Rating: 
Summary: Phone Jack Faulty
Review: I loved this thing until 2 1/2 months after purchase... The phone jack is not working properly. Now I am very disappointed. Glad I got a 2 year replacement plan from Best Buy. Recommend you protect yourself if you buy this product. I don't think the phone jack problem is a rare one from what I have read here.
Rating: 
Summary: **Great player, but but for newbies**
Review: I personally like the control that the Zen Xtra gives you in organizing and classifying your music. It also creates playlists on the go for you (combining tracks by the same Artist, the same album, or same genre) for easy playback retrieval.
The software that it comes with, Creative MediaSource, is great also, however may be a little complicated for new computer users. It lets you edit all track information (Artist, genre, album, track #) regardless of what ID3 tags were used when recording.
Also do I need to remind you of the removable battery. Poor iPod users have to shell out almost $100 to get their battery serviced/replaced when its dead. Also you can store, data files, video files, etc. on the Zen Xtra (it's a portable hard drive also)
The only negative is the buttons on the case are oddly positioned.
Overall I don't recommend this item for newbies. But if you want great control and organization over your MP3s, this is definitely the player for you!!!
Rating:
Summary: Review for Folks new to mp3s
Review: I purchased this mp3 player just last night after doing some scouting around. Here's a basic run-down from what I learned: Flash card memory vs. Hard Drive ( i.e. Why does a 256 mb player cost $$$...and a 40 GB (40,000 mb) player only cost $...?) mp3 players have either flash card memory or a hard drive in them. The flash card memory is more expensive but is very light and compact. That's why you have these things that can be keychain size. Tiny! mp3 players of this kind of memory are typically small and light and have between 64 mb - 1.5 GB of memory. I am averaging 4.5 mb per song, to give you an idea of how many songs you can get by the amount of memory. (1 GB = 1,000 mb) Hard drives (this is what most iPods have - and just about all mp3 players over 3-5 GB of memory). Cheaper to produce, holds a lot, heavier and has moving parts which means it's a little more prone to damage from being banged around. That said, they are pretty sturdy machines and I wouldn't let this dissuade you from getting an mp3 with a lot of memory. Just be aware of it. This explains why you see what appears to be such weird pricing on mp3 players. A 256 mb player (roughly 60 songs for me) is about X amount of dollars But a 30 GB (30,000 mb) player (roughly 6,650 songs) sells for only slightly more. It's because the 256 player uses flash memory (smaller/lighter) and the 30GB uses a hard drive. That's the first thing to understand. So consider what you're going to use the device for. If you're a jogger and you want to strap it to your arm, I'd recommend flash memory. If you want to listen to tunes while you travel, I'd get a hard drive because you can put so much on the thing - including audio books. REVIEW OF ZEN XTRA - 40GB The device is larger than an iPod of similar capacity. This didn't bother me too much because it's still a decent size. It comes with a good case that fits it snuggly. The front cover (which you remove to take out the battery) feels flimsy but when snapped on, the device still feels pretty solid. As some other reviewers noted, after it was connected to the computer for a bit, it somehow stopped reading the player so I had to replug it. It did not lock up my computer or require a reboot. The software lets you pop in a CD and then scans the internet to name the artist, track name and album name. Extremely convenient. Then it rips the tunes into mp3s and puts them on your computer. You can even skip that step and rip them directly from the cd to the player. (won't leave copy on your computer.) The pros and cons of it: Great price. The iPod costs more for the same amount of memory. I thought the software was decent enough - it wasn't complicated to learn at all. The scroll button is sort of annoying to push - a nice button would be nicer but eh, not a big deal. It also stores data so I can see myself placing some data files on here. It is slightly larger than an iPod, no doubt about it. For me, that was the only drawback. I'm really happy with this purchase. Also, when I installed the software, it said that Windows XP hadn't approved something with the drivers, etc - and that continuing it install may cause instability. If you're like me, that will definitely make you pause. After I reviewed the manual (a pdf file included on the cd), I felt better because they warned you about the message and said it wouldn't cause problems and, in fact, it hasn't. So if you have XP, be prepared for this and don't be alarmed. If you are out for an mp3 player with a lot of memory and do not want to spend a ton of money, I think this is a great purchase and strongly recommend it. I would have liked to have given it 4 1/2 stars docking that 1/2 star only for the size.
Rating:
Summary: Review for Folks new to mp3s
Review: I purchased this mp3 player just last night after doing some scouting around. Here's a basic run-down from what I learned: Flash card memory vs. Hard Drive ( i.e. Why does a 256 mb player cost $...and a 40 GB (40,000 mb) player only cost $...?) mp3 players have either flash card memory or a hard drive in them. The flash card memory is more expensive but is very light and compact. That's why you have these things that can be keychain size. Tiny! mp3 players of this kind of memory are typically small and light and have between 64 mb - 1.5 GB of memory. I am averaging 4.5 mb per song, to give you an idea of how many songs you can get by the amount of memory. (1 GB = 1,000 mb) Hard drives (this is what most iPods have - and just about all mp3 players over 3-5 GB of memory). Cheaper to produce, holds a lot, heavier and has moving parts which means it's a little more prone to damage from being banged around. That said, they are pretty sturdy machines and I wouldn't let this dissuade you from getting an mp3 with a lot of memory. Just be aware of it. This explains why you see what appears to be such weird pricing on mp3 players. A 256 mb player (roughly 60 songs for me) is about $... But a 30 GB (30,000 mb) player (roughly 6,650 songs) sells for $...! It's because the 256 player uses flash memory (smaller/lighter) and the 30GB uses a hard drive. That's the first thing to understand. So consider what you're going to use the device for. If you're a jogger and you want to strap it to your arm, I'd recommend flash memory. If you want to listen to tunes while you travel, I'd get a hard drive because you can put so much on the thing - including audio books. REVIEW OF ZEN XTRA - 40GB The device is larger than an iPod of similar capacity. This didn't bother me too much because it's still a decent size. It comes with a good case that fits it snuggly. The front cover (which you remove to take out the battery) feels flimsy but when snapped on, the device still feels pretty solid. As some other reviewers noted, after it was connected to the computer for a bit, it somehow stopped reading the player so I had to replug it. It did not lock up my computer or require a reboot. The software lets you pop in a CD and then scans the internet to name the artist, track name and album name. Extremely convenient. Then it rips the tunes into mp3s and puts them on your computer. You can even skip that step and rip them directly from the cd to the player. (won't leave copy on your computer.) The pros and cons of it: Great price. The iPod is $...more for the same amount of memory. I thought the software was decent enough - it wasn't complicated to learn at all. The scroll button is sort of annoying to push - a nice button would be nicer but eh, not a big deal. It also stores data so I can see myself placing some data files on here. It is slightly larger than an iPod, no doubt about it. For me, that was the only drawback. I'm really happy with this purchase. Also, when I installed the software, it said that Windows XP hadn't approved something with the drivers, etc - and that continuing it install may cause instability. If you're like me, that will definitely make you pause. After I reviewed the manual (a pdf file included on the cd), I felt better because they warned you about the message and said it wouldn't cause problems and, in fact, it hasn't. So if you have XP, be prepared for this and don't be alarmed. If you are out for an mp3 player with a lot of memory and do not want to spend $..., I think this is a great purchase and strongly recommend it. I would have liked to have given it 4 1/2 stars docking that 1/2 star only for the size.
Rating:
Summary: The Best iPod Alternative
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: 2 versions of this player are available (one good, one bad)
Review: I was afraid to get the Nomad because of many bad reviews,
but I learned many of the negative reviews are because of the old version,
which had problems with the headphone jack, etc.
As long as you get the model with item#70PD055000032, you will be fine.
(the older trouble-prone model is item#70PD055000017)
The Creative Nomad has a MAJOR advantage over the IPOD.
(a USER replaceable battery).
Over time all rechargeble batteries fail and can no longer be recharged. (usually takes a year or two)
The IPOD battery is NOT user replaceable, and the ENTIRE IPOD has to be sent back to Apple and you pay a fee. ($108 with shipping)
If you read Apple's fine print, they state that for the sake of quick turnaround time, they give you someone's elses IPOD.
>>>and because of this, they ERASE the harddrive and you have to redo all your songs, etc
>>>who knows how your "used" replacement IPOD was treated or if it was ever dropped.
I don't need all this agravation just to replace a simple rechargeable battery.
(just read the fine print on Apple's website on IPOD battery replacement).
This is why I went with the Creative Nomad instead of the IPOD, and after four months of ownership, i have no regrets with the purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Player with Limitations
Review: I've had my Zen Xtra for about a year now. It's hands down the best MP3 player on the market, but it does have its limitations.
Let's start with the good:
-- Removable battery. Those of you with iPods, you know exactly what I mean.
-- Huge capacity for a low price. Apple now makes a 40GB iPod, but it's more expensive than the Zen Xtra, so unless you like paying more for the Apple cachet, I'd suggest the Zen Xtra. Mine isn't even half full yet.
-- Great sound. I have the Belkin FM transmitter for the car and a small pair of speakers for work, and everybody's always stunned at the sound quality from "that little thing".
The not-as-good:
-- It's not well-suited for athletic activity, and don't even think about what happens when you drop it. I broke my first one when it fell out of my purse, and I've managed to scramble the disk drive one other time. Fortunately, it was still within warranty. Creative could DEFINITELY have made this one a little more sturdy.
-- The headphone jack breaks with very little contortion. I accidentally pulled VERY hard on the headphone cord once and had to return the device because the jack broke away inside the case. Again, good thing I bought the extended warranty.
-- Comes with a crappy headset. Fortunately, headsets are plentiful in stores.
-- Clunky, unintuitive interface. Also, as I discovered, you HAVE to make sure the USB cable is well-seated in the unit, or your computer will not make a connection to it. But the interface is very powerful and has some very cool features once you get used to it. But while we're discussing the interface...
-- Its interface ONLY works with Windows products. I got a Mac recently and was very upset to discover this. Fortunately, Mac users are innovative people as a group and there are a few Mac shareware utilities that allow you to get around this issue. A good copy of VirtualPC also works around this problem.
All in all, well-worth the money, but not perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Best for price
Review: I've only had the Zen Xtra a couple of weeks but am totally hooked on it. I was wary on buying a Creative Lab product after the Jukebox I bought 4 years ago from Creative which crashed with regularity. This one is different, so far no problems with playing or downloading to it. The volume on this player is sufficiently improved as well. It does have a couple of minor drawbacks but they are over shadowed by all the advantages the player has. After downloading the newest driver and updated software it was a snap to upload music to the player. It take less than 30 seconds an album to upload to the Zen using USB 2. For simplicity, I'll compare the Zen Xtra to an 20 gig Ipod. Ipod 20 gig
25 % smaller than the Zen
Simple interface
Bauhaus design industrial white
Zen Xtra 40 gig
Twice the drive space for a LOT less
WMA capability
Since the same quality WMA is 1/2 the size of MP3, the Zen holds 4 time more music
Has more sound controls
Has more play choices User replaceable battery (what was Apple thinking!)
Leatherette case included
File drag and drop from File Explorer
Mass file tag editing
On the fly Play lists
Rating: 
Summary: wish that they didn't have their own software
Review: If you've already got a big music collection in Windows Media Player or MusicMatch you're in for a lot of pain as you transfer your library into Creative's proprietary software application on your PC. All of the information about Music Genre will be stripped out during this process (despite the fact that Windows Media Player was able to read it from my database originally created with MusicMatch). Battery life is only about 5 hours (bad) but you can carry extras and replace them quickly (good). It is relatively easy to change tracks or volume by feel thanks to some little bumps in the controls. A pretty thoughtful mechanical design.
Rating:
Summary: Really, Really Good
Review: In April of 2004, I received a birthday present which happened to be the Zen Xtra 40 GB. I was thrilled, but also a bit hesitant. I have had numerous other mp3 players, ranging all the way back to the Rio 600. None of which really met what I considered to be a good player. They all had some flaws, but had some good points about them as well. The last creative product I owned was a Jukebox 3, which was flawed as well. The hard drive failed, and so I called their customer support (this was at least 2 years ago), and asked if they could repair it. They said that they could, so I sent it off. They send it back saying it wasn't repairable. So I went with my first instinct and replaced the harddrive, and then not 2 months later the headphone jack went dead. So it was all line-out for me after that, what a pain.
So that brings me to the Zen Xtra, and I have to say that after some abuse, but also some TLC, that the Xtra has performed like a champ. I have had no problems whatsoever. Apparently, Creative fixed the headphone jack issue, because after switching between the home setup and the car setup at least twice/three times a day, it still performs flawlessly.
I am now going to comment on some of the other user's issues.
1. The battery life- I honestly have not had any problem with battery life, last time I checked and ran it dead at work one day while listening to it, It lasted 11.5 hours. (I wasn't at work the whole time, but I never stopped playback from when I got up, to around 7:30 that night.) This was listening to mostly VBR mp3s encoded with LAME with --alt preset standard, and some extreme.
2. The headphone jack- As I said before, I have not had any problems with the headphone jack, as I have with the NJB3 headphone jack. (Which by the way I resoldered and fixed and then the whole unit broke, cheap parts?)
3. The battery cover lid - Honestly, I leave mine in the leather (pleather?) case pretty much all the time, and this keeps the case from coming open. It also keeps the unit from getting scratched, so thats another plus. All I did was take a hobby knife, and cut away a screen (inbetween the layers of fake leather, there is a plastic screen layer, so I just left that, and cut a small square hole for the power plug. I usually never have to remove it.
4. Its so much bigger/heavier/crappier than the Ipod - I have used Ipods before, and honestly, yes the xtra is thicker than the ipod, however, is less than .5 inches thickness worth losing the USER replaceable battery, and costing at least 100 dollars more ( I think it's more like 150-200, but I'll be generous). To me it was not worth that extra money. And to the guy that posted a link to a free ipod site, Uhh.. That sounds like a scam.
5. Frequent Crashing - Mine has crashed maybe 5 times, out of everyday use, and when it froze, I unhooked the battery, and replaced it. After a few minutes of the library rebuilding, I was back to enjoying my music.
This unit has literally worked flawlessly for me. The fact that it has multiple format options, It can also be used for external storage, which works nicely. I do not use the Creative software, I use Red Chair's Notmad Explorer, and do not have any problems.
I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a good mp3 player, and an even better price.
--Rob
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