It
shouldn't be surprising that Anything But iPod likes the
Creative Zen Vision:M (there does
seem to be just a little bit of bias in the site's name), and ABi's review of the Vision:M certainly does highlight the
PMP's strong points. Among the features the reviewer liked are the Vision:M's ability to play DivX and XviD, its
"superb" video quality playback, and its "very intuitive" GUI. Their biggest gripe (beyond the fact
that a video-out cable isn't available yet, and the resourceful reviewer had to resort to rolling his own in order to
test this feature)? The fact that the Vision:M isn't mass-storage compliant, meaning you have to run software to upload
content onto the device. But that's not enough to stop them from declaring that it's "everything the video iPod is
and then some." (We did mention that this review is from Anything But iPod, right?)
posted January 20th 2006 9:44AM
I can tell you that I bought the apple 5G video and had it for 4 days b4 I took it right back to the store! It was way scratched up....from the case I kept it in from day 1 !!! Bat life? maybe 2 hours at best and that is NOT constantly watching video either..........terrible terrible terrible and I really wanted to love it. Now I am in search for the vision m in PINK :)
hey some1 has found out when it is going to be available in stores? I really want to buy one but is taking ages..
I have the Vision M, my wife has an iPod, I have been using all flavors of iPods since they came out. They're nice, but not the best. There are pros and cons for both, but to all you Mac/iPod fanboys, your little apple is getting just a little bit more rotten. Apple is by far the best game in town and this player proves it. Stop complaining about size too, we're talking an inch maybe. In any case, to anyone reading through the comments, check the reviews, they speak for themselves. Nothing is perfect, but I love my Vision M and will pick it over a rotten apple anyday.
hi! im considering to buy the vreative ZVM, but id like to know if you can use the partition storage to load pictures directly from a camera (i have a canon powershot a80)with the proprietary sync cable. i know that if i do this, then i cant see the pictures... thats fine with me. id only really want to use it as an UMS. does anyone know if this can work?
Ipod has Itunes; you can purchase tv shows, music, movies, etc. from them. My friend has an ipad video and is happy with it because of itunes. I would like to purchase videos but I HATE IPODS! I would hate to buy an ipod video just because I can actually buy videos that I don't have to convert. Does anyone know if creative or any other servise besides itunes is going to sell videos? I own a zen xtra jukebox and love it. I've had it for about a year and havn't had to use the warranty. Creative might not have a 2-3 year warranty like ipod, but with creative you don't need it. With ipod you could go through 5 ipods in a year.
regarding the a/v out cable.it's like the one use in video cams except that the contacts been swapped,right?in that sense, can't you just like plug the red into the yellow or yellow to red or white to red to make it work?
This player is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, people really care about the thickness that much? I own a Vision:M and the thickness is an absolute non-issue. 19 millimeters? Wowie.
I've never seen anything like it--"OMG it's so thick. It won't fit in my small hands!"
It seems that a lot of people are trying to hold on to the idea that the ipod is still the best player out there, but as I'm sure anyone who wants to look into this knows, this player is better than the ipod. There's also the Gigabeat, which is much better than the ipod.
The Ipod isn't a terrible player by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it's starting to lose it's touch.
Oh, and one flaw the Ipod has is the iTMS. Sure everyone loves it and the interface is great, but what people forget is that if you decide that you don't want an ipod anymore, all that money you've spent on the iTMS is wasted
I know a lot of people say they don't want to rent their music, but as cheap as some of the services are (Yahoo I'm looking right at you), it shouldn't be an issue anymore.
First off about the comment that Creative hasn't created in years, they developed one of the first Mass Produced MP# players, the Nomad. The came the GUI that Apple stole, and had to pay Creative 150 million dollars to use. So dont talk about creative being crappy, when it developed the Ipod's interface. Yes the Zen is thick, but is the exact thickness of the 60GB ipod photo, so it isn't to gawdy. And the 60GB ZEN available in black and white is now shipping. My g/f owns an IPOD video, and I have the zen. So I know both worlds. And honestly there isn't a better. Ipod is thinner and has more accessories. Zen uses WMP and can partition a drive to be used as a flash drive, has a built in radio tuner, and a recording device. The 60GB also can act as a host. The people that say ZEN suck only focus on the size. Seriously, if you own ipod video, you own a bootleg zen, so get over it. Its about personal preferance.
I got my ZVM a week a go. It rocks. I just updated the firmware and yes, i can conclude that it is UMS compliant, a big win for us. They also brought back the FM recording feature with this firmware release (they had to get rid of it becasue of the RIAA). It's also much more available in stores now so it's worth buying.
P.S. Dale - the screen comparison isn't biased, I have seen alot of the ipod video and I have the creative, and that really is the differece.
I just purchused a zen vision m and i am wondering what would be a good case to get for it. I need one with an armband but also that will protect the player from scratches. Thanks for your help.
"The fact that the Vision:M isn't mass-storage compliant, meaning you have to run software to upload content onto the device." thats wrong i dont use software to upload content...
I own the 60Gb Vision:M. The price was VERY good ($269, only $20 more than the 30Gb iPod). I don't mind the thickness, I actually prefer it, it feels sturdier. The Vision:M supports more file types than the iPod, and you don't have to use iTunes (which many people despise). I have had no problems with umd compliance, though I really like the Vision:M Media Explorer.
I have had many friends with iPods, and seen many of them fail very quickly. If it isn't the iPod itself that causes problems, it is the software. I have seen many iPods fail to even be recognized by iTunes.
I pick the Creative Zen Vision:M hands down over the iPod. I've bought one for my father and myself, and I'm about to buy one for my girlfriend. I suggest it to all my friends. Many people refer to it as an iPod killer, and it could be (if it weren't for the Apple fanboys, and Creative's lack of marketing).
Small typo, Engadget...the title for this post should have been "Keepin' It Real Fake Part XVI"
What idiots. It's kind of sad, really, how desperate they are to make a competing player seem better than the iPod equivelent.
by "and then some," I think they're referring to the fact that it's like twice as thick as an iPod.
I used to have an MP3 player that wasn't mass-storage compliant. Can't even remember who made it, but it was a pain in the ass. Just want to hook my device up to the computer and drop files on it...
I don't really care about the iPod vs. Everyone argument, but the trick photography in that is pretty underhanded, it doesn't take a genius to see past it, but it does give a false impression of thinness.
So, what could have been an informative entry is instead essentially an attack on a crappy website.
Go Engadget!
I own an Ipod.....i like this Zen Vision....my biggest complaints is...thickness...and PRICE....come on! Apple has a hold on the ipod (a.k.a MP3 player) industry....bring down the price on it and im sure they will se more sales....
I have a Vision:m...it is mass storage compliant after the firmware upgrade that is now available. I don't use any software to sync up - just drag and drop from Windows Explorer.
helo sir,
i m planning to buy zen vision m. can u please tell me which firmware to upgrade to get it mass storage complaint, cause i also like to transfer files just in clicks no softwares
The thinness doesn't bother me - I think the 5G is too thin. But as much as I want the better screen, the better sound quality, and the non-appleness, I have to admit: The none-UMS-compliant part seals the deal. I'm buying an iPod. Damn. I really didn't want to be an iPod lemming.
"30GB drive"
what? no 60Gb? my music collection is 45Gb
And why buy the official viedo-out cable when you can go into Radio Shack and buy one for $5??
The video quality is "superb" by the way. Look at the side-by-side comparison with the iPod screen - there's no comparison.
Screen Comparison
Link didn't show up - here's the screen comparison:
http://www.everythingusb.com/creative_zen_vision:m_30gb.html
The review is in line with all other reviews I've seen of the same device - they all say it's great, whether they are Apple fanboys (like everyone here) or not... :-)
To bad that it was announced back in December and still not available in stores. Only Creative online store and still only the black color model.
After emailing them about when they expect to have it in stores, I got a simple response of "no idea".
No wonder Apple kicks butt, they are always ready to go.
Whoa! I wouldn't mind the extra thickness for the extra screen quality! That's incredible!
And if it now is UMS compatible, that's even better.
ch424
Creative is marketing the Zen Vision:M as a DAP, not a PMP. It outclasses the 5th gen iPod in many ways:
Much better screen? Creative
Longer video battery life? Creative
Codec support (divx, xvid)? Creative
AC Adaptor? Creative
I think the review is fairly unbiased. There are two mentions of the iPod and one of them is positive.
From the review:
"However, if I had to choose one over the other, the iPod's click wheel is more accurate and less likely to miss select menu items."
Kind of hard to call that bias.
That screen comparison is BS. Look at the black border on the iPod . . it's washed out and the whole image setting is different than the Zen thing. I have seen the iPod screen and it looks as good as they make the zen look.
The Zen Vision:M is available at Fry's nationwide http://www.outpost.com/ and J&R Music World http://www.jr.com/ in NY.
I've seen it and it's not any thicker than a 5g 60gb. Vision:M more substantial than the 5g 30gb yet still VERY light-weight!
But you can trust a site called anythingbutipod.com? Best bet is to do research before buying any product and read a variety of sites. For example look at Cnet.com; funny how they've chosen 4 Creative products 4 years in a row for best of CES, even though those other products suffered from crap-ulitis.
If Creative is only selling this product online, on their store, there will never be a large product user base. Given Creative's lackluster record of support and updates (which is important for any product that claims to play Divx/Xvid) be wary, very wary. Anyone know how much this thing costs?
PS I don't own an iPod video, or any other PMP. At least I won't unitl they support 1920x1080 HD out! Should only be 10 years or so b4 that happens.
Good thing engadget evened out the karma of the tech-blog world by adding some bias of their own.
#19 J&R only in NYC
I can't hold on off, i need a player because my old one broke.
If they just could have it already in CC and BB that would be great...
I still think their marketting sucks.
Lack of mass storage support isn't merely inconvenient -- it's deadly to anyone like me who doesn't have a Windows PC at all. The hardware looks great, but for this Mac and Linux user, it's out of the running.
PlaysForSure == CanNotUseIt
That screen comparison is a lie!!!
I've got the ipod video and it's nothing like the one on that site...It has a great quality.
BTW, ipod video looks better, is only half the thickness and makes a bigger impression :P
I think many Ipod fans continue to ignore it's biggest lack...which is that Ipod has no subscription service nor is the Ipod compatible with the growing number of subscription services that are out there. I use yahoo's subscription and I absolutely love it. I was watching MTV last night and saw two bands I thought were interesting...15 minutes later, I had 6 albums downloaded from these two bands under the subscription. I would never have been so free to purchase albums before getting the subscription.
IPOD lacks WMA compatibility. IPOD is not WMA Plays For Sure compliant. IPOD is not Media Center compliant. You have no Choice with an Ipod as all you get is Itunes. With any other media player you can choose from a growing number of places to purchase music and subscription services (Yahoo Music, MSN, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Napster, and more. You can't stream songs purchased on Itunes on a Media Center extender such as an Xbox 360.
Media Center PC's are growing in popularity and I think MC will explode with Windows Vista and everyone will soon want many of the features I listed above as standard fare.
I won't waste my money on an isolated product just because it looks cool!
My issue is the storage capacity... once my 40gb Zen Xtra goes I will have to choose between the 60Gb Toshiba or iPod. I don't want the hassle of constantly pruning my music collection to fit.
Mac's and Ipod not being Plays For Sure compliant is not an MS problem but an Apple problem!
Apple has isolated their product from being compatible with WMA and Plays For Sure.
Apple Ipod = Can't Play
No compatibility with subscription services
No compatibility with Napster, Yahoo Music, Real, Wal-Mart.com, MSN Music, BuyMusic.com, Amazon Music.
No compatibility with Media Player 10
Not Plays for sure compliant
No compatibility whith many Media Extenders on the Market.
Ipod = No choice
The vision:m's screen has more the 4 times as many colors - this is not debateable. Call the screenshots a lie all you want, but the pictures are in line with expectations when you look at the screen specs.
so can anyone verify that the new firmware does make this thing UMS compliant?
OK, so they like it - OK. Go to any ipod supporting site and you will see them liking ipods too.
Also, its AS THICK as the 60GB version. SO? I think its a matter of options... ipod plays music and videos and has solitaire. OK, great.
This has more. Not everyone is looking for an ipod. Some people are looking for something else.
Dont worry about it.
It's nice to have a CHOICE with regards to PMP's and content providers.
I guess there are many (iPod owners) who wish to deny those of us that desire choice the opportunity for such.
If the iPod platform is the truly superior digital audio player, would it not have stamped out all competition by now?
Hmnnn.. Lemme see... Nope, not by a long shot.
Golden said: That screen comparison is a lie!!! I've got the ipod video and it's nothing like the one on that site... It has a great quality.
Ummm - have you actual got the Creative so you can do a true comparison then? If not, I'd go with the lie until you see otherwise...
#24: it's impossible to be completely accurate when comparing a photo of something displayed on a screen, with real life. however, if both were taken with the same digital camera and now displayed on the same screen, the DIFFERENCE between them is still true - i.e. iPod may not look as washed out as in the photo, but the M will still be clearer in comparison.
also, you cannot (AFAIK) change saturation, and it is this point, plus the brightness settings, which were specifically pointed out in the review. it's not a lie, sorry.
as for #23: please read the other comments. it is now mass storage compliant. so PlayForSure, then =)
People, the comparison shows them under circumstances that are *not* ideal, I.E., with a healthy amount of direct light, they don't say that, but that's what it is, who the hell wants to see a screen under ideal circumstances? You're never in ideal circumstances, people, so that is moot.
Gosh, Engadget, Kiss job's ass a little harder, better yet, press your lips to a hot iron and Brand your lips to his ass, just change the site to "AppleFanBois.com" and stop being coy, if you can't recognize a good product regardless of your brand alignment, don't recognize it's existence, Audio-Technica has gotten by fine while being ignored by the tech site populace, I'm sure many others could too.
I love these though, I make sure to write down everyones name who spews Apple fanboyisms so I can ignore them in the future. =)