| Apple basically owns the portable media | | | | automatically on upload. Pictures can be |
| player market - some sources quote it as | | | | rated, rotated, zoomed in and set as |
| enjoying well above 50% market share, while | | | | wallpaper - once you choose a wallpaper you |
| competitor Creative has a meager 2-3%. Still, | | | | get to adjust its brightness and change the |
| that hasn't stopped Creative from trying - | | | | color settings to suit your style. |
| their Zen Vision: M 60GB Portable Media | | | | |
| Player presents the consumer with an | | | | For all file uploads, the Zen uses its own |
| alternative to the iPod not to be ignored. | | | | Zen Media Explorer as the tool for uploading |
| | | | stuff, ripping, and converting formats. Looks |
| On the surface, it's shaped like an iPod, | | | | a lot like the basic Windows folder interface |
| equally tall but about a few mm thicker. All | | | | and it's pretty straightforward, but it only |
| the controls are on the top surface and the | | | | works on Windows XP and doesn't support UMS. |
| touch interface allows one to scroll through | | | | |
| songs and folders easily and quickly. It's | | | | Battery life is pretty good. You could watch |
| pretty easy to navigate the Zen Vision | | | | about 2-3 hours of video with one charge, |
| common-sense system, but it does lag at | | | | with practically no heat coming off when |
| times, especially with videos. | | | | you're enjoying your videos. |
| | | | |
| Audio is high quality, and the volume is | | | | So should you buy the Creative Zen Vision: M |
| strong and distinct. It only supports MP3, | | | | 60GB Media player? |
| WMA and WAV audio formats though. Playlists | | | | |
| are better than with older Zen models I've | | | | It has great video and audio quality, a |
| tried, you just add tracks to a queue and | | | | convenient and easy-to-use navigation for |
| then call it a list. It lets you choose to | | | | both its media upload tool and in the player |
| listen to random tracks, albums, and | | | | itself, and has a nice, bright screen - but |
| frequently or rarely played tracks. The | | | | it's only for the Windows XP, and it lags a |
| quality of any format played is outstanding | | | | bit at times. Definitely not for the hardcore |
| regardless of your speakers, too. | | | | Mac users, but I'd recommend it to anyone |
| | | | else - a similarly priced iPod has only 30GB |
| If audio was good, video is great especially | | | | of space. |
| when compared to other media players. The Zen | | | | |
| supports DivX, XviD, WMV9 and MPEG so all | | | | If you're looking to buy online, get it at at |
| those XviD and DivX files you downloaded can | | | | just $236 with free shipping after a $30 |
| be watched without extra converting. The LCD | | | | mail-in rebate, which is just about the best |
| is crystal clear and bright, great for | | | | price online - check it out here at Plus, |
| watching all the TV shows and movies you've | | | | Newegg has a great return policy in the rare |
| got. | | | | event that you get a defective Zen, and |
| | | | they'll foot all the shipping bills incurred. |
| You also get to store all the photos you want | | | | Over 75% of buyers there rated it 5/5 - it's |
| in the Zen - standard .bmp, .png, .tiff and | | | | certainly a good choice. |
| .gif formats all convert to jpeg | | | | |