Conclusions

Despite some minor issues I have with Creative regarding the approach they have taken, the Creative Vision:M is far more superior than any of their other players and certainly their best attempt at offering exactly what an audiophile craves.  It is worthy enough to have them stay in the game and compete against what seems the impossible.  I'll admit, I wasn't too impressed when I first read the press release a while back.  However, if you have an opportunity to play with one first-hand, I'm sure you'll appreciate the efforts put forth by the company to provide a product that will truly please a majority.  Personally though, I'm not sure what they were thinking when they chose white as the primary color on both the player and its accessories.   My guess is that they are simply trying a bit too hard to compete with Apple and figured that white is what's in.  Bad move here, in my opinion, as it only makes them look desperate.  Also, it is not that appealing nor does it make the product look innovative or "high-tech" in design.  They sure can learn a thing or two from Philips when it comes to overall design!  It is no wonder why Philips has sold so many of their new GoGear players.  They need to live up to their name and stay "Creative".

That Screen!

The screen is, without a doubt, the best I've seen on a device of its kind and you'll be seriously impressed once you lay eyes on it.  That alone I think will lure most into purchase.  However, the Vision:M is much more than just a stellar screen... 

Video Playback

The video playback support is absolutely impressive in every level.  I threw an extensive amount of video files at this player and it managed to handle them much better than I expected.  The Vision:M offers the flexibility of handling a variety of common and widely used video formats and is not very picky at all when it comes down to the encoding method or settings used.  However, it is still recommended that you encode them properly for best picture and maximum battery life.

Features

Features is another area where the Vision:M excels and even outperforms its competitors.  Its built-in mic supports voice recordings and it comes with a built-in FM Tuner with recording capabilities that does work well.  What I like to praise Creative for all the time is their focus on features that are truly what the user is after.  Unlike its main competitor, they don't load the player with crap and focus more on the hardware itself as well as its playback features.

Sound Quality

In regards to sound quality, Creative MP3 players are well respected for their excellent audio quality.  The Vision:M is certainly no exception.  I've owned their products for years now and when it comes to this area, they do not cut corners!

Battery Life

Battery life is, by far, the one area that truly blew me away.  While the specs alone are much better than the Video Ipod, the actual tests showed that the battery really is capable of much more when loaded with properly encoded files.  Video playback was an impressive 5hrs and I found myself playing a 1hr 20min DVD three times with plenty of juice to spare for music playback. 

Support

One of the reasons to purchase an MP3 player from a company such as Creative is that you can expect a high level of long term support.  For example, I was pleased to see the company has already released a firmware upgrade for the Vision:M that does offer improvements in a few key areas.  Considering the player has just hit the US market, this is a sign of good things to come.

Final Thoughts...

Size is everything nowadays and it happens to be the main attraction for those on the market for an MP3 or PMP player. However, let's think here for a minute...would you really sacrifice additional useful features and excellent playback support over a mere 0.37 inches?  The answer is obvious but sadly, a majority simply don't know what's really out there and that is why I take the time to expose such an excellent product.

Despite the deviation from their previous players in regards to on-the-fly playlists, the Vision:M was impressive enough that I can learn to live with the changes, regardless of how much I do not like them.  The Vision:M earns my highest recommendation and worthy of the "Extreme Excellence Award".

More information on the Creative Vision:M can be found on Creative's Website.

Questions?  Comments?  Discuss them here!