One of my favorite things about this player is that if I shut it off in the middle of a song, once I start it back up again it picks up exactly right where I left off!
It’s also a plus that I can use this device to back up other data but that seems to pretty standard on HD Players.
The Creative MediaSource Organizer is a pretty nifty piece of software too. Ripping music from CD doesn’t take all that long even though my CD-RW drive is 5 years old and a total POS.
What is everyone else’s favorite player and what do you like best about it?
I’m also a big fan of Creative and the Jukebox series. If I didn’t have a Rio Karma, I’d definitely have the same player as yourself. Their key advantage over the competition is value for money (especially for 30GB!), but it doesn’t stop there: Although the GUI on the device may not be as intuitive as the i-Pod’s, it gives you a lot more control in the end. It is far easier to quickly select a bunch of unrelated songs to listen to. I also find that the sound quality on the Zens is the most pleasing out of the players I’ve listened to, and very well defined across the low frequencies (unlike most others, including my own). The weakness of the device is the size, which makes it very easy to drop (with headphones plugged in, it doesn’t balance in my hand very well). But if you’re careful (and not clumsy like myself), and keep it in the case whilst on the go, you should have no problems. Enjoy the revolutionary world of hard drive music players (you better, because you’ll never go back)!
I personally carry a Rio Karma, simply because I’m a bit of an album snob and the Karma is still one of the few players that will play through tracks without adding a gap between tracks. A lot of albums are recorded to be played continuously (Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and most Dance Mixes are good examples), and due to the nature of MP3’s, it is tricky to eliminate the space. Most people aren’t bothered by it in the slightest and the majority of albums don’t need it anyway. In fact, a lot of people like to hear the gap, so they know when the track has changed. One of the other strong points of the Karma is its form, which makes it easy to grip firmly and use in one hand. Finally, it comes with a dock containing a gimmicky blue light that pulses with the music. Now that’s what I call 21st Century!