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creative vs apple who makes the best mp3 players
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kev
17-09-2006
I would normally stand up for creative, but...

If you want to connect it to an ICE system, then go iPod - as Creative (and the other manufactures or Playsforsure devices) havn't got there act together and come up with a common interface there is nothing to connect a Creative player to an ICE, while allowing control from the stero/steering wheel. Even the introduction of MTP hasn't seen any players take advantage of that

Apart from that Creative products are so much better. Perhaps the next gen will see Bluetooth which can be controlled from the headunit.

If you just want a few tunes to listen too on the way to work - why not look at a mobile phone - for example the Sony Ericsson W800i or K800i? Both have pretty decent MP3 players on them - and are more useful than iPod shuffles.
Phantom's Girl
20-09-2006
Creative any day!

However, there seems to be concurrent problems with the CZ 20GB. I have had to have mine's replaced twice due to a hardware fault.

The second time around, it was replaced with a CZ Sleek 20GB. Very nice, although I'm not quite sure if I like the way it looks like a 1st gen Ipod.

Hate hate hate itunes. The software is a complete pain in the neck to use, and crashes more times than a drunken pilot - and that's with a P4 processor!
H4X0R
20-09-2006
i think apple makes only 1 good iPod thatll have to be the iPod Flea but apart from that CRAETIVE all the way!
pinkmartini
20-09-2006
I didn't want an iPod because everyone has them and I wanted to be different, also I have heard far too many bad things about Apple and iPods.

I've got a Creative Zen Neeon which I think looks nicer than an iPod and it works great for me! I like having the use of the FM radio as well, i actually use it so much more than i thought i would.
moisie
20-09-2006
I love it when people say that don't use such and such a thing because they want to be different. They sound like they'd willingly use somethig inferior (making no judgements of any particular devices merits) just so they wouldn't be following the crowd. As if anyone cares what they do or don't use. It's an mp3 player!
Damaja
20-09-2006
Although I like Apple, the iPod has a low battery life and at the time was quite expensive compared to the Creative Zen, which to me is a fantastic bit of kit.
Outrunner
21-09-2006
Personally I wouldn't buy either a Creative or apple MP3 player, my money would go to iRiver.
TheBigM
21-09-2006
creative are good, multiformat playing. microsoft ZUNE!
Paul Evans
18-10-2006
Originally Posted by removed:
“I personally would have to go with Creative... not only did they come up with the software apple's is based on, they also create far better quality products that are usually a bit cheaper!

Plus their tech support is 2nd to none!

Creative everytime ”

I'm another one who can vouch for Creative's tech support!

Last year my year-old Zen Micro developed a nasty crack (there was a hairline fracture when I bought it which hadn't bothered me at the time) which in turn led to the earphone socket working loose.

I contacted Creative via email and they asked me to send images of the crack and warned me that I may have to pay a fee for repair as it was out of warranty at the time (I was already aware of this and told them as such - I was enquiring about the cost for repairs in the first place)

To my surprise, the following day after I sent them the photos, they emailed back informing me that they will be replacing the Micro for free. They even paid the postage costs too!

The whole process took less than three days. Excellent service!
joshua321
04-11-2006
In my opinion, nobody has touched the sound quality of Creative players, and that's what matters most. Not apple, not iriver, not sony and certainly none of the others. If they add XFI to a player that will clinch it. Unless you own a Mac, Creative beat Apple in every way apart from superficial looks (but Creative players are far from ugly themselves). Here's what the Vision M has over the Ipod Video:

-Sound quality (yes this is subjective, so the best way is to do blindfold tests)
-FM radio and recorder (in the UK this is really important, NO large capacity MP3 player should be without this)Annoyingly Creative are taking the record function out of some of their new players to make room for other features)
-Video quality is so much better (4 times the ipod's colours, better resolution, 4 hr battery life, loads of supported formats and bundled converter)
- MTP (yes some people hate it but it is the standard and means you can buy music from just about anywhere online)
- Microphone and TV out, Outlook sync
- If you connect it to various computers, YOU decide what syncs and what doesn't.
kev
04-11-2006
Originally Posted by joshua321:
“- MTP (yes some people hate it but it is the standard and means you can buy music from just about anywhere online)”

And it also means you can play it through your XBOX. I just wish car stereo manufacturers started adding USB ports supporting MTP...
mikeydb
05-11-2006
Originally Posted by Phantom's Girl:
“Hate hate hate itunes. The software is a complete pain in the neck to use, and crashes more times than a drunken pilot - and that's with a P4 processor! ”

I've been using Itunes v7.1.0.8 and that has been fine, no crashes yet using winXP SP1, 2.6GHz Intel Celeron processor.
high_on_candy
05-11-2006
Microsoft.
Toxteth O'Grady
05-11-2006
Originally Posted by joshua321:
“-FM radio and recorder (in the UK this is really important, NO large capacity MP3 player should be without this)Annoyingly Creative are taking the record function out of some of their new players to make room for other features)”

This was the main thing that swayed me towards Creative, (although a line-in like some very cheap MP3 players have would be nice).

Apparently the removal of the radio record function is due to fears of copyright infringement through recording music from the radio. Apparently it gets disabled when the software is upgraded
Tim_coolscifi
05-11-2006
Creative are reliable and have the best electronics for sound reproduction. Iriver produce the next best audio qualities, but reliability (especially software related) bring them below Apples units.

I recently got a Samsung mp3 player in the Argos sale and have to say that it sounds really good, has loads of audio options and navigates through folders.! But I do know that Phillips ones tend to not have good audio sound. A friend had a Sony jukebox which sounded really good, until it was dropped about 2ft and the screen broke and the repair cost simply wasn't worth it.
SeaviewPier
05-11-2006
I love my zen vision w as its brilliant at copying avi files from my laptop over to this little beauty. I was looking for ages for a device that lets me watch lost and other downloaded tv shows whilst on the go. Fantastic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mMC2dynKVo
joshua321
05-11-2006
Originally Posted by Toxteth O'Grady:
“This was the main thing that swayed me towards Creative, (although a line-in like some very cheap MP3 players have would be nice).

Apparently the removal of the radio record function is due to fears of copyright infringement through recording music from the radio. Apparently it gets disabled when the software is upgraded”

I have tried to ask Creative about this but to no avail. As people have recorded of radio for 50 years I don't see why they should worry about copyright now. TV embraced the VCR in the end, after all. It could have something to do with squeezing in Audible compatibility into the new firmwares. The players currently affected by this disabling of FM recording in new firmwares (which you can choose whether or not to download) are the Zen Vision and the Zen Nano Plus. The Zen Vision M has escaped this and the new Zen V+ player does not have an FM recorder to start with. I think it's really annoying to drop one important function for another important one, we need to have them both!

Line-in can be useful, and the smaller creative players have this feature, but I find that you get more polished results recording a track to your PC first.
AFCChris
05-11-2006
This post isn't so much a comparison between the 2 companies products but more a tale about why I moved from Creative Mp3 players to an iPod.

I was a stalwart Creative user and had a Creative Zen Touch 20GB, and then a 40GB. When this had a problem and had to be repaired I borrowed my wife's iPod while the Zen was being repaired, and basically I never used my Zen again. I liked the iPod so much that I bought an 80GB one for myself and I'm in the process of selling the Zen.

I found from the 2 weeks of using my wife's one that there are so many ways the iPod is better. Firstly the sound quality, which was always one of the reasons that I went with Creative, was so much better on the iPod. More detail generally, more bass and more midrange (tests were done using the same headphones I used on my Zen by the way). I think the main thing an Mp3 player needs to excel at is the sound as that's most people's main reason for buying one. The Zen was good, but the iPod better!

Also, the operation of the iPod (using menus etc) is more clever than Creative even though they nicked the menu structure from them! The introduction of gapless playback was another thing that swung it for me, as I can hear those live albums with no gaps now.

The itunes software is better than Creative's Mediasource which was ruined when they went to Plays For Sure compatibility. Itunes is very intuitive and does everything I want it to.

Finally, the amount of 3rd party accessories is another way the iPod rules over the Creative players. You can find so much to make your player better.

Yes, the Creative players support WMA and more video codecs, and still have more battery life but I can't ever imagine moving off an iPod now. Plus they have Pacman to play on it now as well!
kev
05-11-2006
Originally Posted by AFCChris:
“The itunes software is better than Creative's Mediasource which was ruined when they went to Plays For Sure compatibility. Itunes is very intuitive and does everything I want it to.”

Windows Media Player 11 is much better though - Microsoft have obviously tried to nail it for Zune.
mikeydb
05-11-2006
Microsoft have had include the new codecs and remove the ability to back up licences for the Zunes new DRM, which is incompatible with Microsofts current plays for sure system..
kev
06-11-2006
Originally Posted by mikeydb:
“Microsoft have had include the new codecs and remove the ability to back up licences for the Zunes new DRM, which is incompatible with Microsofts current plays for sure system..”

Which is stupid, but there you go....

Anyways CD's can still be ripped to digital restrictions lack of rights free MP3 format from WMP11 itself
Eternal Life
06-11-2006
I have a photo Zen and I love it, I had apple products before and I will never go back. Its like a world away.
AlanGoesWee
07-11-2006
Originally Posted by SeaviewPier:
“I love my zen vision w as its brilliant at copying avi files from my laptop over to this little beauty. I was looking for ages for a device that lets me watch lost and other downloaded tv shows whilst on the go. Fantastic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mMC2dynKVo”

because of ur review on utube, i am now going to buy one for christmas. , its brilliant, the only worry is though when going to work, and university, how much does this weigh?, how big is it? i dont have a car so i walk.

Also i have an ipod nano, after using it for a year now, my battry does go down so quick when playing on a game or flicking through songs or calenders etc. The only way the battery lasts ages is if i listen to my music for about 2 hours then again the next day, so for some reason the battery seems to last longer that way, but thats crap.
Nasalhair
07-11-2006
I don't have either (my MP3 player is a Rio CE2100) but if I went for either I'd go for a Creative out of choice. They've been in the computer audio field for far longer and unlike Apple their kit isn't so much of a case of style over substance.
innocentbystand
07-11-2006
i would never get an ipod due to the very bad experiences my sister and friends have had. battery has died after a few months, scratches far too easily, expensive....
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