Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen 20 GB MP3 Player (1394 Firewire)

However you should know about a few quirks:

- It only has a 3 month warranty! No excuse for this. Shame on Creative. So figure in another ... for an extended warranty.

- The battery is not user replaceable, and lithium-ion batteries don't last forever. Fact is it will need to be replaced in a couple years.

- There is no STOP button, so you can't stop it from playing a song. VERY ANNOYING.

- The remote is not included. Many places are selling it for ... which I think is really expensive. I ordered it for ... but it's on backorder.

- It's a little larger than the iPod, but not much.

- Instead of using a directory hiearchy, it relies on the ID tags, which are often incorrect on downloaded music.

- The included headphones are too tight and can't be adjusted

Some things I really like:

- The LCD is easy to read

- Firewire transfer is very fast

- You can charge with the USB port (great for the office)

- The AC Adapter is 110/220V so it works in Europe

Overall I like the Zen but I feel Creative took lots of shortcuts to get the price lower than the iPod. If you add some nice ear bud headphones, extended warranty, and remote control, it still comes out to be cheaper but not that much.

Here's an overview

Features- 9.0
The Zen has Advanced features such as Enviromental Effects, that i have never seen on another MP3 Jukebox before. Other features include time scaling, Customizeable Logos, Spatialization, and Smart Volume which evens outs sounds when low depending on conditions, such as being on a plane or in a car. It has both Firewire and USB 1.1. There is a version that does have usb 2.0 alone. With a firmware upgrade, you can transfer non-copyright protected songs, between units. If you have a Sound Blaster Live, Audigy or Audigy2 sound card you can you use an EAX enhancement for your audio files. You can search for music that is on the unit. The Player Supports WMA, which is a vital feature for anyone who ripped all their CDs using Windows Media Player. You can also use the device as a portable hard-drive, however you cant run programs off it. In order to use at as a portable Hard-Drive you must use the include File manager Program, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Performance- 9.0
The Zen sounds fantastic. It has a 98dB Noise to Sound Ratio which one of the highest, if not the highest for a MP3 Jukebox.
Its quick to start up and charge. It takes about 3-4 hours to completly charge, which gives almost 12 hours of battery life (the USB 2.0 version gives 14 hours). It charges through the USB port or through an included adaptor, however not through the firewire port. Transfering Music is fast through firewire, and with USB it transfers at a rate of about 1 MB/Sec, not too bad. However, there is one major problem, swithching trough songs is sluggish. It takes the unit about 1 to 2 seconds the switch songs. This annoying at best. The included headphones aren't the best.

Software-8.0
In order to transfer songs you must use Creative Labs Play Center. This Program is simply mediocre. While it does have a nice interface and good feature set, it has several minor flaws, such as having to select each folder indivudualy instead of being able to just select a master folder, such as "My Music", in order to transfer music. The Actual Operating System on the unit is not that bad, it gets the job done effectively, and access to all the features is easy.

Aesthetics- 9.0
The Unit is Zen-Like, with it's smooth metallic case. It also comes with a black Leather-like case, that provides easy access to all the functions, except the Firewire and USB Ports. The included head phones are good-looking, how ever they dont sound that good. The operating system on the unit is easy to look at, and has well designed icons. Play Center is also good-looking and skinable. The unit also is a liitle heavy

Value- 9.5
The Unit is well below what the 20GB Ipod Costs. Even though the headphones aren't that great and the optional remote is costly, it still is worth the money. Even after buying better head-phones and the hard to find remote, it still costs less then an IPOD.

Overall-9.0 (or 5/5 for amazon)
The Nomad Jukebox Zen is the best MP3 jukebox player out there. Simply put, a must for any music listener with more than 20 CDS.

I did a lot of research on these players, and decided to get the Zen (after playing with the iPod) for the following reasons.

1. Drive size. I had to fit over 800 albums on the thing, so I needed a lot of room. The Zen scores by letting you store smaller WMA files, and by being upgradable. You'll void the warranty doing it, but you can easily switch the hard drive for a larger one (I have a 60 GB drive in mine). Since it uses the standard size laptop drive, this is inexpensive and easy to do.
2. Features. Don't get me wrong, the iPod is easy to use, but that also makes it less powerful. Zen allows you to cue up songs, albums, artists, or genres, so you can micromanage and create a mixtape on the fly, or you can drop in a few genres and have your own private radio station that fits your mood that day. If you have a windows computer, and can't use iTunes, the iPod just doesn't compare.
3. Size. It's smaller than the JB3, so it fits in a jacket or pants pocket. While it is larger and heavier than the iPod, it's not much of a tradeoff.
4. Price. It's so much cheaper than the iPod, the choice was easy.

Another reviewer complained about albums not being played in the proper order. This is a fault of the playcenter software. It's easy to fix, by just transfering your files the right way. ...One thing to be aware of with the Zen though. Some users have come up against a track limit. No matter how small the files, or how big the drive, it seems you can't have more than about 11,000 songs. Apparently, it is a limitation of the operating system, which may be fixable in the future. Still, that's a lot of music.