Creative Zen 16 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

I bought this player after I had been using a Zen V for several years. It was a great little player, but unfortunatly, my library got too big for it.
I upgraded to the 8gb version of this about 6 months ago. I was highly impressed with it, and still am. The basic things I really noted in it are these:

Pros:
-Colorful, vibrant screen perfect for watching videos on or looking at pictures (has millions of colors vs. the iPod video which has thousands)
-Can play many formats of music; doesn't have the limitations an iPod does
-Sleek, flashy, design; player is about the size of four stacked up credit cards
-Easier to use than an iPod; more options and menu functions
-Has a built in radio; headphones are the antennea
-Sound quality is amazing if used with a decent set of speakers/headphones
-Durable; I have dropped mine many times and gotten it wet, but still it functions perfectly
-Syncs directly with Realplayer/Windows Media Player or you can drag-and-drop files onto it
-Outstanding battery life; I left it on playing music on 'lock' for 9 hours straight and it used only half of the battery.
-Background can be changed and customized to any picture of your choosing
-USB cord is not player-specific and fits many of my other USB electronics, so it's very easy to replace.
-Reset button on bottom of player. Will reset and turn off the player, but will not erase your files.
-Registering your player gives you access to great customer service, who will respond quickly to any problem you encounter
-SD card slot for extra storage. Does not merge with library though, has its own seperate folder, which is not a problem for me.

Cons:
-Scratches easily. I recommend a screen protector.
-Will not play iTunes media; only iPods can sync to iTunes. I would suggest getting a converter/virtual burner such as NoteBurner (http://www.noteburner.com/) to get your iTunes music into a playable format
-This has not happened to me, but I've heard that in the older versions of the firmware, you can get the "white screen of death". However, I do not believe this will be a problem since the newer players have new and improved firmware.

This is well worth your money, it's an amazing price!! I like it a lot better than other mp3 players I have used/owned, including the iPod! I highly recommend it, and I will remain loyal to Creative. Their players are of very high quality, and of very reasonable price!

I got this mp3 player (at my own request) for Christmas last year. The thing was alright, it was nifty to customize. However, one day I tried to turn on the radio, and the thing just died. Powered on kinda-sorta, but wouldn't boot. Had to reset it, to no avail.

I tried everything they suggested on the website, and what little help they could give me was to essentially tell me that they couldn't help me because it didn't have a warranty (less than a year later).

I strongly suggest not buying this gadget. Considerably less than durable, and you won't get any help if/when it breaks.

well i got this online after much debating on which mp3 player to get. i do not have an apple based computer and was not going to get an apple based mp3 player. i downloaded itunes on my pc for my daughter and it just sucked up the system resources and you have to keep all of your songs that you want on your computer and i dont like that. so i got the zen 2gb player and it does the job i wanted it to. it does have a "cheap" feel and seems to scratch very easily. the battery time is real good and it does not take long to get a full charge. the videos are not the best ive noticed that it will get "blockey" at times and ill re-start it and it goes away for a while. i just imagine one day it will stay "blockey". but for 70 bucks it will work for now.thats why i dont give it 5 stars.

I've owned two previous Creative ZEN media players and they were excellent until Windows Vista came out. Then I found out Creative would not create updated software. My players became obsolete, I literally could not add new songs/books without tracking down an XP computer first. My ONLY choice (according to Creative) was to upgrade to a newer device. I spent $100's on these two devices (20gb and 60gb sized players) and now they sit on my obsolete hardware shelf. I was so upset I didn't even consider another Creative product, instead I went directly to Apple and bought a 160gb IPOD. I do not recommend EVER buying a creative product because they don't support them. I will NEVER buy another creative product no matter how good it is.

Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
We own a 32gb and a 4 gb. The battery in each of them only lasts for an honest 8-10 hours even at low volume and with the backlight set as low as it will go. Their claim of 25 hours is completely false!

We purchased the 4gb Zen 2 mo ago. The SD card slot doesn't recognize any card although the cards work in the 32 gb Zen w/same version software. E-mails to Creative customer service have been exasperating. They completely miss the point of the question/issue, every time, and give answers that make you think you might be dealing with 1. a computer that can't interpret language or 2. a person who does not speak English. This problem wasn't much of a surprise since I experienced the same double talk from customer "service" when I tried to get some questions answered about the 32gb Zen I bought 6 mo. ago. (I only bought it because it was easier to help my spouse adapt to something I already knew how to use.)

Creative's "service" solution for the card problem is for ME to pay to send the product back to them for repair and if it's been more than 3 months, I also get to pay them a $25.00 fee! This doesn't seem like a fair warranty! I wish I had known this before purchase! If this is something that matters to you, you may want to keep looking for a device that is better supported by the company.