Creative's MuVo S200

Aw Creative, from bad to worse. Why would you, of all companies, postured so aggressively, release a 256 / 512 / 1GB player like the MuVo that has a orange PLED 96 x 36 pixel display, runs on AAA batteries, and uses that same tired 5-way control stick? In fact, the only thing notable is the built-in lyric readouts on the display (if you've got the lyrics, of course) and PlaysForSure support, which means you're gonna have to do better than that to beat Apple or SanDisk's bargain basement offerings. Especially if you're gonna try and get away with charging the usual Creative premium on these things.

[Via HiFi Blog]

[Mike @ Mar 17th 2006 12:49PM]

This is just more proof that Sim Wong Hoo is an idiot. The Zen Vision units were a step in the right direction, even though the M looked like kid-friendly iPod, it had some killer features.

Looks like SanDisk is the one making a play with their new e200 line of players.

BTW - I played with Samsung's new Nano-Wannabee... not impressed. Nothing to see here, move along.

[Kinetic @ Mar 17th 2006 1:39PM]

and.. what mp3 doesn't support lyrics (except ipods) ? ... they should stop dreaming killing ipods and go their own way. Idiots.

[iDZ @ Mar 17th 2006 1:47PM]

i count 26 different models of mp3 players on their website. it would an hour to figure out which one is right for me. and so the answer: none of them.

[David @ Mar 17th 2006 2:43PM]

#2, the iPods (atleast the nano and 5G ones anyways) can show lyrics

[David @ Mar 17th 2006 2:45PM]

and yeah, Creative does have way too many DAPs, they need to get rid of like 20 of them and just keep the Zen Vision, Zen Vision:M, Zen Micro, and Zen Nano

[Steve Jobs @ Mar 17th 2006 3:29PM]

hi, i'm a troll. spam me please: [e-mail]

[john @ Mar 17th 2006 3:37PM]

Personally I LOVE my Muvo TX. Sold my archos gmini and ipod and this is the only one I keep (to each his own).

Features I can't live without:
1. AAA Battery (or generic, for that matter)
2. Thumb drive (can hookup to any computer w/o cables)
3. SMALL - so small/light it's always nearby

Handy but not crucial:
4. FM Radio
6. Recording

Waiting for a 2GB version of the tx, or something similar...

[Steve Jobs @ Mar 17th 2006 3:52PM]

hi, i'm a troll. spam me please: [e-mail]

[Dave @ Mar 17th 2006 4:01PM]

"Yup. And every 6 months, pull a Steve Jobs and release something much better for the masses to cry about."

Let's see, there's been 5 different full-size iPods, 2 versions of the Mini, 1 version of the Shuffle, and 1 version of the Nano. That's 9 different iPods in the 5 years since it's been introduced. Meanwhile, Creative has almost 3 times that many in it's current lineup. Good job almost making a point while ripping on Apple at the same time.

[zip22 @ Mar 17th 2006 4:25PM]

undesign (has your steve jobs fantasy really progressed so far that you think you've become him?), the sony puck got only 35.6 hours in cnet's test. 70 hours is ridiculous. AA/AAA batteries are a con for many people becuase
-the cost extra
-they are an added hassle
-they make the player bigger

for someone who is travelling a lot, an AA/AAA player might be a better choice, but for the majority of people who can charge something at least a few times a week, built in li-ion are much simpler and cheaper.

[Jonathan @ Mar 17th 2006 7:11PM]

Just wondering, how do they do that mirror effect on the pic? I've seen a lot of places and just wondered.

[Louis @ Mar 17th 2006 8:43PM]

Uh, mirror effect?

1) Copy layer
2) Flip layer
3) Apply 30% transparency
4) Create new layer
5) Gradient fill, 0% -> 100% opacity
6) Flatten image
7) Crop image

[Fab @ Mar 18th 2006 6:49PM]

I wish I had a Muvo

[tekdroid @ Mar 20th 2006 5:06AM]

standard, removable batteries rule.

[Too_Cool_FOr_This @ Mar 20th 2006 1:19PM]

lol, man this is just terrible...