Zen Micro

[enouen]

My sisters birthday is coming up, and I decided to buy her a DAP, and she really doesn't need anything hardcore (M3 or other high storage player) but I wanted more than a Gb - so I went with a Zen Micro...

So it came in from Newegg today (the orange one is cheaper for some reason than all the res, and it has free shipping... there's nothing different with the players other than the color... I guess people just don't like orange) and I opened it so I could get it all set up for her - she's not very technicly advanced... And I'm pretty surprised with it. No it doesn't have line in or out, and it's not USB Mass storage out of the box (you can use the player to set that up) but it's got some great things going for it.

1) You can delete tracks, or ENTIRE ALBUMS without a computer

2) It has a nice removeable battery, and you can't hardly tell where the case comes apart - it looks very nice.

3) The radio is a little weak, but you can record from it as well

4) Nothing against the M3 - but the UI of the Zen Micro is better

that's just the first 15 minutes of me using it - the sound is ok - I'm not using my e2c's just the ones that came with the player... But it's a nice 5Gb player that's fairly cheap.

[Piggen]

Yeah, I also heard good things about the Zen Micro and it looks like a nice player to me. I would definately prefer it over an iPod mini (but I prefer about anything over an iPod :P).

[Justmoi]

Read about some of the problems with the Micro at Nomadness:

http://www.nomadness.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=29

[jw0613]

zen micro looks pretty cool.. I am not a fan of 4-5GB HD based players.. but if i was, I would get the zen micro..

[hongkongbeef]

thast funny cause the orange 1 is my favorite color of the micro

[Scotty Mac]

i really liked the micros also but i didnt' think a HD player would be as good snowboarding and running

[Fido]

There are some testamonials that the M3 works fine while mountain biking, for some people at least.

[Scotty Mac]

i just heard that they were more prone to breaking and i don't want my player breaking...

[Justmoi]

There appear to have been quite a few problems with headphone jacks, Scotty Mac. Regarding this, see the link I posted above, and also this thread at the Creative.com forums (it starts out all about the Zen Xtra and ends up all about the Micro):

http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=dap&message.id=596&page=1

[Garrison]

The design of Micro is really crappy, and it's a little thick, IMO. Not sure about the performance, though many reviews say it's not bad. But the controls and touch scroll are not quite sensitive enough. I think these are small problems once you get used to it. Creative is from my country, Singapore, so it's pretty cheap here. But I don't really like it that much. It more or less a mid-range product.

[Fido]

I'm sure the M3 would be fine for running. It breaking doesn't sound like it should constanly be occupying your mind though, from what I've read it should be strong enough for most things you throw at it.

[enouen]

I feel that the bild quality of the Micro is pretty good - it's very tight, no flexing or the like. And yes it is fairly thick, but it is very comfortable in my hands.

I read through most of those forums, and not many people had problems with the Micro, I have heard bad things about other Zen models... which is why I'm an M3 owner today.

As for running with the M3 , I noticed the last time I took it apart, the hard drive is turned "off" when the HDD LED is NOT illuminated. It makes no sound what so ever. That means that the heads are in their parked/locked position, so running with it would only cause a problem, if any, when the light is on... which is usually only a few seconds... if you look up the data sheet for the toshiba harddrive it will tell you what the constant acceleration the drive can handle... They're mostly rather durable - I haven't read the data sheet on this particular drive though.

[Scotty Mac]

so you think there's no problem snowboarding or running with it?

[enouen]

I'd imagine snowboarding would be easier on it... it would probably be kept in the pocket of a jacket, if not a thick padded coat.

Running I would say it'd be best on your arm or held in your hand - becase they would be the lowest impact places... But here in my (college) town a lot of people run with their iPods... so I'd think you'll be fine.

[jw0613]

yeah, if u are running on a treadmill, put it in the water bottle holder of the machine..
don't fall back though.. lol

[Scotty Mac]

i'm not too into running on a treadmill, but if it works on arm or in hand too might be worth looking into. With snowboarding seems like it'd be fine unless i fell really hard on my stomach and broke it...but ig uess that could happen with a flash player too.

[mysticalpha]

There appear to have been quite a few problems with headphone jacks, Scotty Mac. Regarding this, see the link I posted above, and also this thread at the Creative.com forums (it starts out all about the Zen Xtra and ends up all about the Micro):

http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=dap&message.id=596&page=1

I am now one of those users with the headphone jack problem. I'd like to point out that some of those users have replaced their zen micros 3-4 times already.

[Vlad Tepes Drac]

i use my m3 when snowboarding and taking high jumps. Even after falling a few times it hasnt skipped on me. The only REAL concern I have is about it getting too cold and whether that might affect the inner workings alot or not.

[raf1005]

From chemistry I know that batteries hold less charge when they are cold, so its best not to charge a cold m3, but using in the cold would actaully make the battery last longer as long as its not so cold not enough current can power the device

[hrm_rulez]

i really liked the micros also but i didnt' think a HD player would be as good snowboarding and running


we dun hav snow in singapore =X

[Fido]

There was a thread where some people said that it works better in cold high altitude areas (longer battery life).
So Vlad, you should worry more about it getting wet.

Where is this spread sheet? I want to see it.

[taz]

isnt the longer battery life due to the battery being colder. recently its been really cold in london. ive noticed thay my battery on my m3 lasts just that bit longer, either that or due to the crappy weather it dont listen to it as much...but im pretty sure im using it the same amount i used to.

oh yea and as for the micro, dunno if this is a common problem or something, but i read that it had really poor battery life (average of 5 hours), only heard this in one review though...

[raf1005]

Yes it lasts longer in the cold but shorter if you charge it while cold.

[hongkongbeef]

hmm. i was thinking of getting a U2 for snowboarding.. but now maybe i'll try my m3L and save $. i was just afraid of too much movement for the hd mechanisms possibly reducing hd life. i've had pretty crappy expereience with pc hds dying fast and those dont move at all.