Best Music Player for people on the go
349141
Sony has made great improvements on it software (2004 edition is very stable).  It is just as easy as itunes.  If you have 1ghz processor or better don't worry about the software if you have a slower computer you may want to upgrade first.  The baterry life is great. I run on a track team and I carry the music player in my spike bag.  It rains some days and sometimes I have to leave it in direct sunlight.  But it still works great.
3649938
I've had this little player for about 2 years now and still loving it! I bought this after buying numerous ipod nanos and shuffles, which all broke within a year. Being a fraction of a cost of Apple's wares, I decided to purchase the 2 gb. And let me tell you: Best decision ever! It has many cool features like recording radio and a SD card slot which can expand the memory easily. It also has an outstanding battery life. When the battery is on "low" it lasts for almost 2-3 more hours before it dies, and charging only takes around an hour. The only reason for the four stars is how easily it can be scratched, for which you can buy a cheap transperant plastic case that does the trick. Also, I would have liked to be able to place songs from the device into a playlist of my choice rather than just the default quicklist. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this product if you want something rock-solid that will last you many years AND has a nice design!
970979
I love this player. I owned an RCA lyra 20 gb player before this and thought that all mp3 players just froze up 3 times a day and drained their battery in 2 hours. When that player just randomly stopped working months ago, I bought the creative zen based on the high amazon reviews. It is easy to understand and operate, the touch pad is simple once you get used to it. 20 gb of storage is a great deal for the price compared to the ipod or anything else on the market. It's only frozen twice since i bought it. I bring it to work and listen to it all day and the battery barely needs recharging. You can take this player on vacation for a week and not even bring the charger with you. If you shut it off, it will pick up on the exact song you were listening to when restarted. the random play option is great. The earbuds aren't even that bad. For a hard disk player, it is compact, lightweight, and transports easily. The thing is durable and can take a lot of abuse. Even the earbuds aren't too bad. The only drawback is the software which is slow and awkward to use with windows. I wish I could just open the disk drive in windows and play the songs from there, but the technology only allows you to play songs on their software which is painfully slow and not user friendly. Really though it only matters if you are planning on playing a lot of songs right through your computer. I just use the player and can deal with the software when necessary. Creative customer support is great and they have been extremely helpful unlike RCA who wouldn't even talk to me unless I paid them $50 for customer service. If you are not getting an ipod, this is definitely the player to get. If I could rank it 4 1/2 stars that would be more accurate. Definitely buy this, for my money it is the best player on the market right now.
4493250
My partner and I are traveling for at least a year. I did many, many hours of research trying to find the best device that would both play MP3's and store photos. We've been traveling for 2 months now and the Gmini400 has been great. We bought some very portable travel speakers so now we can play listen to our music in all the various hotels we stay in. We have at least 70 albums on the Gmini and have been adding stuff as we travel. It sounds great.

We also take a ton of digital photos and it's super simple to download them to the Gmini because it has a CompactFlash card reader built in. You don't need to be near a computer. The color screen is not as quite good as the one on my camera and the pics come up a little slow but you can see the pics fine. Also you can plug it into a TV or computer to see them better.

We mainly wanted the MP3 player and photo storage but there are other cool features. There is a recorder so we can record our trip thoughts or whatever. You can play videos - although I can't seem to play the ones I've shot with my camera (Canon Powershot G5).  There are some games (not so great but I play them occassionally to kill time when waiting for busses).

The battery may not be as long as some but we did a 11 hr bus ride and listened to it off and on a lot and it didn't die.

It seems sturdy too - I've dropped it on cement a couple times.
120997
This is the perfect workout music player, easy to use and sounds great. the size and controls sold me.  if you want an all around player you may want something else though since you have to know the order of your music on the device to skip to the song you want.
4954625
i don't own this md player but i have an older sharp md15.  In general, minidisc players are the best portable gadget i've ever owned.  Perfect sound quality, convenience and compact too.  ANd talk about cheap - 74 minutes of music (a blank disc) costs about a dollar (bought in packs of 20).  Forget about the MP3 players where you have to buy expensive memory to get anything more than 2 hours of music. Make as many mini-discs as you like or record over old ones without degradation of sound quality.  Easy to record mp3s onto discs or copy your CDs. I copy mostly mp3s downloaded from the internet, but also some CDs and some news programs (selected shorts, marketplace, etc)right off the computer so i can lsiten to them later.  Here's my tips for you:  *  get the best and longest extended warranty you can. Mine has broken and had to be replaced under warranty once.  *  if you run with mine it will skip unless you hold it in your hand while running, then it works fine. get the nickel metal-hydride rechargable batteries, anything else drains too fast * don't drive with the headphones on - $75 fine in Washington State (and saying you know Jeff Bezos won't get you off, either)  * easily plugs into your home stereo or computer to play atCD quality.  You can do anything with these things. All with one portable player and a couple of cables. *  check out a website by a MD officianado called Houston Viper.  He will answer your questions about mini disc players.  Very helpful.
These things are so much fun, it's makin a kid out of me again.
3464477
I wasn't sure which MP3 player to buy, but when I bought the SanDisk Sansa M250 2GB MP3 Player. I was glad I did. I love it.  Its really light, small, easy to use, and it sounds better than CD quality.  You can arrange the music by artist, album, songs, playlist etc. It was the best purchase for the price.
664364
Excellent MP3 player, plays OGG files fine, displays pictures nicely, and videos, too, if you need to watch them on such a small screen. I've never used it with Windows, only Linux (with which it works well), so not sure how good the Windows software is. The FM radio has poor reception where I work, though normal radios work fine. The UI makes it hard to figure out how to both sort music by artist and album AND shuffle through all the music on the device, though the dynamic playlist helps a little, though it has a 200 song limit.

I like that I can have my entire CD collection on it with plenty room to spare, but if I had to do it over again, I might buy a flash-based MP3 player and just use Amarok to fill it.
777640
I've owned the 1G version of this player for over a year (purchased from Amazon) and recently purchased the 2G version (not via Amazon).  If you are looking for a small, easy to load, easy to use player that includes FM reception, plays both MP3 and WMA format files, and doesn't include fancy options like video and photo viewing, then this is the player for you.

My biggest concern when looking for a new, larger capacity player was that I wanted one with a removable/replaceable battery (as I dislike having a player that is dependent on a non-removable/replaceable battery).  Unfortunately, those are becoming harder and harder to find.  This player works with either a rechargeable AAA battery or with a conventional AAA battery.  That means far less hassle when I travel or find myself in other circumstances where I don't have AC power available (happens more than you might guess).

I've also found that the FM receiver in this little player is far superior to the FM receiver in several other players that I've tried.  If you want a player that gives you the option to listen to FM radio, this is an excellent choice.

All in all, this is the perfect player for those who just want to listen to music or the radio and are not looking to impress anyone w/ their fancy technology.
3366993
I bought this player to replace my busted 4 gig ipod mini. This player has twice the capacity and feels sturdy in the palm of your hand or pocket. I don't like the Creative sync software that came with the player, but then again I didn't like iTunes either. I currently use Windows Media Player 11 to sync songs to the zen micro.

The sound quality is excellent, I bought a slightly better pair of over the ear headphones which helps a lot (Koss Portapros). I don't really use the photo capability of the player, after all I bought this to play music not look at photos on a tiny screen. It is nice to be able to set a photo as a wallpaper on the player, although it can make the text tough to read. I prefer this player over my old Apple in most ways (sound quality, build quality, sexiness (the blue light is sweet), option to change the battery, and storage space.

The one thing the iPod has over this player is the ability to rate songs from the unit itself. The option may be buried in there somewhere, but I can't find it. I used to use a smart playlist with iTunes which would add/delete songs from the player based on the star rating I assigned. I can still do this in WMP11 but I cant change a rating from the player. This means I can only update whats on the player from the computer side (ie, if I am listening to a song from the zen I cant lower the rating so the song will be deleted the next time I sync). This is not a huge deal, I just need to figure out another system for choosing what stays and goes from the player. This may not be an issue but my music collection is larger than the 8 gigs of storage this player offers.

Overall I am very satisfied with this player. The battery life seems great, although I have not actually fully discharged it and timed how long it lasts. Another bonus is that the charger transfer cable is a common mini USB plug so if you lose it you do not have to worry about purchasing a proprietary Apple plug. If you are on the fence about this player, wait for it to go on sale and get it.
2649060
I have had my Sansa M250 for about a month and love it.  I use it to listen to audio books while walking my dog or riding the lightrail to work in Portland, OR.  I can easily plug it into my car's cassette adapter to continue listening in the car.  My son has an IPod Nano and thinks it is the best, but I have trouble manuvering the Nano's controls and no problem with the Sansa.  Since my family goes camping a lot, I like that I can change the battery and not need to plug my player into a computer to recharge. 2 GB has been more than adequate for me, but I would probably buy a 4 GB if I had to do it again. I had no problem with the software since Windows Media Player is pretty standard and the headphones are fine (except that the white foam pads got pretty grimy while I was gardening - totally my fault)
2275605
This is hands down the best mp3 player available today. I purchased one for my wife and liked it so much that I ordered one for myself too. It offers all the features that you would find on an ipod in addition to an fm radio as well. The sound quality is excellent. The battery life is pretty good too. Sometimes the menus can be a little confusing to navigate through at first but you will get the hang of it rather quickly. I own an ipod mini and a nano and this player beats them both. I usually just clip it to my shirt while working out and its so indiscreet that I sometimes forget its there. Excellent product.
4596727
Great player. Outstanding audio quality, fairly easy to use but being tied to software kind of stinks - no different than ipod I guess, BUT you can not use it with a Mac.
Light, comfortable to use and nice to look at.
Unable to get wifi to work with my secured network, not that it appears I would want to from everything I've read.
As for me I use the zune software to load all of my music on it and then don't go back until I want to add or subtract some more.
It would be really nice to be able to load music as on an external hard drive.
All in all I love the player and you can not beat the SQ, a worthwhile purchase.
1014010
Not only works GREAT with my iPhone, but I can copy songs to an SD card, plug it in and I have my own little "ball" or capsule of music. Rechargeable battery makes it the most convenient speaker/player I have seen. I can listen to the speaker, or plug in headphones/headset and listen privately. GREAT BASS too.
3732855
I bought one of these a few months ago on a whim and just love it. If you're looking for an MP3 player that is simple, easy to load and random with the music- this little player is the one for you. I have used this little thing in just about every situation, from bicycling to cleaning the house to daily use in the car driving to and from school, and it has held up beautifully.

It's exceedingly portable and once you get to know how it works, very easy to use. Basically it's just: turn it on, slip it into your pocket and go. Granted, it doesn't have a huge music capacity but for what it does have, it holds an ample amount of tunes (think the length of about 3 or 4 c.d's). It is also capable of being put into a shuffle mode, despite everything being put on in a random way when you load it. (Which could be a drawback if you want things in order.)

Now, there are a few other drawbacks that I have discovered in my daily use of this- one being the GIANT button on the front. If you keep this in your pocket and bump up against something, it will pause. Kind of annoying. The only other thing is not being able to charge it anywhere other than on your computer. That's not so great. Although the charge time when you do have to power it up is pretty quick, and the indicator lights are obvious as to when it is done.

Overall, this little device produces good sound quality, the ear-buds that come with it are actually comfortable, the controls are easy to use and it's a nifty little design. I give it five stars for what it is, how much I use it and how it has been consistantly reliable, unlike other MP3 players I've used.
343825
This player is absolutely amazing. You have to be out of your mind to pick another mp3 player for the Mac platform.
PROS:
-Marvelously designed.
-Very small :like a deck of cards.
-Durable: I dropped my from 3FT on to the floor and still works.
-Backlit and very readable at night or in daytime(backlight off)
-inconceivably large storage size (10GB in this size? amazing)
-Pretty intuitive Interface.
-Really lasts 10 hours.
-Decent earbud headphones included.
-Really cool charger (uses same firewire port on device)
-The best navigation buttons i've ever encountered.
  (specifially the scrolling wheel)
Really dynamic sounds: RICH BASS, CRISP TREBLE.
THE AMPLIFIER IS ACTUALLY LOUD ENOUGH!!!!!!!
CONS:
-NO CASE (and for 500$ I think you should get one)
 preferably a soft or rubber case to protect it from drops.
-Firewire port on player is exposed, should have a cover.
-Scratches easily. (The device looked scratched out the case)
-Does not work with PC(which does not bother me, but I do
 wish that it would read WMA encoded content.
-wish there was a car mount device, because this thing is a godsend for long road trips.
Bottom line: This player is worth getting even at the high price, and anyone who says otherwise is either jealous  or can't afford it. One notable point of mention is that the bundled earphones while decent, is not adequate for me. I used a pair of Sony MDR-V300 reference headphones (20-30 bucks) and the sound is amazing. You should plan on forking out the dough to get a decent carrying case. There is a place on the web that has a really good case deal which includes a car charger and other stuff. Search with google.
2642093
the Samsung Y5 is a pretty good product for those who just want to  listen to music.

The photo display is just a gadget.

The player is MTP, it is usefull when  you  are using linux like me.

the playlist are easy to create with amarok or winamp.

very good player for its autonomy and its sound quality, the navigation  is also  pretty good.

More expensive than  a sensa or an Ipod but better too.

with my shure E2C or my Sen HD215 it is nice ;)