iPod Mini vs. Zen Micro

Which of these two mp3 playing devices would you choose?

Creative Zen Micro
http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=10795

Apple iPod Mini
http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/

I ordered my Zen Micro should be in soon.
Zen Micro has more options then Ipod mini, and an extra gig of space. And you wont be gay if i have a zen, unlike the iPOD. Ipod are for girls.

I ordered my Zen Micro should be in soon.
Zen Micro has more options then Ipod mini, and an extra gig of space. And you wont be gay if i have a zen, unlike the iPOD. Ipod are for girls.

Post of the year thus far.

Post of the year thus far.
Thank you sir, thank you very much.

Zen by a ****ing mile.

Why not a Zen Xtra, with 30 GB?

How do the prices compare?

Zen Micro = 350.00 CDN at futureshop and bestbuy.
Ipod Mini = 330.00 CDN at futureshop and bestbuy.

Preferably the Zen. But the Rio Carbon is better than both.

ipod mini. ipod rules

Both suck, neither carry enough songs...

Anyways, i have a question. for these zen stuff, do you guys know if it comes with software to transfer mp3 or whatever to WMA?

Zen seems nice....but i hate WMA, ATRAC3 is a million times better in sound quality AND it takes up less space at 48 vs. 80(WMA)

Is there anything on the market that will allow me to rip from CD directly to the player without saving to my hard drive first?

Preferably the Zen. But the Rio Carbon is better than both.

Really? Why?

From what I read here and there, it was possibly the worse of the three. I'm interested in your opinion as I am shopping :)

So far, I am inclined to go for the Zen Micro.

Although it's possible I will go for something bigger. the Zen Touch or the iRiver 320 (or even the bigger 40Gb).

Is there anything on the market that will allow me to rip from CD directly to the player without saving to my hard drive first?

Yes! But I forgot which one. There is one that will do that, though. I'm 99% sure.

As I said just above, I am shopping right now and have a few notes. If I find which one does it, I will let you know on this thread.

Both suck, neither carry enough songs...

Anyways, i have a question. for these zen stuff, do you guys know if it comes with software to transfer mp3 or whatever to WMA?

Zen seems nice....but i hate WMA, ATRAC3 is a million times better in sound quality AND it takes up less space at 48 vs. 80(WMA)

Never heard the format. I know Sony are big on this and supposedly make really quality players but the drawback for those who hate this is that they support mainly ATRAC3.

I'm sure it sounds nice but it must be a pain in the ass. Mp3 is not great quality but it's fairly universal. Still, you're making me think I should give ATRAC3 a listen.

i have an ipod mini, love it

I couldn't be happier with the Rio Carbon.

Yes! But I forgot which one. There is one that will do that, though. I'm 99% sure.

As I said just above, I am shopping right now and have a few notes. If I find which one does it, I will let you know on this thread.
Update? ;)

I have the 20g ipod with the iTrip and it rocks. I have friends with other mp3 players like the Dell and creative models and I like the iPod better.

the iTrip plays in my truck and it sounds great. I no longer need to play cd's in my truck or any vehicle. also plays with any home sterio.

Douggy: I found it. The models who can do that are the new Toshiba Gigabeats. They will come (I think) in 10, 20 and 60Gb. They can directly rip a CD and send it to the player. Don't know if you need a software installed. There are few reviews because I think it has not made its debut in North America yet:

http://ces.engadget.com/entry/1234000467026158/



As for the guy above who mentions the Dell: I have heard bad things about it. Not to mention Dell, as a company, have lost some shine. They used to be a very competive company that provided reasonable quality for the price but they are more established and are slacking now.

One person I know had a Dell player but did not like it at all.

I think my choice is really between the Creative and iRiver.

save your cash and buy a iriver h340 40gbs,can show pics,play mp3s

and with firmware upgrade can play videos

after much much much research i've decided on the irver 40gb, probably the no.1 reason is because i heard that the headphone jack fails sometimes on the zen 60 GB.

I finally got my Micro and I couldn't be happier with it. It's absolutely fantastic. 5 GB is plenty, and I fail to see why you would need more space for mp3 and wav. No problems whatsoever so far, I highly recommend it.

I finally got my Micro and I couldn't be happier with it. It's absolutely fantastic. 5 GB is plenty, and I fail to see why you would need more space for mp3 and wav. No problems whatsoever so far, I highly recommend it.



Obviously you would need more space...if you had more than 5gb of music

With all the stuff I'm reading, I'm not going to buy any of these things for another year or so.

It just seems like the market is going CRAZY and every body has a complaint about ONE of the products.

Also, they are a little bit pricey. When I can get a quality 20 gig player for under $200, I'll fork over the cash.

I am looking around as well and I came across these two items:

Sony NWE99 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10052451&catid=10205&atab=2&spviewed=&logon=&langid=EN&dept=19)

Sony NWHD1 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10048777&catid=10205&atab=2&spviewed=&logon=&langid=EN&dept=19)

Thoughts? How would these compare with other products from Apple/iRiver/Rio and the like?

I am looking around as well and I came across these two items:

Sony NWE99 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10052451&catid=10205&atab=2&spviewed=&logon=&langid=EN&dept=19)

Sony NWHD1 (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10048777&catid=10205&atab=2&spviewed=&logon=&langid=EN&dept=19)

Thoughts? How would these compare with other products from Apple/iRiver/Rio and the like?

The sony products are an interesting paradox, they are by far miles ahead of the competetion in terms of technology. The interface on the player is great, the battery life is insane, it supports the best format ever in ATRAC3 which allows it to store over twice as much as other players with the same space, AND it still maintains outstanding sound. On the surface it contains everything and is without a doubt the best player on the market.

They have a new NWHD3 actually, which is the highest, i don't believe they sell the NWHD1.

However sony encounters the pitfall of its stinginess and horrible programming. They FORCE you to use sonic stage to transfer music which has the tendency to crash if you try to transfer over a couple hundred songs at a time. And without a doubt the one thing that turned me away was this thing called "digital rights", which is supposed to prevent music pirating. Apparently its "digital rights" will sometimes pop up at random times and prevent you from transferring all your music EVEN IF part of the cd made it over.

So in summary, as a player its the best, but its held back by a horrid interface and a "digital rights" barrier.

I couldn't be happier with the Rio Carbon.
rio is wack

rio is wack

word dog?