iPod Mini or Creative Zen Micro?

Drinking_Gecko · 14-04-2005, 16:09

I'm looking to buy either one of these and would like to know if anyone has any viable reason for why I should get an iPod (other than 'street cred') they are both similarly priced so i wondered what i should get, i can't decide

Daveoc64 · 14-04-2005, 17:54

I'd go for an iPod mini:
1) iTunes - good software, very simple to use, yet very powerful.
2) Battery - 18 hours for iPod mini (you usually get more out of it). The Zen Micro has a 12 hour life.
3) Click Wheel - Much simpler than a touch strip and it helps save space by using 5 buttons and a wheel to do the job of many little buttons.
4) Good accessory support - There are many accessories around you can get, anything from a Solar Powered battery charger to a lanyard to hang it round your neck

imno12u · 14-04-2005, 18:05

The Zen Micro delivers the goods, and well. It's also got the FM Radio for when you want to catch up on news and travel and of course the all-important removable battery. The ZM pretty much picks up on Apple's flaws and tries to add some other nifty little features into the mix.
Both are great but it all depends on which grabs you from the off or if you've had the chance to mess about with both. The Zen Micro is more value for money - no question about, and that's what grabbed me to get one.

14-04-2005, 18:42

The ipod mini 4gb - is now down to £139 , while a 6gb model comes in at £169.

i bought an ipod and have never looked back, simplicity and style.
Easy to use, and perfectly designed to do what you need it to fast and easily. With some nice wee games.

athena2004 · 14-04-2005, 18:46

agree with imno12u, the creative zen micro is worth the money! it comes in 10 great colours and is smaller than an ipod mini

Jeredin · 14-04-2005, 22:21

Ive just bought the I-river H10 and its fantastic. Stored mpeg quality is fantastic, fm reception is better than the home radio and the sound quality is brilliant on mp3 playback.
Would highly recommend.

Caveman643 · 14-04-2005, 22:23

I got a Zen Micro yesterday. Great little piece of kit apart from 1 annoying feature that I can't get the hang of. Can anyone easily use the touch pad? I've set it to low sensitivity but it still has a mind of it's own. It's clicking up/down all over the place. Drives me mad.

Bleubean · 14-04-2005, 22:35

Zen Micro i would go for. The Zen has more memory than the standard Mini iPod, and it has more battery life than the stardard mini iPod.

Zen Micro = 12 hours life
Mini iPod = 8 hours life

Obviously if your willing to pay for a higher end model of iPod u will get more memory and battery life. My sister just got her 3rd mini iPod yesterday, and within three hours it crashed and froze and she had to leave it unitl it ran out of power. Because there is no removable battery means that if and when it freezes ur buggered coz the power button also freezes.

Inkblot · 14-04-2005, 22:55

To reset a frozen iPod:
Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Slide it to Hold, then turn it off again.)

Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons until the Apple logo appears, about 6 to 10 seconds. You may need to repeat this step.

Tip: If you are having difficulty resetting your iPod, set it on a flat surface. Make sure the finger pressing the Select button is not touching any part of the click wheel. Also make sure that you are pressing the Menu button toward the outside of the click wheel, and not near the center.
If the above steps did not work, try connecting iPod to a power adapter and plug the power adapter into an electrical outlet, or connect iPod to your computer. Make sure the computer is turned on and isn't set to go to sleep.

Battery life is "up to 18 hours".

Richard_T · 14-04-2005, 23:40

theres an excellent comparison and lenghtly review at http://www.monsternet.org/features/z...mini/index.php
between the Ipod mini and the Zen micro

the review ends in a deadlock, and the Ipod wins "because its an ipod" which to me sounds ridiculous.
my advice would be to tgo somewhere where you can get a hands on demo with each payer.

pj2304 · 14-04-2005, 23:40

With the ipod the software only works on windows 2000 and xp, but the zen micro works on 98 upwards.
And on the ZM you can record the radio so if you hear a song you like you can record it.

Daveoc64 · 15-04-2005, 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bleubean

Zen Micro = 12 hours life
Mini iPod = 8 hours life

Because there is no removable battery means that if and when it freezes ur buggered coz the power button also freezes.

Actually:
iPod mini = 18 hours battery life
Zen Micro = 12 hours battery life

And if it wont respond to button presses you should plug it into the PC.

quinny · 17-04-2005, 09:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caveman643

I got a Zen Micro yesterday. Great little piece of kit apart from 1 annoying feature that I can't get the hang of. Can anyone easily use the touch pad? I've set it to low sensitivity but it still has a mind of it's own. It's clicking up/down all over the place. Drives me mad.

same here at first but you'll soon get used to it, instead of trying to touch scrollpad and then scrolling, try it in one swift movement, ie. scrolling motion as you touch it.

Setpal Maestro · 17-04-2005, 14:57

Be careful when considering the Zen Micro-they are plagued with a weak headphone jack design which afflicts an uncomfortably high percentage of units. See the forums on Creatives excellent website or alternatively the customer reviews on Amazon-they tell a sad story...... Great pity as normally Creative products are great, I have the Muvo TX 256mb MP3 and FM radio and it's brilliant!! I guess that in not too many months most of the larger capacity players will be 'flash' based and not mini hard drives -the flash technology is advancing so quickly now!!

14-04-2005, 16:09	#1
Drinking_Gecko Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 2,460	iPod Mini or Creative Zen Micro? I'm looking to buy either one of these and would like to know if anyone has any viable reason for why I should get an iPod (other than 'street cred') they are both similarly priced so i wondered what i should get, i can't decide

14-04-2005, 17:54	#2
Daveoc64 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bristol (BBC1 West) Posts: 15,143	I'd go for an iPod mini: 1) iTunes - good software, very simple to use, yet very powerful. 2) Battery - 18 hours for iPod mini (you usually get more out of it). The Zen Micro has a 12 hour life. 3) Click Wheel - Much simpler than a touch strip and it helps save space by using 5 buttons and a wheel to do the job of many little buttons. 4) Good accessory support - There are many accessories around you can get, anything from a Solar Powered battery charger to a lanyard to hang it round your neck

14-04-2005, 18:05	#3
imno12u Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: London Posts: 7,080	The Zen Micro delivers the goods, and well. It's also got the FM Radio for when you want to catch up on news and travel and of course the all-important removable battery. The ZM pretty much picks up on Apple's flaws and tries to add some other nifty little features into the mix. Both are great but it all depends on which grabs you from the off or if you've had the chance to mess about with both. The Zen Micro is more value for money - no question about, and that's what grabbed me to get one.

14-04-2005, 18:42	#4
aaronon Posts: n/a	The ipod mini 4gb - is now down to £139 , while a 6gb model comes in at £169. i bought an ipod and have never looked back, simplicity and style. Easy to use, and perfectly designed to do what you need it to fast and easily. With some nice wee games.

14-04-2005, 18:46	#5
athena2004 Banned User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,455	agree with imno12u, the creative zen micro is worth the money! it comes in 10 great colours and is smaller than an ipod mini

14-04-2005, 22:21	#6
Jeredin Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Liverpool Posts: 338	Ive just bought the I-river H10 and its fantastic. Stored mpeg quality is fantastic, fm reception is better than the home radio and the sound quality is brilliant on mp3 playback. Would highly recommend.

14-04-2005, 22:23	#7
Caveman643 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Darlington Posts: 367	I got a Zen Micro yesterday. Great little piece of kit apart from 1 annoying feature that I can't get the hang of. Can anyone easily use the touch pad? I've set it to low sensitivity but it still has a mind of it's own. It's clicking up/down all over the place. Drives me mad.

14-04-2005, 22:35	#8
Bleubean Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 324	Zen Micro i would go for. The Zen has more memory than the standard Mini iPod, and it has more battery life than the stardard mini iPod. Zen Micro = 12 hours life Mini iPod = 8 hours life Obviously if your willing to pay for a higher end model of iPod u will get more memory and battery life. My sister just got her 3rd mini iPod yesterday, and within three hours it crashed and froze and she had to leave it unitl it ran out of power. Because there is no removable battery means that if and when it freezes ur buggered coz the power button also freezes.

14-04-2005, 22:55	#9
Inkblot Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: West London Posts: 24,316	To reset a frozen iPod: Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Slide it to Hold, then turn it off again.) Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons until the Apple logo appears, about 6 to 10 seconds. You may need to repeat this step. Tip: If you are having difficulty resetting your iPod, set it on a flat surface. Make sure the finger pressing the Select button is not touching any part of the click wheel. Also make sure that you are pressing the Menu button toward the outside of the click wheel, and not near the center. If the above steps did not work, try connecting iPod to a power adapter and plug the power adapter into an electrical outlet, or connect iPod to your computer. Make sure the computer is turned on and isn't set to go to sleep. Battery life is "up to 18 hours".

14-04-2005, 23:40	#10
Richard_T Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: East Midlands Posts: 3,842	theres an excellent comparison and lenghtly review at http://www.monsternet.org/features/z...mini/index.php between the Ipod mini and the Zen micro the review ends in a deadlock, and the Ipod wins "because its an ipod" which to me sounds ridiculous. my advice would be to tgo somewhere where you can get a hands on demo with each payer.

14-04-2005, 23:40	#11
pj2304 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 71	With the ipod the software only works on windows 2000 and xp, but the zen micro works on 98 upwards. And on the ZM you can record the radio so if you hear a song you like you can record it.

15-04-2005, 16:37	#12
Daveoc64 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bristol (BBC1 West) Posts: 15,143	Quote: Originally Posted by Bleubean Zen Micro = 12 hours life Mini iPod = 8 hours life Because there is no removable battery means that if and when it freezes ur buggered coz the power button also freezes. Actually: iPod mini = 18 hours battery life Zen Micro = 12 hours battery life And if it wont respond to button presses you should plug it into the PC.

17-04-2005, 09:57	#13
quinny Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Scotland Posts: 307	Quote: Originally Posted by Caveman643 I got a Zen Micro yesterday. Great little piece of kit apart from 1 annoying feature that I can't get the hang of. Can anyone easily use the touch pad? I've set it to low sensitivity but it still has a mind of it's own. It's clicking up/down all over the place. Drives me mad. same here at first but you'll soon get used to it, instead of trying to touch scrollpad and then scrolling, try it in one swift movement, ie. scrolling motion as you touch it.

17-04-2005, 14:57	#14
Setpal Maestro Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 41	Be careful when considering the Zen Micro-they are plagued with a weak headphone jack design which afflicts an uncomfortably high percentage of units. See the forums on Creatives excellent website or alternatively the customer reviews on Amazon-they tell a sad story...... Great pity as normally Creative products are great, I have the Muvo TX 256mb MP3 and FM radio and it's brilliant!! I guess that in not too many months most of the larger capacity players will be 'flash' based and not mini hard drives -the flash technology is advancing so quickly now!!

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iPod Mini or Creative Zen Micro?