MP3 Reviews

This MP3 Player uses a AAA battery. This is a terrible design decision. It severely curtails play life (by 1/3 to 1/2 compared to a AA) while the batteries themselves are not significantly cheaper than AA's. I have also had a hard time finding rechargeable AAA's compared to AA's. And while it sounds trivial, it is NOT minor that AAA batteries disappear much more easily that AA batteries at almost 3x the size. I bought 4 rechargeables shortly after getting this. A month later, 2 have disappeared. Did I mention AAA batteries are not notably cheaper than AA's?<br /> Dont buy this.

I've been using the 256 meg version of the player for over a year now. Its main use for me is when I go to the health club 3 time a week to work out. It hangs from cloth band around my neck which is really convenient. I'm basically happy with it for it performs quite well for its size. However, there are a few details you should consider before to purchase it.
1.
The advertised battery life of 11 hours is a basic lie. I never got more than 6 intermittent hours on a Duracell Ultra AAA battery and since I've installed an additional 256 meg of memory (total memory=512 meg) the battery life is down to about 4 hours. Still,,, this does not bend me out of shape
2.
The software that comes with it (MPIO Manager 2.0) really lacks the control that you need. The playlist feature is next to useless so I choose to upload files directly from their folders without using a playlist.(I, therefore, am not able to reproduce the exact download for future use). Real Player does work with the FL100 on a limited basis. It only recognizes the root directory and will not see any subdirectories. This is not good if you want to pick from the middle of the list of 512 meg of music.
3.
The FL100 a little weak on power/amplification but if you consider its size you probably need to be somewhat forgiving here.
Overall I like the FL100. It serves it purpose well. If anyone knows of some better software that works with the FL100 please drop me a note.

Thanks...

I bought the DMK 128 player because when I was looking through all the options, it was the player that seemed to have the best reviews. It was also the right price and size so I didn't look much farther. Imagine my suprise when I came back later and the number of negative reviews had doubled. So, as I sat playing with my player, I felt I had better put in my two cents.

I love my MPIO. It is the perfect size for what I use it for, working out. It includes a arm band and holder which also works just fine. The head sets are nice as well, with neck band and all. For such a small package, the MPIO pumps out a amazing amount of sound, with a max of 30 and a usual setting of 10. So if you really want to bleed your ears, this can do it for you.

The battery is a AAA and it doesn't last all that long but it is long enough. Besides, if any of you are like me, you have hundreds of AAA laying around that you have never used. Plus, its an AAA so finding a good rechargable isn't immpossible.

The MPIO is simple to use almost to the point of being idiot proof. Its got one toggle switch, a start stop button and volume controls. Other than that there is a "hold" toggle amd not much more. Yet with these few controls you can easily scan through music, change play mode and Equalizer settings as well as how the display...displays. The manual is brief and to the point but not terribly amazing. You can figure out what needs to be done but not much more. Basically the controls are intuitive.

Now for some negatives. The actual putting of music into the MPIO is a little annoying. The included software is sparse without a doubt. Listening to the music you are going to download can be done but the feature is lacking somewhat. For instance, you must first download a songf into a play list before you can play it, rather then being able to play anything in the folder. Its a small thing but an annoyance all the same. I also experienced the occasional crash of the program while downloading songs. Its easy to fix but annoying all the same. There is also no "find music" option to get all your music in one place.

They say there is a flash card that can be added for more room. 128mb is about 30 songs give or take so its not as if there isn't plenty to hear. If you use songs downloaded by Windows Media Player, you can get double the number i.e. sixty songs. As for the card, I want to buy the thing but I cannot for the life of me figure out where the thing plugs in. Just another small thing.

Over all, I am very happy I bought this device. I looked around a bit and it seemed to be the best for the price. I wish I could say what other players might be better but all I can say is...this one works just fine.

This MP3 Player uses a AAA battery. This is a terrible design decision. It severely curtails play life (by 1/3 to 1/2 compared to a AA) while the batteries themselves are not significantly cheaper than AA's. I have also had a hard time finding rechargeable AAA's compared to AA's. And while it sounds trivial, it is NOT minor that AAA batteries disappear much more easily that AA batteries at almost 3x the size. I bought 4 rechargeables shortly after getting this. A month later, 2 have disappeared. Did I mention AAA batteries are not notably cheaper than AA's?<br /> Dont buy this.

I've been using the 256 meg version of the player for over a year now. Its main use for me is when I go to the health club 3 time a week to work out. It hangs from cloth band around my neck which is really convenient. I'm basically happy with it for it performs quite well for its size. However, there are a few details you should consider before to purchase it.
1.
The advertised battery life of 11 hours is a basic lie. I never got more than 6 intermittent hours on a Duracell Ultra AAA battery and since I've installed an additional 256 meg of memory (total memory=512 meg) the battery life is down to about 4 hours. Still,,, this does not bend me out of shape
2.
The software that comes with it (MPIO Manager 2.0) really lacks the control that you need. The playlist feature is next to useless so I choose to upload files directly from their folders without using a playlist.(I, therefore, am not able to reproduce the exact download for future use). Real Player does work with the FL100 on a limited basis. It only recognizes the root directory and will not see any subdirectories. This is not good if you want to pick from the middle of the list of 512 meg of music.
3.
The FL100 a little weak on power/amplification but if you consider its size you probably need to be somewhat forgiving here.
Overall I like the FL100. It serves it purpose well. If anyone knows of some better software that works with the FL100 please drop me a note.

Thanks...

I bought the DMK 128 player because when I was looking through all the options, it was the player that seemed to have the best reviews. It was also the right price and size so I didn't look much farther. Imagine my suprise when I came back later and the number of negative reviews had doubled. So, as I sat playing with my player, I felt I had better put in my two cents.

I love my MPIO. It is the perfect size for what I use it for, working out. It includes a arm band and holder which also works just fine. The head sets are nice as well, with neck band and all. For such a small package, the MPIO pumps out a amazing amount of sound, with a max of 30 and a usual setting of 10. So if you really want to bleed your ears, this can do it for you.

The battery is a AAA and it doesn't last all that long but it is long enough. Besides, if any of you are like me, you have hundreds of AAA laying around that you have never used. Plus, its an AAA so finding a good rechargable isn't immpossible.

The MPIO is simple to use almost to the point of being idiot proof. Its got one toggle switch, a start stop button and volume controls. Other than that there is a "hold" toggle amd not much more. Yet with these few controls you can easily scan through music, change play mode and Equalizer settings as well as how the display...displays. The manual is brief and to the point but not terribly amazing. You can figure out what needs to be done but not much more. Basically the controls are intuitive.

Now for some negatives. The actual putting of music into the MPIO is a little annoying. The included software is sparse without a doubt. Listening to the music you are going to download can be done but the feature is lacking somewhat. For instance, you must first download a songf into a play list before you can play it, rather then being able to play anything in the folder. Its a small thing but an annoyance all the same. I also experienced the occasional crash of the program while downloading songs. Its easy to fix but annoying all the same. There is also no "find music" option to get all your music in one place.

They say there is a flash card that can be added for more room. 128mb is about 30 songs give or take so its not as if there isn't plenty to hear. If you use songs downloaded by Windows Media Player, you can get double the number i.e. sixty songs. As for the card, I want to buy the thing but I cannot for the life of me figure out where the thing plugs in. Just another small thing.

Over all, I am very happy I bought this device. I looked around a bit and it seemed to be the best for the price. I wish I could say what other players might be better but all I can say is...this one works just fine.

I have owned my T3 since Christmas 2003. Initially I was completely enthralled. It is fast, has a great diplay and plenty of memory. I was disappointed with the battery life. I was upgrading from a Clie' 710C. I am able to listen to music and read books for an entire travel day with my Clie..not the T3. I simply purchased a seperate MP3 player...no big deal. Then, 1 week ago I started having strange problems. Programs that were working fine had started locking up, forcing a hard reset! I started trying to track down the individual program that was causing the problem. I would install a single 3rd party program and attempt to run it. Most would lock up. However the internal programs (address book, calendar, etc...) continued to work. I finally broke down and contacted customer support via e-mail. I explained in detail the steps I had gone through. They replied that it sounded like a hardware issue and told me to call in for a return authorization. When I did this, they wanted to go through the entire process again. On top of it they seemed clueless. As a matter of fact, they were so clueless, that I ended up completely frustrated and thanking them for their time and hanging up! Later I called back hoping for another support tech. It appears that the phone support is offshore which led to communication problems both times. However we were able to overcome these and I did receive a SRO.

I am writing all of this to reinforce other reviews. The T3 is a great PDA, but it does appear to suffer from some quality issues. It doesn't have a great battery life (when are they going to wise up and put in removeable batteries?) and the customer service seems to have gone to the toilet!

Love this Palm device. Earlier I had 2 Mb monochome Palm Pilot, so this is a good change to have 52 Mb color one. New grafiti is better. Voice memo feature is good, but need to keep the source of sound away otherwise recording gets bad. Web, VersaMail, MP3, Bluetooth are not very useful to me. It came with RealOne MP3, but that needs an add on card. I didn't find the feature to turn the display very useful. Rarely use it. The battery life disappoints.

Overall, a great device to have.

I've had my T3 for 7 months now and have nothing but praise for this remarkable gadget.
The 75 applications I've fit into the spacious 64m memory and a 256m SD card include: my check register and shopping list database (Splash Wallet), a world clock with 20 alarms (Megaclock), a complete address book/meeting scheduler/to-do list/calendar (Agendus); an outliner (Bonsai), spreadsheet, word processor, PowerPoint editor (Documents to Go) and relational database (HanDBase); a drawing/painting program appropriate to my 10 years training as an artist (HandPainter); a dictionary and thesaurus (To Go), ebook readers; road maps of Colorado and the New York metropolitan area (Mapopolis); listings of 30,000 movies from the Internet Movie Database -- including main cast,director, and synopsis (on TomeRaider); an MP3 player with my favorite 50 songs; a photo album of 30 pictures; a chess game, submarine game, and Space Invaders clone; an icon editor, a file utility, a backup utility, and a flashlight (PalmLight).
For all that, I still have 40% of the memory free.
For all that, I've never had my T3 crash, whine, play games with my eyesight, or go bump in the night. It does however wake me up in the morning to Reville, but I asked it to do that since it's also my alarm clock.
It has replaced most of the contents of my wallet, two notebooks, and a portable cassette player -- all of which I had lugged around with me for 30 years until I bought the T3.
I like to compare my T3 to a 386 desktop computer I used to own -- the T3 does about about as much, about as well; except now it's attached to my belt.
The only thing I don't like about the T3 is that it's not as sturdy as the original Tungsten-T. The T3 feels noticably fragile.
But after 7 months, I can say: I use it daily. I use it for everything. It's never failed me.

10 gigabytes is probably more than you need to store all of your music, so unless you have an incredibly huge collection, the studio 10 is sufficient. This player has great options for playback, and the file system works well. However there are quite a few bugs in the OS, even though I downloaded the most recent version. The supplied computer software is pretty lame, I must say. I bought this player because I though I would put all of my music from CD onto mp3, but I find that I don't use it often. Playing a CD always has better quality, unless you encode at some huge bitrate. Also, the USB connection takes its time. One great feature is the audio out, so you can attach it to a sound system. The rechargeable batteries are great. There's a line in as well, but that is completely pointless since you cant record mp3s. I also thought people would be intrigued by the player, but a lot of people I know confused it with a tape player when they first saw it. If you want to buy this because you dont want to lug around all your CD's, and if you dont mind slightly [worse] quality, go ahead and buy it.

I received this player for Christmas of 2002. I have since then put all of the songs from my CDs on to it, as well as some extra songs. The quality of this mp3 player is great! I recorded the songs onto it at CD quality and still have over 9GB left. The headphones that come with this player are nice too, except they can irritate your ears if worn for over about 15 minutes. A charger is also included, as well as a carrying case (though the headphones don't fit in it).

The price is very good for a 10GB player! You can also use your Jukebox as a hard drive to store all of your data files. However, the USB 1.1 connection is not fast and takes awhile to transfer songs if you record at a high rate. This means that if you put the songs on the player at CD quality or higher, it takes awhile.

It is also quite obvious from the picture that this MP3 player is not small. This is not a good device to use while jogging or doing active things, etc. This player is more for those who have quite a large amount of music and want to carry it with them.

So here's the review in brief:

The Good:
-Lots of storage for the price!
-Charger, case, headphones included
-Good playback quality
-Doubles as a hard drive for data storage

The Bad:
-Heavy, not good for listening to while playing sports
-USB transfer is slow (but I recorded at 128-224kbps)

Summary: If you like having nice quality music with you and hate bringing your CDs everywhere, this is for you! Especially if you want something inexpensive, yet has a lot of storage. This isn't for the person who looks to enjoy his/her music while active, though (Ocassionaly it freezes while I am mowign the lawn while listening to it).

...

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great player overall...keep in mind 10 GB is NOT the actual size..as 10 GB refers to 10,000,000,000 Bytes. so, if you translate that into computer GB where 1024 MB = 1 GB, you'll end up around 9.31 "computer" GB....which is still a lot. i've only used up 1.25 GB, and that's basically all the songs i feel like listening to.

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USB 1.1 isn't as bad as what ppl say...again depending on how much you transfer at once. it took me about 30 min. to transfer 1.25 GB, which isn't bad...just go do something else in the meantime.

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Headphones look really cool (and i mean really) and foldable/compact, but horrible sound quality. even my cheap $4 intel headphones sound better (deeper bass and doesn't break up nearly as much with higher volume)

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MusicMatch..... unlesss you're really into that piece of software, i suggest you stay away from it. especially, if you have your songs ready to transfer into your Archos, you don't need it. Just install the USB driver on your comp, and your Archos becomes a drive letter in Windows Explorer...so, you can just drag-and-drop the songs you want.

Using this method, transfering songs was very...and i mean very easy...basically, there's no other pieces of software required.

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there are other quick features i'll like to point out...because i believe seeing the other reviewers complain about them.

volume control...yes, there are no direct buttons to control the volume, you need to set that in the settings. however, there's a "quick" way to adjust the volume w/o going through the menu...

Press "Menu" and "+" to increase volume.
Press "Menu" and "-" to decrease volume.

You can also lock the keys (i.e. buttons won't be accidentally pressed while in your backpack, pocket, etc...) Press "Menu" and "Off" to turn key lock on/off.

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BTW, this player can handle VBR mp3s very well..at least up to 320 kbit/s, which is the max bitrate i use to encode my mp3s. my personal encoder settings: min->128 kbit/s avg->192 kbit/s max->320 kbit/s.

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I have no idea what some of the previous reviewers were talking about regarding the manual...i found it to be pretty easy to understand....and pretty informative. However plz do supplement the manual with http://rockbox.haxx.se That site has a lot of good info.

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carrying case...looks pretty good...quality seems good...absolutely useless, not even a clip.

At the price, you are more or less buying an entry level MP3 CD Player. Of course one can only expect so much from entry level - but this player goes beyond!

Panasonic's new anti-skip technology is quite impressive. I've run miles and miles with this player without ANY skips. The remote is extremely handy, and the clip helps keep wires out of your way.

I'd recommend supplying your own headphones as the ones included are a bit sub-par. Battery life is astounding. I've never had a portable device that lasts like this!

As far as MP3 capability goes - sure it doesnt have ID3 tag support, but not much does in this price range. It loads a disc of almost 200 songs VERY fast, and of course the anti skip is great on MP3's.

I came from an MP3 CD player that was twice as much money when I bought it, and the SX420 blows it away in EVERY category. I especially like the EQ settings. I use this in my car as well as while working out, and like the option of changing from a flat setting in my car, to XBS in my headphones.

This player is ALL pro's. My only complaint is that I wish they came up with it years ago!

This CD player is a great choice, especially for its price. Here are the pros and cons:

*Pros*

1. Quick to load the CD (at least for an MP3/CD player)
2. Good extra features -- for example, the EQ, and shuffle options.
3. The remote is very easy to use and easier to access than the actual player itself, especially if you have the cd player in a bag.
4. Excellent sound quality and the EQ adds extra effects that make it better.
5. Good volume if you get better headphones.
6. Good battery life
7. It's cheap!!!!!

*Cons*

1. I wasn't too crazy about its colors, metallic light blue.
2. The headphones weren't too great.
3. No ID3 tags. That wasn't too big of a problem for me because usually i knew what song was playing. You can always write down the order of the songs on a peice of paper.

BUY THIS CD PLAYER
YOU WON"T REGRET IT

Panasonic really knew what they were doing when they came up with this little gadget. I have had alomst no problems whatsoever with this item. It has a few minor drawbacks but what product doesn't.

Pros: Anti-skip works perfeclty, plays MP3's well when put on disk in as a music file, romote control saves buttons on player itself and it has many features to enhance your listening experience.

Cons: Goes through batteries fairy quickly, especially on MP3 mode and the speakers are not super well equiped for loud listening.

Overall, this MP3/CD player is a great value and probably works as well or better than others that you would be likely to pay twice as much for.

If you like the slightest bit of bass in your music, DO NOT purchase these earbuds. My ipod now sounds like a cheap, battery powered, one speakered AM radio. Each of my ears gave them a star for the comfort factor. That's the only good thing I can say about these overpriced headphones.

Unlike most people, I'm actually quite satisfied whith these earphones. They have excellent bass response, and the music sounds a lot more full and realistic than the stock earphones that come with the iPod. I can hear parts of songs that I've never heard before!! These phones also do an excellent job of canceling out background noise, so this is especially good for commuters on noisy subways or buses. The only way that you'd get a bad sound with these things is if you aren't wearing them properly....unlike earbuds, you can't just set these in your ears, you have to pull on your ear to open the ear canal, and then insert the plugs. If not inserted propery, you'll get crappy sound and tinny bass. Don't skip out on these!

Okay after reading reviews on another web site, I decided to give these another try. I must say they are a bit tricky to get in your ears, as you must pull back the top of your ear away from your head and "seal" the plugs in. After this is achieved, the result is astounding. No "tinny" sounds and a lot more bass. MUCH better than the original plugs you get with your ipod. Outside noise is eliminated almost completely, which means you don't have to "up" your volume as much for these. And they didn't fall out as I cycled this morning, so that's another plus.

When I bought this mp3 player, I thought it was going to be small. When I recieved it I found out how small they really meant. This player really deserves the title MG. Transferring songs between the computer and the player was really easy. I convert all my files to .wma so I can fit more songs on the player, around 30-35 with the standard 64 megs internal memory. Each song takes only about 10 seconds or less to transfer. Some great features are the docking station for transferring songs and the fact that you can recharge the batteries saving a few dollars here and there. Overall, the performance was great and the FM radio helped a bit when I got tired of listening to my .wma files. Keep in mind that I use my behind the head headphones because the folding headphones really destroy the sound of the player. With regular headphones, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference from your CD player except if the file your playing isnt spectacular.

I gave this mp3 player 4 stars because it lacks the wired remote that a lot of people have been talking about. By four stars I really mean like 4.9 but the wired remote I think is really almost a neccesity that it lacks. The special jack is there but I cannot find anywhere to purchase it. It would be great to be able to lock the player in your pocket (lock as in the buttons are disabled)and control everything through the remote.

My Nomad 2 MG arrived today. I've been using it all afternoon, and can report: I ordered the limited edition version of this product- the only difference is it has 256MB of internal memory (4.5 hours of mp3s) instead of 64MB. With the standard SmartMedia slot, that's expandable to 384MB, which is good. I'll list the great stuff and the bad stuff... The bad:

1. The instruction manual is limited: there're no installation instructions. I'm not a newcomer to installing hardware on my PC but it was tricky. The software installed easily. 2. the pouch is tacky and there're no holes for buttons, no clip, and the hole for the screen exposes it to damage. The wired remote solves the button problems, however... 3. ...but a 'mode' button is absent from the remote, meaning you have to work out the combination of buttons to change the mode, or take the player out of the pouch to change from, say, mp3s to FM radio. 4. Supplied headphones are crap: plasticy, low sound quality, huge

The good:

1. With good headphones (I have a mid-range Sony pair), the volume is so good you can deafen yourself with it. (That means it's loud, and many players suffer from being too quiet.) 2. My SE model stores just over 4 hours of music, and the batteries last for about 4 hours too. How nice. 3. The docking station, once installed, recharges the batteries automatically, and you can play music while it's charging. It's also small and light, and coming on holiday with me this summer. 4. recordable FM radio! 5. 4 hours of (fairly good) voice recording! 6. Unlike the Creative Jukebox, it's not the size of a brick and you can run with it without skipping. No pun. 7. It looks better than any other mp3 player, and it's literally the size of a deck of cards.

It does support WMA but in my opinion, WMA isn't what it's hyped up to be: there's a small difference in quality. I recommend mp3s. WMA format doubles the storage capacity, though. Choose. Hope that helps!

I've been using the Nomad 2 MG for over a year, now. When I first tried to install the software, I had some problems with the docking cradle not seeing the player. I was suspicious that it had problems with my computer hardware (motherboard, etc.). When I tried the installation on another computer, everything worked great! Shortly afterwards, I replaced that original system with a faster one and the software works fine, now, as a matter of fact, the files just FLY to the player!

I take that MP3 player with me on rough mountain bike rides, snowboarding, running, commutes to work, and (sometimes) while I'm at work. I've dropped it numerous times, but still I have had NOT ONE SINGLE PROBLEM with it, yet. My cradle has not broken- maybe I'm just lucky. For those who have none functioning cradles, there are updated drivers online for free- that could solve some of your problems. Admittedly, I have deleted a song or two, because of poor button placement, but if you're capable of learning, you're not going to do that more than a few times, at best.

For the price and the performance, this unit ROCKS! With its capabilities to expand to the 128MB card, that's a lot of songs! Get this MP3 player! It's totally worth it!

This player is an overall disappointment with a couple of big flaws that potential buyers should be wary of; and all readers need to know about a third party software company that resolves virtually all of the Creative MediaSource file transfer issues.

Zen Good points:

1. I achieved my basic objective; my entire CD collection is on a portable device with lots of room to store more.

2. Most MP3 players have a gap between the end of one track and the start of the next; it's annoying in music that is intended to be continuous. The Zen has minimal stoppage between tracks; when listening to music that continues from one track to the next the gap is just a hesitation - a slightly audible click; if I am not listening for the progress from one track to the next I don't even notice the click.

Flaws:

1. Creative MediaSource software is OK to rip, catalog & burn music if you are starting from scratch; but I used MusicMatch to rip my CDs before I bought the Zen (278 CDs; 3,400 tracks; 12.5Gb of music all ripped at 128bps) and guess what? MediaSource did not recognize my tags! My choices at that moment were to manually re-tag my music or re-rip using MediaSource. I don't think so. BTW, if you *are* ripping your CDs, MediaSource accesses the CDDB music catalog over the Internet and the few CDs I experimented with all provided good quality [correct & uncluttered] tag information.

2. Despite most reviewers giving kudos to the Zen for music quality, I experienced a flaw using EAX. After about 45 mins of listening there was audible static in the player. When I turned EAX off the static disappeared. When I turned EAX back on the static was also not present. Creative are *the* sound people for computers, I can't understand why EAX would introduce static. Is EAX faulty? Is my unit defective? Was I just unlucky at that moment? Was it a full moon that night? I haven't figured it out yet.

3. MediaSource is an application with serious user interface flaws. Do not underestimate this in your purchase decision. Many reviewers refer to it as "clunky" or "difficult" - heed their warnings. Some Amazon reviewers say it corrrupted their music files; I didn't use it long enough to know, but clearly you need to use it with caution.

4. The Zen *stores* data files, but does not allow a folder structure nor does it allow documents to be opened or programs to be launched from its disk (they must be copied to another hard drive to be launched). In other words, the Zen is not a convenient data storage device; only buy the capacity you need for your music collection (see point 1. for some sizing information). My goal of using it as a music player *and* data storage device has not been met; don't make the same mistake.

5. The Zen does not have a Stop button! You can stop playback by pressing 2 buttons, first the Pause button, then the "Next Track" or "Previous Track" button. But this is *not documented* in the Zen manual - neither the hard copy nor the CD version. To discover this I had to read about 10 online reviews (with many complaints about the lack of Stop button) before I found one reviewer who was smart enough to both figure it out & document it.

6. The Zen NX battery requires the AC adapter to recharge; it does not charge by USB cable; this is not tragic, but USB recharging would be a convenient (additional) choice. If you are buying a Zen Xtra check whether the battery recharges via USB; it does not on the Zen NX.

7. MediaSource did not install on my personal notebook. It referred to a "Microsoft Jet Database Engine" error and the install program suggested I download a service pack from the MS website to fix the problem; I did that and re-installed the software but had the same error. Creative provided e-mail support; I followed their advice but that failed, too. I experimented with installing MediaSource on 2 other computers at home and it worked fine. So it is probably "just bad luck" on my part that the personal notebook I own had this install error. However, it did motivate me to find a work-around solution.

Third Party Software To The Rescue

After much frustration (above) I found the Notmad Explorer; cute product name for software that resolves virtually all of the Creative MediaSource FILE TRANSFER & ORGANIZATION problems. I am not associated with the company, I am not providing a URL, but search for NotMad and you should find it pretty easily. This provides drag & drop transfers of music between the computer & Zen; each time it transfers music to the Zen it asks if you want to generate a playlist; it allows playlists developed in other software to be transferred to the Zen (.m3u files are used by most mp3 players like MusicMatch and Winamp, but not Creative - without Notmad you need to manually recreate your playlists); it doesn't care what software you use to rip or catalog your music - Creative or any other company - all my 12.5Gb of music were transferred to the Zen with correct tags - hooray! Notmad has other features too, but this is not an advertisement so please see the company's web site for more information ...

Conclusion:

If I knew then what I know now I would have paid the extra to get an iPod & avoided the Zen. Given that I already have the Zen the only reason I am happy with it is because of the Notmad software. And I am hoping the static I heard when using EAX was a blip ...

To summarize, I am using the Creative Zen as a mobile device; I am using MusicMatch to rip & catalog (and if I choose, download) music; I am using Notmad Explorer to move music & playlists between the Zen & my computer. The only Creative software I am using is the device driver(s).

I shopped around for a while before buying a hard-drive MP3 player. I read reviews, compared specs, and visited user forums. Despite all the hype about iPods, I knew I wanted something different, because I wanted more storage than the iPod I could afford would offer, and because I wanted more flexibility in where I purchased music online. After some consideration I chose the 40GB Nomad Zen Xtra from Creative, and I have not been disappointed. I purchased it at a retail store, and got an extended warranty.

First, the battery is replacable by the user, because Creative intended it to be - unlike Apple with the iPod. It was easy enough to remove the front plate, and there was only one way the battery could be inserted. Creative also sells batteries via its website, so there's no shipping off my player and waiting for it to be sent back to me with the new battery.

The new organizer software that ships with the Nomad Zen Xtra couldn't be easier to use. Point the "Media Sniffer" to your music files and let it do the rest. You can create playlists, drag & drop songs and playlists to your player, and rip directly from CD to your player. And with USB 2.0, transferring music to your player is incredibly easy. You can also delete songs from the player itself, and create playlists - on the fly - on your player.

The sound is great, and the volume is more than satisfactory for commutes and shutting out external noise. I thought I'd have to buy a set of headphones to use with it, but the included earbuds work quite well. They could be more comfortable, but no complaints in the sound department.

I've played around with the equalizer settings and am satisfied at the range of choices I have there too. There are plenty other features that I haven't checked out, but I'm sure I soon will.

It ships with a carrying case that has a belt clip on it. However, I don't like to carry it on my belt because the clip isn't secure and the case can slip off. It happened to me once. So now I keep it in my pocket. Also, the carrying case that came with mine covers up the display, so even though the side controls are reachable, I have to open it up to see the display. It would have been better to have some sort of window on teh carrying case, so you could see the display without opening it. That's my only real complaint about the Nomad Zen Xtra, though.

I finally bought an MP3 player when there was a reasonable alternative to Apple. I was involved with Apple when they built the first one and had an Apple 1 in the late 70's. I saw them get very close to the vest and I was closely involved with IBM when they broke all their "Big blue" rules and turned a group loose in Boca Raton FL with but one charge - to get out a PC in two years regardless. I had a Beta test model.

That led to creation of a VERY open software platform, the relagation of Apple to schools and graphics types, and the creation of countless numbers of millionaires and the VERY rich William Gates. So now that I don't have to deal with "my way or the highway" Apple, I can get it my way.

The Nomad Zen Xtra 40 GB is every thing I want and then some. Those who fault the size being bigger than iPod did not grow up in the days of 30 pound luggables with a whopping 64 KB like I did. The software is top notch and works seemlessly and rapidly with my PC. The manual leaves a few holes but once you play around, you find that you can do all sorts of stuff with the Nomad connected to the computer that you cannot do with it disconnected.

The data storage is a big plus. I will still use my flash drives (128MB & 256MB) for portability of a lot of my data, but to back up my growing digital picture files this will be invaluable. I can take my entire picture collection around with me.

This is a real winner and I have not even gotten my FM attachment yet!

This product was a huge dissapointment. I've received two defective products. The first one had buttons sticking so that I couldn't operate that machine, and once I was able to un-stick the button, I discovered that the battery was leaking from my machine and that it would there for not hold a charge. I assumed I just received a lemon, however once I returned the product and got a replacement I face a similar problem. The product will only function when it is plugged in despite the fact that it says the batter is fully charged. It's rediculous. Beyond the above problems, the player is much too bulky to use for much more than sitting around with head phones on. The controls are akward and set up in a confusing/annoying manner. Forcing you to use one button to scroll and another to select. This isn't a huge problem but if you're trying to use it with one hand while you're doing something, working out for example, it's virtually impossible. Also, if you want to have your personal Playlists on the player, be prepared for lots of tediousness in attempting to get it on the player.You have to have computer knowledge in order to get them onto the machine and even then, it's difficult. Once they are on there, it's selective about when the playlists are actually read. The pluses? Good sound quality...but I'm sure you can find an MP3 player that has good sound quality without all the above problems for a lot less money. I'm trying the Archos Gmini, hopefully that will be more useful than this expensive paperweight.

This is my first mp3 player. My last music machine was a Sony Mini disk player/recorder (which I thought was the cat's meow cause 1 disk holds 5 hours of music.)

I did a lot of research and reading and mind changing before I settled on the Lyra2840. It's a sleek, pretty machine, not too big or bulky. The headphones aren't great but they don't suck either, you always replace stock headphones anyway.

What I do like:
-It's handy. Not tiny but anything smaller and lighter than a cd player is good.
-All my music at my fingertips
-Very easy to use

What I don't like:
-Unlike a MD player, you CANNOT edit songs. ex. with a md, you can combine 2 songs into 1, split one song into 2, change the name or move the song wherever you want on the disk.

-You cannot create playlists on the go. I have 2800 songs on mine and I basically just listen to one artist at a time, I have too much to play on shuffle

-One way i try to create a playlist is to pick a genre and shuffle within that Ex. I'll choose funk and wanna hear everything but the machine will only play 1 artist at a time so if you have 5 Parliament albums you'll hear them all b4 you get to Prince.

-I have a genre I created called Brain Music which is baroque as well as language instruction on the lyra. There is no way, if you're in shuffle mode, to exclude these categories. If you shuffle all playable music, everything will play, which stinks.

-Freezing is a problem. I tried to be patient, to give the unit one command at a time but still it freezes at odd times and I've taken to carrying a paper clip with me for fast resetting.

-I loved the idea os iTunes but the Lyra doesn't play mpeg4's which is the format iTunes are in (maybe i'm just a tech retard cause there's a way to convert I just don't know about)

I think some more reasearch and evolution need to happen for me to buy and appreciate an mp3 player (I don't know anyone with another system so I have no hands-on basis for comparison)

Basically, the best reason to buy this machine is to have an entire library at hand but if you're looking for flexibility, a MD player is the way to go.

I was hestitant to delve into the world of MP3 jukeboxes, as the technology is relatively new. However, I am a music fanatic and cannot live without it. I'm listening to it 24/7, in my car, at the gym, at work, etc. You can appreciate my frustration then when it comes to swapping CDs at the gym or in my car. Enter the RCA lyra.

I have over 300 CDs and 6,500 songs on my harddrive. Moving them over was as quick and as easy as drag-and-drop from windows explorer. I personally hate Musicmatch Jukebox software and didn't even bother to install it. It's really unecessary in my eyes. Most other jukeboxes require special software to get you going, and to get a windows explorer interface for the Creative Nomad Zen you have to shell out 25 bucks for third-party software.

Pros: Huge storage capacity, wicked 5-band graphic equalizer, line-out jack (most jukeboxes lack this!), large, bright display, comes with a plethora of accessories, top-notch volume level and sound quality, cool-ass case!

Cons: Buttons can be a bit small and hard to find without looking, much bigger and bulkier than the Apple Ipod, internal battery only (crappy!)

To be honest, I don't have enough good to say about this player. Taking your music with you is as easy as selecting the proper audio device - for portable use a set of good headphones is all you need (those RCA clip-on headphones are retarded - get a set of sony streetstyles: cheap, comfy and sound great!) For PC use, all you need is a USB cable - just connect and play your music through Winamp or another mp3 software device. The best part?

I own a JVC MP3 car CD player with a stereo minijack input on the front of it. All you have to do is connect the Lyra to that jack with a line-out cable (not supplied, but easy to find) and you have all your music at the touch of a button! No more toting around bulky, expensive CDs!

Size is the only advantage Ipod has over this thing. Sure, the Ipod's smaller, but the lyra has better sound, a better interface, more connectivity options, more accessories, 10gb more of storage capacity, more more more. I bought my Lyra brand new on Ebay for 200 bucks - that's almost 300 less than an Ipod. Give me one reason why I should've shelled out that much more for an arguably inferior product.

Word of advice: Your Lyra will function much better and faster if you organize the HD with as many folders and subfolders as possible. The first time I fired it up I had all 6,000 songs in one folder and it took almost a minute to switch from song to song. Then I made 24 subfolders, one for each letter of the alphabet, and switch time was almost instantaneous. You don't have to worry about navigating through those folders on the lyra interface - regardless of the organization of the files, it still groups them by artist, genre, etc.

In short, this is easily the best jukebox on the market for the money. Ipod doesn't even come close. As if all this wasn't enough, it functions as a removeable 40gb harddrive.... You can move anything with it, not just music.

HIGHLY recommended.

First off, as already said, the size is amazing - It really is about the size of a credit card. This is part of my reason for buying this particular unit, so that I could easily store it on my motorcycle for trips. The Camcorder looks nice, but feels cheaply made. The features are nice (especially when compared to the competition) and over all it performs satisfactory. The video and the still shot mode works well, but the quality seems to lack at times. The biggest downfall I have found is it could greatly benifit from a flash / light as if there is not sufficient light indoors, the video's and pics are very dark. The camera functions are pretty simple to use, well laid out, and offer many options that are only found on higher priced multi-function digital cameras.

The software included is not very user friendly, I had to load it twice to even get it to work right, however, the extra bonus accesories included in the package are nice, and you do not need to instantly go and buy anything else to start using it. I would reccomend upgrading to a bigger memory card for greater storage of pics and video.

Overall for my day to day use it is fine, but if you want to take serious video or digital pics you will need to move into a higher price range.

i bought this camera around the end of july 2004,it shipped 6 days before they said it would, and it was delivered in time for me to take it on vacation with me. i made videos and took pictures with it they turn out great,one of my favorite things about it is that when you are in a moving car and take a picture it comes out clear as crystle, and you can't tell that you were moving.i have a few problems with it though,there isn't a light on it so you can't take pix or videos when it's dark or too light out.i also don't like the 32mb SD memory card it comes with. i need to purchase one with more space on it.another thing is it doesn't really tell you the size of it when u look at it online. it is 3 and 8/16 inches long and 2 and 6/16 wide.the lense is almost a 1/2 an inch across.the playback screen is 14/16 of an inch long. ANOTHER THING U MIGHT WANT TO KNOW IS thhis video camera fells like a childs toy right out of the box,so when u get it use it for about 3 days and then u will see hoew amazing this piece of equiptment is, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To save you a bunch of time trying to find this item in the store, this item is available online only.