apple ipod vs. creative zen

hello,
i'm planning to get an mp3 player soon, so i was wondering which is better between these two.
i'm looking for something with the size of probably 30 gb and above and will be used mostly for playing mp3's instead of videos.
so, please vote and leave comments too if you wish.
thank you.

 

I'd suggest the Zen, but can you give the specific specs on the models you are comparing?

 

I have the 8GB Zen V and an iPod mini. (not exactly what you are looking for since these are both flash based.) I'd say go for the iPod over the Zen.

I find the iPod sounds quite a bit better than the Zen. This is through high-end IEMs or headphones not the pathetic buds included with the DAPs (Sure e4C and Sennheiser HD-25-1). I get a lot more detail and better bass from the iPod. The Zen is better than many DAPs in the sound quality department though.

The song transfer software for the Zen is usable but not as good as iTunes. I have RockBox on my iPod so I don't really use iTunes but if you use software to manage your library iTunes is much better than Creative's app.

Nothing compares to the iPod Click Wheel when it comes to controlling the player. The iPod iDock line out is very good too if you ever plan on hooking up to a home stereo or in-car system.

The Zen has a line in and built in mic for recording which is cool.

 

We're a Zen family. We have an older Zen (2 years old), a Zen Vision M and just bought a Stone plus for one of the kids for Christmas. We haven't had a problem with any of them. We like the freedom of the Zen- we're not slaves to iTunes.

 

the creative Zen only just came out with 32GB and is pretty expensive (this is the newer flash based ones), the Zen Vision M is basically discontinued but compared to the ipod video, it has a better screen and just looks nicer.

the ipods now come in 80 and 160gb versions, the older ipods ive noticed are being sold for ridiculously high prices.

 

There is a new 32gb flash Zen but it's expensive. So I'm guessing you're looking at the Zen Vision M... which I've heard has been discontinued, but you can probably still find one.
Well, the Vision M has a slightly nicer screen and a prettier UI, but it's much thicker than the iPod Classic, and the device controls are less intuitive IMO.
However, you don't have to use Creative's bundled software with it; I understand that you can use any MTP-based media manager such as WMP, MediaMonkey, etc.
I haven't had the opportunity to compare sound quality.

 

yeah i had the ZVM and you can just drag and drop files without the software

 

does the zen come in 80 gb?

 

nope, zen vision M came in 60gb though

 

oh, so that leaves me with ipod only.

 

if u want 80gb then yes or the new microsoft zune

 

is zune any good?

 

i have the zune 30gb and its pretty good

checkout anythingbutipod.com for a review on the new zune

 

yeah zune 30gbs are dirt cheap... like $80 new. but still quite chunky

 

For 80 Gb, I second the Zune recommendation. IMO better SQ than both zen and ipod....
Personally I think the Zen would be better than the ipod in sound quality (which is all that I care about).

 

zen, but wheres the zune??!?

 

im pretty much i zen guy...i had about 3 dif zens. But now i have a zune

Go with the zune..you wont regret it

and the zen vision M came out in 30 and 60gb. creative has some of the best customer service i have ever come across. I sent my mp3 players in numerous times without a reciept and recieved a brand new one in the mail

 

Get an 80GB Zune. Best hard drive based Digital Audio Player ever made, end of story.

The new iPod classic is a piece of junk.

EDIT: actually, I amend that statement. The Toshiba GigaBeat S could give the new Zune a run for its money, seriously. I think I'd actually rather have the GBS....Its out of production now though, I think.

 

Zen Vision:M here.

Would never buy an Ipod when I can get so much more, for less $.

Too many people are not informed.

 

It's a shame that all cool accessories are for the iPod and not for the Zen. At least that's the case in the stores in my area. No accessories for Zen, but a ton for the iPod.

 

I'd go for the iPod. I did actually.

I was so keen against them first, but then I got a hold of them, and I'm never buying other crap for less money...

 

the 3" screen on the zunes make it so much better for watching videos so it can be a media player too. the wireless sync option is neat too

 

zen ftw. everyone has an ipod. i got both actually and i prefer the zen. ipods die quickly

 

Very good just don't listen to those die hard Ipod fans.

 

The Zen Vision has a better screen, better battery life, can play divx and xvid files, has an FM radio tuner, can record from radio and voice, and has much better sound output quality. It can also play all of my VBR MP3's and I can drag and drop any file, whether it be music, photo, or video, right onto the device without having to use proprietary software or formats.

The Ipod has...um a thinner case and high dollar marketing campaign? That's about it.

 

Zune if you want to go back in time and don't mind the ancient chunky bar look. Oh forgot to mention you may need a weekly service pack update...

Definitely the Zen but iPod is a good 2nd choice. Avoid the Zune...

 

Um no I have used the zen, zune and ipod.

the ipod has the most annoying software ever! very buggy and not very flexible but it is the slimmest of the three though i think the failure rate seems to have something to do with its slim look (little room for heat dissipation, not very shock proof). screen is small with not the greatest quality out there

The zen has a nicer screen but same small size. I like the *click* sound it makes when using the touchpad which is real good and much easier to use than the ipods wheel. you can drag and drop files easily and plays avi files though it sometimes has issues with some of them and requires conversion. it is thicker than the ipod but has more features built-in but requires a dock-like connector to connect to your PC

the zune has more durability, because of its cover which is made of a scratch resistant plastic which also helps against accidental drops. its buttons are not as nice as the zens but the interface is real easy and basic. It has wireless sync and radio. It can play .wmv movies and has a bigger screen than the other two which makes this much easier thanks to its widescreen viewing feature. And no you dont have to get a weekly service pack update! the software to load/sync is very easy to use and much better than itunes.

Avoid the ipod, consider the zen or zune if the price is right. if you wanna play video files, the zune is your choice. if you wanna use it as storage and like touchpads then try the zen vision M but the dock connector is one major drawback when I owned mine.

 

Did anyone read the original post? He does not give a crap about video capabilities. I have no idea why anyone would want to watch video on a 2.5" screen either.

If you install RockBox on your iPod it becomes a drag-and-drop DAP, you can play FLAC/OGG/APE/etc...and have custom skins.

I love the posts where people say the Zen will "probably" sound better than an iPod. If you've not heard them both then why post?

There is a stigma against owning an iPod since everyone has one but they are still probably the best overall DAP in terms of quality and user interface. The new Zune is very good too and sounds excellent. If you are worried that you won't be cool because you have an iPod then don't get an iPod.

The Zen to me feels like a POS in your hand, the user interface is only OK and the sound is good but not great. I think the new Sonys, the iPods and the Zunes sound much better, but sound is VERY subjective. The Zen does not auto pause/shutdown when you unplug the headphones, it forgets where you are in the playlist when you shutdown and it pops and clicks when you skip between songs. The Zen's joystick sucks when compared to the click wheel.

If you are not too picky about sound quality then the Zen is fine.

If you are serious about sound quality and don't want your friends laughing at you because you bought an iPod get the Zune.

Otherwise in my opinion the iPod is still the best.

If you want more info go check out head-fi.org

 

Wait a minute. Pops and clicks? I've never had that problem in the 6 months of owning mine. Did you have the latest firmware installed?

And what joystick?

About sound quality. I have directly compared the classic Ipod (60g) to my Zen Vision:M (30g). I have Koss KSC75's which are considered to be the best portable headphones. I just could not get the Ipod to sound right - the Zen was much more powerful and had much better bass and clarity.

The Zune may have a larger screen for video, but what good is it when you can't put your Divx and Xvid (the most commonly used formats) .avi's on it?

 

I strongly disagree with this. I find the iPod's wheel much easier to use than the Zen Vision M controls. The Zune's controls are easy to use too -- both the old Zune 30's directional pad and the touchpad on the newer Zunes.

 

The Zen will also play WMA, which will let you have more songs, and it functions like a external hard drive. I hate the Ipod cause of it's Itune.

 

regarding the post made by yorgi, it's true, i've stated beforehand that i need it more for music rather than video so i guess sound quality is definitely an important factor

 

Well i had an Ipod Color 30gb, An Ipod Video 60Gb, A Zen Vision: M, a Zen V plus, A zen Stone and now an Ipod Touch... When comes to sound Quality, Creative is the best... I got the same GREAT sound quality from the Vision M as from the little Stone... Now, Ipod sound quality was very poor imho, but i gotta admit the Ipod Touch sounds alot better than the older Ipod models... It have alot of sound power but lacks of a strong bass (like creative's), at least with the stock earphones... Of course, when it comes to GUI the Touch win it all, and you get WIFI, which is cool... But at the end, in the most important thing, the SOUND, Creative wins...

 

Well, I haven't personally listened to any of these three... but the audiophiles over at the head-fi.org forums mostly seem to prefer the Zune's sound quality over the other two. That's when used with good earphones though. The out-of-the-box sound quality is probably also best on the Zune, since it comes with "premium" earphones that are supposedly a cut above the usual bundled crap.

iPod Classic 80gb is the smallest, thinnest, and IMO the prettiest. You've got a gazillion accessories. On the downside, no built-in FM radio like the other two... and the only supported software is iTunes (although other stuff may work).

Zen Vision M has a little bit nicer screen than the iPod. (I haven't seen the Zune 80's screen in person yet, but it's the largest.) My main beef with the ZVM is it's pretty thick. I found the controls confusing too... but I imagine you can get used to them. I like that it's MTP though, so you have some choice in music management programs... or drag and drop files in Windows Explorer.

Oh yeah... I have played with the flash Zunes and the Zune 30gb, and I have to say that the Zunes have the nicest interface I've yet seen on an mp3 player. At least that's my impression from playing around in the store for a few minutes. The big potential drawback with Zune is that you have to use Windows and the Zune software. And unlike the iPod, there isn't any unofficial software or firmware to use with it as far as I've heard.

Me... I decided I could live with 8 gb and I got a Sony. If I really needed 16 gb, I'd probably get a Zen flash. But if I really needed a large capacity player... tough call, but I'd probably go for the Zune 80gb. I'd probably try to see one in a store first though.

 

i have both the 30gb zune and the 8gb zune and i just love them both. best mp3/pmp players i've gotten, and i've had an ipod mini, ipod 30gb, and i've used my friend's zvm

 

I would get a zune to replace my iphone if only it didnt need me to install another musicmanagment software...

 

does ipod have the wireless function like the one zune has?

 

nope it doesnt

 

so, is that a plus factor over ipod?

 

of course it is something extra!

basically it allows you to exchange files with other zune users and it also means you can sync your zune with your PC wirelessly.

how is that not a plus

 

the new zen looks very appealing. Though it is on the pricey side, but the specs for it's size is very impressive. If it were a bit cheaper, i'd toss my iphone aside and use that.

If you want to spend your money on something good, you should get the new 32gb zen. Since it uses flash based memory, it's battery life was something close to 30 hours of music and 5 hours of video! and it also looks very sleek and has a nice screen. and if you already had an ipod you can still use your itunes songs. It plays unprotected AAC files. Remember! no moving parts=longer battery life. but like i said, very expensive... $349.99
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=16999
here's a link for more details

 

The iPod Touch has full WiFi though, so you can surf the internet and watch YouTube on it. The Zune's WiFi does not allow web browsing, just connecting with other Zunes. The other iPods don't have this though, just the iPod Touch.

 

Just steer clear of ipods, at least if you like having nice stuff. Out of ipod and zune I'd get a cowon. Ok, out of ipod and zune I'd probably end up with a Zune.

 

So you can use your home wifi network to surf the internet? At no additional cost?
That sounds delicious!

 

I have a ZEN Vision:M. It's pretty cool. I used to hate iPods but now I only dislike them, I still hate Apple though. I used to hate them becuase everyone had them I just wanted to see a little variety in the mp3 players that people used. Now I'm thinking my next portable media center will be an iPod. I just like that there are so many different capacities to choose from -- up to 160 now! I also like that everyone is making accessories for it. Even creative is! I was so mad when I saw "Made for iPod" next to that Creative logo. But now it seems like they are the only choice for a small high capacity A/V player. I think one day I will succumb to the iPod frenzy.

 

Yes, you can use your home WiFi network and surf the web and watch YouTube on an iPod, no costs . Same thing with the cafes with free WiFi and such, anywhere with WiFi, the iPod Touch can connect to.

 

I owned a Samsung Video MP3 player, a smaller Samsung 2G, a 30G Zune, and a 30G Zen. I returned the Zen to Best Buy with the "Product Replacement Plan", and got an iPod 30G Video on a whim. I HATED iPods, but I had to give it a shot. I will never look back. The Zen had a good screen, the Zune was a little too muddy, and the Samsungs were nothing in comparison. The iPod sound quality is beautiful, the controls are unbelievably intuitive, and I love iTunes. I said it. I love iTunes.

 

Im sure the zune will have that option soon or be it from MS or a hack. I like the new Zen player just looked at it for the first time. 350$ is expensive for the 32gb model but it supports a SD card wich is very nice, that lets you find cheap SD cards on the net to upgrade the memory, that means you can get away with a much cheaper model easy too.

 

This is what actually concerns me. I hate itunes and the quicktime that comes with it is totally obnoxious, but I wont compromise sound quality.

 

I ordered up one of those new zen's. It should be here pretty quick. Although its only 4gb, its got an expansion for up to 32gb SD cards. If you were to get the 32gb version for 350(Its the ONLY flash based that comes in 32GB) and then drop some cash on a 32GB SD card, thats 64GB, thats alot of space. Once it gets here I'll update you guys on how the SQ is and how much I like/dislike it.