DesignTechnica Reviews the Creative Labs Zen Micro 5GB

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review2180.html' target='_blank'>http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review2180.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Creative Labs, a company which has been in the portable audio market for years, has had to adapt to the iPod craze by developing players that emulate the look and feel of Apple’s digital success. The Zen Micro by Creative Labs is arguably the best looking iPod clone on the market. Featuring more storage space for the same price as Apple’s iPod mini, the $249 dollar Zen Micro will appeal to those that want more compatibility with music services and audio formats."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/zen_micro_colors.jpg" /><br /><br />DesignTechnica gave the Zen Micro a rather poor 6/10 rating - I have to admit that I like it more than that. I never use the headphones that come with a device, so I can't comment on how uncomfortable they are after prolonged use. I did try them out and they sounded surprisingly good, but I quickly switched over to my in-ear Sony headphones. As for the locking up, unfortunately I experienced that as well - but because I had a beta ROM, I was convinced that was the reason it was locking up. Since upgrading to the new PlaysForSure ROM a few weeks ago, I haven't had it lock up on me yet...so from my point of view, the Zen Micro is still a great player. Knocking a device because of headphones seems a bit silly to me - but if it's locking up for them, and they've tried two devices, I can understand the rating. :?

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

James Fee posted it already, here:

http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7571

[Jason Dunn]

Yeah, but this one has my VERY SPECIAL THOUGHTS. :oops: :lol:

[randalllewis]

I've owned the Zen Micro since the first units arrived here in Tacoma, WA., which was early December. My unit has never locked up, before or after the Playsforsure firmware upgrade. The touchpad is sensitive and takes getting used to, but big deal- every car has a different "feel" too. It is just a matter of becomming familiar with the device and I can now slide and scroll with precision. Loaded with MP3 and high bitrate WMA's, including some 15 minute songs, I've squeezed over a 1000 tunes on the device. It played on a recent flight from Seattle to London the entire length of the trip- over 9 hoursl The Zen Micro is the best MP3 player on the market if you want choice of music from someone other than Apple.

As to the lock-up issue, there is some evidence on the Creative message boards that corrupt music files can cause this to happen. I long ago purged the crappy files that I had downloaded from the old Napster and have not had any issues with my Micro.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Yeah, but this one has my VERY SPECIAL THOUGHTS. :oops: :lol:

Well, did you think it was a bit unfair? I mean they slated the battery life, which I believe is untrue! I feel they were quite biased in the review.

[Jason Dunn]

Well, did you think it was a bit unfair? I mean they slated the battery life, which I believe is untrue!

Yeah, I've found the battery life to be quite good - the one "scientific" test I did clocked it in at, what, 11 hours? Pretty damn good if you ask me. :-)

[Fitch]

My biggest problem is that my laptop came out JUST before USB 2.0 was in most devices. So I have firewire and USB 1.1, which leaves me with the iPod, unless I want slow tranfers.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[hoffm11]

Well I am thinking about selling my Zen Xtra 30GB model and get one of these. I have about 4500 though, and I would lose the ablility to store all my music on the device. I am not sure that it is a big issue for me though. I like how this syncs your contact and calendar. That is a plus for me. I also like the FM radio. Does this unit allow you to record from the radio?

Any suggestions whether to get the micro and sell the zen would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Jason Dunn]

My biggest problem is that my laptop came out JUST before USB 2.0 was in most devices. So I have firewire and USB 1.1, which leaves me with the iPod, unless I want slow tranfers.

Ouch, that does kind of suck. You can get USB 2.0 PCMCIA cards though if you want to go that route...

[Jason Dunn]

I like how this syncs your contact and calendar. That is a plus for me. I also like the FM radio. Does this unit allow you to record from the radio?

I haven't tried the Contact/Calendar sync, but if you use Outlook, it should work ok. It does allow you to record off the radio, which is sweet. :D

[dane]

My wife bought me a Zen Micro for our anniversary (20th) at the end of December. So far I love it. I have not done any comprehensive battery tests, but so far I'm doing OK. I got the special addition with the extra battery, so I often don't charge it for more than a week and that is often without having to switch the batteries. Most of my listening is during my 1.5 mile walk to and from a commuter bus in the mornings and after work.

I have not had any lock up problems. Occasionally it takes a while (30 secs. or so) to shut down, but that's only a minor annoyance. I haven't had any problems using the touch pad. You do need to get used to it, but it's not all that difficult. I think I have about 130+ full CDs on mine right now. I haven't upgraded the ROM to the Plays for Sure version yet as I haven't wanted to take the time to reload the Micro, but I will likely perform the update this week.

The FM radio is a bit weaker than my Rio Chiba was, but it is serviceable. I will probably never use the Outlook synchronization features, or the drive storage capabilities, but they are there if I want them.

I have small ears and can't usually wear earbuds (they won't stay in), but I can wear the Zen Micro's and they are comfortable. I get a small amount of tenderness after many hours of wearing, but I even get that with old over the head Walkman headphones. I tried a pair of Sony Fontopia in ear buds (the $50.00 white ones) and thought that the Creative ear buds had better sound.

Creative's software could use some improvement, but it also is serviceable. When I update the ROM, I will most likely use WMP10 to manage my device.

So far, all in all, I would say the device is a quality product. I wanted a radio and love the fact that I don't have to send the device back to the manufacturer just to have a new battery put in. In my opinion, those two factors and the bigger hard drive make the Zen Micro a much better deal than an Ipod Mini. In only got sweeter when, hope against hope, my Micro arrived and I got the extra battery. Needless to say I was surprised (I thought all of those units would be long gone) and very happy.

Unless something suddenly starts going wrong, I'm a fan.

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks for the mini-review Dane, nice to know that you like your Zen Micro too! :-)