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Creative Labs Jukebox Zen Xtra 30GB
Creative Labs (
22 January, 2004 )
Electronics |
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217.89 |
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subject to change. |
usually dispatched within 24 hours. |
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How did I live without it?  |
After hanging on to my cash for months, I finally took the plunge and bought my 1st mp3 player. I was drawn to the Jukebox Zen Xtra by its generous 30 GB capacity, after being scared off the i-pod (which was my first choice) by tales of poor-battery life and reading nightmare tales of machines dying outside of their warranty. The Zen Xtras battery is removable, so problem solved, wallet opened! The Zen Xtra is very easy to use, though, like other people who have written reviews here, I have chosen to use another companies software for getting my music from PC to player. The playback quality and volume is excellent, the display is clear and easy to read and files transfer quickly using USB 2.0. Im 100% happy with my purchase, and my journeys to work are more pleasurable thanks to my Zen Xtra and impeccable music taste! Okay, my music taste is pants, but this is a must-have toy for anyone who loves music.
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Such a cool piece of Kit!! |
Like many others I was attracted to the hype over the iPod but my PC runs on Windows 98 and on-line research showed that the work arounds were a complete nightmare, therefore what is the alternative?The obvious choice is the Zen 30gb. It is cheaper than an iPod, has more capacity and works with Win 98. Out of the box it worked fine, software loaded first time and it comes with neat case. Ive loaded over 300 albumns using up about 20gb so 30gb is really needed but it has taken me 20 years to collect that lot so the remaining 10gb should last a while. Sound quality is excellent and I amaze my friends by having my entire music collection in my hip. Fantastic piece of kit
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Why pay extra for an Ipod? |
Harddisk based MP3 players are all the rage at the minute. This is mainly down to Apples excellent Ipod capturing the publics collective imagination. Imagine, being able to carry and listen to all of your music collection no matter where you are!There are, however, alternatives to the Ipod that you should at least consider before spending £299 on a 20gb Ipod. One of these alternatives is Creatives excellent Zen Jukebox. At £225, the 30gb Zen is £75 less than a 20gb Ipod with an extra 10gb of space for storing your precious music (around 3,000 more songs). Both are made for exactly the same purpose, listening to music. However, in terms of sound quality, the Zen has the Ipod beaten hands down. Having listened to both devices their is no contest. The Zen also comes with headphones which are far better than the poor ones shipped with the Ipod. In terms of functionality, the Zen has everything you need. Quick transfer of music using USB 2.0, playlists, nice and easy to use menu system. You can even use the Zen for transporting other types of files (such as photos, or zip files). My only critisms of the Zen would be the LCD screen, which I consider to be a little bit small, and the software packaged with the device, which is very poor when compared to Apples excellent I-Tunes software. In fact, I highly recommend purchasing Notmad Explorer by Red Chair Software (http://www.redchairsoftware.com/notmad/), its a mystery why Creative dont buy a license and bundle this with the device! So whilst the Ipod owners go on about how "cool" they are, you can sit back safe in the knowledge that you have an excellent device that can hold more music, has better sound quality, better battery life, and an easily replaceable battery. Of course, on top of all of that, youll have spent £75 less! So, why pay extra?
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