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- Variety of options
- Low price
- Good sound
- Easily-navigable menus
- Screen not great for video
- Sluggish response time
- Customer service issues
Just about everyone who reviews the Creative Zen V Plus likes the number of features it offers for the price. Buyers get video, FM radio and voice recording in addition to the standard music playback capability. Most conclude that if you want better performance, you have to spend more money. Obviously, if you're intent on watching a lot of video, you'll want something larger -- one reviewer says it's "silly" to watch video on a 1.5-inch screen like the V Plus' for more than a minute or so. (Note that the Creative Zen V, without the Plus, doesn't play video). Some professional reviewers feel the V Plus is sluggish, and while most user reviews are positive, those who trash the gadget say its software is a pain to use, the response to commands is slow and customer service is of little to no help.
PC World magazine not only does the type of laboratory testing that the best review sources do, it also updated the V Plus review after its main competition -- the Apple iPod nano -- was revised to include video playback. While no one, including PC World, raves about the V Plus' video quality, it does rank atop PC World's flash-player rankings, three points above the second-place iPod nano. Consumer Reports magazine reviews the Zen V Plus among the 27 flash players in its report, and PC Magazine and CNet.com have coverage that's helpful as well.
| Black Travel Charger for Creative MuVo Slim / Zen V / V Plus / SanDisk Sansa Clip 1GB / 2GB / 4GB | |
(304 reviews) In Stock. |
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Our Sources
The Creative Zen V Plus sits atop PC World's flash-player ratings with an 80. Nevertheless, reviewer Eric Dahl says the 'viewing experience is "less than impressive" and not suited for long viewings. Unlike some, Dahl says the V Plus interface is "extremely responsive."
Review: Creative Zen V Plus, Eric Dahl, Oct. 3, 2006
2. CNET
The Creative Zen V Plus 2 GB ties the Cowon iAudio 7 atop CNet.com's "Top Ultrasubcompact MP3 Players," with each receiving a score of 8.3. The V Plus' FM radio and video functionality help earn it an "Editors' Choice" rating. Negatives include a video screen that doesn't work very well in bright sunlight and "a "screen-door effect."
Review: Creative Zen V Plus, Jasmine France, Aug. 20, 2007
PC Magazine gives the Creative Zen V Plus a score of four out of five, saying that it's loud enough that you ought to be careful, but the video-playing and photo-display quality could use some improvement. Note that criticisms of the iPod nano in the same review predate the 2007 update, which added video.
Review: Creative Zen V Plus, Mike Kobrin, June 28, 2006
4. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
To see Consumer Reports' ratings of 27 flash players that include the Creative Zen V Plus, you'll need a subscription. Consumer Reports does its homework in the laboratory, but comments are brief and you can find pretty similar assessments elsewhere for free.
Review: iPods and MP3 Players , Editors of Consumer Reports, Feb. 2008
TheTechLounge.com seems to say the Creative Zen V Plus is a better buy than an Apple iPod shuffle (before the shuffle's Feb. 2008 price drop), and gets to the bottom line by saying that while the video display isn't wonderful, you'll pay more to get better.
Review: Creative Zen V Plus, Mark Korff, May 10, 2007
6. Amazon.com
While customer reviews at Amazon.com are sprinkled among several versions of the Creative Zen V Plus, overall scores are pretty good. There are quite a few negative comments as well, most of which have to do with software problems, the device breaking or freezing up and customer service.
Review: Creative Zen V Plus 4 GB Portable Media Player Reviews, Contributors to Amazon.com
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