Creative Zen Touch 20GB MP3 Player - White

By far the best MP3 player I've ever owned

Posted Jun 27, 2007 - If you're looking for a no-thrills "just play my music" MP3 player, this one is your best choice. I got mine in early 2005, and it still works after being carried around and beat upon for 2 years (I upgraded to the Zen Vision:M however). It has great software and great user interface, and works fantastically. This player TOTALLY knocks the iPod down on the ground. It's incredibly durable and will survive a 10 foot drop onto concrete (tested, by me, by accident :-) ). It plays both MP3 and WMA formatted music, and can store many more songs than a 30GB iPod. It has amazing sound quality, and great personal EQ. It is very simple to use also. This is by far the greatest MP3 players (not "multimedia/video+photo+music players") out on the market, and if that's what your looking for, this is the choice for you.

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Great Player, but nothing else

Posted Feb 24, 2008 - This is a very good player. It has the best sound quality of any player i have owned. I also like the touch pad which makes it easy to scroll through music. This player lasted 4 years with great battery life the whole time, but the screen just recently stopped working. I am very upset at this, but liked the player so much that i might even replace it with another Zen Touch!

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I like to consider myself as a techno-geek, but I ...

Posted Dec 3, 2004 - 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.

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Since I have bought this mp3 player, i love it. I ...

Posted Oct 9, 2004 - Since I have bought this mp3 player, i love it. I would recommend this over an i pod if you want higher sound, better battery life, and alot cheaper price. The only major strength an ipod has over the Zen Touch is the size. I like the design of the Zen. It isnt that much bigger then an ipod. Another thing i like about creative players is the ability to add songs to a temporary playlist and then save it as a playlist if you want. This makes the process of playlists so much easier. There is also no specific program you have to use to transfer songs like on an ipod. Instead of having to use only itunes, on then zen you have so many programs to choose from. You can transfer simply from my computer, windows media player (supports WMP 10), and the included Creative Media Center software. I highly recommend the Zen Touch, its better then an ipod and alot cheaper. You won't be disapointed.

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I bought this for my vacation and I absolutely lov ...

Posted Sep 25, 2004 - I bought this for my vacation and I absolutely loved the convenience. The battery life is a little over 20 hours. The sound quality is very good if you invest in good headphones. The sound will only be as good as your headphones, and the ones that come with product are predictably not great. The touch scrolling is excellent, very easy and quick to find a track. The scrolling sensitivity can be adjusted, and you should experiment to find the right level of sensitivity. The weaknesses I mentioned are not big issues. Obviously since it's a hard drive and not a flash drive it is a bit heavy, and this will change in subsequent generations. Anyone over the age of 40 who remembers when your only option for wireless music was a transister radio will smile when you hold one of these, because its size, design, and heft remind me so much of those days but of course now my whole CD collection travels with me with no static, no DJs, etc. Also the carrying case is designed poorly since you can't access the controls without taking it completely out of the case, but I didn't buy it for the case, and you can buy after market cases anyway. Some people have said there's a need to reset the player a lot. I've had it a month, played it for probably more than 150 hours, and I had to reset it only once, and that was within the first hour of purchase. I attached a paper clip to the case just in case it needed resetting as often as my pocket pc, but I've never had to use it. This is my third Creative product. I have the Nomad TX. I also have the portable speakers that I used with my Zen Touch for good enough sound quality if not outstanding. I'd buy all three of these products again.

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I have had this player for a week and absolutely l ...

Posted Nov 25, 2004 - I have had this player for a week and absolutely love it. For several days I reviewed products trying to find a player cheaper than the comparable $300 iPod, and I settled on the Zen Touch. Now I am reviewing it for myself. The battery life in this thing is phenomenal. I received 20 hours of use the first time I used it. I live 7 hours from my school and I take the train back and forth, and this was one of the main reasons I steered clear from the iPod. As far as sound quality, this player will not disappoint. With a set of high quality headphones (all factory headphones stink anyway) the rich sound produced by this machine blows me away. Anybody who seriously listens to music knows that you can't skimp on sound quality, and believe me, the Zen Touch pull through. I don't mind the size of the machine since the difference between this and the iPod is very small. The software that comes with it is very useful and easy to use and is recommended for creating playlists and ripping cds. My only complaint is the restrictive carrying case. None of the buttons can be accessed when the case is on the player so you have to take it on and off to change songs. The case also adds considerable bulk to it. Creative Labs also doesn't offer any accessories for it (yet). Many people have complained about the touchpad being too sensitive but you can turn down the sensitivity. However, to me the ease of use of the iPod's touchpad makes the iPod the superior product in that regard. Overall, this is one outstanding player. The quality and craftsmanship of it are second to none. While your friends' iPods lose their charge and become $300 paper weights, you'll lose their friendships because you'll be the only one listening to music while they have to seek each other for entertainment. I bought this product for $80 cheaper than iPod, and I feel like I received the better product at the same time. It's time to get your hands on the iPod killer.

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This is a wonderful player. It plays all of the f ...

Posted Oct 2, 2004 - This is a wonderful player. It plays all of the formats that I care about and is really easy to use. The included software is straightforward and makes managing the selections easy. Perhaps most importantly for me, the battery life is insanely long. The price to performance ratio is awesome.

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This Product is the Ipod killer. I used to have an ...

Posted Oct 15, 2004 - This Product is the Ipod killer. I used to have an Ipod but this product is just amazing. It looks better than the Ipod, is as easy to use and install,longer battery life, and just has superior sound. To bad that they dont make a 40gb version.

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1 year later...

Posted Dec 14, 2005 - I want to follow up as i have had this player for just over a year now. After a year of use I am very impressed with the units durability and battery life. I still get at least 16-20hours of use of it a year later which is more than most ipod's claim to provide from the beginning. The touchpad took some getting used to but for me (low sensitivity) it just took practice. The software is great for the computer and I like how it doesn't try and synch up every time like itunes can. It is PC based and can play Windows media files without converting which is a huge bonus. Coversions on ipod's can take a minute or so per song which is very tedious. The biggest pro has to be the durability. Over a year later it is still going strong. I have 5 friends who got ipods at the same time and they won't even turn on. While apple will probably fix them it's a huge pain. They're hoping they just buy a new player anyhow....I like my electronics to last and the creative definitely does that. The reliability is far better than an ipod.

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Great DURABLE mp3 player

Posted Jan 11, 2006 - This is a great MP3 player. The most notable exceptional quality (at least for me) is that it is literally unbreakable. Most of my friends have ipods which broke quite often after they dropped them. Well, my creative is covered in dents from me dropping it, and still works almost great. Im 17 and quite active. During the summer i went to Russia for 2.5 months and had this player on me all the time. It has been dropped on the cement floor of my friend's garage( about 3 foot fall from a ledge) at least 30 times, it was soaked in beer and other alcoholic substances multiple times, and was once left under the rain for a few hours. This thing just wouldnt give up. The creative also has great ways of getting to the music u want (as most other mp3 players but still). You can search by title, artist, album, genre, and playlist. There is shuffle, shuffle repeat (which for example shuffles all songs withing a certain album or artist and then starts over once it played all songs), repeat, and a bunch of others. The only thing for the playlist that i dont like is that the player is a bit lazy and sometimes you would get 3 songs in a row of the same artist from like 250 total songs in the pl just cuz those ones are close to each other on the hard drive. The LCD is very bright and you can see it the dark and direct sunlight perfectly well. The only thing i have against the display is that despite the fact that you enter the time and date, there is no way to display it. I just think thats retarded but it doesnt detract that much from the player. Everyone also bad-mouths the touchpad, but i dont think its too hard to get used to... a few hours max. Also i really like the Creative software just because it is really easy to use. Now what i didnt like so much: First of all when i got this player, it broke within 2 days. It was partially my fault plus Creative replaced it relatively quickly (got it back exactly a week after sending it out) no questions asked. Also the played is a bit too big and heavy. Its nothing horrible - just a bigger than the ipod. Its not that compfortable to put in your pants pocket, but the belt clip and inside jacket pocket work great for me. Also to be very unoriginal im going to say that the belt clip isnt that great because there are no openings to directly access the buttons. However since all you really need is 3 buttons (forwad, rev, and sometimes "random") you can get by. Those buttons arent located right next to eachother and unless you are slow you can figure out relatively where to press to get those buttons. By the way also get ready to buy some new headphones - this is the same with any player you buy. Recently, after much additional abuse, my touch started messing up. Sometimes if you try to scroll up, it will scroll down. This happens randomly and is a big inconvenience, but you have to consider the fact that this player has been through hell and back in the year+ i had it. Thats about it. To sum it up: Great player which you can use to throw at people if you want or for self defense. Will not break and provide you with hours of music. Dont forget that it really DOES have a 24 hour battery life. Sometimes it lasts me upto 3 days without a recharge which is much more than any other player can provide. By the way i took it apart and saw that is has shock resistant plastic bars on top and bottom which protect the hard drive which is also protected by the battery from the top. BUY THIS

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The top mp3 player out there.

Posted Jul 6, 2005 - I bought this mp3 player as a substitute for a CD player and boy was i amazed. I researched mp3 players for about 5 months, I know as much about them as almost anyone, and decided to purchase this one for many reasons: Battery Life: WHOA!!! creative boasts 24 hours for this mp3 player but i have got a lot more out of it. I played the player for a couple of days until i was on one bar of battery. Creative advises to run the player completely down before recharging so thats what i did. I started playing it at 10 PM> I played it through the night, woke up and it still had one bar. I came home at 3:00 PM and it was still Running!!! Capacity: Because it doesnt have many features, it makes up for it in size. As of know i am holding 2000 songs on it and am adding more. Sound quality: There is no match for this quality. thats all i have to say. PS. BUY GOOD HEADPHONES!!! Price: $210 pretty cheap Design: Nice, touchpad is really easy after a day or so. Not much to be worried about Software: EEEH Creative mediasource is horrible but the driver has its own software. Use that one Size: a little to big but for a $210 investment u want something solid in ur hand. Conclusion: this mp3 player is the top of the top and is a serious contendor for the top spot on the mp3 player board. I recomend buying this over any other player. Also the creative zen micro is also a good investment if u want a smaller model.

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An excellent all-around player with good build qua ...

Posted Jan 22, 2005 - An excellent all-around player with good build quality, infinite battery life, and quick transfer (w/ USB 2.0). As long as you don't really need to carry your Mp3 player in your jeans pocket, the Zen Touch is a perfectly manageable size, and comes with a sturdy elastic/leatherette belt clip. One curiosity: Since I have a dog at home, one day I took the player out of my pocket and noticed a mysterious scratch. The surface was perfectly even, though, and the display was still in perfect condition, so I concluded that a dog hair must have wedged itself between the screen cover and the display itself. Doesn't affect the quality or ease of use, though!

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Simply: great

Posted Sep 13, 2005 - I've had my zen touch for over a month. I've never had to reset the thing, which another reviewer mentioned, and I've never had it re-build the data or whatever it's called. It's operated flawlessly. I paid $190 for it, which is $110 less than the 20gb IPOD that this competes with. Also, unlike the apples, there isn't going to be a class-action lawsuit over Creative's batteries. I've yet to run it down. It's also nice that it will charge off the USB OR the wall-plug. The reason I looked into mp3 players in the first place was because the earphone jack on my laptop wore out. One thing that's nice about the Zen touch, if you hook your headphones to the Zen Touch, you can still use your computer to click on the songs you want to listen to, and the sound will come out of the Zen's earphones! I was pleasantly surprised this was possible, and was able to stick the player off the desk and not fiddle with it while working. The unit is built ruggedly, I know some people complained about its size and weight, but compared to the plastic-toy feel of the IPODS, I'm glad Creative made something a little more resilient.

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Creative Zen Touch 20GB Player

Posted Jul 11, 2005 - I love it. Had a Rio Carbon, but had all kinds of problems with it. The Zen Touch 20GB is a little larger in size than I wanted to carry, but I'm very happy with it. The earphones/buds are not very good, but I got the Sony, noise-canceling earbuds, and really enjoy them. The software that comes with the Zen Touch is great and easy to use. Let's you convert formats and bit-rates when tranferring from PC to player. I've loaded over 500 songs, at 192 kps, in WMA format, and still have 17GB of free space.

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Best One Out There

Posted Apr 26, 2006 - I have had my player for one year and I love it. The battery life is wonderful. It can hold over 10,000 songs when the songs are downloaded in WMS format. I only have 200 songs right now. One day I left it playing all day from 9:00am to 3:00am the next day and still did not have to charge my battery until two days later. As far as the headphones, I would buy new ones anyway because usually when you buy any type of music device the headphones are always terrible. Oh yes, and the price was very nice. It is bigger than most MP3 players but that is because of its memory size. The bigger the memory size the bigger the device. My suggestion to the buyer is to research the different products to find what is right for them. I researched and found that the Creative Zen Touch 20GB was perfect for me. I made an excellent choice.

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