15 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
It meets the need
Date of Review: Nov 12, 2006
The Bottom Line: If you've identified what you want in an mp3 player and it's not equivalent to the top of the line then consider this player.
I bought the 6 GB Zen Micro about a year ago almost to the date because I figured an MP3 player would be a good investment for what I was going to be doing. I was going to spend a month and a half backpacking through Europe. Sure the sounds of buses, planes, and trains may be exciting to some but I guess I'm in the minority that finds it mind numbingly boring. Here I am a year later and still using it on a daily basis.
Favorite Features:
6 GB - You can choose the amount to allocate for mp3's and storage. You didn't know it doubles as a USB mass storage device? Plug it into a PC and transfer those pictures and videos to it. I even use it to transport programs to use at work that I don't want to install on the computer. The drawbacks is you have to use the USB cable instead of just plugging it in and stored mp3's on the flash drive portion can't be read and played by the mp3 portion.
FM tuner - I don't listen to the radio much except for Sharks games that are broadcast on an FM station. Comes in handy for those times a game is blacked out on TV or when you're waiting in line somewhere or just feel like laying down and listening to the game while you drift off without the TV driving up your electricity bill. There's a feature to autoshutdown after being idle.
Built in Microphone - Haven't explored this feature thoroughly but it might be handy for students or in meetings.
Organizer - I don't really use this feature yet either but I may start using it as a backup in case my cell phone battery dies since I carry both constantly.
USB Charge - Not a revolutionary feature but comes in handy when traveling and you don't want to carry around the extra weight of an AC adaptor(not included in later models) and have access to a computer or plan to spend time in internet cafes.
Battery Life - This will of course vary depending on many factors but definitely capable of double digit hours on a full charge. I haven't taken the time to use it that long continuously.
Format support - No need to convert my mp3's or WMA's to another format to play.
Sturdy - It may be a little bulkier than comparable players but definitely is sturdy. I've dropped it on many hard surfaces and it keeps working although sometimes I think it may have caused some problems with startup time.
Drawbacks:
Touchpad - The sensitivities are preset and you can choose Low, Medium, or High. I would prefer a way for me to calibrate it to a more comfortable setting.
Earbuds - The earbuds themselves are fine but you have to be careful at the joint where the wire leads out of the jack. Constant bending seems to weaken or break the connections inside. I read about a headphone jack problem with early models but it was fine on mine. When I tried different headphones they all worked fine. However, I ruined three sets of earbuds due to bending when I'd walk around with it in my pocket so you might want to get a belt clip or remove the earbuds when not in use. Maybe get ones that retract or are wireless.
This unit has met my needs basically and even has me considering getting a Zen Vision: M 60 GB video mp3 player to replace it however I can't see many situations where I'd want to watch a video on a handheld player for so long. It holds 1,000 of my mp3's and software I need for work. It has worked reliably for one year. It may not be the trendiest or fanciest mp3 player but it fit me.
