Rating: 
Summary: Like this one? Check out the Nomad II instead!
Review: I returned my nomad 64 and bought the nomad II. The nomad II is an improvement on every flaw of the Nomad 64.It has fast usb support, More FM presets, a big bitmapped screen with backlighting that shows the mp3 file info, easy to use design/interface/buttons... Best of all the file format is sdmi compliant, which means that you can use an external [usb, serial, or flashpath floppy adapter] to transfer files onto the smartmedia, and you dont have to reformat the card for it to work in a sdmi compliant digital camera. Every other mp3 player on the market right now (including the Nomad 64) uses a propreitary format forcing you to connect use the actual player to transfer files on to smartmedia.) An external usb smartmedia reader is the way to go- it tranfers the average song in under 5 seconds. (also, the nomad II software doesn't allow you to transfer files located throughout a Local Area Netwrok- only local files can be tranfered- unless you use an external reader.) The nomad II also comes with winamp plugin software, allowing you to avoid Creativelabs quirky interaface. (there is a winamp plug-in for the nomad 64 as well). (check out nomadworld . com)
Rating: 
Summary: Best on market, but not perfect
Review: I shopped long and hard. I believe this product to be the best pocket-sized player that is presently on the market, but it is not perfect. You may wish to note that many of my minor complaints, such as the lack of USB support, lack of future proofing, and playback of only MP3 files, will be addressed by the now overdue Nomad II. Here is the good: I am somewhat of an audiophile. Although the cost of my home stereo did not exceed the cost of my car, it came closer than I'll ever admit. The Nomad's sound for playing music is excellent, and the included ear buds are quite good. For several months Amazon has been incorrectly identifing the product as being encased in plastic. It is a rugged little magnesium case that fits in my shirt pocket, leaving hardly a crease. Needless to say, it is light as well. I was especially interested in the voice recording capability, which I find to be adequate. For me, this made the Nomad a better value than the Rio. (Others may appreciate the FM radio and reach the same conclusion for this reason, as well as for the smaller size). The manufacterer has already addressed one frequent complaint by including not only its own rather unwieldy software, but also software from MusicMatch that is familiar to many. This solves problems with convieniently categorizing, storing, and transferring MP3 files that some past reviewers complained of. With this software, I can view my entire music library or instead quickly find and transfer music files by whatever criteria suits my immediate need: artist, album, genre, mood, tempo, situation, ect... I also like the display and controls, the basics of which I was able to figure out without having to resort to the manual. It first displays the DOS name of the file, which allows for quick scrolling among files, then, once you have lingered on a selection long enough for the song to begin, scrolls the entire name of the artist and song in accordance with how you have "tagged" these matters with MusicMatch. It has long battery life because, unlike some players, it has space for two AAA sized batteries. Included are two rechargeables, which are not the built-in type that cannot be replaced when they wear out. Finally, although it plays only MP3 files, it can store any type of file, so if you find yourself without a Zip or CDR drive and you have a file larger than a 3.5" disc can hold, this little gem can be used to move files of up to 32 MB from one computer to another. Here is the bad: (1) A built in equalizer would be nice as the four preset options for playback may not suit whatever it is that you find weak or overemphasized in a recording. (2) I am annoyed that a recording cannot use the end of the 32 MB built in memory then continue seamlessly onto the 32 MB flash card. This wastes space at the end of the drive, causes me interuption in recording witnesses, and requires planning when loading songs onto the player. In fairness, I am not aware that any player offers either capacity. (3) I am otherwise fully satisfied when listening to jazz or classical, but when I workout, I blast rock and roll at high volume. The amplification is just beefy enough to be adequate. (4) The player lacks support for certain platforms, such as Windows NT. (5) Without USB support, tranferring files is somewhat slow and, if you have only one parallel port that is located on the back of your computer, there may be inconvenience associated with this as well. (6) The display really should be back lit for use at night, or for when your wife drags you to a dimly lit symphony hall to hear modern classical music. (7) This player will only play MP3 files, not emerging formats such as Liquid Audio and Windows Media, and is not "future proofed" in that support for new formats cannot be programmed-in years down the road. (8) Finally, on two occaisons, the included 32 MB flashcard has gone berserk by indicating I have dozens of files of enermous size on it. Only reformatting the card has cured this problem, which causes concern that I might loose irreplacable voice recordings or find myself knee deep in an isolated trout stream without a good Miles Davis recording. END
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Satisfied for the money
Review: I was very apprehensive about buying a MP3 player for a long time and finally bit the bullet 3 weeks ago and bought this one. I am so disappointed I did not buy one earlier. This little machine is great. It has a decent FM receiver and a voice recorder that can be very useful when you need to remember something and can't write it down(I have used this a few times already). But, the reason you buy this is for the MP3 files it plays. The sound is terrific and the machine gives you a choice of 4 different equalizer settings. I have found that for my musical tastes, the Classical setting work best, but then again, you may find differently. I was suprised by the durability of this little unit. I am not saying to throw it all over the place, but I am not easy on anything and this machine is doing just fine. For the amount of money I paid for this($150), it is a very solid machine to own. Especially when I check out some of my friends more expensive MP3 players, I feel I got a real bargain in the deal. I definitely endorse this product. It's positives definitely outweigh those negatives(no backlight, no AM band, etc..)
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Satisfied for the money
Review: I was very apprehensive about buying a MP3 player for a long time and finally bit the bullet 3 weeks ago and bought this one. I am so disappointed I did not buy one earlier. This little machine is great. It has a decent FM receiver and a voice recorder that can be very useful when you need to remember something and can't write it down(I have used this a few times already). But, the reason you buy this is for the MP3 files it plays. The sound is terrific and the machine gives you a choice of 4 different equalizer settings. I have found that for my musical tastes, the Classical setting work best, but then again, you may find differently. I was suprised by the durability of this little unit. I am not saying to throw it all over the place, but I am not easy on anything and this machine is doing just fine. For the amount of money I paid for this($150), it is a very solid machine to own. Especially when I check out some of my friends more expensive MP3 players, I feel I got a real bargain in the deal. I definitely endorse this product. It's positives definitely outweigh those negatives(no backlight, no AM band, etc..)
Rating: 
Summary: Dont buy an mp3 player!
Review: If you are rich as hell, go ahead and buy it. But for the price your paying for this, you could get a great Mini Disk player, and even plenty of discs for over 6,000 minutes of recording time with the same sound quality! Dont believe me? Goto the Mini Disc section and do the math! Even better, you can record mp3's onto the MiniDisk players, you can also record your voice, your playstation/N64/Dreamcast, VCR, TV, Radio, Tape, everything! I almost bought an mp3 player, and im glad i didn't. MP3's are too expensive compared to Mini-Disks, and if you look at the Mini Disk trend right now, its exactly like the CD trend 10 years ago. They are already making Mini Disk drives fro computers to store info. Just check out the Mini Disks before you buy this, trust me, you'll thank me. If you have any questions, email me, Ill answer them asap!
Rating:
Summary: Best out there for the price
Review: If you're like me, you probably don't want to invest too much in a device that will continue to drop in price. I chose the Nomad over the others mainly because it comes with a voice recorder and FM tuner. I probably won't use the voice recorder much but it is nice to have available. The ten presets for the FM tuner are plenty for me considering there are only 4 or 5 stations in my area that I can stand listening to. The software is adequate and easy to work with. The biggest problem I have with the Nomad is that I have to disconnect my printer everytime I want to download songs. All in all, the Nomad is a very good buy considering you get 64 MB, an FM tuner, voice recorder and rechargeable batteries.
Rating:
Summary: sweet
Review: It is all you can get in this little player that is totaly amazing. When I first got it I was totaly stoked. It had way cool features
Rating:
Summary: great
Review: just a great product. I did my homework on which was the best for the price and the nomad came out first. When i bought it i knew i was right because no other mp3 player has a radio except the nomad 2 which was too much for me. So take my word buy it!
Rating:
Summary: A piece of garbage
Review: Literally! It went into my garbage can! I bought this gadget when it first came out about 4 months ago in Tokyo, tried it on my home PC and 4 different IBM Thinkpads. It worked in none of the above with different parallel port settings and infinite hours with Creative and IBM. Creative said the IBM parallel ports are probably non-standard even when printers and ZIP drives work perferectly well on them. It only worked on my friend's Sony Vaio, so the unit was not defective. It ended up sitting on my drawer and now it would not even turn on. I trashed it. What a waste of a few hundred dollars! The reasons I bought it were for its extra features including voice recording and FM radio. However, the quality of construction and paint job is extremely cheap cpmpared to the RIO500. I am now a happy owner of the RIO500, with fast USB connection, only requires one AA battery and much nicer quality of construction. I also have a RAVE MP3 player and it works perfectly on first try with my parallel port. Please make sure you try the Nomad before you buy! I am surprise there is no consumer uproar over this product!
Rating:
Summary: i love this item
Review: Ok, if you want a good portable mp3 player get this one. Here are the pros and cons PROS not that expepensive for 64mb, sounds good, voice recording, FM raido, comes with docking station and Ni-MH rechargeable battrys, erase button on the side, hold button, CONS slow transfer time, buttons are too small for my fingers and sometimes I press other buttons by accadent, half of the memory is a smart media card (which dosen't bother me much), battery life is short about 3 hours, no back lit screen(which doesen't bother me much), the pros outweigh the cons so I suggest you buy this mp3 player.
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