Creative MuVo Slim 512 MB Silver

Rating:
Summary: Snazzy pocket mp3 player
Review: After having a Memorex mp3 player die on me in the 4th month, I read a lot of reviews and the Muvo series seemed to get top marks for performance and reliability. The Muvo Slim even got the top recommendation from a prestigious Consumer technology-review site. One of the best things about it is the lithium ion rechargeable battery, which even recharges quickly through the USB port. I went through a lot of batteries before. Even if your mp3 player gets 10 hours on one battery, if you work out or walk to the bus stop every day, that can mean 1 battery per week -- that starts adding up quickly, believe me!

I ended up going for the Muvo Micro instead, but that's only because it has an arm band, and I go running. I actually like the credit card shape of the Slim better, and it fits excellently in a top pocket. But I finally got my hands on one in person, and I noticed that the nice leather case doesn't have a place for a belt clip or strap, so even if I had created my own arm strap, there was no place to guide it through.

Hope this helps someone else who was thinking the same thing.

Rating:
Summary: Poor quality control
Review: Didn't work when I got it. The files sytem is fine so can be used as an expensive flash memory. The lithium battery is changed so it is not the battery. Needed player for trip so got another one without a quality control problem. This MuVo goes on the bone pile.

Rating:
Summary: It's not THAT bad...
Review: I just got a MuVo Slim 512 today as a birthday gift (42 years old...creak...), and I'm having better luck than the previous reviewer. The software installed without a hitch, and after about a half-hour of noodling I was recording tracks from CD to the portable device.

Advantages: It's VERY small and unobtrusive, so (hopefully) less pilferable than an iPod. Also, at less than 100 bucks, it's affordable so it won't be the end of the world if I break it or lose it. I'm in the National Guard and sometimes travel to odd places, and a pmd is an absolute must in maintaining both sanity and a positive mental outlook.

Disadvantages: It's VERY small, and with only 512 MB of storage, it comes nowhere near approaching the capacity of an iPod. The software is also somewhat less intuitive, and it takes a while to become comfortable with the tools.

Anyone who worked with the digital non-linear audio and video editing software in the mid-90s would find this system an old and familiar friend.

Bottom line: This is a useful pmd with moderate features, and it's dirt-cheap. Good luck and happy rippin' to you.

Rating:
Summary: Piece of Junk
Review: I regret to say that this "slim stylish player" is the most disappointing electronic purchase I have ever made (and I've made a lot, trust me). In the two days I've had this, the file system has become corrupted twice, requiring me to re-install the drivers and update the firmware multiple times. Unfortunately, nothing has worked, and Creative's Support Site is worthless, since this item has not yet been added to the knowledge base.

Rating:
Summary: Good all-around value
Review: My evaluation of the MuVo Slim is similar to most of the others who have rated it highly. There are a couple of additional items I'll mention however;

The unit has a replaceable rechargable battery. Listening to the player while I'm working I'd go through a battery about every two days with the AA or AAA battery players. But Li-Ion batteries have a limited life. With this unit I can replace the battery if it fails after a couple of years instead of dumping the, otherwise good, player.

The battery is very thin allowing the player to be much thinner than an AA/AAA player. (0.3")

The leather case is much higher quality than I expected. It doesn't need to be removed for any normal function. The only thing you can't do with the case in place is open the battery door. Like a previous reviewer, I noticed the battery door seems flimsy but it is well protected by the case and most people will never open it again after they initially install the battery. The only minor drawback to the case is that it pretty much doubles the thickness of the unit.

The player is exactly the same size as a business card. I slipped one of my cards into the case behind the player for identification in case it ever gets "lost." Without the headphones plugged in the cased player looks like a classy business card case. It carries well in a front shirt pocket and is small and solid enough to carry in a front pants pocket.

Microdrives are great for capacity but, being mechanical spinning disks, have very little shock resistance. A drop to even a carpeted floor is often fatal. Flash memory, being electronic, does a lot better but is limited in size. Don't expect to carry your entire music library around with you.

The earbuds are as good as most earbuds but if you're going to listen to the unit a lot you're going to want to get a headset.

Overall, for the price, the MuVo Slim is a hard unit to beat!

Rating:
Summary: 4.5 Stars for a pretty decent flash MP3 player
Review: Pros:
-Great battery life
-Great user interface
-Easy/fast uploads
-Firmware easy to download and install from the software
-Radio is really clear
-Earphones are pretty good (unless you have small ears).
-Charges with the USB cable so I can upload and charge at the same time
-Looks nice and comes with a nice carrying case

Cons:
-Battery door is flimsy, but not that bad or big of a problem (it'll break if you are really careless)
-Manual says don't put any magnets near the MP3 player but the carrying case uses a magnet to close it.... hehe but who listens to what the manual says anyway.
-After you change a setting in menu it automatically exits you out back to the music screen, kind of annoying at times
-Kind of pricey for 512mb
-Bad software

Conclusion:
So far so good. The only problems I've had so far was that it crashed once to my desktop when I was uploading a few songs. However, the songs were still uploaded to the player and nothing corrupted. The software kind of sucks but you don't really need it since everything is drag and drop. No drivers are needed unless you have Win98. I think you need the software if you want to make playlists, but if you bought a 512mb player, chances are you won't need it since you probably don't listen to many different songs anyway. This is a good MP3 flash player for people that want to exercise(HDD based mp3 players aren't that great for jogging since it increases the chances of damaging the HDD) and don't have 999999 songs to listen to. It's kind of pricey for only 512mb but if you don't have over 512mb of songs worth listening to, then saving $100 is good.

Rating:
Summary: Best for price
Review: The three things that sold me on this product were:
1) USB 2.0 interface - fast transfers

2) Included Rechargeable Lithium Battery - which recharges off the USB port on your computer (3 hours for first charge, roughly 1/2 that for recharging completely afterwards).

3) 512mb of storage for a hundred dollars

PROS: Compared to any mp3 player you could find at your local Best Buy, or other store, this product blows them out of the water - and for much less.

CONS: The FM reception is not long-range, don't expect to pull in a FM station 45-50 miles away -its best suited for urban 30 mile range.
You will need to buy a seperate charger if you will need to charge the unit away from a computer ($19-29).

For those that would like to store audio books or VERY LARGE amounts of mp3's on their portable player, look elsewhere - you will only get roughly 100-130 songs on a 512mb flash player, just remember Flash players are FAR more durable and shock-resistant than microdrive players.