Customer Reviews

Creative Labs 30GB Digital Audio Player

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

I became interested in getting a MP3 player when I got a new work computer; while my office bars the addition of any non-work software, it doesn't care if you load CDs onto the hard drive. Over time, I loaded hundreds of CDs onto the computer, and the idea of carrying around all of my music with me became attractive. Many people recommended the Ipod, and I borrowed one from a friend. While the ease of use was very impressive, I was put off by the price -- about $130 more than what I paid Amazon for this player. Also, there is the need to send the Ipod to replace the batteries when they die (which they will).

I have had the Nomad Jukebox for about three weeks now, and I am very happy with it. It's only slightly heavier than the Ipod, and has a longer battery life. The storage capacity is great for me -- I have a large but not huge CD collection and have loaded everything I want to listen to on it and still have 13 gigabytes free. The controls are somewhat harder to use than the Ipod, but I have gotten use to them, and even at the beginning did not think would justify the huge difference in price. Loading CDs was somewhat time-consuming, but I think it would have been with the Ipod as well. I had never loaded my CDs on to my home computer, using my work computer instead. My office would not let me put the software on to my work computer. This meant that I had to take all my CDs and do in a fairly short period of time what I had done over a year at work. If the music had been on my home computer, the transfer would have been accomplished very quickly. I have an older computer, running Windows 98 SE, and so those of you with something more recent would find the process even quicker.

My only reservations about this product concern the tagging process and the way it interacts with the software. When you load a disc, you go to an internet cite for the insertion of the names for the CD and the tracks. While the listing process is accurate for track names(unlike Windows' reliance on the AMG, which frequently gets track listings out of order), the results can be odd. The CD will be classified into a number of genres, and in multidisk sets, you can get separate classifications for different disks by the same artist and the same performance. For example, Jimi Hendrix's 2 CD Live at the Fillmore East had one CD classifed as Classic Rock and the other Psychidelic Rock. Perhaps the weirdest was one of Bruce Springsteen's CDs from the Tracks set being classified as Goth Rock. You can change any of these, but need to be paying attention when the information is downloaded before you copy it. A somewhat more troublesome problem is that the internet site will sometimes give different discs of the same set slightly different names. This will cause the discs not to show up together when you are looking for them on the Nomad. Again, you can change this, but it's harder to spot a minor variation in the title when you don't have the title of the other disk in front of you.

Other tagging problems result (I think) from the Nomad's operating system. If you have two tracks with exactly the same name on one disk, it will not copy both -- it gives you the option of skipping the second or overwriting the first with the second. This is rarely a problem with any kind of popular music, but can be troublesome with classical music where tracks are identified by tempi. I also had it happen when recording a jazz set where there were a number of outtakes of the same song without numbering them separately. The way to fix this is to rename the track by adding a number yourself to the end of the track listing. Also, I can't understand why the software does not ignore "The" when it lists the CDs in alphabetical order. Finally, making playlists from the computer can be complicated because the tracks are listed individually, and are organized by CD, which are not listed but are organized in alphabetical order. In other words, to locate a track using the software on the computer and add it to a playlist, you must know the name of the CD it appears on and then find the track by locating the location of the unlisted CD by looking for tracks that appear on it. You don't have this problem if you make your playlist from the Nomad, where CDs are listed separately. You need your computer, however, if you want to add tracks to a playlist.

These are minor problems, and I list them to save anyone else the trouble of discovering them. Had I not been in such a hurry to load CDs, I would have spotted them sooner. Also, if I had already loaded and tagged by CDs on my home computer, this would not have been an issue. The bottom line for me is that I am very happy with this product. Apple's Ipod is dominant now, but I have to wonder whether the price differential will mean that in 3 or 4 years its market share will drop significantly.

I just sold my Archos 20GB Jukebox Recorder after not being satisfied with it's slow loading & difficult navigation, not to mention it froze quite a bit. I was in search of a new item to take it's place as my new MP3 Player/Harddrive. For an early Christmas gift, I got a Zen Xtra 40 GB player. I refused to go for an iPod, I am not going to spend all that money just for the Apple name and because it is "trendy" to have that player. This was the closest alternative and best buy for this type.

After receiving my Zen Xtra 40GB MP3 player...I will just say this: I will NEVER go back to my Archos again!!

So easy to set up, had some problems with my Archos. Stayed up all night trying to figure out that thing. Just easily drag and drop files into the Nomad explorer and from there you easily alter ID tags and sort your music according to your liking, by artist, song title, genre, etc.

Not only is it functional and runs super smooth & fast, but it is also eye candy. Very sleek & stylish as well as the screen options and visuals it has. The leather case it comes with is pretty nice, similar to a PDA style case and does hold and protect it perfectly. All the buttons & neccessary lil' gadgets are on the sides of the player which is nice for when you are holding it in the palm of your hand.

The sound quality is also nice...after I hooked up my Sony headphones instead of those factory earbuds it comes with. Lots of sound options, has an equalizer almost like Winamp with the options. Navigation is so smooth and finding files is a cinch. Also navigating while playing music is a plus unlike my previous player. It was impossible to do so before. Oh, and the screen saver feature is pretty sweet ^_^

Another plus in my book, NO file limits!!! I was limited to 999 files in a playlist with Archos' OS, now I can have as many as I want. I have over 2000 files in my playlist at the moment and the random does a nice job mixing it up.

I am quite happy having over 10 gigs of music stored on this baby as well as a few gigs of media files in the data folder. Now I can transport files to friends house with ease. When plugged in, it doesn't lag the computer like the Archos did...unless you are doing a MASSIVE transfer of data in one load.

After playing with this little device, I don't know why I would look at an iPod with the same space when it costs $500 and I got mine for a little more than half that price!

I really have no complaints over this unit. I really do recommend this to anyone in need of a new player. In fact, my boyfriend is now going to invest into one of these suckers as well...now he realizes that this is the best choice over his current Archos and the iPod he was eyeing.

ZenNX's replaceable battery was the deciding factor in my purchase of ZenNX over iPod. All rechargeable batteries lose their holding power over time (around 2 years). Apple's solution - pay Apple another $400+ for a new iPod (less a paltry discount). The ZenNX will keep running for the price of a replacement battery, just like any other battery-powered appliance.

Deficiencies with ZenNX are easily overcome with 3rd-party earphones ($20+) and software ($25). Notmad by Red Chair Software is an Explorer-based program that enables simple drag-and-drop transfer of music files from PC to ZenNX. The blue-screen display in the ZenNX Xtra model is an improvement, but the toggle switch is still tricky.

ZenNX's capacity/price ratio on the 30G model($10/Gig))trumps iPod's 30G model($14/Gig). Choosing ZenNX is a no-brainer when factoring in the cost of a new $400+ iPod every few years versus the $50 cost of replacing ZenNX's rechargeable battery.

ZenNX hopefully will gain market share and prompt arrogant Apple to lower prices and enable consumers to replace the battery.

UPDATE: Apple recently announced that for $107, it will replace the battery in iPods shipped to their factory. Lithium ion rechargeable batteries are good for 300-500 rechargings, so battery lifespan will vary according to your usage. Still, Apple continues to squeeze dollars from consumers by not designing the battery to be replaceable.

I think the whole Zen line has been fairly innovative and reasonably priced, but it's not really appropriate to compare the pricing of the Zen line to the iPods (although, the iPod is still way over priced). You're talking totally different hardware. All of the Zens use a standard notebook drive. This puts the Zen in line with players like the RCA Jukebox and the whole line of Archos players (the newer ones are a bit better than the original Archos Jukeboxes... but I popped out the drive in my 20 gig jukebox recorder and put in a 60 gig drive and use it exclusively as a powered portable USB 2.0 drive).

The iPod uses a smaller (and more expensive) drive (1.8"). The devices competing with the iPod are the iRiver iHP 120, the Rio Karma, and the Philips HDD100. I should point out that the new Rio Karma is now down to about $280 and is reviewed readily as being as good as (and better in some areas) the iPod. The 20 gig iPod still goes for just under $400. That's a huge difference... especially in this price range. I can't believe people continue to pay those prices. Advertising pays off I guess... I doubt anyone has ever seen an add or commercial for any other MP3 player.

I gave the Zen 5 stars because it's excellent for the class that it is in and it's not really appropriate to rate it based on players in a different class. My personal favorite is the Karma (I currently own a Karma, a Zen USB 2.0, a Philips HDD100, and an upgraded 60 gig Archos Jukebox Recorder).

I guess that's why you so often see "iPodders" bashing every other player out there (very often not knowing anything about them).... the whole "I spent $120 more for something not any better and so should you... so I can feel better" thing.

Summary

Overall I like the unit. I gave it only 3 stars due to the fact that the 1st one broke when I dropped it from a fairly short distance (less than 2 ft). If it were not for that I would have given it 4.

Pros:
1) Price / GB of Storage
2) Storage Capacity
3) User replaceable battery

Cons:
1) Fragile (I broke the 1st one within 10 days)
2) Scroll button / switch
3) The case hides the display - you have to open it to see what you are doing.

Features that would have been nice:
1) FM receiver - some models out there have this.
2) FM transmitter - so you can place the unit in your car and listen to the unit through your car stereo. They sell an adapter unit to use with your car's cassette deck. But who wants the wires involved. A short range FM transmitter would be much nicer. I believe the Napster MP3 player has this feature.

Details:

Don't drop this unit:
I've had the player for about a month now. Overall I like it. As mentioned above I broke the player within the 1st 10 days. I was sitting on a train and it fell off my lap and broke. I think it fell right on the earphone plug when it fell (Murphy strikes again). I was able to return it to the retailer where I bought it and got a replacement. If you are going to need a player that is rugged this may not be the one for you. I purchased the extended warranty (something I almost never do) when I returned the unit to get the replacement.

Updating the unit's firmware:
When I first purchased the unit I downloaded the firmware update that was available on their website. The upgrade went smoothly and was easy to do if you can follow directions. I would recommend doing the upgrade to be sure you have the best chance at trouble free operation.

Storage:
The storage capacity is great. I don't think I will ever use the full 30GB. I currently have ~ 1100 songs encoded mostly at 196 kpbs and I haven't even used 10GB of storage yet. I'm starting to listen to CD's that I haven't listened to in years now that I have them all handy in one place.

For those out there that are not familiar with MP3 encoding, you can encode your CD's at varying quality levels. Typically people use 96kbs to 320 kps. The higher the number the better the quality (less data compression is used) and the larger the file size. If you decide to encode at 320 you will fit less on this device than someone who encodes at 128kps. You should consider this when deciding what bit rate you want to use and how much you want to put on the player. If you're someone who wants to put 10,000 songs on this thing you may want to encode at the lower end (typically 128 is considered close to CD quality).

Price:
The price compared to the iPod is great. Price, along with the replaceable battery (which I understand Apple charges a small fortune to replace - as well as the hassle of returning it) were the two main factors on why I picked the Nomad. One word of caution with regards to using the Nomad with iTunes. I discovered this weekend that iTunes does not sell MP3's in the MP3 format. It using something called AC3 (at least the trial song I purchased was in this format) which is not a compatible format for the Nomad. I haven't figured out if this is the case for all the songs on iTunes. But for now it appears that this player doesn't play well with iTunes.

Scroll Bar:
The scroll bar is a bit of a pain. Sometimes you skip past things or have to press it twice to select items. It's not the end of the world, but a better design sure would be nice.

Software:
I've had no problems with the software. I found it intuitive to use (I didn't read any documentation for it and was using it successfully within a few minutes). The software will convert your CD's to MP3 and put them on the player as well as your hard disk if you want it to. My 2.6 MHz Pentium 4 with USB 2.0 was able to perform the task pretty quickly (I would estimate ~ 5 - 8 minutes per CD).

Through the software you can classify songs in genres. This is a nice feature (i.e. it's early in the morning and you rather listen to "easy listening" rather than "heavy metal" - no problem. The software comes with plenty of defaults genres. You can also create your own if you don't like their classifications. You can edit the genres once the songs are on the play if you decide to re-classify things later. This can be done on a song by song basis or in mass. In addition, you can create play lists where you can create the equivalent to a compilation CD right on your player. This is pretty cool.

Sound:
The sound from the player is ok. I was a little disappointed in the low end. I did buy separate headphones as other have recommended. I was able to improve things a bit by using the units equalizer and boosting the base. The sound level is also not as high as I would have expected. It's probably good for the health of your ears, however I consistently play it near the high end of the volume range (and my hearing is fine).

This player is an overall disappointment with a couple of big flaws that potential buyers should be wary of; and all readers need to know about a third party software company that resolves virtually all of the Creative MediaSource file transfer issues.

Zen Good points:

1. I achieved my basic objective; my entire CD collection is on a portable device with lots of room to store more.

2. Most MP3 players have a gap between the end of one track and the start of the next; it's annoying in music that is intended to be continuous. The Zen has minimal stoppage between tracks; when listening to music that continues from one track to the next the gap is just a hesitation - a slightly audible click; if I am not listening for the progress from one track to the next I don't even notice the click.

Flaws:

1. Creative MediaSource software is OK to rip, catalog & burn music if you are starting from scratch; but I used MusicMatch to rip my CDs before I bought the Zen (272 CDs; 3,350 tracks; 12Gb of music all ripped at 128bps) and guess what? MediaSource did not recognize my tags; my choices at that moment would have been to manually re-tag my music or re-rip using MediaSource. I don't think so. BTW, if you *are* ripping your CDs, MediaSource accesses the CDDB music catalog over the Internet and the few CDs I experimented with all provided good quality [correct & uncluttered] tag information.

2. Despite most reviewers giving kudos to the Zen for music quality, I experienced a flaw using EAX. After about 45 mins of listening there was audible static in the player. When I turned EAX off the static disappeared. When I turned EAX back on the static was also not present. Creative are *the* sound people for computers, I can't understand why EAX would introduce static. Is EAX faulty? Is my unit defective? Was I just unlucky at that moment? Was it a full moon that night? I haven't figured it out yet.

3. MediaSource is an application with serious user interface flaws. Do not underestimate this in your purchase decision. Many reviewers refer to it as "clunky" or "difficult" - heed their warnings.

4. The Zen *stores* data files, but does not allow a folder structure nor does it allow documents to be opened or programs to be launched from its disk (they must be copied to another hard drive to be launched). In other words, the Zen is not a convenient data storage device; only buy the capacity you need for your music collection (see point 2. for some sizing information). My goal of using it as a music player *and* data storage device has not been met; don't make the same mistake.

5. The Zen does not have a Stop button! You can stop playback by pressing 2 buttons, first the Pause button, then the "Next Track" or "Previous Track" button. But this is *not documented* in the Zen manual - neither the hard copy nor the CD version. To discover this I had to read about 10 online reviews (with many complaints about the lack of Stop button) before I found one reviewer who was smart enough to both figure it out & document it.

6. The Zen NX battery requires the AC adapter to recharge; it does not charge by USB cable; this is not tragic, but USB recharging would be a convenient (additional) choice. If you are buying a Zen Xtra check whether the battery recharges via USB; it does not on the Zen NX.

7. MediaSource did not install on my personal notebook. It referred to a "Microsoft Jet Database Engine" error and the install program suggested I download a service pack from the MS website to fix the problem; I did that and re-installed the software but had the same error. Creative provided e-mail support; I followed their advice but that failed, too. I experimented with installing MediaSource on 2 other computers at home and it worked fine. So it is probably "just bad luck" on my part that the personal notebook I own had this install error. However, it did motivate me to find a work-around solution.

Third Party Software To The Rescue

After much frustration (above) I found the Notmad Explorer; cute product name for software that resolves virtually all of the Creative MediaSource FILE TRANSFER & ORGANIZATION problems. I am not associated with the company, I am not providing a URL, but search for NotMad and you should find it pretty easily. This provides drag & drop transfers of music between the computer & Zen; each time it transfers music to the Zen it asks if you want to generate a playlist; it allows playlists developed in other software to be transferred to the Zen (.m3u files are used by most mp3 players like MusicMatch and Winamp, but not Creative); it doesn't care what software you use to rip or catalog your music - Creative or any other company - all my 12Gb of music were transferred to the Zen with correct tags - hooray! Notmad has other features too, but this is not an advertisement so please see the company's web site for more information ...

Conclusion:

If I knew then what I know now I would have paid the extra to get an iPod & avoided the Zen. Given that I already have the Zen the only reason I am happy with it is because of the Notmad software. And I am hoping the static I heard when using EAX was a blip ...

To summarize, I am using the Creative Zen as a mobile device; I am using MusicMatch to rip & catalog (and if I choose, download) music; I am using Notmad Explorer to move music & playlists between the Zen & my computer. The only Creative software I am using is the device driver(s).

Summary: Lots of flaws, but exceptional sound quality, HD size, and price make it a good buy.

PROS:

Excellent Sound - I found the music reproduced faithfully through the Jukebox. There was no distortion and it sounded great, especially with EAX Environmental Audio enabled.
Transfer Through Windows Explorer - Windows recognizes the Jukebox as an additional hard disk, so it allows you to simply drag and drop files from Windows Explorer to a folder for the Nomad. I found this to be a much easier method of transferring my music to the Nomad than using their software. However, it doesn't register instantly as a hard drive like other players. You have to install the software to the computer you're transferring to, instead of just connecting it with a USB connection. This would have been much easier.

The Nomad can hold any type of file, not just Mp3, so you can use it as a portable hard disk. I found it very useful for transferring large files to another computer. This almost made it worth the price alone. I was able to easily copy 2Gb worth of video files from my computer, and then transfer them to a friend's.

Huge Storage Space - Even at 320Kbs, you can store a ton of songs on this thing. 30Gb is more than enough for most people.
Having USB 2.0 makes for very fast transfers. It only took me about 10 seconds to transfer a 200mb file. It took maybe 15 minutes to transfer 1000 songs.

CONS:

Navigation system - The Zen Xtra uses Id3 tags that are embedded in the Mp3 files to organize your songs. This is great as long as all of your music have Id3 tags, and if you've downloaded your songs off the Internet, many probably don't. It would have been much easier to use a Windows Explorer style navigation system. You can't simply open up a folder from the player and play all the songs in it. Whe you transfer your songs to the Jukebox, it dumps ALL of them into a single folder, and then sorts them by the ID3 tags.

FM Receiver - It has none. I would be nice to have a simple FM Receiver so I could pick up local stations. That way I could get rid of a walkman alltogether.

Cheap Construction - They should have made the player out of hard plastic and put some rubber on the corners. The player feels VERY delicate, as if I'm holding an actual hard drive. I'm not sure if it would survive a fall from 3 feet. As a portable player, it should feel a bit more durable. The top of the player is a thin metal piece that covers up the battery and is removable. I could crush this thing in half with two fingers if I wanted to. This is not a player you can take jogging.
The songs don't play one after another like on a CD. You have to add them to the Playing List. I can't simply bring up my entire list of songs, click play, and then hit next. You have to add all the songs to a play list. There is probably an easier way to do this, I just haven't found it yet.

Software - The software is crap. I use it for ripping CDs, which it does a pretty good job of. Otherwise, it is difficult to figure out and awkward. Like most people, I don't want to read the instructions, I just want to use it. Even after reading some of the instructions, it's still hard to figure out. I would recommend replacing the existing software with the "Notmad Explorer," which is simpler to use and can be found on the Internet.

No Line Out Jack - As I said, there is none. The headphone jack acts as a pseudo line out jack. So you can plug your Nomad directly into your stereo or use a car adapter, but you don't get the quality from a true Line out jack. It sounds decent, but I would estimate you get maybe 80% of the quality that you would from a true line out jack.

Controls are a bit awkward. The controls definately took some getting used to. It wasn't as easy to fast forward or pause a song than it was with a regular walkman. When I first had it I kept finding myself having to look at the Nomad to figure out where the skip button was. A sliding old fashioned volume knob would also have been easier than the digital version that was included. I want to have instant access to the volume, not have to hold down a button and have to wait a half second for the player to register it.

Crappy headphones. The included ear buds were uncomfortable. I would replace them with some better sounding and more comfortable phones.

Difficult navigation - I won't necessarily say "difficult," but I don't enjoy the scrollwheel to navigate. It is a bit cumbersome, and I can't get to the songs I want as quickly. I think this is it's biggest flaw. I would much more have preferred a keypad-type navigator like found on DVD remotes. Up, down, left, and right would have given me better control. If you hold down the scrollwheel too long (which is common if you have a lot of songs to sort through), it will get "stuck" rapidly going through the songs and won't stop until several seconds after you let your finger off of it.

Case - The Nomad comes with a leather holding case. It would have been much nicer if it had a window so you could see the screen, and if the button didn't cover up the AC jack. That way I could keep it in the case all the time. As it stands now, the case is pretty useless unless you're packing the player up for travel, or if you load up all your songs beforehand. You can cut up the case a bit with an Xacto knife and make it useable though.

Overall, I feel that it's a decent buy, and am happy that I own it. I am willing to overlook it's problems to get superior sound quality and low price, although I feel the player has a lot of room for improvement.

I was so nervous about purchasing an MP3 player since it is a relatively new technology and there are so many things that can and do go wrong with it. However, after reading about a bazillion reviews on the Nomad and the iPod, I decided to go with the Nomad and I have not regretted it in the past 3 months that I've had it.

First there is the obvious: PRICE! I paid $273 out the door for my 30GB (And the price has gone down since!). The 20GB iPod is $400! Sure it looks neat, but not hundreds-of-dollars-over-priced neat.

Secondly, I am a PC user. And in the grand Apple tradition, their product only works well if you have an Apple computer. I read dozens of upset reviews about how the iPod was virtually useless with their PC.

Third, accessories. The Nomad's battery lasts longer, and unlike with the iPod, you don't have to send Apple $100 for a replacement battery when it eventually dies. Apparently they didn't over-price it enough if they need the extra cash that badly.
The Nomad comes with a nice snug case that protects it nicely. So does the iPod as long as you get the $400 20GB or bigger. It also comes with ear buds, which kinda suck, but what stock headphones don't? Invest in a good pair, which you should do anyway if you're really a music fan.
Also, unless you have FireWire on your comp (not likely, not many do) then you have to buy the USB cord seperately! (Another $25-$40) The Nomad comes with the USB 2.0 cord so you can start transferring files right away!

Some of the complaints I've heard about the Nomad I have not had myself. One is that the software is terrible. The software is just fine, the only problem I found was that the directions on how to use it weren't the most helpful. All you have to do if you don't understand is just tinker around with it until you get it. It is fairly intuitive and once you do it, it is sooooo easy.

Another complaint is that it is too fragile, i.e. you can't bang it around or drop it. Well duh, you wouldn't want to drop your Discman either would you? I have actually dropped mine twice (on carpet) and the only thing that happened was the casing popped off. I have also banged it tons of times on walls and corners while it was in my back pocket (and without the protective case) and it didn't miss a beat.

Some people say it is sooo big and bulky. Yes, it is bigger than the iPod, but that doesn't mean it's big. It is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than any Discman or Walkman, so what's the problem, it still fits in my pocket.

Lastly, some people have a problem with the controls or they don't like the scrollbar. I have had no trouble with either, maybe these people have extremely fat fingers, I don't know.

So if you want something that's gonna hold TONS of music and you don't want to pay 500 bucks or sell your soul to the devil to get it, then definately go with the Nomad Jukebox. The iPod isn't better, in fact in my opinion it isn't even as good. It's all just hype and advertising, and you sure are paying for it. It is really simply a matter of overcoming snobbery.

I've had this player for a month, and I'm absolutely happy with the purchase. Initially I was considering the iPod, but I got quickly discouraged by the fact that you cannot remove the battery and the high price. I read somebody's review that perfectly summarizes both of these players: Apple will give you a good product, but it will work only the way they want it to work. Nomad on the other hand is fully customizable.
Now if you are really computer challenged, by all means go for the iPod, but if you want a flexible, fully customizable product (and have more brains than money), go for Nomad. Also, one of the best features is full EAX capability - you can listen to your songs with environment options like Concert Hall, or Auditorium, a feature I didn't see in other players. I haven't seen a problem with headphones, but I was really careful with the jack. The product is also not as sleek as iPod, but who cares if it spends most of it's time on my car's console. Finally - sound quality is perfect, (after all Creative deals with computer sound on a daily basis).

i got this for christmas. i was going to get a 10GB ipod, but after looking at the 10 DAY WARRANTY FOR IPOD AND WWW.IPODSDIRTYSECRET.COM (BATTERY LASTS 18 MONTHS ; IT costs like 200 dollars to replace - now you mail it off to get the battery replaced for like 99 ... what a big improvement ... lol) and the fact that lots of people have had problems with iPODs on windows computers, i realized this is a much better buy. Not only is it more affordable, but its a better player for windows, which is what i have. anyway, on with the review.
so far i've only had it since christmas, so i cant tell you much about the battery life. it hasnt gone below the second notch (i charge mine whenever i'm at home and not using it), so the battery life seems fine (so far).

SOFTWARE: for the people who complain about software, please, stop complaining. once you hook the thing up to the computer (via the USB cable), the machine instantly recognizes the fact that it's there & installs the drivers. from there, you transfer files from your computer to the mp3 player (with the help of the media sniffer...read the manual). my only complaint would be that you need id3 tags & that takes a while to do if your mp3 files don't have them. if you're copying CDs with windows media, its really simple to give your songs id3 tags, so thats what i do. oh...and file transfers are fast & easy.

THE PLAYER: it's silver. a little weighty (9 ounces ... no biggie), but otherwise fine. people complain about the scroll wheel, but its not a big deal at all (though it is just a LITTLE annoying at times). it's easy. the buttons are easy to use, and its easy to navigate. the big backlight makes things easy to see, and the writing is big enough for people to see. my favorite thing about the nomad is the EAX feature. you can customize bass, etc. like usual, but also you can customize the sound of the player (like how it would sound in a concert hall, jazz club, etc). its really cool. sound quality is AMAZING. i was expecting worse, but its really good (especially if your files have good sound quality). you can also slow a song down & speed it up, which is cool too. BUT THE EAR BUDS SUCK! BUY NEW ONES ASAP. every time you move your face or something they pop out. for a 250 dollar player, they could have thrown in nice headphones. a remote would have been cool too ... but lets not push it. oh... one more thing. i forgot, the case doesn't fit. my case doesnt close...maybe mine was just faulty, but the case isnt that great.

so far the player froze on me once (i started pushing buttons before it loaded) but since is hard drive based - you have to expect that. so all you do is stick a pin or something small in the reset button & you're golden.

also, you can store data on it, which is a plus. for all you people who want to buy an iPOD just to say you have an iPOD, don't bother, this is a MUCH better buy. HOPE I HELPED !