Creative Zen Micro

[Vulpix0r]

A pointless thread like this would usually be closed in other forums. Anyway, it's just unfortunate they didn't follow the iPod design when doing the mini, giving it an unimpressive cheap look. Maybe it would have gotten my money if the design was redone.

As for sound quality, it doesn't take much to tell the difference, but some of us are pretty anal about sound quality, while others are more anal about design. I wonder why you are stereotyping head-fiers like us, because we have different priorities in our MP3 players? You don't see me stereotyping you guys being willing to pay 60k for a good looking mp3 player with no decent functionality right?

I don't own a 60k hifi, but I do take the sound quality into consideration. As for the noisy bus/MRT enviroment, there are reasons why I bought earplug earphones like the Shure E5c. Oh and by the way, most of the newer generation CD players are inferior compared to the older counterparts, but those are too big. The MD age has died already, time to move on, and even Sony has apologised for their chance and capturing the MP3 market.

 

[Hommie]

price difference? iirc the micro was priced higher previously. they dropped the price to $449 a few months back. maybe cos it wasnt selling as well as the mini?

extra 1 gig. yes nice to have. but if i really needed more space wouldnt it make more sense to get an ipod with so many more gigs?

removable battery i already gave that to you. what else you expect me to say. "i buy zen micro because of a removable battery?" oh please...

and so what if the mini's batter is rated to last 8 hours? at least a number of people have confirmed that it lasts 8 hours if not more. you yourself mentioned the zen micro battery lasts 11 hours - instead of the stated 12. in any case i have a habit of charging my ipod every night even though i use it an average of 3 hours a day, and its just so i dont have to remember what days i need to charge it. just drop in in the dock when i get home.

i can tell you the main reasons why i use an ipod. i use a mac and ipods work with the mac and itunes. you mentioned musicmatch jukebox. i used that long before itunes came along and i can tell you its nowhere near itunes. the other reason is the scrollwheel. it just makes it so easy to navigate thru all the music and menus. in comparison the zen touch pad is just plain unusable to me. of course you would disagree because your beloved zen doesnt have one

i'm always open to creative products but they have yet to come out with a device worth parting my money for. i dont see why i need to justify my reasons for preferring an ipod to you of all people. unless of course you are funding my purchase :bsmilie:

Oh Golly!! How many times have you have say SCROLLWHEEL?? I am giving a feature by feature comparsion based on reason. Your one MASSIVE great reason that beat all the rest including :

Price(so what if creative just lower its price to below mini, apple can do it if they want to too!),

Better battery life(11hrs instead of stated 12hrs, so what? Its still more than the mini),

One extra gig(you said that you rather get ipod. So? I can get Zen Touch for cheaper, far better functioned than it),

Removable batt(gathered that you won't care, but can mini do it??)

Radio(you don't care)

Line-In(you don't care less too)

Is micro touchpad unsable? Granted that ScrollWheel is better but saying unsable is just plain nasty. Suppose that applies to you only? Coz despite the comments about it slightly harder to use than scrollwheel, I have heard the term unsable(save you) used on micro yet.

iTunes, granted that Creative MusicMatch Jukebox is still under development. You mentioned that you used it before but could not even remember it during our earlier comparsion(if you wanna do a comparsion between product at least have a bit research before posting)

And of course, you don't have to justify your purchase with your cash on iPOD with us but when you crash in to this thread giving critical comments on the zen micro and how greeaaaat is the ipod, at least give a few more better reasons than the the misery(iTunes and scrollwheel is the best) reasons to justify your comment.
;p

 

[Hommie]

besides..why does it irk you so much that i think the mini is more functional than a micro? thats my view. you are of course entitled to your views. you are not swh in disguise i hope :bsmilie:

What irk me is that rational reason was not given to support your claims(save for the overused ScrollWheel,iTunes) that iPOD is more functional.

 

[Hommie]

I think madmacs meant that iPod Mini is easier to use than Creative Zen Micro, which is true I guess, 'cause Mini has far less features and functionalities, so easier to use too. And of course iPod's menu system is far superior to Creative Zens'.

I'd like to have a Zen Micro, if it's as cool looking as an iPod Mini For me, I've got sucked into iPod's cool looking, got a 4G iPod for its cool/wow factor. My iRiver sounds much better (at least to my ears), but I still carry the iPod everyday

No dispute with that. Except that MadMacs insisted that mini is more functional than micro, instead of saying that it was design that won rather functionality, he just simply refuse to acknowledge it. Won over by looks. :bsmilie:

 

[madmacs]

What irk me is that rational reason was not given to support your claims(save for the overused ScrollWheel,iTunes) that iPOD is more functional.

so i'm not entitled to my point of view is it? hmm...thought it was a free world :think:

whether i think rationally or not shouldnt bother you right? for me if i dont use certain functions then i will take them out of my decision making process. simple as that.

well if i what i say irks you so much, then i apologize and stop here. ok?

 

[madmacs]

No dispute with that. Except that MadMacs insisted that mini is more functional than micro, instead of saying that it was design that won rather functionality, he just simply refuse to acknowledge it. Won over by looks. :bsmilie:

i say that it is my view that mini is more functional lah. not enforcing that view on anyone. ok ok....this is my final say on this. dont get so worked up. got other more pressing things to worry about than mini or micro. ;p

 

[Hommie]

Erm... it seems that many people still think that the mini or even the iPod itself has far less 'functionality' than a Zen Micro or Zen Touch.

Let's see what do I have on my iPod 20GB...

- Sleeker form factor
- Hundreds and hundreds of 3rd party accessories made by both reputable peripherial manufacturers as well as 'fly-by-night' manufacturers
- Instant HDD storage functionality without the need for drivers on my Mac
- Instant connectivity with my Mac
- One word: iSync
- Did I mention Photo Storage Bank as well?
- Leather casings, Sock casings, Sillicon Casings, casings and choices galore
- Cult appeal (ok, to hell with the 'Cult' thing. That's what most skeptics came up with)
- Because it simply... WORKS. Plain and simple.
- Navigation? I dunch even need to read the instruction manual. Even my 5yr old niece can navigate her way around to play games.
- Radio? What's dat? Can eat or not?

I think save for the FM Radio (I'm not sure what's it with ppl who buy MP3 players to listen to radio with all those new fangled head-banging music). I believe I can find another 150 reasons to crush the Zen Micro into a Zen Miniscular or a Zen Nanodot.

The thing about sound... whilst we don't talk about huge differences like 96kbps and 320kbps birate sound, I believe most of us, sitting on a noisy bus/MRT can't differentiate between 128 and 160 birate encoded MP3s. Not everyone of us are blessed with the legendary 'Golden Ears' to be able to capture the entire spectrum in the soundwave. 20Hz - 20kHz.

Okay let us go point by point here rationally:

- Sleeker form factor vs Sleek form factor
>>matter of opinions, that why I never used that as a point for debate

- Hundreds and hundreds of 3rd party accessories made by both reputable peripherial manufacturers as well as 'fly-by-night' manufacturers
>>true but most have been built-in for free in to micro, remote, car kit charger, radio etc

- Instant HDD storage functionality without the need for drivers on my Mac
>>I dunno what you talking about? All flash/microdrive storage can do that. Mac recognises my mp3 players too as a HDD too!

- Instant connectivity with my Mac
>> Instant conectitvity on PC too!

- One word: iSync
>>One word: Outlook

- Did I mention Photo Storage Bank as well?
>>Er... that is the same as HDD function. Its all data to storage, unless you are talking about the new photo ipod, case when I'll bring out the Photo micro

- Leather casings, Sock casings, Sillicon Casings, casings and choices galore
>>Lot of accesories are given free in micro but of course, far less than avaible on the market for micro

- Cult appeal (ok, to hell with the 'Cult' thing. That's what most skeptics came up with)
>>doesn't that sound like some girl-fan shouting for their idols?? Appeal is an emotional desire rather than an rational reasonings. I suspect Madmacs is so but I don't think that he'll admit, haha

- Because it simply... WORKS. Plain and simple.
>>which doesn't?? Micro works and more

- Navigation? I dunch even need to read the instruction manual. Even my 5yr old niece can navigate her way around to play games.
>>That's part of the better design that has only true advance against micro, other than that, there are few...

- Radio? What's dat? Can eat or not?
>>No, but can have music which we enjoy. Something you can never filled with enough in iPOD to compete against, ever!

I'm not sure what's it with ppl who buy MP3 players to listen to radio with all those new fangled head-banging music
>>you are making a dangerous comment there, I'll let others do the flaming :bsmilie:

I believe I can find another 150 reasons to crush the Zen Micro into a Zen Miniscular or a Zen Nanodot.
>>Gimme all that, I'll do a point by point rational analysis. Trust me, I'll be fair but if you are just about looks, I'll understand that

The thing about sound... whilst we don't talk about huge differences like 96kbps and 320kbps birate sound, I believe most of us, sitting on a noisy bus/MRT can't differentiate between 128 and 160 birate encoded MP3s. Not everyone of us are blessed with the legendary 'Golden Ears' to be able to capture the entire spectrum in the soundwave. 20Hz - 20kHz.

>>I want that, as good as possible. If a company decide to give more to the consumer, the better. I personally found 128 - 160bitrate a massive difference especially on the lower range of the sonic spectrum. What HiFi did a test years ago on a new CD player with the ability to play beyond what human ears can persive. The player performed normally at first but when they try out the 24bit gold version of the same disc, the reviewer mentioned that certain songs hit a sweet spot. Sonic wave is felt not only by the ears, humans have yet to understand fully the way sound is received. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Hommie]

to add to that. when people say micro sounds better than mini or vice versa, how much difference are we talking about? the mini sounds pretty good already and if one really wanted much better sound, maybe a cd player or md player might be a better choice. anyway for those with really golden ears, i think nothing less than a $60k hifi set will do. ;p

If creative want to give me $60K hifi set in a mp3 player, WHY NOT, WHY NOT?? :bsmilie:

 

[Hommie]

so i'm not entitled to my point of view is it? hmm...thought it was a free world :think:

whether i think rationally or not shouldnt bother you right? for me if i dont use certain functions then i will take them out of my decision making process. simple as that.

well if i what i say irks you so much, then i apologize and stop here. ok?

Did I ever mentioned that you can't express you views in any way? I can't dispute your reasons is that? Which of the post is not from someone's point of view?

It all depend whether you are using the rational reason for debating a issue or we'll all be using words that can't be shown and beating each other into a frenzy here. That's the point of debating issues.

Well, its your choice to stop, its a healthy discussion which you have made a stand and so have I. I am provoked but that's the point of a disscussion, I am still smiling, haha ;p

 

[madmacs]

Did I ever mentioned that you can't express you views in any way? I can't dispute your reasons is that? Which of the post is not from someone's point of view?

It all depend whether you are using the rational reason for debating a issue or we'll all be using words that can't be shown and beating each other into a frenzy here. That's the point of debating issues.

Well, its your choice to stop, its a healthy discussion which you have made a stand and so have I. I am provoked but that's the point of a disscussion, I am still smiling, haha ;p

i happy to note that you are still smiling. thats very good indeed. cheers! :thumbsup:

 

[Hommie]

i say that it is my view that mini is more functional lah. not enforcing that view on anyone. ok ok....this is my final say on this. dont get so worked up. got other more pressing things to worry about than mini or micro. ;p

As it is my view that micro deserves better, I am never in dispute that both can live without bashing each others(something which you started). I understand that Mr Sim have made some not too good comments about shuffle that start the 'war' but comparsion between two competing products should be more rational without having to bash each other. I for one have never state that iPOD mini is a inferior product, just lesser in functions as compared to micro.

I am not worked up, notice my smile .
There's alway a more pressing thing to do, but that defeats the purpose of healthy disscussion here.

 

[Hommie]

i happy to note that you are still smiling. thats very good indeed. cheers! :thumbsup:

Of course, don't scare by my pinhead look. I am a gentle and rational guy.. :bsmilie:

 

[meepokman]

madmacs & hommie,

no offence but I guess everyone has gotten the idea what both of you are trying to say I guess you don't need to "have the final say" as everyone look for different things. Let's just cool it before this thread becomes a personal flaming war.

Just FYI,

I just got a 2nd hand Zen Micro. Like many, I was split between Zen & mini.
But the biggest reason why I got the zen is because I can always have the option of an additional battery and change it.

This is a major deciding factor as I travel alot and I don't want to be stuck on the road with a flat player. And neither do I want to throw away the whole player when my battery decides that it has enough for the day.

Yes, I agree the mini looks cool. But unfortunately, it just doesnt fulfil my needs.

So, its all about how you want to use it

cheers!

 

[obviousdude]

let's put a peaceful end to this by acknowledging that each one has it's pros and cons. just like a nikon and a canon (oops! let's not go down that road)

but you get my point. seriously, at times, i like the ipod mini's sleek and sophisticated styling. but at times, i like the warm, cheerful, fun look of the zen micro.

to be honest, i'd get both if i had that kind of money. but being a normal human being, i'd have to analyse my needs and preference and choose one.

they both rock.

 

[gundugundu]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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