Creative ZEN Vision:M 30GB MP3 / Multi-Media Player - Black  

I have been looking to buy an MP3 player for quite a while, desperately searching for something which doesn't tie me into the iPod/iTunes monopoly. I reviewed and tried many different products (from Apple, Cowon, Sony etc) and finally decided on the Vision M - and boy, am I glad I did!

The unit is sleek (if a little thicker than the iPod), good looking with a truly fantastic screen (far better than any Apple) and outstanding sound quality, even through the provided earphones. The user interface is a breeze - it takes about 2 minutes to get familiar with it, even without the manual - and has some nice touches such as the DJ functions (most played, album of the day etc.). Viewing photos & videos is excellent and the player can handle a great number of audio, picture & video formats which is a real plus. No need to be tied to a particular content provider (unlike Sony & Apple) - which in my view is an excellent thing! The built in radio (another reason for buying) is excellent with 32 presets and good sound quality.

If I have a few minor gripes, they would be:

1) The "Search By All artists" lists absolutely every artist, including each artist on a compilation album - it would be good to limit this to just the main artist of an album
2)The plastic finish on the front will get tiny scratches quite easily. Personally I think that Creative should have used their "satin" finish on the back of the player for the whole thing - it is lovely and doesn't scratch at all
3)Lack of accessories - still fairly limited accessories - though with built in radio etc., this is not a big deal.
4)Trouble loading software - it took me a while to get my computer to recognise the player, though Creative's excellent support forums and e-mail support quickly resolved my issues
5) No Screen Lock - this would be an excellent security addition and should be easy enough to programme - there is, after all, the option to have "hidden" folders with a 4-digit lock code. Come on, Creative - give us this in your next firmware upgrade!

All in all, I'm delighted with my purchase - this is a fantastic bit of kit. If you, like me, want to avoid being an iPod-following sheep, then buy the best player on the market!

I wanted an mp3 player to save me lugging all of my CDs up to my new house in September (student), and since I had heard bad stories about the iPods, I opted for this.

It's a little more expensive but is definately worth the extra money. The player is very simple to use, although a quick browse through the manual will definately help you out since the menu system can seem pretty bizarre at first.

The picture and sound quality is absolutely amazing - I was expecting a slightly above-average mobile phone screen, but after watching a few music videos on this thing I was stunned.

The firmware for me was a bit tricky to upgrade, and I had to reset the player once I had done it because it got stuck in the 'Docked' state (ie, it thought it was connected to the computer), but pressing the reset button only tells the player to turn itself off completely and then back on, so you don't lose any of your files.

You can customise the player's menus and settings very easily through the system menu, and you can even set your own wallpapers, which is a nice feature (pick a good contrast one though, since you can only change the text colour by changing the whole theme).

The sound quality is superb, you won't tell the difference between the player and an ordinary CD, and the radio is pretty good too. It's not a DAB radio though, which would have been a brilliant feature to have, but if you're within the range of a radio station the quality should be ok. You can record the radio too, which is always good. I haven't used the built in mic yet but other reviews have said it's good quality.

My only gripe is that the player doesn't come with a decent protecting case. Seriously, you'd think they'd come as standard now. Instead you get some stupid looking leather pouch, which is basically useless since you have to take the player out completely to use it, and you can't even attach the pouch to anything anyway. Absolutely no reason for it to be included. The 'screen protector' which is stuck on by default is one of those little rubbery things you sometimes see on wrist watches and gameboy screens etc. Mine came with two little air bubbles which don't really interfere with the display at all, but I'll have to live with because there's no way I'm taking it off until I get a decent carry case for it. Just read other reviews to see how easy this thing is to scratch, I've been lucky so far and it's in mint condition. I would recommend you buy a decent carry case / screen protector at the same time as you buy this.

Overall it's a fantastic player and the software works flawlessly, even though my brother has a different Creative mp3 player installed too. No conflicts whatsoever. Oh, but do turn off your antivirus while you're installing, as it will slow right down. It's very easy to sync, (just click 'sync', how hard is that?), and you can also download 'ZenCasts', which are essentially podcasts. You can also flag tracks to buy from ZenCasts, by pressing the bottom right button and then scrolling down. I assume it works by opening up the store the next time you connect the player to your PC.

Definately buy this over the iPod, you won't regret it.

I knew creative were good, but I never thought they could be this good. I've had the vision m for a while now and every day it just gets better. The screen is amazing and the video player so cool. I've been watching lost on it the quality is unreal. The screen resolution is impecable.Having seen the video ipods i can definitely confirm that the creative far surpasses it. The battery life does exactly what it says on the tin, great for music, maybe not fantastic for video, but for such a stylish little piece, what more can you expect. The touch pad is easy to control and the whole system is simple to navigate through. Transferring your media onto it is very simple as it accepts most formats so rarely is conversion necessary. The radio player is also a nice bonus as there are virtually no other mp3 players except creatives with them. I cannot fault it. Definitely a quality purchase.