Rated 
Started Dec 3, 2004
Strengths: Great design, excellent sound quality, simple to use, great value for the price
Weaknesses: Not as many "extras" as other players, touchpad is a little hard to get used to
I like to consider myself as a techno-geek, but I have to admit that I have been VERY late to the digital music scene - still living in the basic CD world.
I decided to buy myself an early Christmas present during Thanksgiving and get an MP3 player. I did a TON of research. First, I had to decide if I wanted a flash-memory-based player or a hard-drive based. I decided didn't need it for workouts or active movements and wanted more space, so I ruled out the flash-based players.
Then, I had to decide between the 4-5 GB players and the 20-40 GB players. For the 4-5GB players I considered the Ipod Mini, the Rio Carbon, and the Creative Zen Micro. I think if I had gone for the 4-5GB players, I would have bought the Creative Zen Micro (very very cool).
But, I ultimately decided to go for the 20-40GB because I wanted to fit my entire CD collection on the player and not have to worry at ANY point of running out of room. So, then I narrowed it down to the Ipod and the Creative Zen Touch.
Obviously the Ipod is a great player - great design, sound, etc. But I have to say that the Zen Touch stacks up nicely and I got it for about $100 cheaper. So, here begins the real review after just a couple of days of intense usage.
Design - I love how this thing looks. It's a little heavy, but fits nicely in the hand and has a really solid feel. I think it looks just as cool, albeit different, than the Ipod. Nice layout of buttons, external volume controls, and the middle touchpad. Ah, the touchpad - I have read such varying opinions about this. I have to say it probably isn't the best feature, but it works adequately. I actually think that turning it up to high sensitivity makes it easier to use instead of low (but that's just me).
Sound - Can't complain here...probably one of the best I've heard and I'm not really an audiophile so that's probably not saying much, but for the average listener the sound is really great.
Features - It has everything you would basically need...but not all of the extras - doesn't have FM tuner or direct recording. But it has basic navigating through your library features, playlist creation and editing, a nice random feature. I would say the Ipod has a better navigation and screen layout.
Software - I was using Windows Media Player, but I think I'll start using the Creative Media Source...it rips cd's very easily and make managing your library on your computer and Zen Touch quite seemless.
Battery life - claims are for 24 hours...I would say I got somewhere more like in the 16-20 hour range, but I had the volume on high and my wma files were ripped at 160-192 kbps.
I'm sure there's more I could write that I can't think of at this time, but if you're thinking about a 20GB player, don't automatically just buy the Ipod...consider the Zen Touch as well. You will be more than satisfied with a lot of money leftover in your pocket.
Report this as inappropriate
