Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen 20 GB MP3 Player (1394 Firewire)

Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen 20 GB MP3 Player (1394 Firewire)

Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
If you've been searching for a compact player with massive MP3 storage, your search is over. Get up to 20 GB of music on the Nomad Jukebox Zen, and then listen to it anywhere for up to 12 hours at a stretch using the quick-charge battery. Want to create a playlist on the go? No need to be at a computer--just select songs, create and save the playlist, and you're ready to tune in.

The Nomad Jukebox Zen offers the same powerful features and flexibility found in a large-capacity MP3 player, but delivered in a smaller and sleeker package. Use the fast, 10x transfer rate anywhere via SB1394/FireWire or use a USB plug-in for basic transfers. Load an entire music collection and your data files onto the stylish Zen in a flash--up to 20 GB--then pop it into your pocket or bag, and share information easily between computers. When traveling between home and work or school, the Zen becomes a portable hard drive. Its sleek aluminum body makes carrying music even more fun.

The included Creative PlayCenter 3 lets you rip CDs and transfer tracks between player and PC. Now you can quickly create or edit playlists, or organize music, either at or away from your PC (the first player to offer this flexibility). The unit uses a simple but powerful icon-driven interface with Creative's Quick Scroller navigation.

Product Description:
NOMAD Jukebox Zen supports Windows Media Audio (WMA) 9, enabling users to enjoy the highest quality audio in the smallest file sizes. Now you can carry more high-quality music with you right in your pockets. The pocket-sized NOMAD Jukebox Zen is the smallest hard-drive based digital music player that offers both USB 1.1 and SB1394 (iEEE 1394 compatible) connectivity. With its 20GB hard drive, the NOMAD Jukebox Zen holds about 8, 000 songs using WMA or about 4, 000 songs using MP3. In addition, NOMAD Jukebox Zen features a high-quality sophisticated metal casing, outstanding audio quality at up to 98dB, on-the-fly music management with easy Scroller navigation, and over 12 hours of continuous portable playback powered by a built-in quick-charge LiON battery.

Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen 20 GB MP3 Player (1394 Firewire)
Average customer rating:

lots of space, heavy to drag around.

one year and (knock wood) no problems

Creative "Engineering"

The Zen Jukebox 2.0

This vs. iPod

Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox Zen 20 GB MP3 Player (1394 Firewire)

Manufacturer: Creative Labs
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

MP3 Players | Portable Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics
Up to $200 | by Price | Gifts | Specialty Stores | Computers Features | Electronics
Up to $500 | by Price | Gifts | Specialty Stores | Computers Features | Electronics
MP3 Players | by Type | Gifts | Specialty Stores | Computers Features | Electronics
20 GB | Hard Drive-Based | MP3 Players | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
Accessories:

NETGEAR Wireless Digital Music Player

Plantronics DSP-500 Digitally-Enhanced USB Gaming/Multimedia Stereo Headset and Software

Product Features:

Bring over 8,000 songs (in WMA at 80 kbps) or 5,000 songs (in MP3 at 128 kbps) everywhere you go

Sleek, stylish, anodized-aluminum body fits in your pocket or can be clipped to your belt in the included travel pouch

Transfer your songs and other files in a flash with SB-1394/FireWire--10 times faster than USB

Use AudioSync to synchronize the music on your player with your PC at work, school, and home

USB port provided for file transfer with most PCs (includes USB battery charging)

ASIN: B00006LHO7
Release Date: 2002-11-01

Product Description

NOMAD Jukebox Zen supports Windows Media Audio (WMA) 9, enabling users to enjoy the highest quality audio in the smallest file sizes. Now you can carry more high-quality music with you right in your pockets. The pocket-sized NOMAD Jukebox Zen is the smallest hard-drive based digital music player that offers both USB 1.1 and SB1394 (iEEE 1394 compatible) connectivity. With its 20GB hard drive, the NOMAD Jukebox Zen holds about 8, 000 songs using WMA or about 4, 000 songs using MP3. In addition, NOMAD Jukebox Zen features a high-quality sophisticated metal casing, outstanding audio quality at up to 98dB, on-the-fly music management with easy Scroller navigation, and over 12 hours of continuous portable playback powered by a built-in quick-charge LiON battery.

Amazon.com Product Description

If you've been searching for a compact player with massive MP3 storage, your search is over. Get up to 20 GB of music on the Nomad Jukebox Zen, and then listen to it anywhere for up to 12 hours at a stretch using the quick-charge battery. Want to create a playlist on the go? No need to be at a computer--just select songs, create and save the playlist, and you're ready to tune in.

Customer Reviews:

lots of space, heavy to drag around........2007-05-22

I bought this off amazon for under 100 dollars including shipping, which is a great deal for 20GB of space. However, the software is terrible. You're better off installing the drivers off a freeware site and using mediamonkey to move files onto it.

It's a harddrive disk, not a flash drive like newer players. It also has a hard and heavy aluminum casing.

It breaks down and you have to stick a pin in the side to reset it constantly. I feel like every time I turn it on, it's busted again. Sometimes it just shows random lines on the screen, other times it just locks up on the shut down screen. When you reset it, you don't lose the music you already loaded, but I'm sure it wears on the hard drive to constantly be rebooting.

PROs
The sound quality is great
Lots of space for the price

CONs
Heavy.
Locks up and needs to be reset.
Takes hours for music to load onto the player.
Can't go jogging with it - take your flash drive player instead.

Overall, I'd say you should get a flash drive based player so it's more portable. But at this price, the amount of space is hard to beat.

one year and (knock wood) no problems.......2006-12-14

Any headphone jack or cheap headphone issues must have been resolved by the end of 2005, I've seen no signs of jack trouble and the 'phones included were made by Sennheiser (I've worked in radio & recording studios for 30+ yrs and Sennheiser is the industry standard).

The Software complaint is still legitimate, By all means save yourself the trouble and download Red Chair's Notmad, it's a user-friendly dream. (the only thing Creative's software is good for is overwriting a previously loaded but corrupt track with a fresh copy).

If you want cover art jpgs or video, you're not serious about the music, so buy something else. If you want a handy palm-sized box that'll hold as much music as you can cram into it, you'll have a hard time filling the 60gig model to it's capacity, especially if you convert 128kbps MP3s to 81kbps WMAs. The quality difference is negligible to most human ears and so far I'm right at ten thousand songs and only one third of the way to full.

The fact that Stop and Power on/off are the same button is a bit of an odd design choice, but it hasn't created any operational troubles. If you dont want to hear a track, just toggle the forward key and jump past it.

As for breakdown issues, I'll cross my fingers and report after one year not problem one. I did buy a two year full replacement warranty just in case and everything is backed up twice in both MP3 and WMA form, but so far that's just assuaging my personal paranoia. I use this beautiful toy every day and often sleep with it playing and for my money, it's the coolest and handiest gadget since the internet itself.

Now I'm wondering how long I should wait before I buy a replacement battery as an emergency backup.

This unit is a nice pairing with JBL's 'On Tour' external speaker set as well, (unless you have an unhealthy need for earsplitting volume over crystal clarity).

Creative "Engineering".......2005-05-23

I bought a Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen 20 GB Digital Audio Player in November 2002 and loved it up until April 2005 when it simply decided to stop working. I had taken great care of it over the 2+ years I owned the player with no bumps, spills, or other jolts. So there was nothing that would have caused it to self-destruct other than poor Creative Labs "engineering". To make matters worse, despite having been very disciplined for the 2+ years in terms of backing up my 700 songs that I had on the player, I bought a new laptop last month and gave my old one to my father. In doing so, I decided to delete the 700 songs backed-up on the old notebook and recopy them to my new notebook later. Nice timing! Two weeks later when I went to turn on my Zen...nada!! Creative said the power unit was gone and there was nothing they could do about it. They said that they could return the paper weight to me for $40 or I could dive deeper into the abyss and buy a refurbished one for $115. I couldn't help but laugh at their gall. They are pathetic.

It was my fault for not having a 24/7 backup of my songs! The iPod god must be in the air! Bottom line, I will never buy anything from Creative Labs again!

The Zen Jukebox 2.0.......2004-11-25

The Zen Jukebox 2.0 is a must have for the average consumer. This player fits value with an affordable price. With its small price tag and great features I recommend. I recently bought one and have had no problems! Heres Pros, and cons.
PROS
> Great price!
> 20 GB Storage
> Small enough to fit in most pockets
> Sound quality is amazing!

CONS
> Software is horrible
> Headphones included are bad

This vs. iPod.......2004-04-12

OK, I've bought this machine back in 2002 and it still works !
This is a good player in many ways, but the best thing about it is its battery life. It's supposed to be 14 hrs, but mine lasts about 10 hrs with all the extra options turned on. This is still much compared to the iPods 8 hrs.
I've also used the 20gb iPod and it's great as well, especially the design, the OS and the scroller. And I must admit that iTunes (the software) is a lot better than Creatives Play Center. The play center is clumsy and slow, while iTunes is a lot faster and easier to use. The choise between this and the iPod was easy for me though.... the iPods price was too high, especially here in Finand, and battery life was important to me. My player has some scars and it almoust broke down once... but I realized that the harddrive had stuck, so I gave it a little smack and it worked again. I've read that many have had problems with this player but I've used mine for 1 ½ years. I've fallen on it a couple of times and the front cover looks f**ked up, but it still works fine for me.... The choise between this and the iPod might be hard. the Zen is cheaper, has better sound quality and longer battery life, while the iPod is a bit smaller, looks cooler and the software is better.

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