Rating: 
Summary: This Jukebox Really Rocks!
Review: I just received this as a gift, and it is great. Ripping a CD to the Jukebox is extremely fast. It's capacity to hold all the music it claims is right on target. Yeah, it's too heavy if you want to carry it while jogging, et.al., but for me, it is definately much easier to transport my extensive collection of music. I travel quite a bit, and Creative Labs has made my future trips (packing included) a piece of cake!
Rating:
Summary: Very expensive, but very impressive!
Review: I just couldn't wait to buy this mp3 player. I kept debating because it is so expensive, but some things are worth paying for. I am impressed on how many songs can be stored on the hard drive. The jukebox comes with a lot of songs on it already and there's still 4gb's of space. One thing I would like to see on the software updates:* Make the transfer button enabled so you can transfer songs from the jukebox to your computer. It is only one way right now.
Rating: 
Summary: Great player, but an MP3 CD player is a better value.
Review: My previous review of this product stated that this player was a fairly good buy. Not so anymore. It's simply too heavy, large and bulky. The main advantage this player has is it's rather large 6 GB capacity, which I never was able to fill. However, it's negatives outweigh the positives. After using it for a couple of months, the batteries stopped holding a charge, and would only give me a half hour or so of play time. The issues mentioned in my old review such as the inability to fast forward/rewind and inability to upload songs from the player have been resolved with recent firmware and software updates. The headphones are great, and they served me for a long, long time, even after I stopped using the Jukebox itself. In my opinion, it is a far better idea to purchase a portable CD player that is able to play MP3 CDs, such as a Sony MP3 CD discman. It's far cheaper, lighter and easier to use. However, you obviously need a burner to burn the MP3 CDs... or, go buy a newer generation of this product! OLD REVIEW -- I just got the Creative Nomad Jukebox today (in blue!) and so far I absolutely love it. I even rollerbladed with it. True, it is a bit bulky, but thats only because it has a laptop hard drive inside it. And hey, it may drain the batteries (or so people say), but when I used it for my 30-45 minute roller blade trip, it served me well. The batteries didn't die on me, and it was almost fresh out of the box. The batteries hadn't even had much charging yet. I don't have any idea why the people are complaining about the headphones and the volume settings. The headphones are comparable to the Sony Backphones, which are probably the greatest lightweight headphones ever made. The headphones are a bit tight out of the box, but I'm sure they will loosen with time. As for the volume issue, you've got to be either deaf, or standing in the middle of a busy airport runway if it's not loud enough for you. The annoying things about it are: 1. The lack of fast forward/rewind functions 2. The large size (about the size of a Sony Discman player) 3. The delicate state of the player (Although I haven't done this, I don't think a Hard Drive would survive a fall) 4. The player's software doesn't allow you to download songs from the player into the computer The positive features are: 1. SUPERIOR sound quality 2. Tons of EAX settings, and other sound settings. 3. EXTREME capacity. I dont think I will ever be able to fully use up the 6 gigabyte capacity of this great MP3 player. 4. Comes with an AC adapter. 5. Comes with a leather carry case. 6. The super-fast file transfer time. You can load a whole album on this baby in under 3 minutes. My old Parallel Port MP3 player took 15 minutes for about 3-4 songs. 7. The player comes preloaded with hours of music of different genres, including Pop, Classical, Rock and Electronica. All and all, the positives outweigh the negatives. Of course, you could wait for a better player, but why? [Thats my way of thinking ;-) ]
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty remarkable, v.2.0 is probably worth a wait
Review: I'm chomping at the bit too. I want to carry around basically all of my music where ever I go -- in the car, on the train, when I'm stuck in the airport. I use my laptop to hold about 400 songs but the battery drain usually prevents from my full enjoyment. From all the reviews here a compilation of the major concerns: 1 - battery life is only about 3-4 hours, the included rechargables are fickle 2 - bulky compared with other MP3 players 3 - not good for exercise b/c it uses a hard drive (moving parts) v. memory (non-moving parts) for storage 4 - not loud enough 5 - headphones are mediocre 6 - instruction manuel is very poor 7 - no car power adaptor available Good things 1 - storage capacity is about a large as you could want it 2 - music transfer is quick and painless In the end, I can understand if you can't wait (I'm having trouble myself). But I am very eager to see the next version (possibly smaller, lith-ion batteries, car adaptor, voice recorder!) and those by other mfgs. It will be in Q1'01 and patience will likely be rewarded, expecially in price.
Rating:
Summary: Good product, but a bit outdated
Review: The first time I saw this player, I knew I had to get one! I hate dragging CDs back and forth from home to work, this seemed the perfect solution for me. And for the most part, it sure is. The sound quality, storage capacity, ease of ripping and adding music, stylish looks, etc. all make this a winner. If your hope is to use it jogging or on trips, etc., where you will be away from power supplies, you may not be quite as happy. Battery life is definitely the low point of the unit. The software both on the player and on the PC is easy to use for the most part. Some things could be better implemented, like the delete functions, but on the plus side, it *is* USB (a must for the amount of files you'll be moving) so transfers and communication between the two is fast. The PC software is easy to use, but really could be a bit more fleshed out. The help file is really pretty sparse. You better know what you are doing and what a lot of the settings mean, as there is little help included. Quick note to a new user...be sure to drop by the website and get the upgrades for using WMA files! They are smaller than MP3s for the same quality of play, so you'll be able to get even more on the player. As others have mentioned, it's rather annoying that the music included on the player cannot be downloaded and saved. A CD with it should be included. But hey, it *is* neat that they included that much free music! I don't generally buy some types of music, like classical, and there was a LOT included on it that was nice to listen to. The other included items are pretty good...two sets of batteries is certainly more than you normally get, and the headphones are actually decent, rather than the crappy earbud ones you usually get with most portable audio equipment. For once, I don't have to go buy another set that I can wear, these work nicely. The carrying bag is fairly well made and padded as well. Sadly though, it cannot do more than carry the player, as the design does not allow anything, even headphones to be plugged in. Seems like a real waste. Some nicer carrying cases can be purchased from Creative. UPDATE - it's been over a year since I bought my Jukebox. I had it upgraded to 20 gig and have been fairly happy with it. However, there are a lot more similar products on the market now that I do think are better. They improve on the two biggest problems with the Nomad Jukebox, and that's size and battery life. I really don't run it off batteries at all. I plug it into my cigarette lighter in the car and have an AC adapter at work for it. Size is not a huge issue for me, but then, I don't go jogging with it or carry it around with me much. If I did, I sure would look for another player. I would have hoped to see the price on the Nomad come down with these smaller, better players coming out, and it has, but not enough in my opinion to make it worth the purchase. I will be intersested to see the next version Creative releases, with a 20 gig hard drive and better battery life. Same size though, which I think is really going to kill it in this market.
Rating:
Summary: Jog with it? Are you nuts?
Review: Let me get this straight... you want to carry a $450 gadget with a hard drive in it with you when you jog? No sir! I have been using the nearest product to a competitor for monthes... the Personal Jukebox 100 from Han-Go electronics, both the 4.68 and 6.4gig versions. The Creative Nomad JB is by far a better developed, more feature laden product. It has many, many improvements over the PJB-100 including the excellent software that allows you to cue up an unlimited number of MP3 tracks to transfer then go away while the USB chugs along. The PJB-100 makes you go in small bunches of tracks a directory at a time then puts them in Alphabetical order no matter the album order. The only way to preserve order in the PJB-100 is to rip directly to the unit which leaves no MP3 on your computer, and is slower than a modern PC as well. By comparison the Nomad preserves album order by default and organizes automatically by Playlist, Album, Artist, and Genre. The PJB requires you to make playlists when transferring from the PC by making 'copies' of the tracks on the unit. These take up no space but you can't manipulate the playlists except when connected to the PC. The Nomad lets you do all this easily with the unit itself, a much better method. Battery life... The PJB-100 lasts 12 full hours of continuous use on a charge of its Lithium Ion battery. The Nomad claims 4 hours but this is dependant upon many other factors. Like how well behaved the Nickel Metal-Hydride batteries are. This is the kind that has a 'memory' and degrades rapidly if not completely exhausted, then completely charged. The normal use pattern of this sort of unit means this isn't going to happen. I feel that Creative's including a second set is more ominous than friendly. And they warn on several labels and stickers to use Only Creative NiMh batteries as replacements even though they are nominally the same as any other 1.2 volt, AA form rechargable except in that NimH and Nicads have different discharge curves. I do not choose to experiment with a widget this expensive. And at any rate the unit is best suited for staionary, home use where it can remain plugged in. The PJB-100 has a car kit. This is a BAD thing. In use one failed with a broken line out jack... it only has ONE! Even after getting warranty repairs the unit failled again only weeks later from HD death. This time out of warranty. The second unit started making model helicopter noises when the HD runs so it lives in semi retirement at home now. We will see how well the Nomad likes the highways but I suspect it will stand up to the vibration and bouncing a little better. It is a sturdier sort of creature to be sure. EAX effects... yawn. You can distort and twist your music in a wide variety of fashions. I use MP3 to AVOID this. What would be usefull is Not included. That is Normalization. Using WinAmp you can have you choice of free normalization plug-ins. MusicMatch Jukebox used to have a normalization option but it never worked right and is now absent from the current version. CD's do not have equal levels... much less Mp3's ripped from them. Anyone who has listened to a playlist from many different CD's can recall turning up the volume to hear a quiet track then being blasted into next week by the next track from a louder Cd. This is also what keeps Windows Media Player 7 and RealPlayer from being usefull MP3 players. Still... I like everything about the design of this thing except the shape. The PJB-100 is squarish. At least it has a flat surface on the bottom and fits in a large pocket. The Nomad is CD player shaped sorta. But there is no convenient way to HOLD it. The PJB-100 comes with a case that shows it's display and exposes it's controls. The Nomad case cannot be used while playing it. No hole for the jack or controls. Just a bag. And it is not going in anyone's pockets. Again... much more suited to live on the shelf hooked into the stereo. The PJB-100 comes with a mini-plug to RCA phono-plug 'Y' cable to connect to the stereo. Not so the Nomad though it DOES have 2 lineouts and surround capability. Very nice. There is currently no control to use with the IR port and no 12 volt car adapter though Creative say both are coming. ... As the market grows the prices go low. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The most Amazing MP3 Player on the market
Review: This player is amazing. It's like carrying Sound Blaster Live with you anywhere you want. Some people have been saying there are major flaws in the system, such as low battery life, and no car adapetr kit. Car kits are available anywhere, the same ones used for cd players. They are obviously mistaken about battery life, i have used my batteries for a good 4 hours, and on top of that they give you a second battery pack, so in total you get 8 hours of listening, and never have to buy batteries for the system again, because when it is plugged in, the batteries automatically recharge. The storage capacity is obviously amazing, and considering this, the player is extremely compact. Pound for pound it beats any other mp3 player on the market in quiality (with sound blaster qualities) and storage. a must buy for mp3 lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product
Review: Creative, you did a really nice job with this product! Ithink [most of the complaints] can be ignored once you have the headphones on and are listening to your music. The software is updateable, so the very few quirks will be worked out and they'll also implement remote control capabilities. It's a nice toy, a little expensive and hungry for batteries, but worth it to me.
Rating:
Summary: Nice player if u are around a power source
Review: I just got the nomad and i do like it but i had bought it for a protable mp3 player and it dosent live up to the word portable at all. I cant seem to get it to play for more that an hour and a half. (wow i have hours upon hours of music but i cant listen to it anyway) I also can not get my player to work with normal batteries. It says in the manual that it will work with alkaline batteries also but i havea no go here. I cant get the player to event turn on with alkaline batteries in it. So to finish this is a wonderful product if u never leave home but ya know at home you also have a computer.
Rating:
Summary: Good First Attempt
Review: ...For a first to market multi-GIG player, it's a good attempt.I've had the unit for nearly 2 months and use it when I'm at home andnot on my computer. Overall, the Jukebox is a decent product. ThePlayCenter software makes it easy to rip/transfer music to theJukebox. The battery life is reasonable considering the hardwarethat's being supported...anywhere from 3-4 hours depending onfrequency of use and file bitrates. The 5 minute anti-skip is prettysilly (although it works as advertised) considering that the Jukeboxweighs almost 3 pounds and contains a 6GB hard drive. Personally, Idon't like jogging with hard drives in my pocket. The Jukebox'snavigation system is fairly usable but not something my mother coulduse without some training. The absence of forward and rewindcapability has proven to be most annoying. Perhaps this can berectified with a software update, allowing the user to hold down theSkip Next or Skip Previous buttons to perform these functions. Also,the inability to compose playlists directly on the Jukebox is quiteirritating as well. You must go back to the PlayCenter software tocompose and transfer your playlists. The first real problem thatI've discovered ... that the loudness ofthe audio is poor. I've turned the volume to it's maximum and wasunable to really feel overwhelmed in any way. I've also fiddled withthe EAX effects and discovered that this "feature" furtherzaps the audio's loudness and adds a noticeable artificial quality tothe sound. The second problem is the sheer slowness of theJukebox's operating system. This is a serious problem because ALL ofthe Jukebox's functionality is digital - including the slow-to-respondvolume control. I realize that the Jukebox is a computer, but it'sbeing pitched to consumers as a consumer electronic device and thusshould be as responsive. Perhaps this problem is rooted in a slow CPUor perhaps it's because the operating system and the file indexes areon the hard drive. Whatever the reason, this needs some seriouswork. As for accessories, I'd like to see a car audio kit with afixed FM channel transmitter + AC charger. A simple mounting kitmight be a nice as well. Also, a remote control with LCD would be awelcome accessory, assuming that the Jukebox can transmit as well asreceive infrared signals. I hope Creative is listening to (orreading) these reviews. For a v1.0 product, the Jukebox is a goodshot. Hopefully, they can release some software upgrades to correctsome of the problems I've listed. And hopefully the next version ofthe Jukebox will correct the issues that software upgrades cannot.
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