Creative Zen 2 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
We own a 32gb and a 4 gb. The battery in each of them only lasts for an honest 8-10 hours even at low volume and with the backlight set as low as it will go. Their claim of 25 hours is completely false!

We purchased the 4gb Zen 2 mo ago. The SD card slot doesn't recognize any card although the cards work in the 32 gb Zen w/same version software. E-mails to Creative customer service have been exasperating. They completely miss the point of the question/issue, every time, and give answers that make you think you might be dealing with 1. a computer that can't interpret language or 2. a person who does not speak English. This problem wasn't much of a surprise since I experienced the same double talk from customer "service" when I tried to get some questions answered about the 32gb Zen I bought 6 mo. ago. (I only bought it because it was easier to help my spouse adapt to something I already knew how to use.)

Creative's "service" solution for the card problem is for ME to pay to send the product back to them for repair and if it's been more than 3 months, I also get to pay them a $25.00 fee! This doesn't seem like a fair warranty! I wish I had known this before purchase! If this is something that matters to you, you may want to keep looking for a device that is better supported by the company.

I had originally purchased a Microsoft Zune because I thought it would be user-friendly like its other products/programs...WRONG! So, back it went and I did some more research and chose this Creative Zen and I am so very pleased with it!!

PROS:
1. Great price for 16gb
2. Very user-friendly. I was able to add music, videos and pictures without a problem. In fact, when I tried to add a picture to the Zen that was not compatible, the Zen program asked if I wanted it to convert the picture to a compatible format!
3. Zen downloads audio books from my state library website from the get-go...no special downloads needed (unlike Zune)
4. The USB cable is super short -- about 5 inches. At first it bothered me that the Zen dangled from the USB cable while it was charging, but now I like it because I know at a glance which cable is for the Zen among my many USB cables for my digital camera, camcorder, etc., and the Zen is so light that it won't damage the Zen or my computer USB port. ALSO, my cats can't step on the Zen because it's up out of the way.

CONS:
Only one that I've found...the screen protector that comes on the Zen can't be used to protect the screen because it has printing on it, so you really want to purchase one according to other reviewers who said the screen scratches easily. And, I'm going to listen BEFORE the screen gets scratched.

RECOMMENDATION: Purchase a good leather case to protect the unit. I am VERY pleased with the following case that I purchased. It was not sold directly by Amazon but from a vendor (Enforcity), so I had to pay shipping but it was only $2.98. Enforcity mailed it the very next day and I am extremely pleased with it:
Full Flap Leather Case for Creative Zen, Black

I also used Amazon's customer service help line: 1-866-216-1072
because I had several questions about the Creative Zen. The rep was super friendly and answered my questions so that I could make an informed decision. I won't hesitate to use this number in the future when I have questions about products that I am thinking of purchasing.

I had a NANO with 2G and that just wasnt' doing it for me, not enough space, but i loved the size of the device. I travel a bunch for work (Planes) and weight is an issue, so I need a device that is small.

Well the ZEN is all that and more, I paid 139 for the 16G version and I love it. I use it with Linux with ZERO issues. If you are thinking about using with Linux you will need Gnomad 2, at least to sync the device. Works great, I am sure there is other SW for linux but this works great. Already had it running since my GF has a JukeBox from Creative.

I am listening to it right now, and will be interested to see how long the battery lasts, the Ipod was OK, but getting worse over time, so I am looking forward to this, plus no stupid connector, just USB. Now I don't have to carry another cord.

Great so far...

I wanted to like the Zen. In fact, I did like the bright screen, ability to use an sd card, etc. However, in the last year, it has slowly developed the dreaded "White Screen of Death". At first, I was able to get my screen back by getting a song to play and then putting the unit into hold. Taking it out of hold would restore the screen. Lately, nothing works, I have tried everything- downgrading the firmware, upgrading the firmware, rebooting, resetting- nothing works. It's basically a brick, it's out of warranty, and I can't afford to replace it. Conventional Internet wisdom is that it is caused by a hardware conflict. I don't care what it is- I see no effort on the part of Creative to comprehensively take care of those of us they know they sold a bad player to. All they do on their website is refer you to their customer service system, which if you are like me, will determine that the product is out of warranty and supply you with a link to a page where you can buy a new one. NO WAY! I'll buy something that is better supported by its manufacturer next time, shove this thing in a drawer and pray for Rockbox, Don't take a chance that yours will develop this problem- take my advice and return it now while you still can.

I had previously owned the 8 GB version of this player and it was a total disaster. It seems that this 16 GB version is working well **so far**. Plays back movies perfectly well from Amazon's Unboxed as well as all the music I can load into it. The earphones are a bit cheesy, you might want to spring for a few extra dollars and buy something a bit better, depending upon your own hearing and tastes. The software that comes with the player is a bit clunky, you can use Windows Media Player to transfer songs right to the player and use Amazon's Unboxed software to transfer movies directly to the player.