Creative Labs NOMAD II MG 64 MB MP3 Player Silver with Docking Station

by Creative

Product Details

Product Manual [3.41mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 2.3 x 3.5 inches ; 2.7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004XOYF
• Item model number: 5000001207
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

If you've been waiting for the cost of digital music technology to come down and the amount of memory to come up, now is the time to take a look at the Creative Labs Nomad II MG. This player features 64 MB of built-in memory plus a SmartMedia slot for an additional 128 MB. That means you'll get hours of playing time, plus lots of features and an FM radio tuner to boot.

With digital music players, memory is the key to a long-lasting and hassle-free relationship. The players store music on flash memory chips, so you won't have to worry about skipping or your music degrading over time. Flash memory means you can also record over and over again with no loss of sound quality. But building memory into these chips costs money, and up until recently you were lucky to get an hour of music in an affordable player.

The Nomad II MG's built-in 64 MB memory means you won't have to invest in additional memory immediately. If you do decide you need more playing time, you can choose from SmartMedia cards in a range of sizes and prices. The tiny cards easily slide into the back of the player and require no configuration or extra power to use (check out our selection of SmartMedia cards).

With the rapid pace of technological developments, Creative Labs has also made the Nomad II MG upgradeable using software that can be downloaded from their Web site. Creative Labs also complies with Digital Rights Management, which means that, to prevent copyright violations, you cannot upload certain files from your player to another device.

Linking your Nomad II MG to your computer is easy using the included docking station. The USB interface means you'll spend only seconds downloading files, using either MP3 or Windows Media Audio (WMA) formats. Turning your CDs into digital audio files is simple with the included Creative Digital Audio Center software.

If you do get tired of your playlist, the Nomad II MG allows you to switch at the touch of a button to FM radio. The player's 32 station presets save time fiddling with the tuner and you can even record from the radio with the player's built-in microphone. The microphone can also be used to record memos or conversations at one of two speeds. A 64 MB SmartMedia card will hold up to four hours of voice recording.

You can view track information on the LCD display, which is backlit for easy viewing in dim light. The Nomad II MG runs for up to 10 hours on two AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries, and comes with a case.

For an affordable and versatile introduction to the world of digital music, you can't beat the Nomad II MG.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great features and memory, but poor design., July 10, 2001

By 

A. Franke (RTP area, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs NOMAD II MG 64 MB MP3 Player Silver with Docking Station (Electronics)

I basically bought this because it was the smallest MP3 player available with the most memory and SmartMedia expandability. I was also looking at the Sensory Science Rave, but that one was not available anywhere, .... The Nomad MG was *very* similar in price and functionality.

I required SmartMedia expandability because that's what I use with my Olympus digital camera. Smartmedia works well (including 128MB SmartMedia) for both functions, and I can have both music and photographs on the card at the same time -- using the card interchangably between the two devices.

I love the small size -- it's about the size of a deck of cards -- and the fact that it comes with 64MB. With the 128MB smartmedia, I can get a total of 192MB on this device. The sound quality is great, it can record from FM radio (another nice feature) and it can record voice and play it back at different speeds (great for lectures!). Also, it came with high capacity NiMH batteries, which is a plus. Upgradable firmware is also a plus.

It has locked up on me a few times for no apparent reason. Once I had to take the batteries out and put them back in to get it to reset. However, this doesn't happen often enough to be too much of a bother.

The on-screen user interface needs some work -- for example, once a song finishes scrolling by, you can't go back and see the title of it without stopping the song and restarting it. This is frustrating when you have it in your pocket while listening, then want to see the song/artist that's currently playing.

The hardare interface leaves much to be desired, and is the reason for my 3-star rating. With a better hardware interface, this unit would easily receive 5 stars. The buttons are on the side, and it's difficult to remember which ones do what -- especially if you're just reaching into your backpack to change a song. Many buttons are multi-funciton, and to access some functions, you need to press a button for at least a second or two. You may find yourself running for the manual to figure out how to use some of the more obscure features.

Also, because there are buttons on both sides, if you hold the player in your hand both your thumb and some fingers will be resting on buttons -- press a button with your thumb and you might also press one on the other side as well. Also the "delete" button is placed right next to the "Next" button, although there is an "are you sure?" prompt. (There's also a "lock" switch that guards against accedental button-pushing.) Finally, the round stylish screen (though unique and actually higher resolution than normal) is very small -- I'd prefer a larger square screen, even if the resolution were lower.

If you want an very small SmartMedia-expandable player with excellent features and excellent sound, and can tolerate a poorly designed hardware interface (as I can) then this is the player for you. Buy it for its functionality, not its interface.

I hope this helps you with your decision!!

p.s. The "leather" case is a joke. I don't think it's actually leather, but even if it were you might try it once but it'll quickly get tossed away -- see, I almost even forgot to mention it! No belt clip, poor accessibility, etc, it's rather useless, which is a shame, because the face and corners of this player will wear with use.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost Perfect, February 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Creative Labs NOMAD II MG 64 MB MP3 Player Silver with Docking Station (Electronics)

When I bought this mp3 player, I thought it was going to be small. When I recieved it I found out how small they really meant. This player really deserves the title MG. Transferring songs between the computer and the player was really easy. I convert all my files to .wma so I can fit more songs on the player, around 30-35 with the standard 64 megs internal memory. Each song takes only about 10 seconds or less to transfer. Some great features are the docking station for transferring songs and the fact that you can recharge the batteries saving a few dollars here and there. Overall, the performance was great and the FM radio helped a bit when I got tired of listening to my .wma files. Keep in mind that I use my behind the head headphones because the folding headphones really destroy the sound of the player. With regular headphones, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference from your CD player except if the file your playing isnt spectacular.

I gave this mp3 player 4 stars because it lacks the wired remote that a lot of people have been talking about. By four stars I really mean like 4.9 but the wired remote I think is really almost a neccesity that it lacks. The special jack is there but I cannot find anywhere to purchase it. It would be great to be able to lock the player in your pocket (lock as in the buttons are disabled)and control everything through the remote.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great player, but small can be too small, November 1, 2000

By 

Young Kim (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs NOMAD II MG 64 MB MP3 Player Silver with Docking Station (Electronics)

I love this MP3 player. File transfer is a snap with the bundled program and USB cradle. Capacity good - it has 64MB on-board flash memory, and can take in a smart media card of up to 64MB - about 2 hours of MP3. The sound is surprisingly good...sometimes too good. If the quality of the file is not good, you will definitely hear it.

The player also has a FM receiver with 32 memory settings, which is a great bonus. It can also record voice recordings, but I believe that the capacity is less - the recorder does not compress the recordings in real time, so that it will take up more space than a MP3 file.

On the downside, the bundled headphones are really uncomfortable for extended listening sessions. Further, the sleek design of the player dictated that buttons be placed on the sides, not in the front of the unit. Therefore, pressing buttons can be a bit of hassle (you have to turn the unit to see the buttons), and one can accidentally press buttons on the opposide end of the player - it sounds confusing, but if you see a picture of the player you will understand. Finally, the headphones don't have a remote unit to control playback. That means that if you plan on using the player on the go (like carrying it in the included pouch or in some other carrier), you have to take out the player in order to change playback modes, to skip a song, etc. Finally, the included "leather" case is useless because there are no openings on the side - you have to remove the player from the tight case in order to operate it; the case also lacks a belt loop or clip to make carrying it easier.

Nevertheless, this is a fantastic little device, with excellent sound and tiny footprint.