Customer Reviews

Creative Zen V 1 GB Portable Media Player (Black/Orange)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Update:

The player freezes with no sound and with the screen on (displaying album artwork), at random times and for no apparent reason. One of my two units had to be reset so many times that it can no longer be reset: it feels like that internal pad you press on with a sharp pin has now disappeared (it must have broken off). Our only recourse now is to wait 3 days for the battery to run dead, and hope that it will be reset simply by recharging it from scratch. We've only had this unit since August (it's now December), so I no longer feel the reliability level of this product is sufficient to justify its purchase. Buy something else that doesn't have to be reset all the time!



December '06 Update:

The player freezes with no sound and with the screen on (displaying album artwork), at random times and for no apparent reason. One of my two units had to be reset so many times that it can no longer be reset: it feels like that internal pad you press on with a sharp pin has now disappeared (it must have broken off). Our only recourse now is to wait 3 days for the battery to run dead, and hope that it will be reset simply by recharging it from scratch. We've only had this unit since August (it's now December), so I no longer feel the reliability level of this product is sufficient to justify its purchase. Buy something else that doesn't have to be reset all the time!


Original Review:

I bought the 2 GB model because at the time it had the largest flash memory of any unit that works with my Napster-To-Go subscription, so it can store the largest number of songs and color photographs. The 1 GB version is identical except for the amount of installed flash memory.

I gave this 1 GB model only 3 stars because it's a much smaller amount of memory than other models, and there's a glitch described below causing it to go comatose after being disconnected from power.

Why did I choose a flash memory based MP3 player? Napster-To-Go compatible hard drive models with much larger storage capacity abound, but I figure they'll break prematurely because they use a hard drive that can't withstand much jogging, accidental bumping or dropping.

I bought two of these players plus the separately sold AC wall charger, and attached one of them to the wall charger for 6 hours, while I attached the other one to a USB port on my PC to charge it for 6 hours.

At the end of 6 hours, the unit attached to the PC was fine until I unplugged it, then it went comatose and would not even revive when the reset button was pushed several times. I had to exchange it for a replacement unit just two days after buying it.

The unit attached to the wall charger was fine, and I went on to load it up with music using my Napster-To-Go subscription. That was fine until 2 weeks later, when my wife charged it on a PC using the USB cable. After charging and disconnecting from the PC, it too went comatose.

This time I was able to revive it by pushing the reset button.

Then I took a look at the other unit, which had been charging on the AC wall charger. It had also gone comatose, and I was able to revive it by pushing its reset button.

The reset button is inside a tiny hole on the left edge of this unit. You can find it by following the thin groove that's below the screen all the way to the left edge of the unit, where you'll find it on the side. The picture in the manual does NOT accurately depict its location.

The hole leading to the reset button is very, very small. The instructions say to penetrate that hole with a pin.

I used the sharp end of a safety pin to do this. When the pin is inserted, it's quite easy to miss the reset button unless the pin is inserted at exactly the right angle. You'll know it's not at the right angle if you don't feel that you're pushing on a pad with a spring behind it when you reset the unit. That pad travels a short distance until it's stopped by a control surface inside the unit; that's when you know it has been reset.

The reset system should be redesigned so that it doesn't depend on the angle you insert the pin to work. I suspect that the first unit I returned could have been reset if I had known that you have to insert the pin at just the right angle to do it. Since I didn't know, my several attempts to reset it were not successful.

Resetting the unit is akin to rebooting a PC: it revives it when the internal software (called "firmware") has frozen by restarting the software. It does not erase your songs or photos.

Make no mistake: this MP3 player looks, feels and works beautifully. However, since the firmware is newly designed, it appears to have bugs relating to disconnecting it from USB or charger power that cause it to freeze, and the reset button is a little hard to use if you don't know about the things I described above that could cause you to be unable to reset it. You may just end up with a unit that's frozen and not be able to reset it.

It needs to be a little more user friendly than that. Hopefully a future firmware update will be available that will lower the occurrence of the unit locking up (freezing), especially when disconnecting from a USB port or AC charger after recharging it. As another user noted, the "safe disconnect" icon is often times not even in the system tray.

If you don't subscribe to Napster-To-Go, your options to get content for your MP3 player are to transfer your favorite songs from CDs you own to your hard disk ("ripping the songs"), or purchase songs one track or album at a time, at a price ranging from 88 to 99 cents per song from Napster, Rhapsody or WalMart.

You can also download books you want to listen to (such as best sellers and classics) or "podcasts" (your favorite newspapers read aloud, or your favorite radio programs like NPR) from a plethora of sites (like NPR's website, or NetLibrary or Audible) that make these available, onto your computer's hard drive. Now you can listen to your music, audible books and podcasts over your PC loudspeakers while sitting at your PC.

Then you can transfer your songs, audible books and podcasts from the hard drive of your PC to your MP3 player(s). This enables you to take your MP3 player with you to enjoy listening in your car, in your office, while jogging or working out at the gym, while shopping, or at the pool or the beach to hear your music, audible books and podcasts anywhere.

This is an great player for the price. My kids each got one for Christmas and I had so much fun with them that I had to buy one myself. With a wide variety of accessories available, we each have different color skins to know who's is who's.

The stories you may see with them locking up is possible, but it only seems to happen if you fly through the navigation button faster than the menus change. We have learned to wait a split second between bumps of the button and none of us have had a problem since. If it does happen, it takes less than 30 seconds to reset the player and it rebuilds your library so nothing is lost.

Pros:
-Great sound in a small package
-Display is bright and large for the size of the player
-Works with mp3 and wma files
-Organize, sync and play by Artist, Albums, Playlists etc.
-Vast number of setup options for the player and the display
-Wide variety of accessories available

Cons(if you consider them cons):
-Don't use the included software, go straight to Media Player 10
-The earbuds have great sound, but don't fit in small to medium ears
-Charging with the USB cable can take 4-6 hours if the battery is low. Recommend the optional 120v charger is quicker charging is needed.

This is a great player for the price. My kid's friends who have Ipod Shuffles are jealous.

I bought this for my little sister. The programing isn't on par but it didn't take me to long how to figure it out. I think there are just to many options as to how to access the information and some of them don't allow for full editing of the lists.

But all in all for a MP3 player its pretty functional with good sound quality and upgrade options.

After doing quite a bit of research, I settled on this mp3 player as the "big" gift for my daughter this Christmas. She was thrilled to open it Christmas morning, and we immediately loaded a few cds on the device so she could enjoy it. By Christmas evening...I was having problems. As she attempted to load a couple more cds, the computer could not recognize the device any longer. I went to the creative website and went through the troublshooting. I immediately was downloading "patches" and fixes" and "firmware" updates. When it was over, the device worked! Great! I solved the problem. Surely it will be a smooth ride from here. It just needed an update. Wrong! The device worked smoothly for about a week afterward when it started to freeze. Once frozen, it reverted back to the orginal problem of the computer not recognizing it. As other reviews have mentioned, the only way to unfreeze this device is to jam a bent safety pin into the side of it and hope that works, or wait until the battery dies completely and try again. So, now I have a device that freezes within minutes of getting it running and my computer won't recognize it.

My story isn't over yet. I still have to attempt to get customer service from Creative. Based on other reviews, it looks like that will require a phone call to a foreign land where they will no doubt want me to spend an hour asking me to download the same "patches, "fixes", and firmware. I just want my money back.

So...if you're looking for an mp3 player that you will need to dedicate three hours of tech support per week to and will work half the time after doign so...this is probably the one for you. Otherwise, look for something else.

Alrighty, so Im going to review this, I guess.
Over-all, this is a great product- It holds enough music for my current tastes, the recording from a line-in feed is handy although it ocasionally forgets to seperate the CD tracks, and the volume control is phenomenal. The earphones it comes with are a bit on the poor side, but even so on the lowest volume setting, I can hear perfectly in a quiet room...
The interface takes a little getting used to, or it did for me. You have to hold the "back" button to bring up an options menu; Until you get used to it, you'll often skip back a screen, which gets annoying. The customization settings are great, allowing you to change the screen orientation, sleep timer, idle timer, make play lists, change them, etc., All of which may be standard, but I still think its neat.
Despite some small mishaps (dropping or accidently striking via a corner) it plays well, and still looks good. The lanyard it comes with is much better than most arm-bands, and is great for us poor folk (I bike an hour to work in the middle of the night) as it putsd the player somewhere it wont fall out or get hit.
The software had me a little edgy at first, until I found some of it was merely redundant to prevent possible problems. Mainly, the interface is confusingly complex, and the instruction manual only gave the most bare-bones advice, about the few things which should be obvious.
As a storage device, you have to disconnect the player before removing from the computer, which I found a problem (It wouldn't disconnect the first time), it can only be charged by attaching to a USB port, which was a temporary issue, and it wont play on Macs, which my household switched to just days before I got it (which is my problem, and not the players), but other than that I found it to be at least addequate for my needs. I'm not sure why you would want to store photos on a music device, but the sample images had extraordinary quality for the size of the screen.
The screen itself is a marvel- bright, very clear, and so far without a scratch. The best part is, unlike most players Ive seen, merely keeping it in my pocket or rubbing it lightly in the travel bag it comes with removes most grease.
All in all, not the best player out there, but the best for it's price range- I refuse to pay $30 -$45 dollars more simply to have a different color case or a smaller playerr with less capacity.

I liked the looks and colors for the Creative Zen V and the price. I bought these for 2 children ages 9 and 11. Both players have frozen up during play several times already. The "owners manual" has very little information for trouble shooting which led me to having to email tech support. There is a TINY reset button by the on/off control, so small you have to use a small safety pin needle to reset it. This unfreezes the unit but I've had to do it multiple times on both players already. Nothing was said about this in prior reviews so buyer beware. No technology is without issues I suppose. Still a good little player for the price, durable.

For years as an audiophile, i've been blowing crazy money on 2-channel high end systems, but always wanted to get my first portable MP3 audio player to 'join the iPOD craze'. After probably spending close to 10 grand on McIntosh equipment and huge Magneplanar speakers all these years, I realized I need something simple, compact, and cheap for when I walk the dog or cut the lawn. So rather than spending 2 or 3 hundred on higher capacity iPOD players, I decided to get this 1GB player for less than a third of what I would have paid for an iPOD, as my foray into portable players. The choice was a sound one (pun intended). So far, I have about 200 songs in my 'Zen V', and the transfer from my PC was easy, fairly quick, and flawless. The interface is intuitive, and battery life very good. The built in variable EQ and 'bass boost' feature is a godsend as well, since you can effectively tailor your audio to the sonic qualities of your earpieces or headphones. The cheap earpieces that come with this unit are not too good, so my only advice would be to invest in a good set of cans if you want killer sound. I have a pair of AKG K26P 'cans' for portable use, and a pair of Sennheiser HD-595 'cans' for home use. I cannot emphasize enough how a better set of earpieces or headphones will improve the Zen V's sound IMMENSELY! Considering the size, price, sound, and features of this portable media player, it is a 'no brainer' for those wanting an excellent, more affordable digital music player!

I've owned Ipods and several other mp3 players. This past Christmas, I received a Ipod Shuffle and one of these Zen mp3 players. The Shuffle does not have a screen but for the money it sure works a lot easier. Trying to work the Zen program to get the music on there was a pain in the keester.

We got one of these recently and have been using it for several weeks. Nice features include
- small and lightweight -- easy to carry around with you
- displays album cover art in the little LCD screen.
- compatible with Yahoo Music.

It has "frozen up" at least once. When that happened, I just took out a paperclip and pushed a little reset button inside the player.

Overall, this seems to be a good option to go with, considering the price and the features you get.

Well, I wish it was as reliable as my old, brick - size RCA player, but it isn't . It has some good days and bad ones. On good days it rocks. The quality of sound is great and operating this little fella is very intuitive. On bad days it just skips. It skips like every few minutes, and jeez is it anoying.... Since it is a MTP player you need Creative software to transfer songs to the player. I use it with Rhapsody and it works just fine.