Creative Technology ZEN Vision:M (30 GB) (Light Blue) Digital Media Player

I just received my creative zen vision:M a few days ago and it is pretty hard to remember how to do everything. This is because of its features, it has so many to remeber. I bought it because everyone at my school has an ipod in all shapes and sizes starting from shuffle to ipod video. This media player is sooo cool you can have your own wallpaper as a background and there are six different color themes. There is also an fm radio so I can hear new songs. A voice/fm recorder is on the player good for taking notes in class, I think. There is also a video player and you can also store pictures on it. In addition to that, you can fit 14 hours of music and 4 hours of video on it, way more than the iPod. It doesn't even take that long to charge, for me it took about an hour and a half. I like it because it is very customizable, hey it even has a customizable button so you can use it as a button for anything. I don't like that instead of including a case or a skin there it a velvet pouch also instead of the being inputs for an AV out input or an USB input there is a dongle to attach to it that contains those inputs. Other than that it is a good competitor for the iPod video. I love it!

In its own right, the Creative Zen Vision:M is a very capable digital audio player, video player, photo viewer, FM radio, and more. Indeed, one could go on and on about how it has the right specifications to make it a constant companion for entertainment on the go. The really big news about this device, though, is that it's the first device to boast complete compatibility with Amazon Unbox, the new digital video and music download service from Amazon.com.


The Zen Vision:M has the features, ease-of-use, and power to become your constant media companion. See the Vison:M interactive demo.
Design
Let's get things out in the open. The Apple iPod is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to the digital media player business and, unavoidably, every other device is measured against it. In most respects, the Vision:M matches up pretty well, and there are few things you may even like better. Length and width dimensions are exactly the same at 4.1 and 2.4 inches respectively. When it comes to girth, though, the iPod has the Vision:M beat; the Vision:M is .7 inches thick, while the iPod measures .4 inches. The Vision:M is slightly heavier, too. These details aside, the Vision:M feels comfortable, yet sturdy, in the hand, with curved surfaces in all the right places.

Creative takes a somewhat different approach with the Vision:M's controls, answering the iPod's Click Wheel with a vertical touch pad--which allows you to scroll up and down menus and control volume--plus four buttons that offer navigation through the user interface. The contextual menu button on the bottom right is a welcome addition, allowing you to make quick settings changes and view information about media files on the fly--functions that are more cumbersome on an iPod. Creative could have made the buttons a bit more sensitive--they require a firm press that gives an overall feeling of clunkiness to an otherwise well-designed user interface. Another annoyance is the touch pad's over-sensitivity; it's easy to make selections unintentionally, sending you on a wild ride through the user interface.

The Vision:M's screen, which measures 2.5 inches diagonally, offers sharp details, vibrant color, and excellent response with little or no video ghosting during high-action sequences. The 320 x 240 resolution is to be expected from a device this size, and although it's small, you'll likely have no trouble enjoying video while you're sitting on the subway or a flight, or in the back-seat of a car. Our only nitpick was the screen's less than stellar viewing angle, especially when compared side-by-side with a video iPod. While this can be good for maintaining privacy, the narrow viewing angle also means that friends beside you will struggle to see anything other than a black screen.

Music, Videos, Photos, and More
The Vision:M's music organization scheme is standard fare; you can browse playlists, artists, tracks, albums, and genres. Equalizer settings are robust, with a nice range of automatic settings, plus a custom equalizer that's easy to control. The music library's "DJ" function is a nice touch, allowing you to listen to your most popular tracks. It can also pull up the tunes you listen to least frequently--in case you've got some forgotten tunes lying around on the Vision:M's 30 GB hard drive. Sound quality is everything you'd expect from a top shelf digital audio player, and DRM'd Windows Media files played without a hitch.

This little gem has it all..ease of use. Ability to manage files on screen. Quality of sound. Great picture quality. Great docking device to support it. Nice price compared to competition. Long battery life...I liked my first one so much...this was my fourth...all 30gb....ONe at work, car, home...and coat pocket....reliability, quality, and for me quality sound..really makes this player the best buy on the market for the $$$.

For an ipod alternative, look no further. This mp3/video player supports all kinds of media like for instance:

Audio supported: MP3, WMA, and WAV
Video supported: MPEG, AVI, WMV9, DIVX, XVID, and motion-JPEG
Photo supported: JPEG; it can convert TIFF, GIF, BMP, and PNG to JPEG

It also comes with a built-in, that's right built-in, FM tuner. Other features include the 2.5" 262,000 color screen, the ability to set up to 16GB of the hard drive as an external hard drive.

The battery life is 14 hours for audio and 4 hours for video.

For a complete review go to http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2006/01/creative-zen-vision-m-review.php

This item is wonderful, it can hold tons of music, pictures, and video. It has great graphics for the video, and has a good battery life. It can be hard to figure out how to get around at first, since it doesn't really move like an iPod, but once you figure it out it works really well. I'd reccomend it for any music lover. It's a great purchase of the same quality, if not better, than an iPod.

wonder about the life of the battery is it really what they tell us, seems to go down quite fast but the rest is A ok

What a great deal! This seller sold me an excellent, like-new product and shipped it to me lightning fast. I could not ask for better service!

At first it wasn't clear on how to navigate through this but at my age I had my youngest sister show me and then I was able to download my pictures and videos, this is absoutely a must have if you have as many cd's as I have and listen to alot of music like I do, it's easier than switching cd's and have shoulder problems from carrying them all.