| When an excellent product comes out, like the iPod, | | | | is good at night or in subdued lighting. Even though they |
| there will always be the ones who follow with more | | | | are not as small and thin as the nano, they are still |
| advanced technology, improving upon the original | | | | small and thin enough to carry around your neck. Most |
| product. That is how technology moves up the rings of | | | | reviews say its sound quality is superb, depending on |
| the ladder, with the development of additional superior | | | | the quality of ear buds, but customers who know |
| products, stepping on the backbones of previous ones. | | | | Creative Labs recognize that they are considered |
| With this in mind, the one presently at the top of the | | | | leaders in the industry for sound cards and digital |
| ladder of success is Creative Labs' Zen Micro player, | | | | sound devices (so why wouldn't the sound good?). A |
| the latest alternative technology in regard to digital | | | | previous problem of the Zen Micro was its issue with |
| music players. | | | | jack plugs breaking on the headset - which supposedly |
| Creative's Zen Micro has been designed with | | | | was taken care of about a year ago. The problem |
| ergonomics in mind, fitting into the palm of the hand | | | | was not Creative Labs but the customers, such as the |
| while placing the touch-sensitive control pad in direct | | | | stores, did not replace the defective merchandise on |
| line with just one finger. The purpose of the digital | | | | the shelves, keeping them and running them out. |
| player is to play music - not just look pretty. And the | | | | The nano has a lot less features than the Zen Micro, |
| Zen plays music, considered a work horse in | | | | such as having an FM radio which has the capability to |
| comparison to the iPod. It stores 2,500/3,000 songs in | | | | store 32 FM stations and record them on your |
| WMA or 1,250/1,500 in MP3 for the 5GB/6GB hard | | | | demand, in addition to having a built-in voice recorder. |
| disk. Also the Zen Micro can be used for on-line music | | | | Plus the nano gets scratched up more on the surface |
| services and Window PCs, being able to download up | | | | as compared to the Zen Micro. Another top |
| to one song per second via the USB 2.0 port. | | | | advantage of the Zen Micro is their battery, as the |
| Customers who have a choice between the iPod | | | | largest complaint about the iPod has always been its |
| nano and the Zen Micro, seem to choose the Zen | | | | battery life and the fact it was not removable. Once |
| more often, but a lot depends on the customer. The | | | | you bought it - you had it! The new Zen Micro has a |
| Zen Micro has a more availability for a larger music | | | | removable rechargeable 12-hour playtime with MP3 |
| library, a micro-drive player, its memory is 2.5 times | | | | WMA or 16 hours with the FM radio. Zen's battery, |
| larger at the same price than the iPod nano with less. | | | | which right from the start, has grabbed dissatisfied |
| The Zen Micro is bulkier than the iPod nano, but a lot | | | | iPod customers who have been having massive |
| depends on what a person wants. The Zen design is | | | | problems with the iPod's battery. |
| totally different than the iPod nano, with the younger | | | | Overall, most customers who have purchased both |
| crowed preferring the nano for its slim stylish looks, | | | | digital players prefer the Zen Micro over the iPod. The |
| while the older customers tend to place emphasis on | | | | price is a large factor, in addition to its capability to hold |
| sound fidelity and quality, which slides over to the Zen | | | | a whole lot more music. Also, it doesn't scratch as |
| Micro. | | | | much as the iPod does, which is a drawback. After |
| Many customers say the iPod nano is impressive | | | | awhile - it just doesn't look "cool" anymore. The sound |
| when first taken from its box: initial impressions are | | | | quality is excellent, with no complaints about it. The |
| excellent, flash based, decent sound, familiar set-up | | | | thing that is noticed quite a bit, it a lot of iPod buyers |
| from the iPod mini, functional, and portable - and so on. | | | | switched over to Zen Micro, but people who |
| But the Zen Micro has a large variety of colors, has a | | | | purchased Zen Micro first - never switched to iPod. |
| background perimeter and touch pad blue glow which | | | | Says a lot, doesn't it? |