Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Nano Plus 1 GB MP3 Player (Blue)

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

My review can be summed up in one sentence: You can get a BUNCH of songs on this VERY SMALL player and play them for a VERY LONG TIME!

I love the new Sandisk Sansa's, the m230, m240, and m250, and I only gave them 4 stars. Without a doubt, the Creative Zen Nano get's 5 stars. It's that good. It doesn't have all the cool cache' of the iPod nano, but it is without question the most optimized little player I have had the pleasure to review.

Creative has been in the MP3 player business for a LONG time. Their early offerings came up against a market that wasn't fully matured and able to handle the higher end devices they produced. Apple stole their thunder and has overshadowed everybody with the iPod. Creative's higher capacity devices are still too large to compete on portability. It's funny the way things work out. If not for Creative, Apple wouldn't have ever had a market to introduce the iPod into.

The Creative Zen Nano is lighter than the competition, and is actually much smaller than the iPod Shuffle. Unlike the shuffle, however, you can actually see your track names! The little LCD isn't high resolution, but it's perfect for a player this size.

The controls are simple but effective. A 2 way toggle wheel let's you forward or reverse from song to song. There's a play / pause button on the front panel and forward & reverse buttons on the side by the toggle wheel. Other than a headphone jack and a line in jack, the unit has a USB B port and the battery panel. That's it. I think these controls are the best possible for the form factor. The only potential negative is that they might be on the small size for somebody with larger fingers.

What about sound? The sound is great, and it comes through in pure stereo. As usual, you will hear complaints about the earbuds. I've yet to use a pair of standard earbuds so I won't hold that against Creative. I will say that the armstrap could have been better designed. Also, this unit definitely does not have the power output of the iPod Nano, and as such may not be loud enough for those who really love to blast it. But as a result, the power consumption is the best I've seen. I've gone over a week on a single AAA battery!

For those needing more space, the Zen Nano doesn't have larger storage options. This unit is ideal as a player and not for those who primarily want to use it for recording. Even with a HUGE music collection, I can get a great deal of music on here and take it with me everywhere.

The price isn't a give-away, and this unit won't make it through battle, but it strikes a good enough balance to meet your needs for a long long time to come. Highly recommended.

Pros -
- great stereo sound
- nice capacity
- ridiculous battery life!!!
- light-weight
- FM tuner ( though it's just average )
- voice recording
- Direct line-in recording!!!! ( for those without a PC )
- ergonomic design
- great navigation and sorting features
- Microsoft PlaysForSure compatible
- USB 2.0 connectivity
- replaceable battery!!!

Cons
- smallish buttons
- Average shuffle feature
- mediocre backlight ( but it can be disabled )
- some song transfer issues on older computers
- not enough size options
- no slot expansion

(...)

I have a 40GB Creative Labs Zen Xtra MP3 player from Christmas a year ago, but that big thing (although it's a great vacation device) sits at home now that I have my 1GB Zen Nano Plus! Super light-weight, durable, and great battery life, I take this thing with me almost everywhere - to the gym, in the car (which came with an 1/8" auxilliary input for devices just like this), and lounging near the pool.

1GB doesn't sound like much, but it's plenty of room to store all your favorite "current playlist" songs and then some. If it gets full, just delete some of the stuff you don't like as much.

Two cons (but not worth marking down a star):

1. Get a different set of earbuds. The ones that come with the unit just don't cut it. I got a pair of $20 KOSS earbuds from a popular retailer and they've been great.

2. There was a high-pitched noise whenever the blue LED backlight came on (i.e. whenever you skipped to the next song, etc). Thankfully, there's an option to turn off the backlight permanently (which also saves on battery life), without which I would have had to return the unit because I couldn't have put up with it.

Note: I did return the unit once thinking it was defective because of the high-pitched tone, but apparently all the units have this same problem. I lived with it because I don't mind having the backlight off permanently.

I would have given Creative Zen Nano Plus (abbreviated "CZNP") 5 stars, except for two small deficiences: it does not have gapless playback (see #4 below), and the build quality and controls are kind of cheap (see #9 below). Assuming it lasts, it seems a very good unit for the money. Here's why I bought mine.

0. Do I want to make a fashion statement with my choice of MP3 player?

Some people will only buy a trendy iPod. Buying a lesser-known unit like CZNP makes a different fashion statement, especially since you can choose from 12 colors. I prefer function over form, but CZNP offers some of each.

1. Do I want more than just sound?

The CZNP is a basic MP3 player, FM Radio, and recorder. It has a simple monochrome display and controls that make it a good choice for playing music, podcasts, and ebooks, and listening to local radio stations. It can record from the built-in mike or radio, or from a line input, which may be handy at times.

Some players can play videos, show pictures, etc, and cost a lot more because of the required color screen and larger memory. I don't need these things and prefer not to spend the money needed to get them.

2. Will I be listening to mostly music or mostly spoken content?

When you switch off a unit while it is playing, or pause it and it turns off automatically after awhile, some units will resume at the beginning of the current track, and others (e.g. CZNP) resume exactly where you left off. If you are playing music, you usually prefer to start the song over again. For ebooks or long podcasts, I need to resume where it was turned off (like CZNP does), because it is hard to fast-advance back to where you were.

3. What kind of accessories can I get?

Creative has a set of speakers tailored to the CZNP, and there are many generic accessories that will work with it. By comparison, there are entire catalogs of accessories tailored for optimal use with an iPod (and may not work with others). I have what I need, but pine for some things available for iPod only.

4. How convenient is it to use?

MP3 players vary considerably on how easy they are to use. The iPod is famous for ease of use, though it does not do everything I want to do. The CZNP has relatively cheap controls that work well enough, and does what I want. You don't have to be a computer whiz to use it or its software.

5. How long will it last?

On Amazon, click the link "See all 109 customer reviews", then look for the dropdown "Show:" and choose "Lowest review first" and click the Go button. There are a number of reports from people who had problems with their CZNP, some bad enough to throw it away. Some are real problems, others might be a lack of understanding how to use the player.

Despite these complaints, the average review is high. You'll find about the same mix of reviews for most players.

I decided to take a chance. My unit will be well-cared for. If I have a problem, I'll update this review.

6. Can the battery be replaced?

CZNP uses an AAA battery which is said to last for 15 hours and can be changed easily.

The iPod Nano has a rechargeable battery that is not designed to be replaced, which means the iPod Nano becomes landfill when the battery no longer takes a charge in a couple of years. There will be millions of iPods being thrown away simply because the owner cannot make them continue to work, which has an impact on the environment. There are now battery replacement kits for iPod, with tools and instructions, so this concern is lessened for DIY people, but most won't bother.

7. How does it sound?

The CZNP sounds very good to when when I use good earphones like Koss "The Plug", or when plugged into a stereo.

The free headphones you get with it won't give you the best sound, and you should not judge the player on how it sounds with them. Go buy quality earphones for any new player, as this will make a huge improvement in your enjoyment at relatively low cost.

8. Does the player use flash memory or hard-disk for storage?

CZNP uses flash-memory. Flash memory is more expensive per MB/GB than hard disk memory, and flash memory players are smaller than hard disk players. I would not want a hard disk, which I think is too heavy and too fragile for a portable player. Get a hard disk player if you want to carry a lot of content, but make sure you have a backup. Get a flash memory player if you want to hold the content you will listen to today or this week.

9. Does the player have enough memory?

I think I can have 12-16 hours of MP3 music at highest quality on the CZNP 1GB player, or podcasts (lower quality) up to 32 hours. With that much space I can have some new or favorite albums left on the player, and have plenty of room for content that changes (like podcasts). If you don't use a computer regularly, you might want more memory, maybe even a hard disk.

10. Does the player support gapless playback between tracks?

Some albums have music that flows continously from one track to the next. Examples: Radiohead "OK Computer", Dandy Warhols, Moody Blues. The listening experience is disrupted if the tracks have a gap as the player switches from one track to another.

I don't know of any portable MP3 player that offers gapless playback (without Rockbox), though it's bound to come. The CZNP has a brief gap with no clicks, but it is still somewhat disruptive. One solution is to rip the album as one continuous track. The Rockbox open-source technology essentially replaces the firmware on your player, and it features gapless playback. It is supported on a few players, including some iPods, but not CZNP.

11. Does the player require proprietary software or hardware?

CZNP includes software, but it can work like a USB drive, so you can manage content with Explorer / Finder if you want to. All connectors are industry standard (though the 3/32" stero line input is less common).

As I understand it, iPod can only load music using iTunes, and other players require software supplied with the unit, or with Windows. The iPod and others also use proprietary connectors, replacing a lost cable is more expensive. I would not be happy with such restrictions. Open standards promote flexibility and interoperability.

For me, at a minimum, the player needs to look like a USB drive when I connect it to the computer, so that I can load it by dragging files to the player's file system, and the CZNP does that. I want to have a program automatically create a custom listening program of various short podcasts that play in a particular order to support Radio on Demand, and I want that to happen by simply connecting the device to the computer, with no keyboard or mouse interaction involved. I have not found such a program, and may have to write it, but I can do that if I want to. With an iPod I have no choice but to use iTunes (or replace the firmware with Rockbox).

12. Is the player file-based or tag-based?

The CZNP is file-based: it can play songs in alphabetical order for a given folder. (It also has shuttle, etc.) I tried the SanDisk Sansa, but returned it because all content is organized and played on the basis of tags, exclusively. While my music has tags correctly set to play the way I wanted, podcasts don't use tags consistently enough to play them in a particular order that I chose. With the CZNP you can at least control the order by putting a sequence number at the beginning of each filename.

Tag-based probably have some advantages over file-based, but only if all of the content you want to play is properly tagged.

I was a bit apprehensive when I bought this MP3 player but the Creative Zen Nano Plus exceeded all of my expectations. The sound quality is great. The earphones are loud at even when set the lowest levels. No, the earphones aren't the most comfortable thing in the world, but they're easily replaceable. Really, I think people like to complain about the earphones because there's nothing really wrong with the player so they're searching for things to criticize.

The software (not needed) took minutes to install, and loading my CDs was simple and even faster. You can choose how to name the tracks on your CDs when you load them as well (i.e. No., artist, title, or a combination of all three) The player also works like a flash drive and if you just have random mp3 tracks on your computer, you can simply drag and drop them into your player. The only thing is that you need a UBS cable to connect your player to your computer (cable is provided). Songs are also easily deleted. You can either do this on your computer or on the player itself.

Another great option is that the number of different shuffle options available. You can shuffle within a folder, or shuffle between folders, shuffle with no repeat, shuffle with repeat, etc. I haven't used them all but they're definitely there. No, you can't do playlists but I didn't really find it necessary. The absence of the ability to use playlists is another very small flaw in the MP3 player which can be easily overlooked. Really, if you want a "playlist" just put all the songs you want in a folder and listen to the folder only!

You can organize your songs into folders. I haven't used many sub-folders, but you can organize your songs within subfolders. I mainly have folders for different artists and subfolders of albums from that artist within that folder. Then I just have a folder for miscelaneous songs. This structure has worked great for me, especially considering all the playing options that are on the player.

The FM radio rocks. I love having the option of listening to the radio instead of just listening to my music. The reception indoors is decent - about as good as a radio in the same room. I've only tried the option of recording from the radio once or twice but it worked great when I did. It's a cool option if there's some radio program or song you want to record for future listenings.

For all you college students, concert junkies, conference goers, etc., the Creative Zen Nano Plus has a microphone so you can record lectures, songs, and anything else you can think of with your MP3 player. I think the player picks up sound pretty decently over large distances. Of course, the closer/louder the sound, the better the sound quality. Great added option though.

I haven't used this option but you can also transfer straight from your portable CD player to your MP3 player without using your computer using a line-in cable (provided). The only downfall is that the files will be generically named (XXX0001.mp3). But that can be easily changed the next time you are on your computer.

The player also comes with a AAA battery which lasts quite a while for such a small battery. Don't ask me for the exact number of hours it lasts because I don't keep track of how long I listen to the player for every battery used but I can tell you that the small battery has some serious juice. In addition, replaceable batteries are much better than using rechargeable batteries because rechargeable batteries do not work after about a year of constant use.

The player came with a wrist band which I didn't find all that impressive but it's there if you want to use it. The Nano did have a tiny hole at one end to be used with lanyards if you do not want to use the wrist band. The player does NOT come with a lanyard but I had an extra one laying around so I use that instead. I did like the case it came with so it prevents scratching or any other wear and tear on the surface. The case also has a clip if you want to clip to your clothing.

Overall, great buy considering the price. The only two extremely minor flaws was the earphones are uncomfortable and playlists aren't an option. This greatly outweighs the cool options available like FM radio, microphone, price, works like a flash drive, etc. I give it 4 1/2 stars!!!

Today I received my Creative Labs Zen Nano Plus 1GB. I decided to purchase an mp3 player because I work out at the gym and was tired of running with a bulky cd player that skipped if I didn't hold it while running. So, I started looking at mp3 players. I am a big music person and have well over 12,000 files of mp3s on my home computer. It seemed I would have to buy a costly mp3 just to hold a good portion of my collection on an mp3 player. I checked out the Ipods, Sandisk and Creative Labs mp3 players. I did A TON OF RESEARCH ON THESE PRODUCTS. The end result? There are bad experiences from reviewers with each brand and every model. I decided to not throw away hundreds of dollars on a piece of techology that would potentially have an issue.

If you don't care about playing and watching video but just want a compact mp3 player to listen to a handful of music albums on -- this one seems to be the best. I tried it out in the gym today and it was great. It is the size and weight of a tiny package of gum (the kind with 5 pieces). I held it in my hand while running since I don't trust technology to be dangling off my body, however, this one does come with an armband and waist clip!

Pros:

+Comes with waist clip, armband, basic headphones, line-in cable, and usb cable.

+Lightweight, has screen with optional backlight.

+COST! Save yourself some money!

+Customer Service (I called with a question and was put on with a live body in minutes!)

+FM Radio

+Record audio!

Cons:

-For working out, there is a lot of extra cord on the headphones.

-Directions. The set of directions that comes with this is really poor. It gives no real direction on how to work the software and vague in some areas with how to use it. I figured out everything through trial and error.

-The case that it comes with doesn't actually cover the screen, which stinks because I don't want to worry about scratching it!

In summary, I couldn't find one mp3 player that didn't have an unhappy bunch reviewing each brand and model. This one is working out so far. If there isn't a great flawless mp3 player on the market then why waste so much money on an Ipod?

(I didn't talk about spec's in this review because you can learn that from Amazon's description. You read reviews to read others experiences.)

Unlike most, I didn't purchase this MP3 player to listen to music (though now that I have it, I will probably put some of my favorite tunes on it!). Our public library offers downloadable audio books and I needed a portable device that would play locked WMA files. Through browsing the web I thought I would pay $200 - $300 for such a player until someone at the library recommended this one. WOW! Hard to believe such a tiny device can put out such crystal clear CD-quality sound! I'm hooked! The only reason I give it 4 stars and not 5 is because I can't bookmark my place in the audio book (Solution is to pause your book, turn the player OFF. If you return to it within 24 hours it will pick up where you left off). Otherwise, I can't say enough about this tiny powerhouse of any MP3 / WMA player!

This is one of the best designed products I have purchased in years and certainly the best $60 I've spent lately. I wanted anything but an iPod, absolutely no iTunes or Quicktime, and too much space seems to introduce new problems like being able to hear and feel the drive, losing too much data when they freeze, navigation issues, and of course size, bulk, and weight. For a long vacation or the need for video the Zen Vision M, iRiver, or Zune might make sense, but regardless you still have to back stuff up somewhere else anyway, and 1gb stores about 20 albums which is usually enough for my purposes. Besides I can buy a portable DVD player with the money saved.

So for me it came down to a choice between this player, the SanDisk Sansa and the MuVo TX FM. But the Sansa was bigger and bulker than both and personally I won't be using this as a flash drive and liked the idea of being able to record streaming audio not available as an mp3. After using it for that purpose I found I had to raise the computer volume to max to be albe to do this, but the recorded quality does not sound distorted and is just as good as its source. The FM recording quality is also good; I've read reviews dismissing the FM receiver as just average but to keep things in perspective, it's a $70 cigarette lighter sized mp3 player/FM/recorder combo, what did you expect, short wave capabilities? FM reception is roughly the same as my Harman Kardon stereo receiver which is about 300 times larger yet it can't make digital recordings. I read somewhere that the RIAA has begun pressure to remove FM recording capabilities in mp3 players, which I don't quite understand since I remember making cassette tape recordings off the radio 30 years ago, but it's worth considering. File management, as mentioned by others, is so simple and head and shoulders above the rest. Aside from iPod, Creative are one of few makers who design audible.com compatible products, too bad for iRiver and Zune. Sound quality is great for the size, I'm a musician and consider myself an audiophile, just not a pedantic, obsessive one. Navigation is easy enough, backlight for me is fine, and even the standard headphones are not as bad as I was anticipating. The USB cover and navigation dial are made of gray rubber which as others have mentioned is kind of flimsy, but most of the electronics industry is using the exact same material one way or the other on hundred if not thousands of products, it's hardly limited to Creative.

The only things I can really complain about are the lack of playlist support (although that's solved by naming conventions) and the manual. It's pathetic. I assumed most people would have already mastered the complex task of sliding a battery compartment open and pushing in an AAA battery without graphics and written instructions, or else they wouldn't be able to operate a debit card or get themselves safely to a store to purchase this in the first place. What most people wouldn't intuitively know is how to navigate the menus and what all the different icons and options mean, and for some reason they left most of that out entirely. Fortunately the device was so well designed that you can figure most of it out on your own and if not you can google the online manual to answer most remaining questions. And lastly, there is a disclaimer in the manual regarding the sync cable that reads: "Warning: The cord(s) included with this product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling." Insert shocked emoticon here. Maybe someone at Creative should consider a more creative way to address that apparently serious issue rather than just intructing us to wash our hands after each use, as if!

I have researched more than a dozen sites and MP3 players before going for this one. The first thing that struck me was the user reviews. Everywhere it has more than or equal to 4 stars. But there are also one or two stars from some users. From my personal experience with CREATIVE music stuff and this awesome mp3 player, I think that most of the negative reviews are driven by malice and by rival companies/people associated with them. Before highlighting the pros and cons of this item, let me make a point here. One thing what amazes me is that this item is SO much in demand that it has been selling like hot cakes since its inception. I am still waiting for my office depot order placed on Sept 14. Inference? This item is the BEST MP3 in terms of demand, cost, and performance. I have owned SANSA M230, and my room mate owns SANSA E140. Both are good, but don't come anywhere close to this CREATIVE Nano plus. Before I begin to appear as a CREATIVE employee myself, let me outline the pros and cons of this MP3 Player.
PROS: awesome sound. I wanted a decent MP3 player with great sound, simple to use, and decent radio. This MP3 gives you that. I listen to songs by keeping the volume LESS THAN HALF of what is given and, trust me, it is still loud.
The radio is great with 32 presets (more than 32 actually because the stations are like '89..89.5...90....90.5....91) So, you can see that it receives more signals that u can imagine. The voice is crystal clear and doesn't shake when in a car or riding a bike (the radio is a bit shaky in SANSA E140)
I was quite apprehensive about the LCD by looking at the reviews all over the net. BUT, once and for all, there is absolutely NO problem with the LCD (I have read numerous reviews complaining that aspect of it). Now, come on. If someone has sight problems, I can understand that. But someone with normal eyesight (I DON'T have 20-20) can read the text that scrolls across the monocrome LCD. Even the battery indicator (three bars) is easily visible.
As for the operation, it is pretty simple. Two buttons on the side are for increasing and decreasing the volume. A scrolling wheel for browsing thru the menus is visible just beside the volume buttons. All you have to do is scroll it once with your thumb to jump a track. That's it. However, if you want to go to settings, equalizers, etc., press the scroll button and the different menus pop up. They are arranged horizontally. So, to hop from one to the other, use the scrolling wheel. It is that simple. Most importantly, you can delete a track you don't like even while you are listening to it!!!
I haven't tried the recording feature of this MP3 player, so I cannot comment on that. But, personally, I am not sure how much I will use that feature.

CONS: the ONLY thing I see as a con is the earbuds. I agree with most other reviewers in this. They are bigger than what you can think. Don't get me wrong; they are CREATIVE earbuds. So, the sound quality is outstanding. But, my ear hurts after half an hour of listening to music. It is like working out in a gym for the first week: if you can see through the pain of the initial period, then everything settles down. I have got used to the earbuds, but I would recommending buying smaller ear buds for extra comfort.
Now, for other bits of information about this MP3 Player.
The AMAZON box came with belt clip, arm band, CD, Line out cable, USB cable, one AAA battery. That is pretty much complete package as far as a normal user is concerned. And, ONE VERY IMPORTANT thing: I have read everywhere that how it is difficult to transfer files to and from the MP3 Player. But, with our natural curiosity and counter-institutional nature, we tend to trust ourselves with some things that we shouldn't. The CD hasn't been manufactured for nothing. When CREATIVE says install it on your computer, do it. It takes only 37mb space on your comp. I am an electronic freak and can safely claim to know some things about computers. I use Object Dock, Style XP, etc. to jazz up my computer and know how to format computers, etc. So, if you cannot transfer files from this CREATIVE Nano, then the problem is with you and NOT the player.
My last observation here would be this: if anyone is apprehensive about buying this after reading negative reviews elsewhere, it's your loss. ABOVE ALL, think of this: if this MP3 player had really sucked, it wouldn't have got consistently 4 stars all over and wouldn't have been so frequently out of stock.
P.S...IT'S BEEN EXACTLY ONE MONTH SINCE I BOUGHT IT AND HENCE WOULD LIKE TO TELL INTERESTED BUYERS MORE ABOUT THIS ITEM. This is the BEST MP3 player you can have (it is even better than other editions of CREATIVE). The reason is this: only the NANO PLUS give you a radio in this price range. The other ZEN V series nearest to this price range ($79.99) doesn't have a radio. The next edition that has a radio costs around $150 or more. Anyways, this Mp3 player's radio is loud...really LOUD. You have to reduce the usual volume to listen to the radio. And signal of the radio is crystal clear. I stay in a two bedroom apartment and when I close my door, I sill get good signal. Now for the battery life. I listen to music atleast 3 hrs everyday and have only spent 3 Energizer AAA batteries. Also, this playe can hold more than 220 songs (as reported by many online pro reviews). It all depends how well can you compress your song(s): for example, a 112 bit-rate song will obviously hold less space than 128 bit-rate song. I have exactly 209 songs (including Hindi and English) and have more than 200MB of space left in the player. I used the CREATIVE Audigy song compressor system that came with my DELL Laptop. But you can find other compressing softwares in the market. This Nano also has a "Jazz" category in the menu that changes the listening experience (I did not notice it before). Also, there are equalizers to customize how you listen. So, all in all, touchwood, this is a great MP3 player for an even greater price!!!

I bought Creative Zen Nano Plus upon the recommendation of my brother who is pretty savvy when it comes to technology. It is the smallest MP3 player on the market that I am aware of and seems to be reasonably priced. I love that it comes with the arm band; great for exercising. I'd have liked there to be a bit more memory; 500 songs sounds like a lot but it fills up fast and also you may not even get that many if the song file is a larger one. I was able to fit about 250 songs. Despite that one little drawback I am satisfied and must say that as my first purchase it is a great one overall. Would like to compare to the iPod Nano; the iPod Nano has 4 times the space but it also costs almost $200 more. It may be worth it for a longer term investment.

I bought this player to use exclusively at the gym, and it's completely perfect for that application. So perfect, in fact, that I've found myself using it at home, in the car, on walks around the neighborhood, and perhaps most enjoyably, on the ski slopes. It's small, light, and super easy to use.

If you're like me, you're probably comparing this player to the iPod Shuffle before you buy and in my opinion, the Zen Nano wins hands down. Sure, the Shuffle is trendy and the advertised colors are more readily available, but it doesn't have an LCD screen (the general idea being that it shuffles your music and surprises you with the next song). I guess that's fine, unless you really want to listen to the songs on that new album you just bought in the order that the artist intended. With the Shuffle, you'd be forwarding through each song until you found the one you want, whereas with the Zen Nano, it's very simple to select a specific album or playlist. Don't get me wrong, I dig the idea of shuffle, and with the Zen Nano you can be surprised song after song by simply selecting either the "shuffle once" or "shuffle repeat" play mode, either of which shuffle all the songs you have stored on your player. Other play modes include alphabetical, repeat track, repeat all, repeat folder, track once, shuffle folder, and normal.

The Zen Nano comes in three capacities - 1 GB, 512 MB, and 256 MB. I considered buying the 512 MB but found the 1 GB version at Circuit City for only $10 more so I ran with it and I'm glad I did. The advertised capacity for the 1 GB version on Creative's website is 500 songs based on 4 minutes per song at 64 kbps WMA encoding, but if you want to hear your tunes at a better sound quality, don't expect to get more than about 260 songs on there. I was able to load 20 complete albums onto mine for a total of 255 songs at 128 kbps WMA encoding, and I have 8.21 MB free space left. I admit, I experienced a tinge of disappointment when it wouldn't let me add album #21, but that was short-lived considering that 20 albums is more than enough music to keep me satisfied for a couple hours at the gym or even a full day on the slopes. Plus it's super easy to remove music and load new music onto it. I installed the software that came with it, but I don't even use it. The Nano Plus works seamlessly with Windows Media Player. Simply connect your player to your computer using the included USB cable and you'll be dragging and dropping new music into your player in mere moments. Pretty cool.

The Zen Nano is powered by one AAA battery. Some people may prefer a player that can be recharged when it's connected to a computer, but I didn't really care either way. I will say that after using it for a while, I like the idea of being able to simply carry an extra battery or two with me and pop a new one in when necessary. As far as battery life, the advertised life is "up to 18 hours of continuous playback." I haven't had mine long enough to need to replace the battery yet, but so far my Zen Nano has been on my hip for 6 trips to the gym, a couple walks around the neighborhood, a few brief car rides, and a full day on the ski slopes. I also played with it for a couple hours the day that I got it just loading music onto it and exploring its features.

Speaking of features, the Zen Nano has some cool ones, most notably a built-in FM tuner. Being a satellite convert, I couldn't care less about FM radio, but it is nice to be able to tune to the FM frequency that the gym TVs broadcast on. There's also this neat little feature where you can flip the orientation of the LCD screen. That may sound goofy, but I've found that I like the text facing one direction when the player's on my hip, and the opposite direction when it's plugged into the auxiliary input in my car. There's a voice recorder feature that I have not and probably will not ever use, so I can't comment on that except to say that it's there. There's also a line-in option where you can record to your player directly from an outside source such as a CD player. I haven't played with this yet, but I do like the fact that I can potentially connect my player to my satellite radio receiver and record radio programming to listen to later.

The Zen Nano Plus comes with a sports armband and rubbery carrying case. I used the armband a couple times and it's not uncomfortable, but I've found that I personally like wearing the player on my hip. The rubbery case that comes with it has a clip on the back so it easily and securely clips to the waistband of your shorts or pants. Seems like it would also protect the player pretty well in the event of a drop.

Like most other things in this world, the Zen Nano is not without flaws, but it's very close to perfect. The earbuds that come with it are crap, so unless you already own a pair that you like, figure a new set of headphones into your spending budget. I highly recommend the "in ear" headphones that seem to be all the rage right now. The pair I bought came with three different sizes of interchangeable buds which I really appreciate because I use the smallest ones. When I was doing my research I read several complaints about the player making a buzzing sound when the LCD display is lit up. I have not experienced that with mine, so maybe Creative addressed this issue. Even so, an easy fix would be to turn the light off, which I did anyway simply to conserve battery life. I also read that when ripping music, users had to manually type in a two digit prefix ahead of the song title (01, 02, 03, etc...) in order for the player to play the songs in the order that they're listed on the CD. I thought that would be annoying if I had to do that, but I found that Windows Media Player 11 does this automatically. I also read some complaints about Creative's customer service/support, or lack thereof. The only comment I can make related to that is that I've owned several Creative products and haven't yet had to deal with their customer service. Finally, this might sound ridiculous, but my biggest complaint when I was shopping for my player is that Creative advertises that this thing comes in 10 different colors, but I was only able to find a 1 GB player that came packaged with the armband and carrying case in one color - dark blue. Not the end of the world, but I would have preferred a different color had it been more readily available.

All in all, I've been extremely pleased with my Zen Nano Plus. Its small size and portability, and the fact that it has an LCD screen to make selecting specific songs or albums more convenient were what originally won me over. But its intuitive menu, ease of transferring music, and battery life have ultimately convinced me that I made a great purchase.