Creative Zen Vision:M (30GB)Price range: $284-329The good: Fast transfer speed; wide video-codec support; brilliant screen; improved vertical scroll. The bad: Stiff keys; bothersome sync adapter; thicker than the iPod. The bottom line: There is a lot going for the Creative Zen Vision:M, and true to form, Creative has just come out with yet another iPod killer to take on the incumbent. |
Apple iPod (30GB)Price range: $227-299The good: Incredibly thin and intuitive design; beautiful LCD; supports photo and video playback; seamless integration with iTunes, which boasts the world's biggest music catalog and a new video store; smooth video; lots of extra features, such as a world clock, a stopwatch, and PIM applications; a galaxy of accessories designed for the iPod; great overall value. The bad: No extras included, such as a dock, A/V cables, or a power adapter; poor battery life for video; slight delay when playing video; no guarantee that your non-iTunes Music Store video will play on an iPod, even after using converted third-party software. The bottom line: Get the affordable, sleek, and sexy 5G Apple iPod for its audio virtues. Although video looks great, its poor video battery life and relatively small screen hamper its appeal to videophiles. |
Creative Zen V Plus (1GB)Price range: $N/AThe good: The Creative Zen V Plus offers a cute, pocket-friendly design without sacrificing screen real estate, and the vivid OLED display is viewable from any angle. The player is packed to the gills with features, including an FM radio, voice and line-in recording, photo and video playback, and compatibility with subscription WMA tracks. Oh, and the sound quality and battery life are great too. The bad: The Creative Zen V Plus's joystick is really small and has a cheap feel to it, and we wish Creative had included all the buttons found on the Vision:M. The screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight, and there's no UMS support. The bottom line: The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you're looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), check out the iRiver Clix instead. |
|
Creative MuVo Vidz (1GB)Price range: $The good: Decent choice of Stik-On designs; low price for a 5GB player; small form factor. The bad: Indifferent hardware controls and menu interface. The bottom line: It has solid value for a 5GB capacity device and will definitely stand in good stead for users looking for a customizable, all-round MP3 player. |
Creative Zen Neeon (5GB)Price range: $140-203The good: Decent audio; fuss-free video conversion; fast transfer speed. The bad: Tiny screen; below-average battery life. The bottom line: It's a decent enough video player, given its size, but for serious mobile movie buffs, the Creative MuVo Vidz is just not worth the popcorn. |
Samsung YP-Z5 (4GB)Price range: $214-279The good: Outputs clean and punchy sound; relatively large, bright color screen; well-designed menus; solid aluminum chassis; exceptional battery life; ability to simultaneously view photos and listen to music. The bad: Touch pad can be difficult to deal with; lacks FM tuner and on-the-go playlists. The bottom line: If you're looking for a tiny, well-built color-screen MP3 player with excellent sound, the Samsung YP-Z5 is a great choice. Just make sure you're comfortable with the touch-pad controller before you buy. |
SanDisk Sansa C150 (2 GB)Price range: $118-139The good: The affordable SanDisk Sansa c100 series boasts a simple and effective control interface; a small but handy color LCD that displays photos and album art; extra features such as an FM tuner, voice recording, and photo support; and compatibility with Audible and WMA subscription services. The bad: The SanDisk Sansa c100 series utilizes a proprietary USB cable and has poor battery life for a AAA unit. It also offers poor voice and FM recordings, and you can hear a tiny click when you start a track. The bottom line: The SanDisk Sansa c100 series gives you a decent set of features for a decent price, but don't expect great battery life. |
Cowon iAudio X5L (30GB)Price range: $290-303The good: Small size; video player with 260,000-color LCD; customizable wallpaper; FM radio; line-in and voice recording; photo viewer; text-file reader; excellent sound quality; reads photos directly from digital cameras; compatible with OGG and FLAC formats, as well as subscription WMA tracks. The bad: Must plug in an adapter to attach AC, line-in, and USB cables (however, the built-in side USB port handles camer transfers and MTP subscription downloads); so-so control layout; can't autosync music with a PC; can't browse by artist, album, or genre; many video files need to be converted to play on X5; no slide-show mode or music while viewing photos; no autoscanning presets for FM radio. The bottom line: The great-sounding Cowon iAudio X5 looks like an iPod killer on paper, but this palm-size music and video player suffers from mediocre music browsing and some key design missteps. |
Sony Walkman Bean NW-E307 (1GB)Price range: $90-120The good: Great battery life; unique USB jack design; good FM reception. The bad: Background hiss during playback; lethargic transfer rate. Poorly designed USB cover; awkward controls; tiny screen muddles interface; noticeable hiss during playback; music-store support limited to Sony Connect; slow file transfers. The bottom line: Though the NW-E307 is short on features, it still got some of the basics right. Sony's half-baked Walkman Bean tries hard to be hip, but bad design elements and hissy audio make it one square audio player. |