 I got one of these yesterday - A Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen 20GB MP3 player.
I have an old old old 5 GB Nomad Jukebox 1 and have wanted to upgrade for quite awhile. I had originally planned to get 20GB iPod.
However, the iPod has one HUGE drawback - It can only be used with one computer. I regularly use three different computers, my work desktop, my home desktop, and my laptop. I buy a CD(yes - I actually buy CD's), and then rip and encode it on to at least two of my PC's. I refuse to allow the RIAA via Apple to tell me that I can only use my MP3 player on one computer.
So after much research, I ended up with the Zen for the following reasons:
- I wanted high capacity - I encode of all my MP3 files at 320 kbs, so I need tons of a space for my CD collection. 20GB is probably not enough, but it's the current high end.
- Form factor and size are also tres important. I don't want a big player. The Zen is just a tad bigger than the iPod. It's basically a perfect size. The controls and interface are also very nice and easy to use. It has slick little jog dial that is very intuitive and works well.
- Long battery life! I am so tired of batteries that require recharging after 2 1/2 hours of use. Whenever I traveled, I had to bring 3 sets (12 AA's) of batteries with me. Ugh...The Zen's battery should last 10 to 12 hours between charges.
- I also looked at the Archos and the Odyssey. Overall the Zen had better reviews. The Archos battery life was 5-6 hours and the Odyssey transfer software seemed to suck. So the Zen won out.
However, all is not peaches and cream with the Zen. The big issues are:
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I know this is beyond belief, but the Zen's battery cannot be replaced. The current Creative stance is that when your battery dies, you toss your player. Geez...However, I decided to risk it anyway. It's my guess that battery replacement hacks will be developed. And by the way, did you know that the iPod has the same issue?! I certainly didn't! But there are already several iPod battery replacement hacks.
- I did not get the Firewire Zen - Best Buy was out so I ended up with the USB 2.0 version. This means poor lonely Hubzilla still doesn't have a firewire device hooked up to him. However, he still glows a very cute bright blue in the dark.
5:21:21 PM 
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