Creative Zen Micro 5 GB MP3 Player Pink

Rating:
Summary: Installation Nightmare!!!!
Review: After 4.5 hours of troubleshooting on Christmas Day, the device was still not detected by my computer. I am an experienced computer user, and still cound not get the device to work with our computer after installing and reinstalling the software, following the troubleshooting instructions at Creative.com, searching/downloading driver/software updates, and testing each USB port (which work with other USB connected devices). Needless to say, my daughter was disappointed with the gift and will be returning it.

Rating:
Summary: Tiny Like a Baby!!
Review: Despite all the warnings on Amazon and on the product support pages, I gave this charming puppy a home long enouth to load about 16 cd's.
Then like i'd been warned --the crash. Recovery? no problem. Just spend a couple of days in recovery mode till you give up all hope and join the others who bought and returned this first run at a great idea. Do-over permitted Creative, because of your design, feature advances, and demonstrated sonic abilities. But try to keep version 2.0 off the market until you include tested hard drives.

Charleston has hope

Rating:
Summary: iPod for Window Users
Review: First off if you are a Windows user and want an iPod like I did but were scared that it being Apple would be cause for concern, then by all means get the Zen Micro. I was worried that if I got an iPod somehow it wouldn't work right if I didn't have an Apple or iTunes. So with that in the back of my mind I went with the Creative Zen Micro. It does all that an iPod can do but it is just better equipped to handle Windows. I got the white one and it is very clean and sleek. The outer casing is white so everything is the same color. If you get a black or another color the casing will still be white. So I bet you are reading this to know what I don't like about so here it is:

-The instructions on how to actually use the Zen are lacking. It is basically figure it out on your own. Now the software is easy enough, but I had the hardest time trying to make playlists.

-The earphones are a little big. If you have small ears they definately will not fit. I always thought I had big ears until I put the earphones in. They barely stay in.

Those are the only complaints. The sound is great. The size is great. (about the size of a flip phone) And it comes with bonus stuff like extra battery, stand, charger, carrying case, belt clip. If you want an iPod but are worried about it being an Apple, get the Zen, no questions.

Rating:
Summary: iPod's biggest threat
Review: I bought this Zen Micro for my wife since she wanted to experience digital music. I picked up the package for her at UPS and was quite impressed by the packaging of the device. Even in its packaging they are trying to compete against the all powerful iPod. The result is a very well packaged and impressive product. When I first laid eyes on this device it was love at first sight. Yes, even if the device itself is a pink colored one. Its small, well built, easy on the eyes, yet its beauty captivates you from every angle. After my wife charged it for three hours, I took the pleasure of holding it and playing with a gadget that doesn't even belong to me. I was impressed with the powerful, beutiful light that both, surrounds the device and lights up the screen. Its a nice blueish relaxing color. Nothing too loud to distract you. This is definately the device that many will see and approach you in the subway and ask: "what is that?" then you can show it and say: "is my Zen Micro", and leave people going home searching on google for the device. I love iPods, but I was very impressed and captured by the beautiful toy. Now, don't let its beauty fool you. This is one powerful device. 5G, 2,500 songs, FM Radio, voice recorder, calendar, to-do list and wonderful sound. It is enough to hold up its own and I dare say stomp on the competition. The only reason why I don't see it beating the iPod in terms of sales is that I don't believe it to be marketed effectively. If they spend some millions on commercials (never seen one), printed ads and even those big billboards, then, you can really say they have a chance. I do hope that word of mouth is enough to give this small, wonderful device the credit it deserves. Zen, you won my heart. Now, if you excuse me, my wife might be home soon and find me playing with her Zen... a big no, no.

Rating:
Summary: Loves It!
Review: I just got my Zen Micro yesterday and I'm very impressed. Inserted the battery and plugged in the charger and I was listening to the FM tuner within minutes.

When I got home from work I went through the installation process which was trouble free. Installed the software and upgraded the firmware from the Creative site, which I have read is a must if you want to use Windows Media Player 10 to synch instead of using the Creative software.

This is my first MP3 player, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of uploading files. I uploaded almost 1,500 songs in a little over an hour which I thought was pretty fast. I have a fairly new computer (P4 2.3GHz with USB 2), so I'm guessing that's why it was faster than I expected.

The only hitch was that some of the songs didn't make it to the player and it did hang up 2x during the upload process. When that happened I had to disconnect the player, close WMP and start again. Still I was able to synch all but about 12 of the songs I have ripped to my computer.

I can understand how some Ipod enthusiasts wouldn't like the Zen Micro because it's UI is different. I have friends who own Ipods and the wheel is very cool on them. I think that unless you are really attached to that interface you will not have a problem with navigation on the Micro.

As for the vertical touch pad which I know some people have had complaints about, I have mine still set on the medium setting. I think it's a matter of preference and just takes a little getting used to.

Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: i was wary of buying this player because of what some other people said about it. but i needed an mp3 player (can't deal with CD's anymore) and the specs on this one seemed pretty nice, plus the fact that it comes in pink (awesome). i recieved it the other day and am completely impressed with it. the scroll pad is NOT too sensitive and works better than i expected. the sound quality is amazing and, of course, the removable battery is a plus. the software it comes with is comprehensible, as are the menus on the player. did i mention how pretty it is? overall awesome player so far. highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Addressing Some Comments on this Gem
Review: I'm a 21 year old college girl who loves to exercise. I also have a thing for MP3 players, and I do my research. I bought the Creative Zen Micro for my mother for Christmas, and I loved it so much that I just bought a pink one for myself.

First of all, the big thing now is to compare every MP3 player with the IPOD. I'm not an Apple hater, and I don't have an IPOD myself (my boyfriend does) so I'm not going to do an extensive analysis on that. Let me say though that if you are going to compare to the IPOD mini, the Micro has more memory and a built in FM radio (this costs extra for the IPOD) plus its size is actually shorter (though thicker) which makes it a valid opponent. I hear ITunes software blows the Micro's out of the water, however, the Micro software will allow you to use it with Windows Media Software if this makes you more comfortable and the software makes ripping CDs so easy as you can rip it directly to the device.

Anyway, since so much of this great MP3 player is covered in other reviews, I just want to address some of the so called "complaints."

The "Complaints" :

1) "Screen Freezing Issue"- I have had this happen once. But it's a rare occurence and it usually happens if you disconnect it from the computer suddenly. It's fixable by disconnecting the battery and then putting it back in. Not a frequent thing I assure you. (Remember I have both mine and my mother's) AND if you look on the IPOD boards this is a big problem as well with them.

2) "TouchPad is too Difficult"- Yes, it's pretty sensitive. And honestly, I am a bigger fan of IPOD's click wheel. But give it time, and you'll learn it so quick you'll be going thru songs easily. It is actually a very attractive design I must say. Also, I adjusted the sensitivity to the lowest so it's not so bad at all.

3) "The actual instructions (find them online...I confess the ones it comes with are crap) say not to subject it to any stress which includes jogging but I want to take it exercising"

- Ok, this is something that REALLY bothered me. But I found a lot of information on this. First of all, IPOD minis brag about an "antiskip" feature and that they can be taken exercising while the instructions on the Micro say not to. What I found from some techie pros is that both devices have similiar moving parts and Creative is being more cautious than Apple. Both run the risk of damaging the hard drive if they are dropped, but as for jogging, let me show you the response I got from a tech board. (I now take my Mini JOGGING ALL THE TIME AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS)

(from a tech board)
"In short, no it doesn't skip. But the answer is a little more complicated so for the more detailed answer read on. Hard disk "skip protection" is too easily compared with CD player skip protection. The two are very different, and arguably a hard disk has no skip protection. In more detail, when you bump a CD player sufficiently the head just goes off track and then has to track back again to the position it was at. It's likely that no damage to the player or CD occurs. If you bump a hard disk sufficiently to cause the heads to skip you could potentially be causing serious damage to the player. The heads on a hard disk drive float a fraction above the surface of the disk platter, so a serious bump can cause what's called a "head crash" where the heads literally crash into the surface of the platter and can damage both the platter and the heads. Therefore it's one thing to bump a CD player, and quite a different thing to bump a hard drive based player sufficiently to cause it to "skip". Apple's quote of a 25 second skip protection is silly because it depends on the type and encoding of the file you are playing. Normally with a compressed audio file a large part or all of it is buffered in the memory cache of the player (assuming a fairly average length and encoding). Apple's value comes from this, but if you are playing a high quality file and/or high bit-rate file the "skip protection" is significantly less."

Also, micro has such a small hard drive that its risk of hard drive damage is significantly less.

4) "The FM tuner is poor"- I had no problems with the FM tuner on either device. But it's best to let it do auto seek, and not to try to find the station yourself. I find that's how it comes in so crisp.

There, that covers the main 4 issues. Honestly, I love this player a ton. Here are some of my favorite things:

-Inventive design and bright colors. Charging the Micro is so AWESOME...it lights up with this neon-retro looking blue light around its perimeter.
- The sound, like many other reviewers said, is VERY CRISP. I suggest looking at extreme tech's review that praises Micro's great sound at the following link: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1725113,00.asp
-I love that it has a radio. And that you can record off the stations. Very nice.
-It's nice that it can also synchronize with Outlook though I have not used this feature so I can't comment.
-I really love how easy it is to get around on the menu. It's customizable. And how ripping CDs can be done directly to the device without going to your comp's hard drive as well.
-Very small and very portable.
-The replaceable batteries are SO GREAT! They last a good amount of time, and unlike the IPOD, you won't have to spend money to get the batteries replaced for you when the time comes.

My Personal Gripes:
- I don't like that casing with the belt clip. I don't like that there are no protective skins available.
-This is still somewhat new so there are not many accessories for this device...unlike the IPOD. Maybe with time...

Overall, this is a 5 star product. For more info, check out PCWorld online or CNET :)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent MP3 Player-- Be sure to UPGRADE FIRMWARE.
Review: Several reviewers have written comments about the sensitivity of the touchscreen on the Zen Micro, and I had the same feelings about it when I first used the player. Then I read on either Gizmodo or Engadget about a firmware upgrade that addresses this issue. It is available on the Creative website, under "Support". This firmware upgrade (version 1.01.03)also helps with battery life when you plug the charger into the wall before you connect it to the player. Of course it would be nice if the player came preloaded with the best firmware, but at least Creative was quick in getting this update out, and it was very easy to download and install.

If you still have trouble with the touchpad after upgrading the firmware, try changing the touchpad sensitivity setting to low instead of medium (or try high...some people have said that they've had luck changing it to high, oddly enough)

I bought the Zen Micro for my wife, but then ended up "borrowing" it so much she bought one for me! Both of our's came with two batteries, which was a nice bonus, but I'm not sure if all of the packages that Amazon sells will be the "limited edition" ones that come with an extra battery.

UPDATE: Creative just added yet another firmware upgrade. This one adds Microsoft "PlaysForSure" support, which will be useful for subscription services like Napster, where instead of buying individual songs or albums, you pay a monthly fee in exchange for access to 700,000 songs. These services have previously been limited to the computer, but now with Microsoft's DRM (digital rights management) software, you'll actually be able to sync those songs onto your player and tote them along with you, so long as you continue to subscribe to the service. (I'm still not won over by this idea, which feels like just another way to cut a hole in my pockets so I drip money month after month, but if you are REALLY into music, and if the price is right, then it could be a very cool feature.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this player.

Rating:
Summary: Completely unusable
Review: The touch pad control for the Zen Micro is completely unusable. I tried the various sensitivity settings and it didn't make any difference. Creative's support line people suggested firmware upgrades but that didn't make any difference. I'm sending it back! I've used touch pads before on laptop computers without any problem.