Which one iPod Mini or Creative Zen Micro

[-James]

Originally posted by Kristiano
This is the Lounge, you'll be hardpressed to get a non-biased answer.

Errrr, except that about 90% of the people who have replied so far say that the Zen Micro is better and is the one they'd get, given the choice.

[Cyburn]

The iPod Mini seems inferior to the Zen Micro NOW.

Apple should best make the 2G iPod Mini better than the ZEN Micro to stay in competiton

[Enigma]

yeah, maybe apple is waiting until the 8-10gb micro HDs become available later in 2005, 2000-2500 song minis, maybe then they will even upgrade the battery to 10 hours at the least(seems to be the bare minimum for DAP batteries nowadays).

[mahzorimipod]

As the owner of every iPod imaginable, i would say the mini would be superior. Very few third party accessories exist for the Nomad. That being said, I used one at CompUSA and it seemed like a flimsy piece of rubbish which would explode the minute I dropped it on the floor. I'm proud to say that I have dropped my mini at least twice to demonstrate to unbelieving heathen passers by that the all aluminum case of the mini protects it against droppage.

[MartyMcPod]

I don't believe that you have purposely dropped your Mini to show that it won't break.

I'm not calling you a liar... Well, I guess I am... I just don't believe you.

[sunfury]

The durability is an important issue when the mp3 player is not an iPod.

I dropped my mini twice (not on purpose of course) on the marble floor in a library and nothing happened. During its first flight, my mini was naked and it didn't sound very good when it hit the ground but the second one was really soft, thanks to the iSkin, just like I dropped I piece of rubber.

A friend of mine owning a Creative Zen also had this messy experience and now he has some part of his player moving and making noise when you shake it. I've also dropped my Rio Karma twice like my mini (not even on marble but carpet) and I have a broken volume down button and cracked screen.

I think the feel that my mini gives me when I hold it is unique and with iSkin, it's much better. I don't like at all when my Karma crackles or bends when I keep it. As far as I've seen, this is a common (and the biggest!) difference between an iPod and any other mp3 player.

This seems to be one of very few aspects where mini is superior to Creative Zen. Zen Micro is a very good player.

[Niz]

The reason and only reason why i went for the mini is that it looks cool and in school it is cool to have an ipod. The white headphones. Its a fashion statements. I get people in school telling me for the same price an iriver 20gb or some crap like that.

But well my only reply when i get that is "Ive got an ipod you don't" hey! it works!!!! hehe.

I would still go for the ipod because, well, have you seen phones these days, my Nokia 6230 does what my mini cant and can. i can stick a 1GB MMC and im good to go,(makes me think the shuffle is a stupid idea now) it does voice recording, video, radio etc. So i dont need a zen. ipod plays music which is all i want it to do.

[Enigma]

to the person talking about the nomad-wrong player. And to that last person, to get an ipod just because it is an ipod is pretty lame, it should be about the music, ipods wont be the latest craze forever since so many people have them and more are getting them people won't care if you have one. Function will last longer than fashion, and even if you cared, the zen micro comes with white earbuds too.

[Niz]

Explain to me why you got an ipod then, there is sooo much better out there for far cheaper than an ipod yet people go for the ipod, becaquse it looks cool, and it is cool.

[sunfury]

Beside the "coolness" (that I don't care much and I don't even use the white earbuds), the iTunes factor is very important.

I'm also using a Rio Karma, which is connected by a ethernet cable to my home network, and believe me, this is a huge capability. I can access to Karma from my laptop or from my desktop, and I don't need any drivers etc. It works over Windows, Linux, Mac OS... You name it. Just a click, hoop you go. Really simple and cool. Maybe "beyond cool".

But after I get my iPod, I never took off my Karma from the dock, and I always go for the iTunes. And remember, my iPod is only 4 gb and I have 14 gb of music (Karma is 20 gb). Yet the Karma isn't so big comparing to iPod mini and it isn't more difficult to carry.

That's the iTunes factor. Despite all the cons of the mini (vs. Karma), I always choose mini and I'm happy with it.

[bdb]

Originally posted by sunfury
But after I get my iPod, I never took off my Karma from the dock, and I always go for the iTunes. And remember, my iPod is only 4 gb and I have 14 gb of music (Karma is 20 gb). Yet the Karma isn't so big comparing to iPod mini and it isn't more difficult to carry.

That's the iTunes factor. Despite all the cons of the mini (vs. Karma), I always choose mini and I'm happy with it.

You never explained what the "iTunes factor" is, other than you use it. I couldn't care less about iTunes - its just a way to get songs on my iPod (since Apple doesn't support Windows drag n drop)...though the free song every week is nice .

[sunfury]

It all depends on how do you use iTunes. I'm using iTunes as media player on my PC(s) because I wanted a little change, I was bored of WMP and Winamp. I liked the library features of iTunes. (I didn't have an iPod yet when switched to iTunes. Then I received a iPod mini as my birthday gift.)

iTunes is a very good combination of a player software and synchronisation tool. AFAIK, you can never easily listen to something with Rio music manager or Creative sync programs.

This is what makes me to choose the iPod over the Karma. I can take the Karma (who beats the iPod mini in nearly every aspects) and enjoy 14 gb of music but iTunes does its job very well and I instinctively take my iPod when I need music. All my favourite songs, playlist are well organised. So, I never feel that I am using a 4 gb iPod.

Another point about iTunes: I would say iPod Shuffle is a piece of crap, but thanks to iTunes, it's a funny toy for those who want simplicity. And it does its job (thanks again to iTunes).

The effectiveness of the software is a great advantage. That's the iTunes factor. And this is why I probably would buy a iPod mini, not a Creative.

[Starboard]

Originally posted by bdb
...Apple doesn't support Windows drag n drop)...

is that suppose to be different from Apple's drag n drop? what do you mean exactly?

AFAIK, I'm dragging n dropping just fine in iTunes.

...I couldn't care less about iTunes - its just a way to get songs on my iPod...

you obviously haven't played with iTunes. It's not just an interface, since it does more than get songs on the iPod. It is by far the best music management system. The smart playlist makes it so easy to update your library and playlists. No more micromanaging. For example, if I find I'm bored with a song, I change it from 5 stars to 3 stars, and it automatically gets deleted from every playlist that I set to exclude any song below 4 stars. I can't do that with Rio's or Creative's softwares. I'd have to go in and hunt that song down in every playlist I created.

And the thing is in combination with the iPod, it makes it so easy to update the music that gets on the iPod. My experience with other players is that you have to hunt down the songs you want to delete off the player and every songs that you want to add. It's a pain in the neck.

[Lone]

The only advantage I see for the Mini over the Micro is iTunes. Even then, the Micro can sync with WMP10 and use it's 'smart playlists' (called Automatic Playlists in WMP), so you wouldn't be missing much.

[Niz]

Itunes could do with a DFX plugin that windows media player, and winamp can have. Improves sound so much.