Customer Reviews

Creative Labs NOMAD MuVo 128 MB MP3 Player

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(97)

 

 

I have a love-hate relationship with this product. It has failed for me maybe twice but always worked again after reformatting the drive. Once it quit after I put some files into a folder instead of just putting it on the drive (I don't recommend doing that) and the other time it failed I dropped it from about 1.5 ft. Today I left it in my pants that I washed and I thought for sure it was ruined. AMAZINGLY it still works great.
Great sound. Small enough to fit in the back of my mountain bike jersey when biking. Great design and ease of use. A little unreliable. Very pleased but not quite 5 stars.

I got the 128MB version of this product, but except for storage capacity both models are the same. The first thing that gets you is the size. The photos don't do it justice. Like, it's really, really small. We're talking 1 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 1/2 (inches). And, it weighs almost nothing.

There have been some negative comments on this product, but I feel the negatives are what make this product what it is. You see, you have to look at this thing as a USB memory module -- that just happens to play music. One complaint has been the lack of a display, but a display would just make it bigger. Another complaint has been the lack of a memory. When you turn it off it starts back at the beginning. Well, I assume a memory feature would use up battery life. And another complaint has been a lack of controls. I mean, how many controls do you need? It's so simple I had it up and running 10 minutes after opening the box, and that includes loading files onto it.

It does feel kinda cheap (plastic), but the controls work well, and the only problems I've had are sometimes when you click to move up or down a track it might miss by a track. Fast foward is not audible, so you hold the button and guess. Otherwise, it works extremely well.

Another thing that makes this product unique is that the memory module separates from the battery compartment and plugs right into a USB port. No drivers are needed for Window Me/2000/XP, but you will have to load the included drivers if you use Windows 98. I work on a lot of computers and often have to transfer files from one to another. The MuVo makes this a snap. And hey, if you happen to load a few MP3 files on it you can listen to some tunes while you're walking from one office to another.

Sound quality is determined by how good your MP3 files are and your headphones. I have a pair of Sonys that do sound better than what comes with it, but not much. And here's a tip: The free version of sofware that came with your CDRW may not rip MP3 files at 128kb (about the lowest quality that sounds decent). I did a bit of searching around and found a program called CDex that works quite well at getting decent quality MP3 files off your CDs -- and it's free!

The MuVo also has a repeat function. You push a button at the beginning of where you want the repeat to start, and again where you want it to end. While this is a lot of work if you want to listen to one track over and over, it's perfect for any musician trying to learn a song.

If you're looking for CD quality and lots of features, I suggest you get a good skip-proof portable CD player. But, if you want a very small MP3 player that sounds pretty damn good, and is extremly small and lightweight, this is a great product. By the way, everbody I've shown this to has been amazed at both the sound quality and the size.

This is my first MP3 player. I'd been looking at a number of players for a long time. My criteria were

i) portability,
ii) storage, that can carry more than an hour of music, and
iii) above average sound quality. This was it.

I was able to transfer music files to the player within 5 min of opening the package and out jogging with it in an hour! My complaint about it is its plastic covering that make it look flimsy... but make it light. Some features worth noting.... there's no random playing, no display screen and always start with the first song. But this is it if you're looking for a good portable player!

This MP3/WMA player by Creative Labs is just plain awesome. True, it doesn't have an LCD screen, a clock, an FM tuner, or a built in stop watch; however, in exchange for these "features" what you do get is simplicity, ease of use, incredibly long battery life (12 hours on a AAA), unbelievable size and tremendous flexibility.

This device is so much more than just a portable MP3 player. It is a hybrid portable storage device that can be used to transfer any file type from one computer to another. In addition, it plays both MP3 as well as WMA formats. I have found this to be a very important feature because of the relatively small size of WMA files. The 64 MB model will easily hold 25-30 songs in WMA format.

If I had to sum this player up in two words it would be . . . wonderful simplicity. I had this player out of the box, installed, and loaded with songs ready to go to the gym in five minutes. (NO Exaggeration) There is no tricky software to learn or installation headaches to worry about. You simply plug it into your USB port and then drag and drop the music files you want from your hard drive. (I am running Windows XP; however, software is included in the box for Windows 98 users.)

The bottom line is that different people want vastly different things. If you are looking for fancy menus, jog dials, and a lot of battery-draining bells and whistles, then look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for the simplest, smallest, lightest player on the market to take to the gym and to work that doubles as a really cool file storage device then look no further. This is absolutely the product to buy. I highly recommend it!!

This is a remarkable machine. It is tiny, magnificently designed and so easy to use, it defies the imagination. Why other companies are not using a similar approach is a mystery to me. I want to emphasize that this is 100% Macintosh compatible! No one is saying this, but all you do is open the box, put in a AAA battery and plug the little guy into a USB port. In 1 second you will see a new drive called "Untitled" on your desktop. Open up your iTunes or other MP3 program and just drag the songs you want onto the new drive. Then remove it and you are done! No software, no upgrades, no cables no incompatibilities! It's even easier to use than the venerable iPod (which is also excellent but larger, less portable and much more expensive). I'm using it with OS X Jaguar as well as Win 2000 and it is a joy. I also have a PowerPoint presentation stored on there so that I can carry it with me. This is the future. A perfect gift for anyone new to MP3s as there is simply no learning curve. I can't say enough about this amazing product.

I received the Nomad Muvo 128 as a gift and love it. While it's advertised to support the Windows platform only, I've been using it with ease with my Mac OSX iBook. You can drag and drop right out of iTunes to the Muvo, which couldn't be easier.

I've had no problems with the unit and with NiCad rechargeable batteries, I'd say the 12h playing time is an understatement. Sound quality is great, though the included headphones aren't much good. Plug it into a good quality pair (or your home stereo) and you'll immediately notice the great quality sound.

I'd give it a 5 except that the Muvo cannot remember where it left off each time you turn it off. When you turn it back on, it always restarts at the first song in your play list. The good news is that the Muvo's firmware is upgradeable, so Creative will be able to improve on it in the future. Fixing this issue and adding better mac support would get a 5-star rating out of me. [...]

I went through FOUR of these and had to return EVERY one. After a few days the players began to stop at apparently random times during playback. I wanted a small, reliable mp3 player to use at the gym. I finally decided on a Rio S35s Sport 128MB player which works just fine and has more features.

I bought the MuVo 128 MB for my workouts and traveling. While I am optimistic about the traveling capabilities, I already enjoy this tiny device, which can hold 2 CDs in good quality, or up to 5, if you squeeze hard, for workouts and during work. The minimalistic user-interface appeals to me. The MuVo also works with NiMH AAA rechargables.
There are a couple of minor things: The sound is bass emphasized, which is not a problem with any earbuds, but becomes an issue when connecting it to the car or other stereos. Connecting to line-in, you have to max-up the volume. The earbuds that come with it sit really bad - they stay at most five seconds in my ears, and won't do for workouts; quick fixes available at your local CC or BB stores. Though I am able see the files in Linux, I haven't found a solution to employ Linux to move files onto it. And there are strange lapses in music, after it was accidentally getting a sometimes not completely avoidable discharge of statics and gym sweat humidity.
Still, for giving me *my* music commercial free in such a small housing for hours, and the ease of use, I rate it five stars. And it also transports regular files.

Before you consider buying this product, click "all customer reviews" and then click "one star reviews only" and READ them. of the 126 reviews for this product, 53 are one-star reviews, most of which tell the same story: this product is fabulous for three months, three weeks, or (in many cases) three days, but then it stops working altogether -- and the offers of help from the folks at Creative Labs are mostly ineffectual or mere delusions. My experience: It stopped working after four days. You wouldn't know this from the three-star rating (obviously an average of the high marks that folks give the product when it doesn't break and the low marks given by the rest of us) -- or from the "spotlight reviews" that amazon.com posts...

I have owned 4 portable MP3 players and have found that the key is finding the product that matches your intended use / priority list. This player's strenghts are: very small form-factor; simplified operation; no drivers reqd for most OS'es; good dynamic range and bass output with low distortion (like most, the supplied earbuds leave a lot to be desired so plan on using another set of headphones); added functionality of a portable storage device; very good maximum volume level; very good battery life. This product is not: a feature-rich toy with a cool display and a lot of gimmicky features; expandable; versatile in the way you can bring it with you.

The player looks like a slightly oversized disposable lighter and leaves few options for you to clip it on or attach it. BUT, it is extremely small and the few buttons and features it has are very well thought out. There are no EQ settings and the factory settings are slightly bass-heavy but pleasing for rock and popular music.

I use this unit primarily while exercising and find its simplicity, small size and big clean sound, perfect for gym duty or on the trails.