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Creative Zen V and Zen V Plus
Creative has announced the Zen V and Zen V Plus, and the feature list gives the iPod Nano a run for its money

Creative this week unveiled the Creative Zen V and Zen V Plus, a direct competitor to Apples iPod Nano digital audio player and the new player pack an impressive feature list. The Zen V features MP3, WMA, IMA ADPCM, WMA DRM playback as well as JPEG image viewing support, while the Zen V Plus supports all of the features of the Zen V with added video playback. Both players come in a variety of color combinations and boast up to 15 hours of battery life.

The Zen V specifications:

  • 128x128 OLED display
  • JPEG image viewing
  • 15 hour battery life
  • Built in Mic w/voice recording
  • Line-In Recording
  • Mass storage capabilities
  • USB 2.0
  • FM Radio (Zen V Plus Only)
  • Transcoded Video Playback (Zen V Plus Only)

The new device is compatible with a multitude of music stores as well including Real’s Rhapsody, Napster To Go, the Yahoo Music Engine and AllOfMP3.com. The Zen V and V Plus come in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB flavors. Pricing hasn't yet bet announced but the new player will be available "soon" according to Creative’s website.

Creative earlier this year filed a patent infringement suit against Apple Inc. over design wins found in the Apple iPod; the company also filed a complaint with the International Trade Council claiming Apple has instigated further intellectual property infringement against Creative. Apple then counter-sued Creative alleging that the company had infringed on Apple’s patents involving displaying of data, editing of mobile data on a desktop PC and computer icons. Creative claims that Apple never mentioned the patents in question while Creative and Apple were in discussions with each other.

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...
By shabby on 6/25/2006 12:05:34 PM , Rating: 2
Looks nice, but the reason apple sells so many ipods is because you see them on tv every single day.




RE: ...
By kelmon on 6/25/2006 1:02:25 PM , Rating: 3
Another reason that iPods sell so many is that they are supported by so many 3rd party products. I can see why Microsoft and the "other" MP3 player manufacturers need to come up with a common connection standard since that's one of the reasons the iPod does so well - so many 3rd party products support the iPod's dock connector. I'm sure the Creative product is great as a standalone player, but what else can you do with it?


RE: ...
By Griswold on 6/25/2006 1:11:53 PM , Rating: 2
Third party support only comes to popular products in the first place, but in reality, you're forced to buy add-ons, both from apple and third party suppliers. Some of the competition comes with many more goodies out of the box.


RE: ...
By abhaxus on 6/26/2006 2:42:57 AM , Rating: 2
i've yet to see docking stations to dock an mp3 player to my home theater receiver aside from ipod docks. there are many more accessories that are ONLY for ipod. sure you have to buy an fm add on but aside from that i don't know of any features the other brands give you out of the box that apple doesn't have. perhaps voice recording? seriously, the ipod plays music and video and that's all people want. plus the price is very competitive and has only gotten moreso now that their production is so high. why would you buy a 2gb samsung mp3 player for 199 when you can get an ipod for the same price with more third party support?

a common connection standard is the only way to beat apple.


RE: ...
By othercents on 6/26/2006 10:58:28 AM , Rating: 2
Actually I have found that some of the Zen products actually cost about half the price as the iPod. This is definitly a good reason to choose Zen over iPod. I just hope that the latest one cost less than iPod.

I think most people fail to understand that MusicMatch is loaded on most computers that come from large manufacturers like Dell and HP. MusicMatch works with almost any MP3 player (and iPod if you download the addon software from Apple). Most people shouldn't have a problem getting software, but if all your friends had an iPod and they where all using iTunes, wouldn't you want one too?

iPod is a fad and I'm sure in time people will get smart and understand that they are paying too much for their MP3 players. Once that happens price and quality will determine what player you buy.

Other


Agreed
By dysonlu on 6/26/2006 9:46:13 PM , Rating: 2
The iPod phenomenon is a remarkable one. What I find most interesting is how strongly the iPod image has on people's mind. Its popularity right now is strictly driven by marketing and perception; as opposed to the beginning, where it was driven by innovation. It is no coincidence that we are seeing more and more iPod ads these days.

Most people who bought an iPod didn't even care to look at alternatives, nor stop to realize that paying 300$ for a digital music player is awfully expensive, no matter how rich you are. (To put it in perspective: the DS Lite, an electronic marvel, costs less than half that price! With a 100$ worth of mod and the DS Lite is a music player AND MUCH MORE!)

Kudos to Apple for successfully turning a nice gadget into a religion.

As for me, I prefer "atheism" as far as digital music player is concerned.


RE: ...
By Trisped on 6/26/2006 2:35:05 PM , Rating: 2
You go ahead and pay $20-30 for a dock. Me, I just go down to Radio Shack and buy a $3 head phone to Stereo RCA cable and plug in the thing when I want to run it through my stereo. Select the song list and go from there.

Even better, why hook up your iPod when you can just connect your sound system to your computer which has 10 times the storage of your iPod and 1000 times the peripherals.


RE: ...
By Phynaz on 6/26/2006 3:43:57 PM , Rating: 2
I'll do that. And I'll use my remote control. And I'll dock in my car.


RE: ...
By fungry on 6/26/2006 4:18:16 AM , Rating: 2
however some of creative mp3 players come in with a standardized USB 2.0 plugin such as the Creative Zen [not touch, not micro and not vision]. This plugin can be found from PDA wires which connect to the PC. Its just a pity they didn't incorporate this into their range of products.


Nice stuff
By kibets on 6/25/2006 12:43:16 PM , Rating: 2
That looks like a really nice player.

In Chicago where I live it is nearly impossible to walk a block without seeing an iPod advertisement. Every bus and train has iPod advertisements, no wonder they sell so many!

In all honesty it looks like the miniplayer will be the one to beat as as far as features and quality. http://www.miniplayer.info but I do hope Creative is able to gain a bit of marketshare with this player.





RE: Nice stuff
By dhei on 6/25/2006 1:10:12 PM , Rating: 2
Yah lots of better MP3 players than apples. The problem is people fall into fads and don't reseach.


Personally i think they Sandisk players out now are better than Creative by a long shot. They look like Ipods but with tons more features, including Creatives.

Creative company is also TERRIBLE. They have not released firmware updates, driver updates, etc to most of there products after they are released. They have had more class action lawsuits than any other media company in the last 2 years.


RE: Nice stuff
By Anh Huynh on 6/25/2006 1:28:48 PM , Rating: 2
Until other manufacturers offer a simple dock connector that car audio manufacturers will support for direct iPod connectivity, direct control and charging, Apple will continue to have my business. I <3 my Pioneer 2nd gen iPod adapter.


RE: Nice stuff
By OddTSi on 6/25/2006 2:04:17 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, because USB isn't a popular standard at all.

If your DAP is "Plays For Sure" compatible (which most are these days) then you can connect to it without any software through a USB connection and access any song on there.


RE: Nice stuff
By Anh Huynh on 6/25/2006 4:49:20 PM , Rating: 2
Deck doesn't use iPod via USB. It controls the iPod via the serial interface and everything is played on the iPod and than sent to the head unit via analog audio. Its done this way so people can still listen to ITMS files.

And USB isn't a popular standard when it comes to car audio. Most decks that do have USB are low end pieces of crap.


RE: Nice stuff
By AlexWade on 6/25/2006 6:36:24 PM , Rating: 1
The only reason why I'll never go anything but iPod is WMA. The last thing I want to do is give my support for a company that care more about control and money than consumers. If WMA wins, downloads will cost more than CD's.


RE: Nice stuff
By saratoga on 6/26/2006 12:47:16 AM , Rating: 2
You're not gonig to be happy about this:

MS is a patent holder for H.264, so if you buy an Ipod Video, they get a piece of it anyway.


RE: Nice stuff
By rrsurfer1 on 6/26/2006 9:02:56 AM , Rating: 2
Ummm... hello there.

How about Apple's DRM in iTMS? This is built-in DRM too, even on your holy iPod.


RE: Nice stuff
By psychobriggsy on 6/26/2006 10:34:05 AM , Rating: 2
Just because I don't know much about the WMA PlaysForSure DRM, what are the restrictions, compared to Fairplay that Apple uses?


RE: Nice stuff
By drxploder on 6/27/2006 2:16:55 AM , Rating: 2
It varies from service to service.


UI is important, too!
By Goty on 6/25/2006 1:17:30 PM , Rating: 2
Another reason why the iPod has done so well is the fact that the interface is very clean and well thought out. If another company came out with a player with comparable features and a comparable interface, I'd ditch my iPod in a heartbeat... well, at least when I got around to buying another mp3 player, that is.




RE: UI is important, too!
By dhei on 6/25/2006 3:43:06 PM , Rating: 2
You must of not check on mp3 players in the last 6 months. The Sandisk ones offer a better UI thatn Ipods. Plus like a few posts up they have more features, can replace batteries, record live FM radio, upgradable flash memory, scratch resistant, etc. Pretty much every think you need in a mp3 player.


RE: UI is important, too!
By Orpheus333 on 6/26/2006 9:16:41 PM , Rating: 2
The aforementioned Sandisk MP3 player is the Sansa e270 I believe.

6gb, FM, FM recorder, video, scratch resistant, upgrade memory, REPLACE BATTERIES... for the same price as a 4gb ipod nano.

Mine is in the mail.


RE: UI is important, too!
By fungry on 6/26/2006 4:29:52 AM , Rating: 2
very clean yet very vulnerable... erm the polished/chromed out back. Not to mention very thought out? the iPod scrolling circle thing is causing injuries to people because the circular action to the fingers is not natural. <<< whatever you call the muscle strains you get due to an uncomfortable set up.


RE: UI is important, too!
By Hare on 6/26/2006 5:12:13 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
the iPod scrolling circle thing is causing injuries to people because the circular action to the fingers is not natural.
That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You are the reason why there's a sticker on my keyboard saying I have to consult a doctor before typing. "some experts believe that the use of keyboard can result in serious injury, blah blah".

Why don't you just go live in a bubble and avoid anything physical?


What's so special about it?
By MDE on 6/25/2006 12:09:39 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
The new device is compatible with a multitude of music stores as well including Real’s Rhapsody, Napster To Go, the Yahoo Music Engine and AllOfMP3.com .

Isn't every MP3 player on Earth compatible with AllOfMP3? I'm not sure why DailyTech would even mention it considering its questionable legality.




RE: What's so special about it?
By Knish on 6/25/2006 12:23:29 PM , Rating: 1
Joe Shmoe probably doesn't know the difference between an MP3 and a DivX file.

Allofmp3 is not illegal either.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2754


RE: What's so special about it?
By Griswold on 6/25/2006 1:19:50 PM , Rating: 1
Allofmp3 will soon be illegal one or another way, dont worry about that. The US is putting pressure on certain countries to push for a lock down on such sites. As seen in the piratebay case - read up on it if you wonder why they actually seized the equipment despite the lack of legal foundation for it in sweden.

Lobbyists run the country, after all. :P


RE: What's so special about it?
By fxyefx on 6/25/06, Rating: 0
RE: What's so special about it?
By raven3x7 on 6/25/06, Rating: 0
RE: What's so special about it?
By Xavian on 6/25/2006 7:12:18 PM , Rating: 1
you do know that pirate bay is back and fully running again? and has moved from the backup site in netherlands back to sweden?

So i'd think the point is moot, considering piratebay and its political party cousin piratbyan are actively seeking compensation for raiding the server premises under false accusations under swedish law. AllofMP3.com may or may not be illegal in the future, but i would sure love to take a peek at that crystal ball you have.


RE: What's so special about it?
By Xavian on 6/25/2006 7:12:51 PM , Rating: 2
piratbyran, sorry typo.


By Great Googly Moogly on 6/26/2006 10:33:57 AM , Rating: 2
Piratbyrån (The Pirate Bureau) and Pirate Bay are not affiliated with the Pirate Party.


iTMS
By SNM on 6/25/2006 6:56:08 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think the iPod will ever get beat unless Apple is forced to open FairPlay.
Certainly I'm locked into iPods (not that I mind), and I'm not even a big music junkie.




RE: iTMS
By dhei on 6/25/2006 8:14:46 PM , Rating: 2
I don't know how you can pay 99 cents a song. Thats absurd.


RE: iTMS
By rrsurfer1 on 6/26/2006 9:08:13 AM , Rating: 2
I think it wouldn't be absurd if it was high bit-rate and DRM free. But as lossy, low-bit rate DRM-laden crap, it most certainly isn't worth $1.

Yea Apple, I'm gonna give you money so I'm stuck with your players for eternity. Regardless of who makes the best player at the time, just so I can play your terribly encoded crap. Or not.


RE: iTMS
By probedb on 6/26/2006 9:51:08 AM , Rating: 2
Why not just buy a CD and encode it yourself?

I've owned iPods for 2 years and never once bought anything from iTunes for quality/price reason. CDs work out cheaper in the end....especially when they're on sale :)


Have to use Creative's software?
By fliguy84 on 6/25/2006 8:54:51 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder if I can just use Windows Explorer for song and photo files transfer with this player. I just hate to install unnecessary software




By AnnihilatorX on 6/25/2006 9:07:21 PM , Rating: 2
I think Zen supports mass drive function. But you better check their forum. This question would definitely be asked there


RE: Have to use Creative's software?
By probedb on 6/26/2006 9:52:16 AM , Rating: 2
It might support that Windows Media Player functionality....can't remember what it's called at the moment but that needs XP as far as I'm aware.


By drxploder on 6/27/2006 2:20:04 AM , Rating: 2
you can use the windows explorer mtp to transfer stuff on all harddrive Creative players (at least since ZEn Micro) I've had a Zen Micro, Zen Sleek, and Zen Vision M. All have worked well through explorers MTP protocol and WMP10 sync.


pricing
By raven3x7 on 6/25/2006 3:15:13 PM , Rating: 2
Creative have actually announced pricing for both the V and the V Plus.
here's a quote:
"The ZEN V Plus will be available in August for S$329 for the 4GB model in glossy black with blue accents, S$269 for the 2GB model in glossy black or white with green accents, and S$199 for the 1GB model in glossy black or white with orange accents."
"Creative has also introduced the ZEN V, with all of the features of the ZEN V Plus except video and FM playback. Available in July for only S$229 for the 2GB model in glossy black or white with green accents, the ZEN V is also available for only S$179 for the 1GB model in glossy black or white with orange accents."
Since prices are in $ i guess these are for the north american market.




RE: pricing
By sxr7171 on 6/25/2006 5:08:48 PM , Rating: 2
Pricing is in Singapore dollars genius. Hence the "S$"


RE: pricing
By raven3x7 on 6/25/2006 6:08:16 PM , Rating: 2
hey no need to be so aggresive i was just trying to pass on some info. I had no idea that Singapore's currency is Singapore Dollars


By Papa Lorenzo on 6/26/2006 12:31:35 AM , Rating: 2
we need sony to release a nano competetor with decent battery life. 15 hours is pathetic!
as far as i know there's a samsung out there that can pull more then 30 hours and the sandisk can pull about 20 hours.
for me this is a selling point since i'm a traveller.
also, i expected the prices on these players to go down much faster and prices of flash to drop but they are not. when will there be a 8GB or even 10GB model?!




By iamright on 6/26/2006 10:23:52 AM , Rating: 2
Get that crappy mobiblu player that has 7 DAYS of battery life. You will be the geekiest traveller out there but hey, you will have battery life. No accessories but hey, battery life.


By Phynaz on 6/26/2006 12:26:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
15 hours is pathetic!


What do you do that you listen to music for more than 15 hours at a time away from a pwer source?


Hmmm
By kr1s69 on 6/25/2006 3:42:41 PM , Rating: 2
Even if the product is better than an apple nano, creative are unable to create a software player of any quality... they are terrible at writing music players, drivers and never update the firmware of any of their devices. why would anyone spending £100+ want to go with a provider offering poor quality software and support?

Given the marketing and popularity of apple, they can only hope they appeal to those who actually know the market and are technologically aware, yet they fail in this sector leaving apple to reap the benefits.




RE: Hmmm
By drxploder on 6/25/2006 8:50:40 PM , Rating: 2
You don't need to use their software. With MTP you have a large choice. You can use mediamonkey (which is one of the best for auto-organization), winamp, etc) There's a lot out there. And Zen Vision M's have reecently gotten firmware for audible support.


By psychobriggsy on 6/25/2006 1:51:17 PM , Rating: 2
I swear my iPod nano doesn't even get near its rated battery life when in use, so 16 hours is good. On the other hand the range of third party attachments is great, I've got Logitech mm50 portable speakers for example, which also recharges the damn thing when in use.

Maybe people should also be campaigning for a common portable media player interface and API, as well as the encoding/DRM licensing between manufacturers.




What's the big deal ?
By armagedon on 6/25/2006 3:15:19 PM , Rating: 2
I already found the best and cheapest multimedia player there is, the Samsung T8. It's the best kept secret in mp3 player. It comes with every functions you can think of and a 1.8 in. screen. All at a an very decent price by now.




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