Zen Vision:M broke - best MP3 player options?

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csmith811

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
275
My Zen Vision:M (30GB) broke after many long, hard years of use. It served me well but it's time to invest in a new player. I'd love to have at least 12-16GB of storage and prefer video playback. I don't run or use it on the go very much; it will primarily be for use while sitting at work.

My questions for the [H] members are:

  • Is there a current favorite suggestion that many people use?
  • I'm drawn to the iPod Touch for features and ease of use but the price is high compared to other brands. Is it reasonable to buy one used or just bite the bullet and get a new one?
Since I've had Creative, I don't mind trying a different brand than the average user. I just want it to work. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
 
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I still like the creative stuff since they don't require you to use proprietary software such a itunes, its just a drag and drop. I don't have any suggestions, but alot of people like the mp3 players that play flac and other lossless formats.

I still use my Zen Stone+ and occasionally will turn on my original Creative Zen.
 
I have a black 30gb zen vision m for sale. Pm me if you would like it.
 
Zune HD (which are heavily discounted these days), something from Cowon, potentially something from Archos (the 43 is a damned fine device), or an iPod touch. The Zune HD and iTunes will stick you with their software, so if you truly want something that treats the device like a mass storage unit (drag and drop capability) then Cowon and Archos are the two "big players" I can think of.

The SanDisk Sansas are nice but, even the Fuze is lacking for video playback since the screen is so small.

You can find older models of the iPod touch (2nd and 3rd gen models as the 1st gen is just too old to do much in terms of apps but it's still very capable as an audio/video device, just requires transcoding the video content so it's something it can play) relatively cheap. The issue with the iPod touch is the price jumps - $230 for the 8GB and then nothing else in between that and the 32GB at $300 (you can find them for less if you really look around, or used is an option).

But again, you're stuck with iTunes for the most part to manage the content. Long battery life, decent screens (on the older ones, the new 4th gen has a makeshift "Retina Display" which has the proper resolution, same as the iPhone 4, but it's not the same type of LCD panel).
 
I have a 16 gig Zune HD I no longer need...It is a very nice touch screen pmp. It also does social networking & email, providing you have a Hotmail or Google mail account. The screen is gorgeous & the interface is very slick. pm me if you are interested.
 
Thank you, Joe. It looks like the Zune HD and Archos 43 are right up my alley. I'll do some more research on those!

Drizzle, I appreciate the offer but my funds are slim as I just spent most of it on my wife and daughter. It will still be another month or two before I get the money to actually purchase one. I just wasn't sure where to start.
 
I've got a Cowon S9, amazing thing, and I love the battery life, lasts me 48 hours nonstop. I've had it for almost a year now and its still doing 48 hours straight.
 
I know I am a month late but there are plenty of sc9800 and sc8600 based personal media players from chinese brands that can handle any video format you can throw at them. I have the ainol v6000 HDT which you won't be able to find but there are other models from ainol, onda, etc that may be worth checking out for your purposes.
 
Creative's warranty is useless. If you somehow decide to go that route and the product says "1 year warranty" it really means "no warranty unless you pay us $45+ for labor to repair your in-warranty device". They're on my blacklist now.
 
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