mp3-player

Getting Zen With An MP3 Player By Creative

Creative has produced the line of Zen MP3 players, which are filled with rich features and are still competitively priced. Although iPods dominate the MP3 player market, Zen players like the Zen V Plus are an excellent alternative. If you are looking for a little more substance over flashiness, consider getting a Zen MP3 player instead of an iPod Nano or Shuffle.

Black And White And Red All Over

The Zen V Plus MP3 Player comes in several color combinations to suit your tastes, including a tasteful black with red accents. It also comes in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB versions. The 8GB model retails for as low as around $188 depending on where you shop for it, or as high as approximately $246 at another ($199-$219 or so seemed to be the average).

The 1.5-inch OLED display is crisp and bright. You can even rotate the display for better viewing if you so desire it. In fact, Microsoft is touting the Zune's ability to do the same thing that the Zen V Plus MP3 Player does as one of its "unique" features. It also has voice-recording, FM radio, and an equalizer with eight presets. But you can also adjust the equalizer and come up with your own ideal settings for your music.

The navigation joystick is visually reminiscent of the famous iPod click-wheel, but it has a multi-directional axis. It's not quite the same experience as you would get with the click-wheel, but it is functional. There are a number of other Zen MP3 players such as the 256 MB Zen Muvo Slim, which is only 7 mm thick!

It's somewhat like the second-generation iPod Shuffle, but (again) with more functionality. It can record up to 16 hours of voice-recording, and it's easier to deal with than an iPod if you use a PC (like other Zens) because you can just drag and copy files between your device and your computer without any fuss.

Although it is expensive for so little storage ($199.95 according to one review), it is a good choice for a professional who needs to record notes and so forth, but wants a little unobtrusive music on the side. For fans of the Zen MP3 players, there's also a website with free podcasts and other content called zencasts.com. If you don't want to be one of the iPod herd, try a Zen MP3 player instead!