[Suhit Gupta]

http://creative.com/products/product.asp?prodid=10274

"Their 20GB Zen Touch MP3 player (the one with that unusual vertical touchpad and 24 hours of battery life) isn’t quite shipping yet, but Creative already looking ahead and have just announced that a 40GB model is on the way."



The Creative Zen claims to have a whopping 24 hours of battery life and offers the unique vertical touchpad that you can use with up-down movement to navigate the files. The upper and lower portion of the touch pad will enable rapid scrolling of files. The middle portion can be used for normal scrolling speed. It also has a USB 2.0 interface, FM receiver, voice recording and allows you to control your music quality with a 4 channel equalizer. Most of the features here have become standard in all Digital Audio Players these days (except of course the incredibly popular iPod ;-)).

[Suhit Gupta]

http://creative.com/products/product.asp?prodid=10274

"Their 20GB Zen Touch MP3 player (the one with that unusual vertical touchpad and 24 hours of battery life) isn’t quite shipping yet, but Creative already looking ahead and have just announced that a 40GB model is on the way."



The Creative Zen claims to have a whopping 24 hours of battery life and offers the unique vertical touchpad that you can use with up-down movement to navigate the files. The upper and lower portion of the touch pad will enable rapid scrolling of files. The middle portion can be used for normal scrolling speed. It also has a USB 2.0 interface, FM receiver, voice recording and allows you to control your music quality with a 4 channel equalizer. Most of the features here have become standard in all Digital Audio Players these days (except of course the incredibly popular iPod ;-)).

[James Fee]

Can I be the first to mention that the iPod can do all that and has for quite some time?

[dean_shan]

Originally Posted by James Fee

Can I be the first to mention that the iPod can do all that and has for quite some time?

Umm no. This one has a longer battery and an FM tuner. Not sure if a stip works as well as a wheel though.

[James Fee]

Originally Posted by dean_shan

Umm no. This one has a longer battery and an FM tuner. Not sure if a stip works as well as a wheel though.

Not all players have that long of battery life, but 12+ hours for the ipod is similar to others.

As for the FM tuner...

3rd Party solutions would happen if people had wanted it. The great thing about the iPod is there is so much 3rd party support that if it isn't standard, you can buy it and even have a choice.

[Suhit Gupta]

Originally Posted by James Fee

Not all players have that long of battery life, but 12+ hours for the ipod is similar to others.

We just had this same discussion in another thread. Anyways, the battery life in most top MP3 players is typically in the 18+ hour range. The iPod is lagging a lot.

Originally Posted by James Fee

As for the FM tuner...

3rd Party solutions would happen if people had wanted it. The great thing about the iPod is there is so much 3rd party support that if it isn't standard, you can buy it and even have a choice.

Yeah, but why spend more on extra accessories if you don't have to. I still maintain that the iPod is weak compared to all other leading competitors in all else except UI.

Suhit

[James Fee]

Originally Posted by Suhit Gupta

We just had this same discussion in another thread. Anyways, the battery life in most top MP3 players is typically in the 18+ hour range. The iPod is lagging a lot.

I don't consider 4 hours, "a lot".

Yeah, but why spend more on extra accessories if you don't have to. I still maintain that the iPod is weak compared to all other leading competitors in all else except UI.

Choice. Unlike most other players, I can choose what I want. These smaller players don't get the numbers so that belkin and others will create accessories for them. Its weird how having a choice is a bad thing.

From cases to card readers to speech recorders, the iPod has so many choices. The only problem with it is that we are forced to use iTunes (which really isn't that bad). I can hop into Fry's Electronics and look at a wall filled with iPod accessories. I can pick and choose what I want. None of the other players have anywhere near the choice.


People keep calling the best selling mp3 player weak, yet people still line up to buy it. Sure its "hip", but when you see how supported it is, why mess with second tier devices. Until some other player gets close to the success of the iPod, it still is the strongest player on the market.

[dean_shan]

Originally Posted by James Fee

Choice. Unlike most other players, I can choose what I want. These smaller players don't get the numbers so that belkin and others will create accessories for them. Its weird how having a choice is a bad thing.

Thing is it adds bulk and $$$. When I buy a HD based I want long battery life and the FM transmitter built-in. I don't want to buy a dongle. If Apple boosted the battery a bit and added a FM tranmitter I would go out this minute and buy one.

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by James Fee

I don't consider 4 hours, "a lot".

This depends on who you're talking to. When you think of it as half a work day, that's quite a bit to me.

But then you realize that it's even more than that, because the newest Ipods max out at 12 hours and the Minis at 8 hours. That's 6 to 10 hours difference. An entire work day and more - that's quite a span.

What I wish for is that Apple would integrate the functionality of an iTrip along with an FM tuner and voice recording capability. I'd rather have that integrated than have to carry a bunch of extra junk or accessories around in my pocket. But that's my preference. The thing is, if Apple did do this, no one would complain. We'd all be applauding the Ipod's continuing evolution.

But even with all of this - I still love my Ipod Mini. 8)

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

It's a good deal cheaper, it's got a longer battery life, and it's got more extras as well. And I do think it looks nicer than the iPod, unfortunately while it's small, it's still a bit bigger than the Apple devices (especially when compared to the 4th gen iPod).

[James Fee]

Hey, its all moot guys. Do any of you really think this player will overtake the iPod in sales? Not likely. We all complain about problems with the iPods, but in the end the continue to set the standard that companies such as iRiver has exceeded for the past year, but can't seem to convince people to buy them.

All this extra stuff just doesn't matter in the end.