Customer Reviews

Creative Labs Nomad II C 32 Meg ClamShell

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I originally bought a Rio One, but after the first song I found it was a complete waste of money. Thanks to Amazon.com's great return policy, I returned it and bought the Nomad IIc and it's been perfect since. Buy a 128MB memory card too, and some batteries if you listen to it all the time. I bought some cheap... headphones... and they work perfectly. The sound quality is awesome. I reccomend this to everyone. It's so cheap compared to others!

I wanted an MP3 player almost exclusively for running, and this fit the bill. Since I have a good supply of SmartMedia cards for my digital camera, I wanted something compatible. I also did not want to spend a lot of money on something like this, given the limited use and chances of eventually dropping and breaking it. (...)It is a great choice. Using a 64 mb memory card (which I already had), I have plenty of room for 16-20 songs, which is far more than I listen to on my 3-4 mile runs. Adding new songs involves only plugging in the USB cable, hitting "transfer," and waiting a few seconds each. Obviously, if you want a lot more memory, or you don't aleady have SmartMedia cards, your mileage may vary. I will eventually get one of the 6-10 gig players for other uses, but for my purposes, this player is perfect.

I'm very imporessed by this player. After downloading the flash file from Creative's web page, my 128mb smartmedia card was recognized. Definatley recommended!
A few more of the nice features;
Headphone jack is tight, keeps the headphones in if the unit falls off your belt, acting like a safety cord.
The output from the headphone jack can be powered to drive speakers or changed to a simple nonpowered line out, for connection to audio equipment.
The headphones supplied are pretty nice, a little small for my big head though. Great bass response, although I'd recommend getting a better pair.
The Amazon listing mentions "clamshell" but the unit doesn't have a protective cover.
If you buy a memory card, be warned that the player doesn't add this to the total available. I.e. you won't be able to have a 160mb MP3 file. You could have a 128mb mp3 file and a seperate 32mb MP3 file though.

This player is GREAT. It's not expensive, and the 32MB should be enough for all except the most demanding audiophiles. MUST BUY!

I got the NomadIIc recently. EXCELLENT MP3 player!

Durable, user friendly interface, and good features make this a steal at the $99 I paid for it. Built in DSP modes including a custom bass and treble user setting that make it easy to get the sound that you like from your music. Downloading to the Nomad is very fast and easy to do. I bought 2 64mb smart card's (32mb built in memory is not enough.) 1 card alone holds atleast 20 average length songs at 96bps.

I recommend using .mp3 format over .wma. The sound quality is a little better (.wma crackles at peak song levels at 96kps) and the file size is near the same. If you want a little better sound quality yet, songs recorded at 128bps will provide CD quality sound at the cost of larger file size (about 20% larger.)

The one thing that is rather annoying to me is if you need to switch out smart cards, it is somewhat difficult to remove the card without removing the battery. A small annoyance for so many features. The included software does not support Windows 95 so I have not had a chance to use it. I have Windows 95 at work which is where I use my Nomad most of the time. The unit comes with Creative PlayCenter 2 for the IBM and SopundJam MP for the Mac.

The headphones are good headphones for being included. They take some time to get use to, but work well. Fair - Good sound quality with some distortion at higher sound levels. The headphones do not keep sound in well at all. If you need to keep external sound to a minimum, buy different headphones. I did find these headphones to be exceptionally comfortable when listening to music in bed at night. I have a set of Studio quality Koss headphones which, paired with the Nomad, are an excellent pair. Battery life is amazing as well. I have just over 10 hours of use on the current battery with 1/3 battery life left.

If this is your 1st MP3 player or you have little use for a tuner, The NomadIIc is an EXCELLENT choice.....Plan on buying smart cards for storage, but at approximate $25 - $30 a piece for 64mb (on auction sites), it is pretty affordable.

A disappointing x-mas present for my son. Initial (windows-xp) installation problems were eventually resolved with a PlayCenter 2.5 upgrade and xp patch. Unfortunately, the upgrade wasn't at the website documented with the unit. Finally the unit was working great! The next day downloading stopped working. After reinstalling the SW, downloading appeared to work but it wouldn't play. Creative's web support and FAQs were not helpful. Hope others have a better experience. Mine is being returned.

I got a 0MB refurb from Creative when they were clearing them out. I recommend the standard II (non C) model with a 128MB SM card and a docking station. While 128MB is good you'll tire of the music quickly and, at that point, you can listen to the radio (C has no FM tuner.) The docking station makes charging the batteries and dumping new music easy. Changing MP3's is enough of a hassle that you won't want to do it all that much. I really like the wired remote and headphones supplied, throw the player in your pocket and you have complete control with the mini remote in your hand. Some complain of lack of volume, but you REALLY shouldn't listen that loud anyways (loud headphones are very bad for your hearing!) My unit does very occasionally lock up and I don't know if this is a result of the beta firmware(required if you want it to recognize 128MB.) Overall this is a good value for a compact, skip-proof MP3 player (ideal for phyiscal exercise.) I only with it came from a better company.

I bought this after already buying a minidisc player because I figured I could put MP3s on my computer onto alot of minidiscs and the discs are cheaper than the memory cards for MP3 players.
I was right, and for a while it worked well. Some cons are that it records in real time, so if you're recording MP3s (hook the minidisc to the line-out of your CPU and record while you play the MP3s on Winamp or whatever) it takes as long as recording a cd to a tape. Another thing is that the discs are too cheap (a little over a dollar) and alot of times you can only record 50 minutes of the 74 minutes that they are supposed to hold. Finally, to my dismay, minidiscs can skip. Yeah, it's hard to do, but when I run with it I have to hold it in my hand because a pocket or belt clip (which mine didn't come with) would jostle it too much. It's freakin' heavy too.
So now I got this MP3 player after beating up on my minidisc player and all I can say is that it comes with headphones (something I didn't see) and that 32mb is still not alot of memory. I could only fit 5 songs (Pink Floyd so yeah, some of them were kind of long). Buy a memory card, the price has gone down on them. Figure (1 song = 4 mb memory). It doesn't transfer as fast as I'd hoped either.

I had bought my Nomad II (32MB onboard) sometime in 2001 for $69. I cannot beleive that I got it for that price and still it stays at that price two years later. It has great sound and with a 128MB card you have plenty of music to last you. It is a great piece and everytime I look to get a new one or a better one, I can't find anything that is much better for the price. I am keeping my mine until the price of MP3s drop drastically.

i love my mp3 nomad IIc. my sister tried mine and had to buy one. it beats working out and having to listen to alot of talking on the radio. i love the ability to download music and re-download to change the music. the only drawback i have found is that my headphones did not last very long. i blew out one side of the headphone speaker and ended up buying a new one. i would like to upgrade my 128mb with a 32mb card but i dont know if its really worth it to do that for one hour more of music. a friend of mine has a rio brand and ive seen an rca brand, these do not compare to the nomad IIc. its has great sound, very compact,easy and convenient to use and download!