iPod vs Zen Micro, iPod mini vs Muvo2

[Guol]

well i have a 20gb, 4th G iPod and i think it really rocks.

great interface, great playback options, great design [very slim and good looking], easy to operate, good sound quality....the list goes on. the only flaw is its short battery life

whereas my friend's zen micro 20gb IMO i think is not too good.

even though it has a really good battery life it has an OK interface, good playback options, really awful design [big, chunky, millions of buttons...need i say more?], not as easy to operate [instead of having 1 veru easy to use scroll wheel it has millions of buttons everywhere], great sound quality.

so even though the zen micro has a longer battery life and abit better sound quality i find myself thinking...

1) the iPod sound quality, although not as good as the zen micro one, is still really good and i dont think it is too big an issue

2) as a 14 yr old who listens to a lot of music i never run out of battery...why? because i only listen to the iPod when im out somewhere and walking around. at home im on the computer and listen on there.

on an average day say im awake 15 hours or so. not much chance im going to listen to music in my sleep is there? so who honestly needs 20 hours? the only reason i can really see is if you travel alot and are away from home for long periods of time.

but even then you can get car chargers for iPods so thats not really an issue either.

therefore i dont really see a need to have a zen micro when IMHO iPod is so much more better.

[DragonGC]

uhhh... 20 gb micro...? chunky...? many buttons...? huh?

are u talking about the same player as we are?

[dreamsINdigital]

the only flaw is its short battery life

585254003[/snapback]

It's 12 hours (under ideal conditions).

I love my iPod! :happy:

[Timmah Veteran]

"Ideal conditions" = no eq, no backlight, 50% volume, no playlist, no shuffle, no menu activity and stock earbuds (yes earbuds make a difference, higher quality ones take more power to driver them)

On average you're more likely to get 8-10hours use out of it.

Every manufacturer does this, I was just pointing it out.

[PrototypeX2]

any pics?

585252861[/snapback]

http://www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5619277-1.html?tag=brand

[OPaul]

"Ideal conditions" = no eq, no backlight, 50% volume, no playlist, no shuffle, no menu activity and stock earbuds (yes earbuds make a difference, higher quality ones take more power to driver them)

On average you're more likely to get 8-10hours use out of it.

Every manufacturer does this, I was just pointing it out.

585255217[/snapback]

Huh, how do headphones make a difference? It's still outputting the same surely.

[ZZOOzzoo]

It's 12 hours (under ideal conditions).

I love my iPod!  :happy:

585254077[/snapback]

Yup. 15 hours for iPod Photo, 12 hours for iPod 4G, and 8 hours for iPod mini and 3G.

I usually get 5~6 hours with my 3G iPod.

[cha0s]

just got done loading up some mp3s to my new dark blue zen micro. OUTSTANDING!!

I've used an Ipod mini this christmas for a couple of days, this beats the pants off of the ipod, imo of course

love the fm radio too!! :D

[H5N]

Guys, what about Dell Pocket DJ? Is that thing any good?

[g-n-t]

its cheap. if you want something that plays music, it kicks ass. if you want something pretty, it doesnt do too well.

[H5N]

I think it looks good except for the placement of the buttons.

[Xellos]

:fro: Im Sorry but i've got the Creative Zen PMC (protable media Center) and this thing is insane. with amazing sound, high res color LCD for watching my anime in AVI format, very easy to use with windows media center edition sporting windows media player 10, audio and TV out to hook up to my tv is a pluse to record tv shows. you know what im going to say it... it's a portable TiVo. and crazy battery life (22hours music 8.5hours video i got out of it) the only down side i see is it's size. it's Freakin huge.

Now why did i post this simple we all seem to be going this way with are gear trasfer pics in video is already common with all MP3 players the only thing lacking is the proper screen and software. of course this is all my opinion feel free to take it apart. :D

[Timmah Veteran]

Huh, how do headphones make a difference? It's still outputting the same surely.

585259440[/snapback]

Nope - think about it a pair of headphones that cost $60 are obviously going to sound better because they require more power to drive them. Often the volume is higher and the bass is more pronounced (two observations of quality headphones in my experience). It's something to do with ohms or something, I forget the science but it's TEH TRUTH!!111

Really.

[nwmma]

now that we have all seen the creative zen micro-photo, you could put that in your list. and it comes in a 5gb or 6gb version. I just hope they make a battery that last longer than 12 hours. With my zen micro, I have noticed the batter lasts about only 9-10 hours with normal use. (I use the FM a bit, but I always keep my backlight turned off.)

I dont understand how people can spend over $50 usd on a pair of earbuds. I buy $10-15 ones and they are fine for me, especially if I lose them. They all sound the same to me anyways.

[skybl4ck]

Gee, reading these threads make me regret ever getting an iPod.

[poch]

whereas my friend's zen micro 20gb IMO i think is not too good.

585254003[/snapback]

i got a zen touch, a ToUcH. :p

and you should get a player which suits what you want most. to each his own. im happy with my touch, and recommend creative products to anyone interested. i've read quite a few reviews about the zen micro and i gather is a damn good player.

[Guol]

i got a zen touch, a ToUcH. :p

and you should get a player which suits what you want most. to each his own. im happy with my touch, and recommend creative products to anyone interested. i've read quite a few reviews about the zen micro and i gather is a damn good player.

585354342[/snapback]

o shutup. touch...micro...all the same :wacko:

[PrototypeX2]

o shutup. touch...micro...all the same  :wacko:

585364657[/snapback]

It's actually quite different in MANY aspects.

[poch]

It's actually quite different in MANY aspects.

585365340[/snapback]

yeah; theres the storage size, the size of the player, the price, the features, the colours.

just to name a few :p

[Vice]

Yer but they both rate the same on the Crap-o-Meter. :p

[macman87]

I must say the first time I saw the Zen Micro I was quiet shocked that Creative basically redesign their player from the ground up to be something small and nice instead of like other companies just making a smaller version of the bigger brother. I like the colour range, however 10 colors too much to choose from (5 is the max IMO). However when I saw them in life I was, well not disappointed, but it wasn't compelling to me anymore. I feels much thicker than the iPod mini and the plastic doesn't have the sex appeal that the aluminum has.

Having said that, I would say the Micro is a better product right now cause Apple needs to get their act together and make a 5GB version of the Mini with better battery life. Then the mini would be king again.

On another thing I would like to say not all of the people who own iPods are arrogant, dumb, computer illiterate, and fanboys. Not all of us buy it cause its a fashion item. Not all of us buys it just cause everyone has one. No, some of us buy it because we actually think thats the best choice of us.

Edited January 29, 2005 by Phillip

[PrototypeX2]

I must say the first time I saw the Zen Micro I was quiet shocked that Creative basically redesign their player from the ground up to be something small and nice instead of like other companies just making a smaller version of the bigger brother. I like the colour range, however 10 colors too much to choose from (5 is the max IMO). However when I saw them in life I was, well not disappointed, but it wasn't compelling to me anymore. I feels much thicker than the iPod mini and the plastic doesn't have the sex appeal that the aluminum has.

Having said that, I would say the Micro is a better product right now cause Apple needs to get their act together and make a 5GB version of the Mini with better battery life. Then the mini would be king again.

On another thing I would like to say not all of the people who own iPods are arrogant, dumb, computer illiterate, and fanboys. Not all of us buy it cause its a fashion item. Not all of us buys it just cause everyone has one. No, some of us buy it because we actually think thats the best choice of us.

585377959[/snapback]

Yup. yup quite true.

Also Hitachi upgraded their microHDD. It used to be 4GB, which the iPod mini used, but now it is available in either 8 or 10GB in the same size. There could be a new mini coming out soon.

(Hoping that Creative does it too)

[.will]

Rio karma sounds like the best bet for me.

Only $242 on Newegg

585124962[/snapback]

the karma is sooo tempting it was on sale at best buy for $199 i believe. however even cnet put a note on their review that:

Editor's note: More than a few Karma users, including some at CNET.com, have experienced hard drive problems or even failure after several months of use.

and if you look on cnet and amazon customer reviews, there are a shockingly large amount of users who have experienced MAJOR problems with no help from tech support :(.

iPods are simply better.  That's why they are purchased.

585176169[/snapback]

at least back your opinion up :(.

Dust, you make good points, however I'd like to point out that you bought a ipod mini. Right there, I can say that you automatically paid way too much for it... for like 80 bucks more you can get 15 more gigs on there...

I'd never get a mini of any brand name, but thats just me.

585198808[/snapback]

hmm. id like to start off saying i had a really tough choice when buying my mp3 player. i switched between a 20gig ipod, ipod mini, iriver h120, and rio karma. i ended up with the ipod mini. i chose ipod because of the x factor. they are amazing looking and have a wonderful UI. i never have to worry about tagging or file-trees. call me a corperate ######, but i just love apple design. i chose the mini because of the size, the fact that i had very little music at the time, and the build. its made out of 1 piece of metal hollowed out. its strong as hell. ive dropped it on several occasions and its absolutely fine. however, most players are probably really strong too.

lately, ive been looking into buying a new mp3 player. this time im not going apple. im looking for more features, a good price, a color screen, and driverless file transfer (not too important). im leaning toward the next generation 20 gig player from iriver. also, the iaudio m5/x5 looks very enticing. if anyone has some suggestions, please suggest away! thanks ;).

.will

[Monkeh]

Look at it this way. People that don't have any problems with their DAPs won't post on CNET, forums, w/e. Think of the amount of Karmas sold, and the number of people reporting problems online (I wouldn't trust CNET anyway).

The iAudio M5/X5 both look very promising, but I sent an inquiry about their release date and they replied that the M5/M5L has been pushed back to Q3 (Aug-Oct), no word about the X5.

Among the current crop of DAPs, the iRiver H320/40 (try to get the international version) is your best bet. Unless you want to import... you can always get the Toshiba F60 (IMO the best DAP availble) for a rather hefty price ;).

Also, check out the Archos Gmini400, it's a worthy competitor for the H320/40.

[planetik]

iPods are simply better.  That's why they are purchased.

585176169[/snapback]

:laugh: iPod's aren't all that great...

Yea, I have an iRiver H320 and it's great... just afraid it'll be discontinued soon :no: