things that actually matter, this product g ...

Posted Jan 8, 2005 - On the things that actually matter, this product gets ***** with me. I take it everywhere. It holds my whole music collection and I have only used about 1.5 gigs of memory. It really is worth the price. The weaknesses can be esily remadied with some common sense. (The aluminum can be remadied by putting it in the protective case {thats what its there for} the headphones-just buy some new ones, they aren't expensive, the size- there is a belt clip on the leather case that I use all the time, just hook it on ur pocket, and your good to go.) One thing really intriguing about this product is the software that comes with it. I really like it. I think its really easy to use, and it hasn't crashed my system once yet. Everyone complains about how hard it is to figure out, well, its drag and drop, and to get to the mp3 player's library, its another drag and drop menu. I cought on quickly. Overall, I like this player, a lot. It is reliable (it has never locked up on me) Relatively large compared to the Ipod, but still manageable, and it just looks cool. If you are considering a hard drive based mp3 player, and don't want to spend $400 on a 40 gig Ipod, consider the creative zen xtra, its worth your money.

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