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Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 30 GB MP3 Player

Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 30 GB MP3 Player

List Price: $269.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: this so called
Review: When i first got my mp3 player I was so excited to use it. Then I tried to put my CD's onto the Creative Labs software. But I had to name all 5,000 of my songs because the ... software doesn't have the CDDB to figure out the names unlike the fabulous iPod (which i now own and is 5 billion times better than the Zen Xtra).

Also when I was at the Gym, I was using the treadmill and all of the sudden my song stopped playing and I noticed that the screen had gone blank. When i went home I contacted customer service and they said I needed to pay 20 Bucks to send it to them and then they would repair the Hard drive and just charge me for it.

When I complained that I had a warranty they said that my warranty wouldn't be valid by the time they would've received my Zen Xtra.

Finally Creative Labs talks about how this piece of ... is "portable". C'mon, do you really think this lugnut will fit in my pocket, this thing is practically a mechanical brick.

The only thing I say that satisfies me is the fact that the battery can be taken out of the player so i can replace when the darn thing fails(which happens wayyyyyy to often).


Rating: 1 stars
Summary: DON'T BUY THIS!!!
Review: This is the only product I have ever purchased that I would ever IMPLORE people NOT to buy. I actually bought one and had to have it replaced after 6 months when it just stopped working. The second one is full of bugs that screw up song sequence. The battery dies quickly and the player likes to shut off for no apparent reason. Customer service is a joke. I'm not saying spend the extra money on an Ipod but STAY AWAY FROM CREATIVE!!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: There's a Reason Why This Player is So Cheap . . .
Review: I've been following the specs and prices of jukebox MP3 players for a couple years now, just waiting for a bargain to pounce on and digitize my whole music collection. A few weeks ago, I noticed the impressive price drop of the Creative Zen Xtra (30 and 40 GB models) and couldn't resist.

I guess I should say now that I own an iPod instead.

Why? While this brand and model might be suitable for some, I feel that only one word describes this gadget: CLUNKY. First of all, it's a pretty hefty device, it's size and weight comparable to an old cassette tape player. The screen isn't very sharp, and the menu scroll button is cheap and takes careful "balancing" of your fingertip (you'll know immediately what I mean if you try it). Furthermore, the model I received was either defective . . . or there just might be something to the gripes on this site about the battery life on these models - as my Zen Xtra would chug with juice for only a pathetic 80 minutes. While the Creative Zens are unique (to, say, iPods) in that you can remove and replace the battery, the claims of the company are just downright misleading. That's why I bought it over a variety of other brands: the advertised "12 hour battery life!" Nope.

Of course, there are some things that made it hard to send back for a refund. The sheer memory size, 30 or 40 GB, is HUGE. And Creative DID get one thing right - the SUPERB sound quality. Absolutely amazing, it makes the iPod sound bland. With cool effect equalizers that turn the sound into environments such as "Concert Hall," "Indoor Arena," and "Auditorium," a whole new experience is added to old musical favorites.

But altogether, the bad far outweighs the good. If you're terribly strapped for cash, go for it. But unless you plan on keeping it plugged into the wall for home use, this isn't the player for you. Shell out the extra $50-70 for the iRiver or iPod.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: I've owned several MP3 players over several years, with this one replacing an old hard drive-based Nomad Jukebox (which replaced other RAM-based devices...) I highly recommend this one.

This device is a great value at the $215 I paid for it, especially when compared to the iPod (which I tried and thought was comparable). It's portable and compact, easy to use, high-performance, and the batteries last the whole day on a road trip.

I'd have preferred to see a directory-based listing for selecting genres, artists, and albums like the Nomad had, but once I got used to this format I like it. The desktop application for editing the embedded track information is very good, and highly addicting; I found myself spending hours getting all the data "just right."

Overall, no complaints, a very satisfied customer. Thumbs up!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 30 GB Mp3 Player
Review: I was looking for an mp3 player that would hold almost every song and artist from my harddrive.There were 2 reasons I picked this over the Ipod.Price and a replaceable battery.I just got this unit today so I'm writing a review on my experiance with this product today.I will write again in 6-8 months to let people know how this is still working.I bought this at circuit city and also bought the 3 year warrenty in case the problems with the harddrive and ear plug jack pop up that I've read about.So far this is a great unit thou.The install of the creative software and drivers installed on my xp computer with no problem.It was very easy to copy from my computer to this unit and very fast.You can also delete very easily if you want to.There is some pros and also a few cons from this unit.The price of this unit for this much memory was much cheaper than the ipod.Also I don't know about battery life yet since I just bought this.When you get it thou you will have to charge it for 4 hrs.

Pros
1)This hasn't been mentioned but when playing if you scroll to the now playing you get song,artist,title,album info and Gendre all at the same time.Here's what it looks like.Note you must be in now playing to see this.

Michelle
Percy Faith
The Beatles Album/Jesus Christ Superstar
Easy Listening

Also if the title is long it will scroll across.

On my lyra 64 I only get the song title.If I want to see the artist I have to hold the Dsp button down.

2)This comes with the 2.0 firewire and it is very fast.

3)The battery is removable so when it won't charge anymore you can just go buy another one.

4)This thing has sound effects for example concert hall,bathroom etc when listening to music.

5)A backlight for night viewing

6)You can shuffle songs and it will play like a radio station.

7)Times between songs are quick for example when one song ends the other imediently starts.

8)This thing holds a lot of songs.500 hrs with mp3 and 1000 with wma.My lyra usually won't hold over 20 songs.

9)This unit comes with music already installed.It includes quiet a few classical songs if you like classical music.It also comes with demos.

10)This can also hold video from your harddrive.

11)You can organise your songs by artist,song,album or gendre.

12)The sound sounds great thru this unit even better if you have the sound effects on.
Cons
1)The case with the belt clip don't have a see thru window.

2)You must put music tracks in the selected music to hear one after another.If you just choose a song from the playlist you won't hear another one following it.

3)It's not as small as the ipod.

4)No stop button.You must hit pause to cut the song off and if you want to power it off just hit the power button after hitting pause.

5)The packaged earplugs don't fit well

You can also play this in your car 2 ways.Either thru using a cassette adapter if you have a cassette player or by using an FM transmitter.I use the Belkin Tunecast Wireless Fm Transmitter.You can buy these for less than $20.I recommend this product just make sure you buy the warrenty.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice MP3 player
Review: This is certainly a nice product. It's well put together, attractive, durable, provides some good options, and has great sound.

However, there are a few little drawbacks. First, it doesn't support a very wide array of sound formats; you're basically stuck with MP3s. Second, the "jog dial" scroll button is a little annoying and difficult to use, but not enough so as to ruin the experience. Third, it's practically impossible to read the LCD without perfect light or the backlight on (you can set how long the backlight stays idle, up to 60 seconds). Fourth, and finally, the button style and button/input locations are just a little...off, for lack a better word. The buttons aren't quite sticking out far enough and the button/input locations are a little strange (they work and all, but it could have been designed just a slight bit better).

Besides those few quirks, this is a really nice player. The sound is amazing, and the EAX settings are really nice, albeit some scale down the volume whilst using them. Battery life is acceptable. The player is a little larger than say an iPod, but it's still a nice size. The sync from your PC to the Zen Xtra (or vice versa) is a snap and very quick. Also, there's firmware and driver updates available, and the little harddrive is replaceable; if you ever want to replace or upgrade it, it's really simple. The case is really attractive and more durable than the plastic players out there, but the front case cover is easily removed, which is a good thing but can possibly become a bad thing as well, although I've yet to be able to make it 'accidentally' come off.

With everything the package includes, there's really no reason you shouldn't pick this up. For the score I had to knock off one star (I wish I could knock off only half of a star, though) for the my four small annoyances with the player.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good value for money
Review: Sometimes I wonder who really writes these reviews...I could swear that 50% of them are written by either Creative or Apple.

Regardless, I just received my Nomad today...so everything I write is based solely on first-day use (cannot vouch for long-term performance). I'd like to first address those who complain about software problems/incompatiblity issues, etc. Is it really fair to comment about things like that on a hard product review? When I read through these reviews I was looking for the performance of the player itself, not of Windows problems.

I come from a strict loyalty to minidisc players. So this is coming from college student whos boyfriend inducted her to the world of MD and who swore by hers for the past two years: I really am impressed with the Nomad. My 18-year old brother got an iPod for his graduation, so naturally in sibling competition I had to outdo him. He got the 20gig, I bought Nomad in the 30gb for about $200 less. Ha! I won!

So let's be fair here. I love the touch controls on the iPod, I just didn't have the patience to wait for the Zen Touch's release, or the money to dish out. The fact that Apple includes a remote is quite nice. I do like the address book feature of the iPod as well, it gives me an excuse to hold off my tech-y temptation to buy a palm pilot.

On the other hand, the default carrying case for the iPod has no viewing window. I guess the Nomad didn't have one at first, but mine does. It's sort of faux-leather with a nice feel and a dinky clip (I don't plan on using the clip anyway) and makes the unit feel sturdier than it does alone. The front cover which houses the battery is a lighter material than the rest of the unit and almost seems like its in preparation for interchangeable front panels (I tried to look it up but found nothing of the sort). It has a release button and I have not found a way to make it "accidentally" fall off as of yet. ;-)

I do wish there were a manual hold button, I don't like pressing the power button to lock the keys. With the buttons being on the side, and the openings of the case being there as well, it is pretty easy to hit something when you pick up the unit to move it. Yes, its a bit bulky and larger than the iPod, but I would describe it as sturdier, not larger. My brother's iPod is scratched up so horribly because of the plastic, and he's only had it for about 3 weeks. At least the Nomad has metal covers (as thin as they may be). I'm all about aesthetics, so my superficial side is happy.

As far as sound quality goes, it certainly matches that of my MD player. I love having everything on a drive as opposed to minidiscs...even though they were durable I still had to carry around 5 of them. I thought 5 hours of music on one disc was great, but now I have more than 30 and have barely dented my CD collection, and have used only 2.3GB if not less. The Nomad definitely converted me and put my faith back into MP3 players, which I resisted for the longest time.

Guess we'll see how it holds out. I haven't found any reason to be unsatisfied yet. Although I will mention that I am using a third-party ripper to get my CDs, I haven't tried their software in regards to that.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Every Feature Usefull.
Review: I bought the 30GB Nomad several months ago and it has really been a gem of a purchase. I was only expecting to by a 4 GB MuVo but for the extra 40 bucks, 26 GB is a bargin. The people at Creative designed a nice package here. Over the few months that i have had the Nomad i have had a chance to use all of the features. It fits my life style perfectly. You can customize playlists on the fly. You can set bookmarks in the middle of a track (very handy for long audiobook files). The sound quality is fantastic, and the EAX Features make it even better. I also like the fact that it can be utalized as an external hard drive. I have some files i need to transport from school to home and this is ideal. I can keep all of my work files on it and still have enough room for an extensive music collection. The battery life has never let me down and the controls are quite simple to use. The travel case that came with it is also quite nice looking and functional. This is a good bye.


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