View Full Version : Ipod shuffle vs Creative Zen vs Other?
MP3 player needed, I figured I ask on here to see what, if anything, you guys have got! I've got an Archos mp3/video player which is a bit bulky so I'm after something lightweight.
My thoughts are:
No internal hard drive, basically the smaller the better, but it must have enough room for a few songs (min 1 gig).
I'll be using it down the gym so a HD is out as it would skip on the tread mill & I wouldn't mind just sticking it in my jacket pocket for the long motorway journeys (hence it's to be small!).
So far the choice is the Shuffle vs the Zen. Are there any others out there?
& so far: the ipod is the smaller of the two but it's more expensive, and I'm not keen on selling out to Apple - I'm guessing it would mean making all my files m4u as opposed to mp3 (and then they'd be limited to one pc, iirc).
I like the zen but I'm thinking it's slightly too big!
Any reccommendations?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B000HZFBQQ/ref=s9_asin_title_1-2259_g1-1966_p/026-0044866-3662840?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0XQ54NHNHA8F7WMHZQRN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139045791&pf_rd_i=468294
http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B000PD18TE/ref=s9_asin_title_1-2259_g1-1966_p/026-0044866-3662840?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=0XQ54NHNHA8F7WMHZQRN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139042891&pf_rd_i=468294
SoulKiss
02-07-07, 08:28 PM
As far as I am aware the iPod WILL play mp3.
However you may need to infect your PC with iTunes.
If its to be a disposable one - ie for the gym, goto somewhere like www.aria.com and pick the cheapest one of the size you want.
Remember mp3s at 128kbps are roughly 1Mb/min - so a 1GB one is 1000 minutes, or 250 songs.
Here's an example for about £20
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Electronics/Mp3+%26+Mpeg4+Player/EASYMP3+2GB+MP3+PLAYER+?productId=27057
Do yourself a favour and get a Creative.
I dont know if the battery issue is still an issue with the ipod? The Creative is unbeatable. Price is better, functions are better, and its just an awesome piece of technology.
I have had both, and seen plenty of ipod's attached to their preachers (owners) as the company I work for is heavily backed by Apple.
I have the Creative Zen Vision:M Series .. 60gb. Unreal!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cannot fault it at all. Comparing the screen of it to an ipod video and its streaks ahead.
Creative FTW
northwind
02-07-07, 09:18 PM
I've got a Zen, but it's the big 'un with the hard drive. And, well, I like it. Does everything it should, well, though the touchpad is a bit fiddly.
I have a 4GB Zen and can not fault it. I don't use it anymore because my phone has windows media player on it.
Its in A1 condition and is for sale if you want to make an offer.
Also, you are fairly local so postage wouldn't be an issue.
SoulKiss
02-07-07, 09:46 PM
I should have added that I have a 40GB Zen Touch and Vixis a 5Gb Zen Neeon
jamessunhill
02-07-07, 11:52 PM
I have a 30GB Zen Vision M and can't rate it highly enough. Does everything I want and has my entire music collection on it (plus loads of photos).
I can't really comment on the smaller solid state players as I have never owned one, but would personally go down the Creative route as I find their stuff is generally better (if sometimes a little dearer). I also like creative's software as (on mine at least) you can access the player like an external hard drive (just drag and drop music onto it and it sorts itself out when you disconnect it from the comp).
Warthog
03-07-07, 11:29 AM
I have a 2 gig creative Zen micro. It is VERY good quality, as I found out when my mate got into my car at night in Wales. The creative was hooked up to the tape player on a long wire. The long wire got trapped hanging outside of the door and we didn't nitice, so I drove off. Hit about 60mph through half a mile of hill roads with a strange banging sound on the left. Finally as the music stopped, my mate reached for the wire and informed me it was trapped under the door. We stopped, opened the door and pulled out a wire with no mp3 player on the end. I was extremely annoyed, and instisted that we walk back the way we came to find it. No luck, it was very dark. The next day, after a lot of rain, I went back and miraculously found it in the undergrowth. It still plays perfectly, despite being horrendously scratched and dented as you can imagine, not to mention spending the day outside in the pouring rain.
It also played videos which is cool. Only few qualms I have is that becuase it is so mini (great ofr everyhting else of course) the screen isn't really good enough to show photos. Simpsons videos are surprisingly fun to have on there, but the HAVE to be compressed via the software to the point where they become 700 mb when they were 70 mb! Not sure why. Surely they could be compressed smaller and have a tiny resolution. I dunno. Great little player though. Now about £60 from Amazon the one I have.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Zen-Player-Colour-Screen/dp/B000GFFD8S/ref=pd_bbs_7/202-3691870-2021403?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1183462154&sr=8-7
Steve H
03-07-07, 02:21 PM
Vinyl all the way. Or if you simply have to have up to the minute gear, what about a 'Sony Walkman'?
:D
Ceri JC
03-07-07, 02:35 PM
Vinyl all the way. Or if you simply have to have up to the minute gear, what about a 'Sony Walkman'?
:D
You say that in jest, but I sit here with a bad back from carrying an overladen vinyl carrying bag at the weekend, next to approx. 120 pieces of vinyl in a flight case and the bag and across the room is a large shelving unit full of it. I never have (and can't really ever see myself) paid for MP3s with any real sort of regularity, the way I buy records all the time.
On the subject of mp3 players, I'd go for Creative every time. Primarily because they aren't apple, admittedly, but that's reason enough. :D
wyntrblue
03-07-07, 03:33 PM
why not just get a phone that will do the lot? phone, mp3, sat nav everything you could possibly need?
Bloody heck, I never seen people ranting about creative mp3 players, and I work for them!
Anyway, If you want small hard drive free mp3 you might be looking at a either an iPod Nano or something like a Creative Zen V or Zen Stone. Both are flash based and can get fairly decent sizes (1GB-8GB). Truth be said, walk into a dixons or similar, have a look & play with the MP3 players they have on display, and then buy online where they are a lot cheaper.
If you buy creative be aware that some people have been complaining about driver quality*, but most of the flash players work as a USB drive so you just dump your MP3s in them with explorer and job done. As for the apple stuff, some of them do have better design, but you pay a sizeable premium for it.
* And I don't write them...
gettin2dizzy
03-07-07, 04:47 PM
Creative are good, but the apples are better. I didn't want to jump on the apple bandwagon but the reason they are so popular is that they are amazing. Itunes is worth the effort, besides - it can be set to play mp3s. The shuffle is amazing. Go and find a shop and have a play
Zen everytime. Apples wont play WMA and therefore you get twice as much audio on a Zen compared to an ipod
Ive got a Sony W810i which satisfies my mp3 needs. Free phone, £18 (or so i remember) for a 4gig mem card and then fill it full of albums using the software provided. Noise Reduction headphones included, iPod style menus and none of the nanny rules of Apple.
Well, I liked the Creative but preferred the smaller size of the Shuffle, but didn't want to buy an Apple on principle
So I bought a Shuffle "Clone" from Ebay. It may be rubbish, but I figure for £20 I'd take a gamble.
At some point I intend to buy a phone with a decent camera (6 megapix) & integrated mp3 player but for now It'll do.
Warthog
04-07-07, 09:59 AM
Bloody heck, I never seen people ranting about creative mp3 players, and I work for them!
Anyway, If you want small hard drive free mp3 you might be looking at a either an iPod Nano or something like a Creative Zen V or Zen Stone. Both are flash based and can get fairly decent sizes (1GB-8GB). Truth be said, walk into a dixons or similar, have a look & play with the MP3 players they have on display, and then buy online where they are a lot cheaper.
If you buy creative be aware that some people have been complaining about driver quality*, but most of the flash players work as a USB drive so you just dump your MP3s in them with explorer and job done. As for the apple stuff, some of them do have better design, but you pay a sizeable premium for it.
* And I don't write them...
If you work for Creative, could you maybe answer this question: On my 2 gig creative V micro, why when I transfer a simple avi video onto it, does it have to go through some "conversion" process which multiplies the size of the video by ten-fold!? I have 70 Mb videos that go on the player and end up 700 Mb, taking up all the space. Surely a simple avi could actually be compressed to a lower resolution and still look the same seeing as its such a small screen. Anything I can do to get the videos on there and working without going through the conversion process?
Anything I can do to get the videos on there and working without going through the conversion process?
Not that I'm aware of... But the zen V is really pushed when doing video, the bigger Zens don't really need conversions, but if I remember right the little one does.
Zen everytime. Apples wont play WMA and therefore you get twice as much audio on a Zen compared to an ipod
iPods use AAC instead of WMA, which is just as good. So your argument is really not that valid. Both however are better than MP3 from a compression standpoint.
So I bought a Shuffle "Clone" from Ebay. It may be rubbish, but I figure for £20 I'd take a gamble.
My mate bought one of those, it seemed like a bargain. Plays music well enough, but clunky does not describe the software and user interface well enough. It is sl-----ow. Would have gotten on my nerves big time so I didn't bother.
I have an old style shuffle 1GB, which I got as a gift, and didn't use because of iTunes software which is absolutely awful and seems to want to run 24/7 with as many processes in the background as possible. Then I found a third party "compiler" which allows me to drag and drop into the iPod music folder, double click the little exe and hey-presto, the iPod plays the mp3s.
iPods use AAC instead of WMA, which is just as good. So your argument is really not that valid. Both however are better than MP3 from a compression standpoint.
ok i live and learn again, is AAc the one sony use as well??
well for me it would mean converting all my music files on my PC back to MP3 to compress again as AAC, due to having them all on as WMA!
My mate bought one of those, it seemed like a bargain. Plays music well enough, but clunky does not describe the software and user interface well enough. It is sl-----ow. Would have gotten on my nerves big time so I didn't bother.
I have an old style shuffle 1GB, which I got as a gift, and didn't use because of iTunes software which is absolutely awful and seems to want to run 24/7 with as many processes in the background as possible. Then I found a third party "compiler" which allows me to drag and drop into the iPod music folder, double click the little exe and hey-presto, the iPod plays the mp3s.
oooh....How was it slow? Do you think that it was the memory card that caused it to be slow? i've seen 2 gig cards by knigston on Amazon for £6.55 so if I stick one of those inside, happy days.
oooh....How was it slow? Do you think that it was the memory card that caused it to be slow? i've seen 2 gig cards by knigston on Amazon for £6.55 so if I stick one of those inside, happy days.
Cards? We must be talking about different players, there are probably hundreds of copycat players out there - the one my mate got was very much unexpandable. It had a small display, took ages to turn on, took ages to navigate menus.
one of these Sinbad:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260135085821
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