Rating: 
Summary: A great digital audio player
Review: I have the newer Nomad IIc digital audio player with 64 MB onboard memory (model: DAP-6406), but Amazon doesn't have it listed yet so I decided to write my review here.This digital audio player is great for people who are looking for an alternative to CD-players and hard-drive based music machines. It has no moving parts, which means no skipping, so you can use it while jogging or playing sports. It is small, lightweight, and only requires 1 "AA" battery, although you'll probably want to invest in NiMH rechargeable batteries. The sound quality is amazing. I use my own headphones and not the ones that come with the player, however, so that likely makes a difference. But the quality and loudness of the music is exceptional nonetheless...I can hear perfectly with a volume setting of "3" and if I switch to DSP mode I can hear with no problem at volume "0"! Amazing sound for such a small device. Before I got it, I wondered about the set-up, since I heard that these machines can be a pain sometimes. The Nomad IIc was very simple to get going. I just installed the Playcenter software and drivers on my machine (running Windows 2000 Pro), plugged in my player via USB port, and I was able to transfer files. The interface is similar to the FTP program WS_FTP, where you have two panes -- one for files on your computer and one for files on the player. Just select the files, click "Transfer", and that's it. Very easy to use. The layout of the player is pretty good too. You can do the normal play, stop, skip, ffwd, etc. functions as with a CD player. There is also voice recording capabilities which is pretty cool -- it encodes a large amount of audio in WAV format. The player has an option that shows you how much memory is in use and even allows you to directly erase items without connecting to a computer. The backlit LCD screen is readable and it doesn't take long to figure out how all the buttons work. The big question most people ask concerns memory. I specifically chose the 64 MB model because I knew 32 MB wasn't much. With 64 MB I can cram about 18 full-length MP3 songs on it (about an hour of music), or double that if I do Windows Media Format, which the player supports. If 64 MB isn't enough, there is one expansion slot for a Smartmedia card -- currently the player can support a 128 MB card for a total of 192 MB of memory. It is firmware-upgradeable, however, so as better technology comes out you can easily upgrade your player. Overall, the Nomad IIc digital audio player is probably the best portable music machine on the market and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: 128MB SmartMedia cards *are* supported.
Review: There seems to be some confusion about the size of SmartMedia card supported by the Nomad IIc. 128MB SmartMedia cards are supported, but you will probably need to upgrade your player's firmware to version 1.05, downloadable from Creative's website. You can check your firmware version by accessing the Info menu on your player. My player shipped with firmware version 1.01. It's possible that some brands of SmartMedia may not play nice with the Nomad, but 128MB SmartMedia support is definitely a feature. Note: I'm not sure if Creative has provided a mechanism for Macintosh users to upgrade beyond firmware version 1.04 without having access to a PC.
Rating: 
Summary: I really love this machine
Review: For the price, this machine is great. The only problem I've encounter developed from someone else's review. The review said that you could purchase up to 128mb of additional memory for the machine. So without really looking into it I did and had to eventually sell that card and purchase another card for 64mb (the maximum amount allowed for this machine). But with the new card I am able to listen to 73 songs with this thing. It's just wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Great Bargain
Review: I was very glad I shopped around before purchasing this mp3 player because many aqaintances of mine have paid more for an inferior product. I've had the player for six months and i must say it preforms better than expected. Battery Life is excellent, software is quick and managable. Only a few minor problems with the backlight remaining on but this happen after it was throw and hit a cement wall. I've dropped it since, and there have been no more problems.
Rating:
Summary: Great Player
Review: I bought a Nomad 2c recently and I have not had any problems yet. The sound is great. There were only a few drawbacks though. 1. It comes with no headphones. 2. Batteries do not last to long. I would recomend going up to the regular Nomad 2 if you have a little extra money, because the Nomad 2c with the accesories kit is only about 30-40 dollars cheaper and the regular Nomad 2 comes with an FM radio. It is still an excellent player.
Rating:
Summary: No Radio
Review: Great product and everything, but beware, there is NO RADIO. The Nomad II has a radio but not the Nomad IIc. But it's still a great product
Rating:
Summary: Creative changes my loyalties...
Review: Being an active runner, I used my Rio 500 every day for almost two years. It was a dark day when the unit finally started malfunctioning, though it was well overdue with the type of stress I put it through. So I began my search for a new mp3 player, specificly one that would top my current Rio both memory and performance wise. After a few days of visiting my local best buy and reading reviews, I chose the Nomad IIc. Why change my loyalties from a company which granted me a unit that lasted over two years? Simply put, Creative offered a much superior product for a better price. I was able to purchase the Nomad IIc, the docking unit, Koss SportaPro headphones (which I also recommend), and a 128mg Viking Smartmedia card for a price still under the retail value of the Rio 800. How does the unit perform? Perfectly. Compared to the Rioport software, Creative Playercenter 2 was a relief to use. Instead of the constant lockups and messy interface associated with Rioport, I was met with a efficient piece of software which I proudly added a quicklaunch icon to. As far as memory, I'm pumping out 160mg of mp3 goodness that sounds incredible on my Koss SportaPro headphones. I was pleased to find that the menu also featured a "lineout" mode, which made it very easy to switch between running and use in my car. In the Rio I had to reset the custom EQ settings to 0 bass 0 treble. The belt clip COULD be tighter, but the unit has shown no intention of slipping even as I sprint down the road. Creative has won me over with their Nomad product line, and I recommend this unit to anyone who is an avid runner or simply wanting a good value.
Rating:
Summary: Great "starter" MP3 player
Review: For a reasonable price, the Nomad II delivers everything you would want in a simple, easy to use MP3 player. The player is compact, and with the included clip it is easy to carry with you. The controls are intuitive and the display is large enough to show all of the necessary information. Granted, it could be a bit more crisp and have better constract, but I haven't found it to be a problem. The built-in 32 megabytes of memory is reasonable, but if you're going to be using the player for more than 20 minutes at a time you'll probably want to invest in a larger card. Personally, I often use the player while exercising and found the built in memory to be adequate. However, I made the investment in a memory card for longer usage period (plane flights :)) and found it very worthwhile. Getting music on to the player is simple with the included software. Just attach the player using the provided USB cable and the software automatically detects the player and starts. Transferring music is as simple as putting in a CD and selecting the tracks you want. The software handles encoding them (in MP3 or other formats) and transferring them to the player. Simple. MP3 creation can be adjusted for smaller size or higher quality, allowing you to optimize the space available on your player. That was the good side of the software. Unfortunately I think the software is the weakest part of the product. Yes, it is easy to use, but installing it and using it for more advanced tasks can be tedious. First, the software must be installed in order to get the full product manual. Only a small pamphlet is included in the box. The installation process puts several applications on your system by iterating through the install programs. Talk about confusing and annoying... and to top it all off, the install process doesn't clearly describe what is being installed. Finally, the user interface for the software is terrible. For transferring music to the player it is fine, but finding menus and "advanced" properties can be difficult. The software tries to be cool by being "skinned", but completely sacrifices usability in doing so. Overall, I love the player and highly recommend it. The software has it's problems, but isn't a good enough reason to not purchase this product.
Rating:
Summary: Great sound but watch for the product's power problems
Review: I have owned this player for about 2 months and it works great except for a couple problems. The things I like about this unit are that it is compact, takes one "AA" battery and works perfect for jogging and weightlifting. There is a lock switch that disables all buttons on the Nomad so you can clip it to places on the body and not accidentally turn it off while moving. The Nomad IIc comes with 32MB onboard memory and I suggest getting a 128MB smart media card and forget anything less because this is 160MB total memory at less than $200.00. The sound is great, but you will need to purchase your own headphones because the IIc does not come with any. I bought some Sony earbud headphones and Phillips earclip headphones. The Sony sound much better, but I have to wrap the wires around my ears so they don't get tugged out during a heavy workout.
One of the problems I have had with this unit is that my computer absolutely would not recognize it when connected to my USB port unless I put a battery that is fresh from the package in the Nomad IIc. So, I figure that the USB port doesn't supply enough power to the unit for the computer to recognize it and a fully charged battery is the only way to get enough juice for file transfers. My solution was to buy a docking station because it has a power supply of its own and I figured this would solve that problem. In turn, I have a new problem. The docking station doesn't charge the rechargeable battery that Creative sent with the docking station because according to the newsgroups these batteries are defective. Obviously this is a simple fix if you have a Radio Shack someplace close by. So, my advice is that if you choose this player then beware of Creative's power issues with the Nomad IIc.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent product
Review: Only complaints are that the 2 memory cards are treated completely separate and USB transfer is very slow. Very small, very light weight, seems sturdy (although I have not dropped it yet). I never installed any of the software, since I use iTunes and it is just supported.
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