Video iPod Vs Creative Zen Vision: M

dk143

I'm thinking about buying one of the above mp3 players and was hoping for some advice about which to go for?

Examples of things that are important to me are:

Battery life
Ease of use (of both the player and associated software)
Connectivity to both hi-fi and TV
Durability

I've read the manufacturers reviews for both, but was hoping for more "real-life" opinions!

Any help/advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
K x

sra

I've had a video Ipod for a couple of weeks now.

I've already mentioned on the other Ipod thread what I think of Ipod screens.

Even being extremely careful you can end up damaging it.

I ended up buying this after reading the review from amazon. The 'visor' is very tough and doesn't distort or dull the video screen in the slightest - and my Ipod feel almost indestructable now

So for durability I'd definitely get a case - and make sure it's a good quality one that isn't going to do damage itself!

Aiadi

Just get one of the Aluminium Metal Cases for your iPod from eBay and you're flying. With the iPod they form a lethal combination.

dk143

Does anyone know much about the Creative Zen Vision M?

I'm quite keen on that as it can play many different types of video formats, plus you can connect it to your telly.

Sir_Bargains-A-Lot

You can connect the iPod to a telly too - at least it says you can in my documentation.

It's a tough call - Creative players support more filetypes, have better battery life, have a built in radio, can record direct to MP3 from radio, have a microphone - and the operating system allows you to do some things you can't do on an iPod - such as type in a word to search for a track, or delete/move files. With an iPod, you have to be connected to a PC to use those.

The software that Creative supply is not dissimilar to iTunes. It organises stuff very well, and transfers in a intuitive way. however, it's not linked to a Podcast directory or the iTunes music store - which is very very good. Neither is it as stylish as iTunes in looks or feel.

It's tricky. For features, I'd say the Creative Vision. But then again, I love my iPod - it does everything I want, and anything else would be a bonus.

The biggest difference is when you talk about it to other people, and you have to say 'my MP3 player' instead of 'my iPod'...it just doesn't have the same ring...

fabwitch_2

I have the archos gmini 400 which also plays music, holds photos and plays movies and had lead to play on the TV. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS mp4 Player its so easy to use and I am very happy with the quality.

Aiadi

It may help to know that the iPod has the very best sound quality out of all the MP3 players if this is important to you.

Brodel

Personally I'd go for the Creative, supports a lot more formats, FM radio without having to buy a seperate adapter, longer battery life, better tv output, better screen and you aren't forced to use iTunes.

If money is no object I'd also take a look at iRiver and iAudio players.

sirocco72

If this http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0603videoipod.html is true, you might want to wait!

raymond

Aiadi wrote:

It may help to know that the iPod has the very best sound quality out of all the MP3 players if this is important to you.

Actually it doesnt

wolfman

raymond wrote:

Actually it doesnt

Care to elaborate?

From what I've read (and seen on the Gadget Show) the iPod does have slightly better sound quality to the Zen Vision. It's also much more usable.