I will say that Redchair Software's Notmad Explorer makes using the
Zen with the PC pure easy. I don't even touch any of the Creative
stuff. I know they also have versions for iPods, Dell DJs, Rios, and
maybe the iRiver, but of course I haven't used any of those, but I'd
expect the features to be similar. I can edit multiple tags for files
already on the player, do easy syncs, all kinds of stuff that the
included Creative software either couldn't do, or was just so obtuse
about.
And here's something that I consider an advantage over the iPod - the
buttons for the Zen are on the side of the player, so when it's in my
pocket, I don't have to look at it, or take it out of my pocket to
adjust volume, play/pause, or switch tracks. It seems like some of
that would be more difficult for a device where the controls are all
on the front.
obIDM - a good portion of my IDM collection resides on my Zen.
Later,
Alan
np: DJ /Rupture - Special Gunpowder
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 19:16:00 -0400, Adam Piontek <adam@damek.org> wrote:
quoted 30 lines It's really not that big a deal (to me). The ease of use (iTunes,> It's really not that big a deal (to me). The ease of use (iTunes,
> hardware design, easy cross-platform external storage) makes it up for
> me. It'd be nice if they'd do gapless, but I just plain don't really
> care. And I had actually thought I'd be too annoyed by it, but I'm
> not.
>
> Ogg/FLAC? Don't have any. Well, OK, I have some Oggs from when I went
> through my Ogg phase a couple years ago, but I just transcode them to
> m4a. In fact, I transcode all my MP3s that are greater than 128k too,
> because they get much smaller and I can fit more music on my puny mini.
>
> Sure, Ogg can be small, too, but I think even if every other player
> supported Ogg, I'd still go with an iPod for the ease of use and
> iTunes. Until the competitors' software was as good as it. As of now,
> I don't think there's anybody that matches iTunes for goodness.
>
> The Rio Karma seems like one of the best of the competitors, but it
> lacks too much, if you ask me. The complaints you mention are
> deal-breakers for me, and I'd add the interface design as being pretty
> lacking, too.
>
> That all being said, I'd love for somebody to release a real valid
> competitor to the iPod just so Apple has some good competition. The
> key is matching iTunes, and making file transfers easy. And probably
> the click-wheel at this point... seems the only way to go. Aside from
> "style", I think those are the real reasons people buy the iPod.
> -adamp
>
>
>
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