Customer Reviews

Creative Labs NOMAD II Digital Audio Player

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Before I bought the NOMAD II, I read a lot of reviews from Amazon. I saw there were a few downsides to this product, but I took my chances anyway and I do not regret it at all. I believe this product to be the best mp3 player out in the market now.

I admit, I don't know much about mp3 players (this being my first one), but compared to the reviews of the other top selling players, the NOMAD didn't really have much drastic flaws to it.

I'm not going to get all technical now, except the fact that NOMAD can support other future formats like WMA, and most of the other top-selling ones do not.

OKay...NOMAD has a limited memory of 64MB. Most of the others do too. Yeah, there are some that hold 96MB now, but who knows...wait a few years and it'll probably be a couple Gigabytes...that is, if future formats of music files do not make mp3's obsolete...or if you really want to wait that long for it to come out. When you think about it, it's not really all that bad. Of course, people would like the player to hold infinite amount of music... 64MB is just not enough, I know. I'd love it so much if one Smartmedia card could hold 100 songs compared to 12-15...I also wished CD's and tapes can hold that much at one time, too. Speaking of that, hey...can tapes zip from one track to another? Does it give CD quality sounds like the mp3 players do? Can tapes hold more than 20-30 songs averaging 5 minutes a piece? And CD's? Burn as many mixed song CD's you'd like, but you can only do them once on each CD, that is, if you do not mess it up in the process...and they take a lot of time. Plus, you can't hold that many songs in there either. Basically, you got the same limits as you always had with portable music players with the exception of a lot of extra convenience involved. Believe me, this little gadget is very convenient. It's light as a feather. It won't skip. It won't "eat the tape", wear down the motor, wear down any heads (tape heads),...no need to clean the heads or lenses since there are no moving parts. The mp3 player isn't fragile like CD players. You bump into someone with your CD player in your backpack, there's a pretty good chance your CD player will be...killed. With this unit, you don't need a backpack. Just slip it into your front pocket. Run into anyone you want and I'll guarantee there'll be no damage to your unit...unless the person you ran into beats you up first and punches you in the chest, crushing it. I could go on forever with this but I must point out some other "downsides" to this unit.

I read somewhere that the FM radio wasn't that great on this. Works fine for me. I mean if I were in a basement with no windows, surely I'd get bad radio receptions. I'm not saying that the reviewer who wrote the complaint about bad reception lives in a basement...I'm just saying radio signals vary wherever you go or wherever you are. I get good reception where I'm at now, but if I move south of my neighborhood, I get static on my FM radio...as well as my cellular phone.

Some reviewer said this unit doesn't have a fast forward or rewind...YEAH IT DOES! Hold the ">>" or "<<" down a bit and let it go. Yeah, yeah, you see?

I read the Diamond Rio unit has a problem with battery power. It drains out quick from just transferring songs through the USB. I've been using this NOMAD for days and the battery just keeps going and going and going...

Unlike some downsides to other units, this one doesn't require and "encrypted" mp3. Just load it straight up as it is from your PC or MAC.

OK, it's time to get a little philosophical...you can't have everything you want in life. What I mean is be thankful for what you got. There's a lot of complaints of little petty things. "It can't hold enough songs", "The batteries make it too heavy", "The headphones don't fit my head", "The buttons are too small", "There's no built-in microwave", "It doesn't have a bottle opener at the end of it"...too much whining about things that aren't so serious. It plays music and is convenient. That's what it was made for and thats what it delivers. Believe me, no matter how perfect another player might be out there right now, the companies who develop these little gadgets are working on another as I speak that is ten times as advanced and tens times as perfect. You could wait around for the next couple years waiting for better player and brag all about it. In the meantime, me and all the other NOMAD owners will be enjoying our music while you sit there and wait. By then you'll be sitting exactly where we are now while another like you is waiting for the next better player to come out after then.

I don't mean to offend nobody with this review, really. I'm just saying for those who plan on purchasing an mp3 player, this one will do great. I think its the best one out there for now. And try not to look for what's wrong with it. Concentrate on what is great about it and enjoy your [money's] worth.

The NOMAD II digital mp3 player / voice recorder by Creative Labs is one of the best devices of its kind. It is lightweight, small, has an intuitive interface,and the sound quality is in my opinion very good. Its only rival is perhaps the Rio 500 by Diamond. Other digital recorders / mp3 players tend to have much lower storage capacities and/or pitiful sound quality which makes them practically useless. The NOMAD II comes with a USB connector (unlike earlier versions of the NOMAD the NOMAD II will not work with a parallel port: you will need a USB port on your computer), headsets, an extension cord for the headphones with buttons on it (which is advertized as a "remote control"), an optional 64MB SmartMedia flash memory card (which you must have although it can be purchased separately), a leather case for the NOMAD II, one AA battery, and of course the NOMAD II itself. The software basically consists of the NOMAD II manager and the Creative Digital Audio Center (DAC).

Initially there is no operating system on the NOMAD II. You will need to boot into Windows 98 and connect your NOMAD II to the PC to transfer the NOMAD II operating system to the SmartMedia card using the NOMAD II manager. Once this is done you can also transfer any mp3 files to the NOMAD II, play them, and record. The NOMAD II uses two different file formats on its SmartMedia card. One is MPEG layer 3 (.mp3) which is used to play music and the other one is (.nvf) which is what the NOMAD II uses to store voice recordings. It is impossible to transfer .mp3 files from the NOMAD II to the computer so you must back up the .mp3 files on the computer so that when you need more space on the SmartMedia card you can delete the file without losing it. One the other hand you can transfer the .nvf voice files from the NOMAD II to the PC. However you must play the voice files either on the NOMAD II or on PC with Nomad II Manager. It is not possible to convert the voice files to .mp3 so if you want to make a recording and send it to a friend then your friend will not be able to listen to it unless they also have a NOMAD II or the Nomad II manager. That is because the .nvf (which presumably stands for nomad voice file) is a proprietary format presumably developed for the NOMAD only. The other drawback is that the fast forward mechanism found on many tape recorders and mp3 player software on PCs is not available on the NOMAD II. Hence if you have a one hour recording then you cannot jump to the middle of the recording without waiting for one hour first. All I can say here is that these devices are still in their infancy.

Other than that the USB connection is fast and the recording as well as mp3 playing quality is excellent (yes CD sound quality is better but who can tell the difference anyway; plus remember: an mp3 player like this will never skip!).

And BTW, at the present time you need Windows 98 for the Nomad II Manager which is the only way to transfer files back and forward (although some have suggested that this is also possible with a SmartMedia card reader). The Nomad II Manager currently does not work with Windows NT, MacOS, Linux, or other operating systems.

The best features of the NOMAD II are ease of use, excellent sound/recording quality, and large storage capacity.

Its worse features are that it is impossible to convert .nvf files to .mp3 files and lack of support for other operating systems.

This is my first MP3 player - I waited for the Nomad II to come out because I wanted USB connectivity, 64 MB of storage, and a radio (I also wanted a rechargable battery and docking station - however, they're sold seperately. Amazon did not sell them at the time I bought it, so I ordered the docking station (comes w/rechargable battery) from Creative's site)

Being new to MP3 Players, I really think that this thing is awesome. It's small, it has no moving parts and it has a fantastic user interface. The PC-side software is intuitive and easy to use as well. I also like the fact that I will be able to support other digital music formats in the future (WMA).

Downsides to the Nomad II: The radio just is not that great (at all). It's hard to use, and the reception is fair to poor - mostly poor. As a first time MP3 palyer user, I feel that 64MB is still not enough space for MP3s. I'm only getting 10-15 songs (128 bit rate)on the 64MB SmartMedia card. WMA formatted music is supposed to double that though...

I'll admit it, I'm a techno-junkie. I have to have all of the new-fangled gadgets that are out there. Call it compulsion. I bought the Creative Nomad II for the sole purpose of having one, but after I received the product, I came away with a product I can't help but be pleased with.

For such a small device, the sound on this gadget is incredible. I can't believe I'm listening to an MP3 from such a small device. Let's forget that the SmartMedia card I have holds 64 Megabytes (a feat on such a small card is just unimaginable to me). You can control the treble and bass (along with 4 presets Rock, Pop, Classical, and Jazz). Best of all, the skips are very rare. Unlike what most people have said here, I've had one or two. Nothing major, but a few for some reason. The battery was full, if you're keeping score at home.

I love the voice recorder. This innovation automatically makes the Nomad II a more useful tool outside of listening to music. With the capability to record 4 hours worth of sound bytes (with a 64 MB card), you could record a 3-hour lecture, transfer it to your computer, and keep an archive of them, without worrying about having enough tapes or missing something in your notes.

I only gave the product four stars for a variety of reasons. Even though I marvel at the size of the SmartMedia card in relation to the memory on it, I'm always afraid I'm going to snap it in half when I place it in the Nomad II. If you're careful, you'll be fine. I'm afraid that if I break it, I might have to shell out another ($) or so to replace it. I also found the navigation to be a bit hairy in some instances. Then again, I have a big thumb, so take that comment with a grain of salt. I also did not lkiek the fact trhat I had to buy a separate docking cradle, although Amazon does have, in my research, the best price for it.

Overall, this is a great product. If you want your MP3 player to do more than play music, get this item now!

well, after using this player for 4 days, here are my thoughts. The magnesium silvery casing is attractive, and they have provided a belt clip this time. The LCD screen is very spacey, and you can see five lines of text all at once. Backlit time is configurable, 2 seconds being the default...a nice addition. Music quality is very good, I discern no difference from what I hear on the pc. I suggest you use a good pair of earphones/headphones as the provided backphones aren't that spectacular.

The sound volume is great: my sony earphones were blasting away at 55%. Most of you should reach your maximum at 80% or so. Battery life is standard: 8 hours or so. USB transfer rates are QUICK. I went out of my room for a short conversation and the whole memory card was full. Mere seconds for each song, definately. The recording function is adequate: adpcm, 32hz. You will need to turn up the volume a little, but that's fine. There is an erase button handy on the right side of the player for those of you who like to experiment/fool around a lot. Radio stations are clear even in-doors,and you can set all 30 presets with the software provided through USB easily. In fact, my only gripe is the weight: 88 grams without the battery. So if you're looking for a good mp3 player+walkman, and are not on a budget, this is the best one you can get for now.

I mulled over making this purchase for months and now that I've done, received it and used for about 2 weeks I have to say that I am perfectly satisfied.

Let me take a moment to dispel some of the myths about this product (stated by other reviewers).

FM radio reception: Radio reception most times has nothing to do with the piece of equipment your using, it's about the area you use it in. If you in an area with bad reception, guess what usually your equipment will not perform well. I for one have had absolutely no problems with the Nomad in this area.

Inability to use long filenames: Again not true, well sort of. If you use the software Creative provides to upload music to your Nomad you will have the "~" problem. But take the extra time to download Windows Media Player 7. Not only does it accept and upload long file names, but if you convert your music to .WMA instead of .MP3 you'll be able to carrying more music due to .WMA's higher compression rate.

Slick Beltclip Depending on how its used it will work fine. When I go to the gym I just clip my Nomad to my sweats facing my body (clip out) with the "lock" controls on. That way it doesn't fall, I don't have any inadvertent button pushes and I can just use the wired remote (very cool feature).

Headphone (backphones) are average. I have been considering buying a better pair.

Audiobook files ARE compatible.

All-in-all I believe this to be an awesome product. I've used it for everything from Jazz, Pop, R&B, to Hip-hop (not really in to Classical) and its always performed well.

Like a lot of the People who reviewed this Product, I myself read all the reviews under Customer Reviews Section and came up with a decision to give this product a try and sure enough I wasn't disappointed. This was my First Mp3 Player and I am really enjoying it. Some of the points I want to mention here are:

1) Fast USB song Transfer - This player rocks in terms of Song transfer speed. It takes about 10 sec for a 4MB song. If you are tranferring a .WMA file it cuts that time into half as the file size shrinks into half.

2) .WMA compatible - This is the best feature. Taking a .MP3 song and putting it on the player as half of its original size with excellent sound quality is remarkable. First I tried putting all the MP3 songs on the player and could only fit a maximum of 13 songs but with the .WMA format I counld now fit a Maximum of 27(In My Case). 27 songs with excellent sound quality is phenominal.

3) Wired Remote - A great thing to have when you don't feel like taking the player in and out again and again . Another feature on the remote is that by pressing and holding the play button for 2 seconds you can switch between the MP3 songs and FM radio thus not having to take the player out just to switch from the FM radio to the songs or vice versa.

4) DSP Equalizer - It has 6 different choices and they are NORMAL, CLASSIC, POP, ROCK, JAZZ and the customizable BASS and TREBLE as the 6th choice.

5)Voice Recorder - This is another great feature that is present in the player. With 1 MB you can record upto 6min of conversation.

6)Backlight - Great for using the player in the dark spots or in the night.

7) FM RADIO - paying a lot of money and not having an FM Radio wouldn't be a right investment for me. Radio sounds great. Many reviewers were complaining about the Bad Reception Problem but I think it depends on the area in which you live. I'm a Queens resident and I am satisfied with the Reception that I get.

- The battery life is good. Lasts about 8-10 hours. - Upgradeable Firmware is the best. This feature will allow the player to be updated if any new formats or anything like that comes out in the market.

The only negative point that I found was that the player can only be limited to 64 MB of memory but with the .WMA format that is not a problem for me anymore since now I can put more that 25 songs on just one memory card without paying anymore money.

NOTE: If you want to know more about how to put the .WMA songs you can go to this website and download the windows media player 7 bonus pack and open the audio converter 3.0 LE and change the .MP3 to .WMA and have more music with EXCELLENT SOUND QUALITY.

Good product - Bad service: The headphones the Nomad II comes with are actually two pieces, one being a headphone unit and one being a remote-type unit that attaches directly to the player. The headphones by themselves are not long enough to be usable without the remote unit. After 95 days (not kidding) the remote unit broke and Creative Labs refused to exchange my broken unit for a new one because they only offer a 90-day warranty. They have a good product at a good price and could have had a lifelong customer. Now, I would never buy from Creative again and would suggest taking your business elsewhere if customer service is something you consider important.

This is my first portable digital system, and at first I had doubts. I had a problem with the memory card (would only play half the songs on it). Returned it but only the Nomad II MG was available at the time so I decided to give it a try.

MG was nice, but no beltclip, no easy access to the buttons through the carrying case, and an LCD screen that you needed a magnifying glass to see, the built in 64 MB of RAM was the only selling point. Couldn't wait to return this & get another Nomad II.

The Nomad II is great if you're on the go. The belclip isn't the best, but it gets the job done, and the headphones are great (especially the wired remote). If they could only make the battery cover a little easier to remove (I'm convinced that my difficulty removing the battery cover is what caused the flash card to get damaged).

Well, let me start off by saying this: When I first received the unit, it was working fine. However, after a few hours the buttons on the unit stopped working, but the headset remote worked fine. Then the unit would not turn on the next day, despite my replacement of the batteries. However, Amazon.com was happy to replace it as soon as possible. I advise that you do not let this hinder your opinion of the player, as all products will ship some defective units. Now about the player:

I was not in a rush to go out and buy the prettiest mp3 player I saw. I decided to take my time and look into as many places as possible. I have decided that I am deeply satisfied with my decision to get the Nomad II player. The sound reproduction is crystal clear. The headphones are wonderful, the headset remote is very very handy, the oversized LCD screen is great, the USB connection makes it plug and play (no need to reboot) and the USB is blazingly fast, and I just plain like the color scheme of the player itself. The software is great, I learned how to use it in 15 minutes. There could be some improvements, like the ability to upload music from the player to the computer. But you can thank the good old RIAA (who is suing Napster and sued Diamond Rio for making mp3 players, but lost) for not allowing music uploads, because it causes "music piracy." Don't depend on using the leather case it comes with. It's really just a leather sack with strings on the top. Besides, you should get one of those MP3 cases that amazon.com offers, like I did.

As with many high tech gadgets there are a few features you don't use often, such as the clock and voice recording. But hey, it doesn't hurt to have them! As these things are all great, you are probably asking "Why should I get the Nomad II over other players like the Rio 500?". Well there are some minute difference, but there is one feature the Nomad has that few (if any) players do: The ability to program. As you may know, the nomad is futureproof, with the ability to support any future music format. Don't depend on constantly using mp3's. I don't use them at all! Instead, I use WMA music, which sounds almost as good as mp3 (I really can't tell the difference) but it takes up half the space. It's like having a 128 MB mp3 card! Plus there are things like upgrading the radio display and other stuff that has to do with the player. The point is: this is a player you will be keeping for a long, long time. I highly recommend it over the others.

There is one last thing I want to get in. A book about MP3's I was reading was published after the Nomad, but before the Nomad II. It says that you can display music lyrics while the song is playing on the Nomad. I wonder if you can do that with the Nomad II. There is an entry box when you edit the mp3 tag for lyrics, but I just can't figure out how to display it. If anyone knows, please e-mail me. If anyone wants to know, mail me and I'll tell you if I found out. It's just that this is such a cool feature that I don't want to overlook.