Creative vs iPod?

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I've never owned an MP3 player, but I'm interested in the Creative Zen Video M 30Gb. I've read hundreds of reviews, many of which say it's brilliant (better than the iPod Video). However, there are still quite a few that mention problems of a similar nature, so I'm stalling on my purchase and quite frankly, I'm lost as to what to go for. Can anyone point me in the direction of an MP3 player I can rely on? Be grateful for any help.
 

Clare Newsome

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Hi Laura,

We've tested about every player there is out there, and while the Creative is an excellent machine, the iPod pips it (no Apple pun intended) for both sound and vision performance, and trounces it for usability. The Zen M is about to be discontinued, by the way, if that effects your decision (possibly in a positive way - there are bound to be big discounts around).

However, if it's mainly video you're after, the Creative Zen W is definitely worth a look, as it has a much larger screen than the Apple. We test both machines - and a host of other portable video solutions - in our September issue, on sale 23rd July.

A final word on the reliability you mention. MP3 players are relatively fragile beasts - especially the hard-disk based ones like the big iPod and the Creatives above. Drop them when they're working and you may have a dead player on your hands (however, Apple are excellent about replacing iPods if they're still under warranty).

The smaller-capacity players - like the iPod nano - are flash-memory based, so have no moving parts - less to go wrong, more durable in day-to-day use. So, you may consider sacrificing larger capacity/screen size for increased portability and durability. The choice is yours....
 

Andy Clough

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Have to say I'm a massive iPod fan, and love the simplicity of iTunes, but then I am still using a 3G iPod which, according to our colleagues on Stuff, is now so old it's apparently a design icon! At least it's been reliable and never let me down.
 

Clare Newsome

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Welcome back, Andy!

You're obviously a lot more careful with your gadgets than me... I've killed host of hard-disk players in my time - the first one a 6GB Creative DAP Jukebox in about 1999.....
 
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Anonymous

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Hi Clare and Andy, thanks a lot for your replies. I'm mainly interested in the music side of things (I'd love to get all my old vinyl on to the MP3 too), but I thought that having the option of adding some of my music dvds and maybe downloading a few tv programmes and feature films would be a great bonus too. While I'm spending money on my first unit, I might as well get the best value for money I can. On the whole I tend to look after things quite well, so my concern was about units that had well-known faults, eg, I'd read that the Creative Zen Video M tended to freeze a lot. I'm not that technical so ease of use is important, however I liked the options that the Creative Zen offered rather than being tied to just iTunes. I'll check out your September issue.
 
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Anonymous

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Ok I've read the reviews in your September issue and done some other research and have now decided to save up for the iPod Video 80Gb, so that will take more time. I thought it would be great to buy a cheapie to get me going in the meantime. Are you able to recommend a unit of no less than 4Gb, with a radio too, that is ok to start with and comes with an incredibly budget price tag? I've done some internet searching and found a Sumvision M18 4GB LCD MP3 Player with FM Radio USB2 for less than £35. Would I be wasting my money, or do you think it's a feasible option?
 

Andy Clough

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Hi Laura

Never heard the Sumvision, I'm afraid, but you've done incredibly well to find a 4GB player for that money - the cheapest 4GB models we've tested are the Creative Zen V Plus at £110 or Samsung YP-K3 at £120, although I'm sure with a bit of web searching you'll find them for less. Don't know if the Sumvision is any good or not though.

Most sub-£50 MP3 players are flash memory devices so have nothing like 4GB storage. The iPod Shuffle (£49) is 1GB, but doesn't have a radio, although it sounds great.

Has anyone else come across a reasonable 4GB player/radio for under £50? If so, let Laura know.
 

Clare Newsome

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Hi Laura,
I haven't heard any good ultra-cheap players....but i've heard plenty of bad ones!

This may be worth a flutter, but as we say in the story, the previous version was awful...
 

mlamb64150

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Hi folks,

Just to give Laura some help, what can you tell us in regards to Battery life for the latest Apple/Creative ranges. I can say that my 60GB Apple Video for music play back is excellent in terms of battery longevity however you can barely get 1 hour out of it in video which in my opinion makes the feature rather pointless...
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks for all the input. After more research, I've realised I would be wasting my time (and money!) buying a cheap unit, so I shall hang on and wait until I've saved up enough for an iPod.
 

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