| When an excellent product comes out, like the | | | | night or in subdued lighting. Even though |
| iPod, there will always be the ones who | | | | they are not as small and thin as the nano, |
| follow with more advanced technology, | | | | they are still small and thin enough to carry |
| improving upon the original product. That is | | | | around your neck. Most reviews say its sound |
| how technology moves up the rings of the | | | | quality is superb, depending on the quality |
| ladder, with the development of additional | | | | of ear buds, but customers who know Creative |
| superior products, stepping on the backbones | | | | Labs recognize that they are considered |
| of previous ones. With this in mind, the one | | | | leaders in the industry for sound cards and |
| presently at the top of the ladder of | | | | digital sound devices (so why wouldn't the |
| success is Creative Labs' Zen Micro player, | | | | sound good?). A previous problem of the Zen |
| the latest alternative technology in regard | | | | Micro was its issue with jack plugs breaking |
| to digital music players. | | | | on the headset – which supposedly was |
| | | | taken care of about a year ago. The problem |
| Creative's Zen Micro has been designed with | | | | was not Creative Labs but the customers, such |
| ergonomics in mind, fitting into the palm of | | | | as the stores, did not replace the defective |
| the hand while placing the touch-sensitive | | | | merchandise on the shelves, keeping them and |
| control pad in direct line with just one | | | | running them out. |
| finger. The purpose of the digital player is | | | | |
| to play music – not just look pretty. | | | | The nano has a lot less features than the Zen |
| And the Zen plays music, considered a work | | | | Micro, such as having an FM radio which has |
| horse in comparison to the iPod. It stores | | | | the capability to store 32 FM stations and |
| 2,500/3,000 songs in WMA or 1,250/1,500 in | | | | record them on your demand, in addition to |
| MP3 for the 5GB/6GB hard disk. Also the Zen | | | | having a built-in voice recorder. Plus the |
| Micro can be used for on-line music services | | | | nano gets scratched up more on the surface as |
| and Window PCs, being able to download up to | | | | compared to the Zen Micro. Another top |
| one song per second via the USB 2.0 port. | | | | advantage of the Zen Micro is their battery, |
| | | | as the largest complaint about the iPod has |
| Customers who have a choice between the iPod | | | | always been its battery life and the fact it |
| nano and the Zen Micro, seem to choose the | | | | was not removable. Once you bought it |
| Zen more often, but a lot depends on the | | | | – you had it! The new Zen Micro has a |
| customer. The Zen Micro has a more | | | | removable rechargeable 12-hour playtime with |
| availability for a larger music library, a | | | | MP3/WMA or 16 hours with the FM radio. Zen's |
| micro-drive player, its memory is 2.5 times | | | | battery, which right from the start, has |
| larger at the same price than the iPod nano | | | | grabbed dissatisfied iPod customers who have |
| with less. The Zen Micro is bulkier than the | | | | been having massive problems with the iPod's |
| iPod nano, but a lot depends on what a person | | | | battery. |
| wants. The Zen design is totally different | | | | |
| than the iPod nano, with the younger crowed | | | | Overall, most customers who have purchased |
| preferring the nano for its slim stylish | | | | both digital players prefer the Zen Micro |
| looks, while the older customers tend to | | | | over the iPod. The price is a large factor, |
| place emphasis on sound fidelity and quality, | | | | in addition to its capability to hold a whole |
| which slides over to the Zen Micro. | | | | lot more music. Also, it doesn't scratch as |
| | | | much as the iPod does, which is a drawback. |
| Many customers say the iPod nano is | | | | After awhile – it just doesn't look |
| impressive when first taken from its box: | | | | "cool" anymore. The sound quality is |
| initial impressions are excellent, flash | | | | excellent, with no complaints about it. The |
| based, decent sound, familiar set-up from the | | | | thing that is noticed quite a bit, it a lot |
| iPod mini, functional, and portable – | | | | of iPod buyers switched over to Zen Micro, |
| and so on. But the Zen Micro has a large | | | | but people who purchased Zen Micro first |
| variety of colors, has a background perimeter | | | | – never switched to iPod. Says a lot, |
| and touch pad blue glow which is good at | | | | doesn't it? |