Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Nano Plus 1 GB MP3 Player Red

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I would have given Creative Zen Nano Plus (abbreviated "CZNP") 5 stars, except for two small deficiences: it does not have gapless playback (see #10 below), and the build quality and controls are kind of cheap (see #4 below). Assuming it lasts, it seems a very good unit for the money. Here's why I bought mine, and some questions to ask yourself when you're choosing. [Updated 8/28/2006]

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

Some people will only buy a trendy iPod. Buying a lesser-known unit like CZNP makes a different statement, and you can choose from 10 colors. I prefer function over form, but CZNP offers some of each. I bought an orange one because it is easy to find in my black bag.

1. Do I want to play 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 for some.

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.

Of course this player can STORE any kind of content, just like a thumb drive, but it only plays audio.

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.

The best accessory of all is a cable that has a 1/8" stereo plug (like the headphone plug) on one end, and two RCA plugs on the other. Plug one of these into the auxiliary or CD input of all the stereos you use, and you can quicly plug this in and play on the speakers. Such cables are available at Radio Shack and most places selling electronics products.

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.

I have been using it while driving with reasonably good results. It is easy to pause and start it, turn it off, adjust volume, skip or repeat tracks, back up or move forward in the current track, and small enough to hold in your hand and still be able to hold onto the steering wheel.

But if you want to skip to a different album, you have to skip, wait, listen, and skip until you find the first track of the desired album. Of course there is a menu way of getting there more easily, but you can't use menus while driving.

It is small and light. About like a Bic cigarette lighter except twice as wide. So far I have found the size very convenient; I don't think I would want it any smaller. But being small, it might be easier to lose - which is why I bought an orange one.

5. How long will it last?

On Amazon, click the link "See all ... 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 any player on how it sounds with the included headphones. 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 use Highest Quality VBR, which gives me MP3s usually 200-250 KBPS, and I get about 10 hours of MP3 music. For podcasts or other material recorded at lower quality, you'll get a lot more. 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, but 1GB is very convenient for my purposes.

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 since it also works like a USB drive, you can manage content with Explorer / Finder if you want to. All connectors are industry-standard and you can find matching cables in electronics and computer stores.

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, so replacing a lost cable is more expensive. I would not be happy with such restrictions. Open standards promote flexibility and interoperability. On the other hand the iPod is widely supported and it's easy to find compatible accessories.

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). iTunes will not do what I want it to do, and there is no option to use my own or third-party software.

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

The CZNP is file-based: it will play songs in alphabetical order for a given folder. Naming songs with a two-digit sequence number at the beginning of the filename ensures they play in the correct order. It also has shuffle play, etc.

I had 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 may have some advantages over file-based (though not for my uses), but only if all of the content you want to play is properly tagged. is properly tagged.

My step-son was interested in getting some 40 gigabyte monster to carry all his music around on; I was interested in having something lightweight but flexible and easy to use. I keep my music organized on a Toshiba laptop, so I don't need much more than the 1 gigabyte this unit holds. I found the file organization system very easy to use -- you can use Windows Explorer to drop and drag files onto it. You aren't stuck using just one source for your online music. The microphone and radio are above average, too. The headphones sucked, but they all do; just pick up the ones you want separately.

I did some careful research before deciding on this mp3 player, and I was so glad I chose this one; it seems like a great choice for me, and I hope it lasts. Although pretty small (the plastic covering almost took me by surprise and I nearly mistaken it for a toy, especially for a red one), the sound quality is amazing, and I also love the choice of presets. It was also very easy to install and use, the directions are very simple. The software is also great, being able to drop in music files with ease, like an ordinary flash/thumb drive.

Also, a 1GB is also a good size for anyone who often changes their playlist like me. I don't see a point with those 30GB ones, even when it is also used for file storage. I also bought it for the FM radio, just in case I get bored. Contrary to many reviewers, I can't complain so much about the headphones, to my surprise, at least they deliver good sound. AND, no lithium batteries...you simply take out an AAA battery; I hate the thought of recharging one everytime it runs out, and then buying an expensive replacement because lithium batteries will eventually wear out. AND, of course, to make this mp3 player last, I put it in the plastic case at all times...maybe in a pouch when I go out.

The only con(s): I wish it had a stop button, maybe because I'm not used to the pause button, and I feel like the pause feature may drain the battery (as habit goes with music players). Plus, when you turn on/off the mp3 player, it simply picks up where you left your music before...kind of an extension of the pause feature when you think about it. Plus, the USB closure is kind of annoying, but you kind of get the hang of it. And I kind of wish they had an easier way to transfer between the mp3 and FM modes.

Hooray for Zen Nano Plus...I don't think I want to go back to Sony portable audio devices ever again.

I purchased this Mp3 player after quite a bit of research. The instructions were very easy to follow. The player is extremely light. I do not even notice it during workouts. The battery life is very good. The features are also very good. There is multiple different playback modes. Overall, I am very satisfied.

The Zen Nano Plus has great features in a tiny package. Unless you're going to download your entire CD collection, the 1 GB capacity is plenty. I have 24 CD's recorded on my Nano so far and it's at about 65% of its capacity. I didn't bother to install the Creative software - just rip the CD to a .wma file using Windows Media Player (I'm using the 64 kbps setting - sound quality is excellent) and then drag and drop the folders to the Nano, which shows up on Windows Explorer as a portable drive. The radio in the Nano is minimally useful, but that's about what I expected. In an urban area with good signal strength, it would probably work well. Invest in a good set of earbuds (Sony, Etymotic, Shure) for fabulous sound.

My product research criteria included flash memory, small size, low price, good battery life and compatibility with multiple recorded book formats (I watned a player for unabridged recorded books). 1G memory is large enough for books. The criticism of the battery cover on other reviews has merit, but if you leave the player in the clip case, the entire housing is protected. I had no trouble with the software.

Downloaded a book and was listening within 30 minutes of opening the package. A 22 hour book required one battery change. Automatically starts up where you stopped. Earbuds are too large, but I have my own good set. This was the right player for me, but knowing what you want and good thorough product research is the key.

I got mine and when it arrived I was shocked, it was so cute and I loved it!! Then when I opened it and put music on it was so easy even I could do it!!!!! Though I couldn't fit the headphones in my ears and they constantly fell out I bought new ones and wasn't really mad since I knew included headphones always stunk. Of course people who know like every song in the world might need more storage but for me this is more than enough. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase and all my friends with ipod nanos are terribly jealous (unlike their blah like white ipod I got this pretty bright red Zen Nano) and wish I would trade them even though the ipod nano has more storage and is totaly more expensive.

I've owned this product for about 18 months now, and I think it has been the most satisfactory hi-tech product I've ever bought.

Pros:

* So light that if it falls out of a pocket, it bounces and dangles at the end of the headphones. And light enough that it isn't even noticable at the gym.

* Squareish and fairly stiff, so if it is in my pants pocket when I bend over (and tie my shoes at the gym, for example) it doesn't flex and bend and break like some longer, thinner and more elegant designs would.

* Uses a replaceable battery, so all I have to worry about is making sure I have a spare AAA battery around when it is getting low.

* Has enough of a display to tell me what I'm listening to and how long it's been playing -- but no wasted money or space on a fancy display.

* Tough enough that if my earbud cables violently snag on something, the cheap earbuds get destroyed, not the expensive MP3 player.

Cons

* The only major one: when I'm listening to an audio book (probably one-quarter of my listening time), there is no way of bookmarking my spot. So if I want to take a break (or if the battery dies), I have to remember how far I'd gotten and fast-forward, which is an awkward and excruciatingly slow process (relatively).

* Display only shows ID3 "track title", so no Artist, Album, etc.; some useful display options are missing, such as toggling to show "time remaining".

The last Con is that at 1GB this is now a fairly obsolete product. If I had to replace it, I'd look for a unit that had better audiobook support (e.g., bookmarking) and more storage -- at least 3GB and ideally 6GB.

But I'm satisfied enough that I'm not gonna upgrade until this unit dies. And I hope Creative Labs has something in the same form factor and hardware, since all my wishes could be met with some smarter firmware.

I'm a first-time MP3 user, and I love my Zen Nano Plus. It's so small it's easy to tuck in a pocket or clip to a sleeve as I'm going about my business, and the sound is fantastic - far better than CD quality.

I did find it difficult to navigate at first. The directions were confusion and the tiny scroll wheel was tricky enough that I nearly sent the thing back in frustration. But now that I've played with it for a while, I'm enjoying my music in a whole new way.

The earphones could be more comfortable, but I understand that's a common gripe about players at most price points.

After a dissapointing trial of an iriver T10 which did not, to my dismay, handle NetLibrary books and would only play about 4 hours of a book and then re-set to zero(which they don't bother to mention on their website or in the manual), I returned the T10 and bought a Creative Zen Nano Plus. I've already finished a 7+ hour book from NetLibrary - No problems. Works great. It has less options than the iriver, but fast-forwards much faster - which is good if you fall asleep while listening to your book! If you want to listen to free audiobooks from NetLibrary and don't care about having a lot of extra features that you probably will never use anyway, it is a better way to go. Cute, easy to use, does the job. Volume is a bit on the weak side but I use a casset adapter in my car and can turn up the car volume. When listening at home the volume is fine.