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Conclusion
The Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen is a real winner and should compete well
with the Apple IPOD. The only thing it lacks is recording
capabilities out of the box. But that should not stir away potential
buyers as Creative plans on releasing the wired remote in the near future
to allow voice recordings and integrate an FM tuner that will allow you to
record from it as well. It's sleek new design is a huge improvement
over the CD Player like design of the Jukebox 3. While not quite as
small as the IPOD, it's generous storage capacity (update 5/7/03: find
out how to upgrade it!) and unique features should compensate for it's
slightly larger size. The sound quality is superb and it is one of
the best sounding mp3 players on the market today. It's powerful
interface is user-friendly and is packed with unique and highly useful
features. Playback features of the Nomad Zen are unmatched and
should attract even the most demanding audiophile.
On to the Pro's & Con's:
|
Pro's |
Con's |
- Excellent Sound Quality
- Compact Design
- Large storage capacity
- Excellent Playback Features
- User-Friendly Interface
- Firewire & USB support
- Instant On
- Price
|
- No docking station
- LCD could be bigger
- Crappy Headphones
|
As you can see, there's not many bad things to say about the Zen. At
$299 (with rebate) it's $200 less than the Apple IPOD. If you can
live with the slightly larger size, the Zen is an excellent choice.
I will not hesitate to give it our Extreme Excellence Award!
Update 05/07/03: Want to upgrade your Zen to 40gigs or even 60gigs?
Find out how in our guide!
Questions? Comments? Discuss
here!
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