Rating: 
Summary: NOMAD ISSUES
Review: I have found the Nomad to be difficult to use with endless problems importing music to the library and then copying to the Nomad itself in both cases the IMPORT.EXE caused the software to crash - the Nomad has frequently hung and had to be reset and battery life is nothing like advertised My greatest disapointent was finding it has issues copying bought downloaded tracks from Windows Media Player having bought this machine becauses it was a certified portable player by Microsoft unlike the Archos Jukebox it replaced
Rating: 
Summary: Best tech I've purchased
Review: Let's get this out of the way: The cover on this thing does pop off WAY too easily. That's a basic design flaw, which is practically inexcusable. But even with that flaw I LOVE my Zen Xtra. It is the single best piece of tech that I have purchased in the past two years (when I have also bought a new laptop, new desktop, digital camera, DVD player, etc.) My entire vast music collection is converted to MP3s on a hard drive at close to 110GB, so I went for the 60GB Zen Xtra. Though I could make use of even more capacity, as a music player there is nothing lacking. The latest firmware has resolved just about every remaining quirk. I plug the player into my car stereo, select "Play any track" and listening to my own private radio station with all of my favorite artists. It's a great player with good sound and battery life, at a very good price point especially compared to an iPod. Why spend $500 for a 40GB player when you can get 60GB for $150 less? Unless the iPod actually rubs your shoulders as it plays music, I can't imagine it is any better than the Zen. Hey Creative: Fix the cover issue, add an 80GB drive and I will be first in line for the next generation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Customer Service
Review: When my headphone jack gave up the ghost shortly after my warranty expired, I checked out the Amazon reviews and almost gave up without even calling Creative's customer service because of some of the horror stories being told here. Good thing I didn't. On my second try, I got a way friendly, very helpful agent who made everything easy. In less than two weeks I got a brand new Zen that worked perfectly without paying a cent, even though my warranty was officially expired. Oh, and by the way: the device itself is great. Terrific sound, great display, easy navigation...the scroll button takes only a little getting used to, and the software is easy and effective (though the instructions are confusing). The cover *does* pop off too easily, but nothing's perfect.
Rating:
Summary: From a recent Zen buyer- dont believe the negative hype
Review: Well, after reading about 150 other customer reviews, I decided to take a chance on the Zen XTra 60GB. For those of you who are hesitating, don't. Here are my observations.
Creative's software- it is ridiculously easy to use. Less than 10 minutes after installing the software (on my Win XP system, with absolutely no problems. However, READ THE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTION BOOKLET BEFORE YOU START) I downloaded 3 cds to my Zen.I did not have to read the online manual (there are no printed instructions, but relax, you won't need any.) The process is very intuitive, and all you do is click your mouse 4 times (3 if you don't need to download song information) and away you go.So far, it hasn't locked up or frozen or done any other mean, nasty things.I have read other reviews that complain that the software is difficult; all I can say is that they must have an earlier version (I got mine in March). I bought a Rio MP3 player for my son in Jan. and the software for it is a nightmare. I don't know anything personally about the iPod, so I can't comment on their product. I will say that you should take anything an Apple user (any Apple product user) says with a grain of salt. They all hate any computer-related product that isn't made by Apple- my brother is an Apple disciple so I CAN comment on this. I have heard his Apple propaganda for years.
The scroll wheel- yes, if you hold it down, it can zoom past the entry you're looking for. It took 5 seconds to figure out- don't hold it down for long periods. I haven't had any problem getting it to select when you press it in- I'm not sure why other people say they have.
The case- the metal cover is thin, but mine has not popped off at all. Several of the complainers stated that the cover pops off when or after they've dropped it. One guy even complained that it pops off when he goes snowboarding with it. Well, DUH!
The headphone jack- I haven't had mine long enough to comment on this, but common sense says if you drop it, it can break.
The leather case- it protects the player very well, and despite what one reviewer said, it took about 8 seconds to put on. However, it does cover the screen and the DC-IN jack when it is on. Get out your X-Acto knife, and in 5 minutes the problem is solved. I have read that the iPod has a similar problem, but I don't know this myself.
No stop button- no, it doesn't. Neither does the iPod, evidently. Just press pause/play (it pauses),then the "Skip" button (they're next to each other), and presto, it stops and returns to the main menu.
The player is very easy to use, the screen is easy to read, and it is loaded with cool features you may or may not use. No, it doesn't have video games. That's what your cellphone is for. This is for listening to music, and the sound is fantastic. The included earbuds aren't painful, as some have said, but they seemed too big for my ears. However, they sound great, and there is plenty of volume, unless you're a brain-dead teen trying to rupture your eardrums. They may want to strap a 300-watt amp to their backs and pump up the volume. For the rest of us, there's more than enough volume.
To wrap up, I highly recommend this product. I would have given it 5 stars, but that would imply that it is perfect, and it is too soon to make that judgement. Granted, I haven't had it long, so if my opinion changes in the future, I will write a new review. But if you want a player with HUGE storage, easy-to-use software, fantastic sound, loads of features, AND a price you won't be ashamed of, you should buy the ZEN XTRA. Just remember that it is basically a small hard drive, and treat it as such. If you want something to play video games on while you're snowboarding down Mt. Everest, I suggest a flash-memory type player, although I understand the iPod has been tested by dropping it from a plane at 50,000 feet - at least, that's what my brother tells me.
Rating:
Summary: Problems with Firmware / Creative software?
Review: My tips is to go straight to www.nomadness.net where Independently developed software is available. Some of the best trasnfer tools and more stable firmware updates around. Quality stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Beware of the cover mechanism
Review: Most everything about capacity, flexibility and comparisons have been written already for display here. Just one caution. With my jukebox, the cover doesn't not stay on. If I "snap" it on it can easily pop right off, if I set it down it pops off. What I'm going to see is if this is an issue if the player is kept in the carrying case 24/7, which is how I use it. Any engineers out there? This is a wonderful example of a poor design that can fail at anytime and necessitate the long arduous process dealing with "support" and repacking, shipping and waiting and probably paying more money in addition to the original product purchase. There simply are too many parts of disparate materials that can fail, metal, plastic of differing grades etc, at any joining of dissimilar materials is a point for fatigue and stress. These guys flunk engineering 101 on this design. We will see if it is a fatal flaw or just one more thing the consumer has to work around.
Rating:
Summary: Great when it works, but fragile
Review: Excellent features and performance and especially worthwhile if you need the 60 GB disk. But it broke after falling 18 inches to a tile floor. This just doesn't cut it for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Zen, Such a huge unneccesary disappointment.
Review: 3 things the Creative lacks on and 1 they win! 1) I am in this mp3 player market to play mp3's in my car. I dont want to have a HDD bouncing around the car. I want a safe, secure place to put it and Creative doesnt offer one. However you can go to Dell digital Jukebox and iPod and see the cup holder that doubles as a holder for their players complete with a stabilizer and even a suction cup on the iPod one for stability. Creative offers no such accessory. 2) Once the player in in the cup holder, I want to connect it to my radio. Both the Dell and iPod have respectively outsourced Belkin and Monster Cable to sell accessories for this. They have an FM modulator that also acts as as a AC power adapter. With this, you plug into your lighter adapter in your car and plug it into your headphone output. It transmits a short wave radio signal on 88.7FM. Done with one plug! Creative offers a cassette adapter and does not offer a car power adapter. 3) For the power adapter issue, you could probably read the voltage on the ac adapter and find an after market one from Radio Shack, but then you may have warranty issues with creative. Even so, thats the 2nd wire coming out of your player and one more accessory to buy. It just doesnt seem worth it. :) The nice thing about it is that it looks great with the annodized alluminum and has a 60GB capacity which is far better than Dell's 20GB limit and iPods 40GB limit. You just have no where to put it and too much to plug into it. Such a huge unneccesary disappointment. A side note... I opened a ticket with Creative Technical Support, since there is no other way to contact Creative that I could find. They will not pursure this with any dept inside Creative for you, nor will they put you in contact with someone that cares. It costs them a lot more than 1 customer. I wish they wouldn't force me to buy an iPod over this, but so be it.
Rating: 
Summary: Creative Labs= Lousy Customer Support
Review: I would not recommend ANY Creative Lab's product. Customer support is terrible. Products are generally 'good enough' (kind of like Windows) but that's about it. Mix in the lousy support and you have a product not worth bothering with
Rating:
Summary: GREAT ITEM THAT WAS A MISTAKE TO BUY
Review: I bought the NOMAD JUKEBOX 60GB MP3 player was was quite pleased with it. However after about one month of use I started to notice that one channel of the stereo was intermittent. After about two days of this and fiddling with the earphone plug, it quit working completely. I returned the item to Creative Labs with 30 days still on the warranty and was told that I was at fault for the damage and that I had to pay for the repair. I'm 52 yrs. old and did not do anything except plug in the ear plug and pull the ear plug on the player. BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!!!!
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