http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/and their warranty policy really reflects that. I won?t be buying
anything from them, I have learned my lesson.

-I bought two Zen Vs in October to replace two aging (4+ years old) MP3
players; my wife?s original hard-disk Zen (died the week before) and my
iriver H10 (still going strong)
-I used my Zen V sparingly, mostly connecting it to the aux on my car
stereo (I typically use my phone as my MP3 player)
-After 4 mos. the screen on my Zen goes black for no reason. The rest
of the unit works fine, just no screen, so now it is essentially
useless.
-I contact Creative assuming it would still be under warranty for
defects. NOT!
-Creative only has a 90-day labor warranty, after that you?re sunk.
-Their response: pay a non-refundable $25.00 fee just to ?look? at
fixing it. If repairs cost more than that you are charged for it.
Apparently if repairs cost less creative pockets the difference. Not
much incentive to make lasting products, quite the opposite.
-My response: pay almost 50% of the purchase price to fix a defective
product? No thanks Creative. Unfortunately it is too small to be a
paperweight.

I should have learned my lesson before, as the first Zen I bought
several years ago I had to return for a replacement also (this is the
one that died prompting the purchase in the first place), but Creative?s
warranty period was better back then. No surprise it is shorter now.

Do yourself a favor and find a company that stands behind their
products for more than 90 days. The iriver H10 I purchased 4 years ago
is still working fine and they have a 1 year warranty.

Better yet, invest in an iPhone or a Windows Mobile phone. I have a
Cingular 2125 Windows mobile device that I used more than the Zen V
anyway. It syncs just as easily to my PC, has 4GB of storage rather than
2, has a better and larger screen, plays higher quality video and works
flawlessly as a music player?.not to mention it syncs to my work and
home email, calendar, tasks, etc. And you can play games. And make phone
calls. Why did I even purchase the Zen in the first place?
]]>Apr 1st 2008 6:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Creative should enjoy it while it lasts... nice to see decent competition, though. It can't hurt.]]>Jun 21st 2006 10:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 10:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
i also think that this device should have the nano beat since Creative has had almost a year of development time to improve on it. i'd like to see the new nano revision to see how apple responds to this.

with that said, it's a great device and i think it should win alot of people over. i think creative can do without the ipod comparisons, on their own, they are superb players.]]>Jun 21st 2006 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
not true im afraid, not good enough processing power for video. plus i think theyll keep the nano without.]]>Jun 21st 2006 11:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
Has Creative figured out that in order for this to be a success they need to accessorize?

The answer so far? Nope. Call me when they're talking about the "Cottage Zen Industry"]]>Jun 21st 2006 11:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/I'm with you on the no AAC thing. I would probably go out and get this if it had support for un-drm'd aac playback. Sony, interestingly enough, will be supporting AAC (though I'm not sure Id buy anything other than a cell phone from them right now).]]>Jun 21st 2006 11:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 11:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/And i'm sure that smart people out there would probably use the video function for short clips such as Viral Videos or stuff from YouTube to show off to their friends...
I actually rate Creative's mp3players above that of Apples because they each have individualistic charateristics that set them off from each other, instead of the same color/characteristics that the ipods have which basically puts them in the "iSheep" status.
As you can basically see, Apple is taking the easy way out by recreating the same designs on their ipods...which probably is the main buying point for consumers who are too afraid to add a little spice in their lives with color...You guys really need to give Creative the upperhand here for having the best designs on their mp3players...And apple will one day have to move on from their basic design on their ipods because consumers want to see something new from time to time and not the same old boring thing with something "new" inside them...

iCreate :)]]>Jun 21st 2006 12:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://forums.monsternet.org/index.php?topic=24.0]]>Jun 21st 2006 12:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 12:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
I hope that Toshiba follows up with 4-8GB versions of their new S Series. Scaled down to Nano size of course, but a little thicker.

Yes, I'm aware of the P Series... 512MB and 1GB just don't cut it. Not a fan of its design either, again too plastic!]]>Jun 21st 2006 1:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
Otherwise, it looks like a great device and I love the line-in support, but making it a challenge to connect to non-Windows machines is a big downer.]]>Jun 21st 2006 1:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/and yeah and bring on the accessories...]]>Jun 21st 2006 1:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 1:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 1:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
If... WHEN... MS releases it's own mp3 player and related music service, you can kiss all it's present partners... oops, future victims, goodbye.

Creative, SanDisk, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Napster, MTV/Urge, Real, etc, like Netscape, will find it hard to beat "good enough" and "just there" when it's imbedded within Windows/Vista/whatever...

Who could not have seen this coming?

(Watch out Dell, HP, etc when the xBox expands beyond it's niche as a "games machine"... it's basically a "regular computer" as it is and it's probably only anti-trust concerns that's keeping it that way, for now :-))

...

]]>Jun 21st 2006 1:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
Are you a moron? Your basically saying Apple should change just for the sake of having something different. The iPod is SIMPLE its intuitive people can look at it and just intuitively know what to do to get it to work. I've seen old ladies with iPods. Apple has been able to touch every age group with their easy to use interface. Accessories for iPods are transferable to the next because for the most part they use a standard port available on every iPod, iTunes is SIMPLE drag the songs you want onto your iPod or sync them and they are magically there. iTunes works with EVERY generation of iPod anyone who buys new iPod doesn’t need to install new software because iTunes again works with all iPods new or old.]]>Jun 21st 2006 2:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 2:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 2:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
--

Um, but you forgot something.. this thing doesn't fit in a human hand. Actually, it's too small, so your thumb won't be able to comfortably press the buttons.

Using two hands on an MP3 player? Nice, Creative...]]>Jun 21st 2006 2:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 21st 2006 2:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
So a little color change is the key to the buyer's heart? Obviously your basic logic control board is mulfunctioning. The real value of iPod lies in the clickwheel. THAT is the technology which captures audience. Color is an add-on or an extra but not the key.

If color really works that well, why doesn't Godiva just do candy coating and make their chocolate like M&M's? Or perhaps you think your other half will be thrilled over a pack of M&M's rather than Godiva?]]>Jun 21st 2006 2:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
And I agree with blee on the comment. But maybe he's too harsh on you calling you a moron. That's a bit too direct and hurtful.

You are just mentally challenged. :))]]>Jun 21st 2006 2:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
Everyone can work an mp3player that has the universal "Play" symbol on it...

It's just that iPods are for people that are scared sheep who can't be individuals (sorry for that, apple fanboys).

by the way, I own a zen micro, so sue me for not conforming to your low standards.]]>Jun 21st 2006 3:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
1) It doesn't support UMS. Brilliant. That means you're stuck using Creative's ultra-crappy software to transfer music to it in addition to losing the sheer utility of that capability.

2) No AAC support. This one is exceptionally retarded but par for the course for Creative.

3) No OGG support. This is basically a freebie for them but they won't do it. Everything I have is in WMA and OGG. So no OGG means no deal. The code to support OGG is already written and freely available so I don't get their problem.

Creative continues to push out losers. They don't get it and they never will. I've only seen them improve the hardware. Everything else remains in stasis which is why they will always remain far behind anything Apple does.]]>Jun 21st 2006 5:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
The thing I like about the nano; the Payment style Apple allows for the replacement iPOD cash check or credit card, and yes the nano has originality, one person may have a scratch here, while another person may have 3 scratches there, and one person may have a broken screen. You see, they are each unique! The best part is the can opener style of replacing your battery by hand.
But rest assured, I enjoy my easy battery swap with my Zen, I don't enjoy this new “V” player a lot, It seems like a weak jab at the iPOD crowd, you have way to much time on your hands if you can sit there and watch a video on a screen that small (this goes for iPOD also) And they took a page from Apples book with that stationary battery...
I’ll just walk around with this Zen Micro for a while until I find a better player (in my eyes a better player, not some “hype cults” idea of a good player)
If this one dies on me, I’ll wip out my 60$
SanDisk player for a while.
]]>Jun 21st 2006 6:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
"Simple drag and drop your data files between ZEN V and your computer. No complicated or messy driver installations necessary."

"Mass Storage Device: Yes. For data files only"

There are options for non-win32 peeps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol#Implementations) but really, who wants to jump through those hoops?]]>Jun 22nd 2006 2:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
What is the justification for their predjudice?]]>Jun 22nd 2006 2:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
Apropos last comment, sorry like CNET (if true), I am not an Apple fanboy because of its closed nature and so as for many others, this may do the trick very nicely...]]>Jun 22nd 2006 7:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 23rd 2006 1:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/You are an idiot. Just as anyone that refers to iPod users as iSheep is! The iPod competes on equal footing to all other MP3 players, it's just more successful, why? cos it's a better product, it has better design, computer integration, compatibly and online store. Other players just don't have the same care and attention to detail that the iPod has and are really just hacked together to make a quick buck. Apple's range of iPods consists of 3 decent models, while Creative has about 15 models which are all crap.

Further players which have the Universal Play logo are simply NOT Universal as they only work with Windows and Microsoft based online stores.]]>Jun 24th 2006 8:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Oct 17th 2006 7:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
What I want to know is why Apple does not add an AM/FM tuner already - this is something 90% of the market would like.

Is it the aftermarket tuner manufacturer's they don't want to offend - does Apple want Belkin to keep selling $3 dollar radio tuners for $100 dollars?

I think its just a matter of time until people wise up to some of these "extra" features and start checking out other players like this Creative one - we have a whole generation of people who are now familiar with this technology and might look a bit further for the next purchase. ]]>Jun 24th 2006 2:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/you are the idiot. Creative has many quality built mp3 players. I have noticed a huge difference between Creative and apple. iPods are flimsy peices of crap that dont last. Especially that crappy nano. Creative obviously has more features built in and are alot sturdier than iPods. And ooohhh..the iPods play videos, but you have to freakin convert them to mpeg4. At least Creative has some brains and allow many diff types of files to be put on their products. Oh wait, and Creative's products have universal usb jacks!!?? And they can be used with many types of software?? wow, too bad iPods cant do any thing great like that.]]>Jun 24th 2006 3:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 25th 2006 11:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/Jun 30th 2006 5:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
Also, someone said it, but no one in the real world cares about lack of OGG support. Seriously. No one. For those of you that do have OGG files, use a player that supports it rather than waste your time complaining about Creative's "losers". Wow, that was hard. The AAC comments are more well placed as it is becoming a new highly used standard thanks to (the highly overrated, in my opinion) iTunes.

Oh, and have you ppl who complain about Creative not having an easy to use music store ever used Urge? Cuz it's really slick. And just as easy as iTunes to use.

Lastly, the comment "it's not universal cuz it only works on Windows," while technically true, in practice is false. How many computers in the world are Windows-based again?]]>Jul 21st 2006 2:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/21/creative-zen-v-plus-reviewed/
In response to the post by rgm on Jun 21st 2006 this MP3 does support mass storage.

A little competition can only be a good thing, It'll force apple to make some serious revamps not just "oooh lets stick in video support".

Overall I think that this player beats the Nano hands down in price, display, sound quality, UI (theaving apple bigots!) and overall good looks. ]]>Aug 25th 2006 1:31PM