MP3 Players : Creative Zen Micro Photo 8 GB

The zen microphoto looks amazingly sleek. I love the way that it fits in my hand, unlike an iPod, which is admittedly uber-sleek, does not fit well into the hands of most. I also thuroughl enjoy having a bright blue player that happily throbs a lighted blue backlight when it is charging or when viewing the superbly colorful screen. The music plays like a dream and sounds great. Many different playback modes make even a small collection of music seem fresh and exciting. I also really appreciate the FM tuner, it is a great way to never run out of new music!

The photo part of this player is really more of an added bonus than a full feature. Pictures, though delightfully colorful, get kind of blurred when viewed in the limited space of the micro's screen. You can't listen to music and look at photos at the same time, a natural inclination for many of us. Otherwise it's pretty cool to be able to have a picture of my friends and I as my backgorund, but that's about where the functionality stops.

The software bundled with the micro took forever to install. I had to eventually quit the installation, as it was hanging on trying to install a new version of Windows Media Player. Take that as a sign of the softwares performance as well. Most of the time when I go to transfer songs to my player using the provided software, the software hangs indefintely saying "loading device..." In that time I can browse the files on my player through windows explorer, create the laborious 'new music' playlist in windows media player and then add that list to my player all before the Creative software even wakes up to do its job. That part is very frustrating, but if you don't mind waiting and/or using other software then you are set! Hide Full Review

I had this product for about 4 months when I started having problems with the sound. The right headphone sound was cutting out unless I pressed on the right of the display screen. I checked google and found out there are many people having the same problems and it is because of a defective headphone jack. Unfortunately, the labor and services part of the warranty is only 3 months, so to get it fixed I need to send a $25 labor fee along with the cost to ship it for the service. Then if they replace the part, it may still develop the same problem in a few months. I had really like this player before this happened, but it is not worth the problem and bad warranty. My advice, get a player with one year parts AND labor warranty. Hide Full Review

I have had 5 MP3 players before I bought the Zen Micro Photo and none have been as good as it. The screen is a lot better then the IPOD NANO's, with more color and much larger screen size. The sound is just as good if not better than that of the Apple IPOD production line. The memory is 2X than that of the IPOD NANO 4GB and the price is hard to beat. This is by far one of the best MP3 players on the market and is efordable enough for just about anyone. Hide Full Review

My parents got me the Zen Micro Photo for Christmas last year and I love it. At first they were skeptical of the fact that I didn't want an iPod but my roommate had been having problems with the battery in her iPod. I wanted to get something with a removable battery. The Zen has good sound quality and it is easy to use. My mom told me that the kid at the store said the Zen was difficult to use but I had no problems. Once the software installed on my computer (about 10-15 minutes of hitting the next button and waiting) It was easy to upload my entire music library to the player. Once you've done the initial upload if you want to add new music you can sync from the creative media center or from windows media player whichever is easier for you. The overall best thing about the Zen is that it can handle being dropped. I have dropped my Zen while running on the treadmill a few times and the player still works like new. The only way you can even tell is by looking at the chips taken out of the paint from where it hit the belt and then got flung at the wall behind me. Since I tend to be pretty klutzy durability is a must for me. The only way Creative could make the Micro Photo better would be to produce more accessories to be compatible with this model.
I highly recommend the Creative Zen Micro Photo. Hide Full Review