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/B000H...pf_rd_i=468294

http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B000P...pf_rd_i=468294

[SoulKiss]

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/Elect...roductId=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]

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]

I should have added that I have a 40GB Zen Touch and Vixis a 5Gb Zen Neeon

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).

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...3462154&sr=8-7

Vinyl all the way. Or if you simply have to have up to the minute gear, what about a 'Sony Walkman'?

Originally Posted by Steve H

Vinyl all the way. Or if you simply have to have up to the minute gear, what about a 'Sony Walkman'?

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.