Home > Consumer Reviews > 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!

What a fantastic piece of kit. "It does exactly what it says on the tin"
Having researched and read review after review on different similar Mp3's before i bought (iriver, samsung, ipod..etc) i am pleased i went for the vision M. SOund quality is very good with the supplied earphones. downloading/sync'ing is easy and straight forward either through windows media player 10 or through the supplied zen media explorer. The screen is a good size for Music vids etc and the bonus for me is the FM radio for when you fancy a change.
However...nothing is ever perfect and vision M does have some "niggles" like most other reviewers I agree the Pad is a little too sensitive even when you change it to the low setting but you do get use to it. Yes it is bulky nearly twice as thick as the ipod but still fits in my pocket comfortably, but thats it - I can't (as of yet) find a major fault with it. I would recommend buying some extras with it, like a good protective case - i bought the sports package with the armband and silicone case with protective view shield, it also comes with a belt clip very handy. I also bought a universal travel charger as the player only comes with a usb cable. Overall the pros out way the cons by a long shot and by the time i'd bought all my extras it still came out cheaper than the ipod - Brucy bonus!!

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 recently bought this item from Amazon (the cheapest sellers around for this player) and i thought that i'd share what ive learnt.

Good things:
-Amazing battery life. (especially video)
-Easy usability.(smooth and simple transfer system wether using creatives software or using Windows Media player)
-Brilliant quality of video.(crystal clear)
-FM radio ability.(always nice for variation)
Customizable shortcut button. (button that can have nearly any function you want)
-Comes with an "A/V out". If you buy a cable (about £10 on ebay) you can use it to connect your vision M to your TV or Stereo and play videos or music through them. OR you can use it as a second headphone socket for listening to music with a friend.
-Little addapter thingy. This allows your to charge Vision M from mains and transfer music from PC or use the A/V plug at the same time. Meaning, no battery and want to watch movie on widscreen TV with friends? No problem, just plug int both!
-Video and Audio file support, supports most file types, and those which it doesnt support it has a converter for.


Not so good things:(and ways to fix them)
-Not as wide an array of podcasts. -Easily solvable through using the new Zencast program and finding the links for your favourite podcasts.(i still use itunes to search for new ones, but download through through ZENcast)
-Uses the MP3 ID attached to your mp3 file, meaning if you download music and you rename it on your computer that name will not come up in the player, the original will. I have quite a few "Unknown" songs on my vision m, im sure that Creative will fix this soon. If you use Itunes or Napster or other MP3 Store to Download your music it will be fine.

-Some people have complained of scratches and such like on the screen, i Never encountered this problem because i bought a "skin"(thin layer of see through plastic, like cling film that goes over the front of your player to protect it.). For about £7 you can buy and get delivered a very good quality skin, from "www.bestskinsever.com", it is easy to apply due to the good instructions and it is a very small price to pay to protect your Player and keep it new and shiny. (they also accept PayPal so no need to worry about giving details etc)


Over all this player is great. The only gripe i have is the fact you cant change the music titles, but this is an extremely small gripe that im sure will be solved.
I truely reccomend you buy this Item, it is much better on the hole than the video ipod, better quality video, longer battery, fm radio, microphone, second headphone jack, the list goes on and on.
I really beauty, and remember Best-Skins-Ever if you are afraid of scratchs and ruining the new shinyness of your player.

i spent some time deciding between this and the ipod video, and i have to say the reviews on here did sway me towards the vision:m. since the zen vision m arrived i've been able to use someone eles ipod video and the zen is better in almost every way.

admittedly it is thicker than the ipod and doesn't look as good, though still has a good look to it, especially in black. the back is white for all models. it feels far less fragile than the ipod and doesn't seems as though it will scratch like the ipod does (but would keep screen protector on). the controls took a day or so to get used to but the menu system works very well.

the software included is ok, helps to transfer media over and convert certain files (which seemed to take quite long for the movie i tried) but i used windows media player which is quick and simple to sync with the vision:m. video and music transfers very quickly. nearly all avi's and other files i tried on it worked perfectly (non torrents) and this is where the vision:m really wins the fight with the ipod. it handles most video formats without a problem, so you can see episodes of simpsons or lost whenever you want. add to this the ability to output the video to a tv with an av cable at 640x480 resolution. i used the av cable from my digital camera that works fine (to use non creative cable don't push cable all the way into sync adapter). this is a great way of watching your videos on a big screen, all stored on the 30gb vision:m.

playback is great, music sounds as you would expect and video is excellent, as is looking through your photos. you can rewind and fast forward video as you would expect. it also has an fm radio which really does make it an all round media player. everything has been put into the vision:m and there really are no complaints.

it doesn't come with a wall charger which is a down point but for those with the psp, this charger will work the vision:m too. battery is great, over 3 hours on video and as others have said, over 15 hours on audio.

i have been impressed by the machine and can see why so many other reviewers said the same. it does everything and does it well, it's the same size as the ipod but far outperforms it, ans it's obvious why so many recommend it.