Nice li'l player...
Pros:
Chock Fulla features
SD Card support
Cons:
Crippled SD Card Support
No Bluetooth
Easily scratched Screen
The Bottom Line:
I would definitely recommend this player to anyone who wished for a high capacity flash player with more features than iPod.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I bought two of these (one 8gb for my sister and one 16gb for myself...I was being greedy at the time...and NOW I want the 32gb). The player works well, is easy to use and has a host of features that should be standard on all player including:
FM radio Tuner
voice recorder
photo player
SD Card support
I wish that it came with bluetooth support, but I realize that this is still a fairly high class feature, so I won't hold it against the Zen, but I think that anyone looking to buy a player now should really look into those that have this capability.
As for working with the player, My sister is not zactly techie, but she loves the player. She does rely on me to upgrade her firmware (which is relatively easy), but then I do all her electronic things for her...
I think the player is nice, but the real reason I chose it was the SD card. Since i use SD card in my digital cameras i wanted to be able to 'dump' my memory onto something while I am in the field (of saaaay Cambodia) and be able to keep shooting. The Zen has can do this and has allowed me to keep my overactive photophinger going. One caveat: The firmware only allows for you to copy over the ENTIRE SD card. which is cool if you are trying to do a mass dump quickly, but does not allow to take a single or small group of pictures for safe keeping. I hope they change this in the future as this can fill up the player quickly.
A common gripe against the SD card is that it is not supported as a part of the memory. This IS annoying, but it isn't horrid. You have to think of the SD card as a separate drive, not as a part of a player. Going to the SD card will stop your music and you can't search or browse the same way. I find that if I keep video on there, it isn't quite as jarring, and keeps my player space open for music. If you are thinking on using the SD card to extend the capacity of your basic player functions you might want to wait until the firmware allows this.
Also, realize that while the Zen does play video well, I have yet to find something that will play natively. The conversion process through Windows Media isn't bad, but there are times I wish I could just stick my SD card in and watch with out planning for it. Still the video player came in handy more than once while waiting for whatever.
In all, I like the player and would recommend it.
