Size (fits in trouser pocket comfortably), very good sound quality for such a small unit, backlit display, has DSP,

a bit heavy on battery usage(single AA), belt clip can get in way (you can take it off)

I would highly recommend this product. I originally bought the Nomad II with FM radio a few years ago (for about $300 from an internet shop) after I went digital (ie. backed-up and sold all my cds, sold my stereo, got 5.1 sound card/speakers for my pc, etc) and I thought it was really great - did the job perfectly. I've read a few reviews saying the radio is useless but I think it depends on the radio signal in your area..for me it was at least as good as the radio on a walkman (and great for when you were bored with your tracks)...After a few years the unit stopped working one day (just froze when the battery died and reset didn't work), so I looked at replacing it...The jukebox style players were just too large for carrying around so I looked again at the flash players (and beacuse I had half a dozen 128mb Smartmedia cards I was biased towards getting one that could use them)..I bought a coolicam digi-mp3 (big mistake) but its poor sound quality and display only showed how great the Nomad II had been...so i bought another one on Ebay (for half the price of the original)..this time i got the one without radio (but with 64mb built in, giving 192mb with an 128mb card slotted in)...no problems running but i do miss the radio (get the one with the radio)...by the way i never used the headphones that came with it or the inline remote (too fiddly)..instead just used Sony in-ears...the software is alright (and you can send files both ways, eg. a zip file) but you are waiting around a bit (cos it's only USB1) but it's not too slow (like the digicam was, sheesh!)...get one cheap on ebay.

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Sony walkman, discman, Nomad II(with radio), cool icam digi-mp3

Small and durable, good for exercising with.

Battery life is about 15 hours on a single AA which is a joke compared to my MD player. Sound quality with FM is pathetic. SmartMedia isn't available in sizes larger than 128MB so you can only carry a limited amount of music

As I have over 1,100 mp3's on my computer I was excited to use this portable for exercising and the times I use transit. I had the model with the FM tuner and the sound quality on the tuner is so pathetic that I ended up never using it. The FM sounded as bad as AM! Creative software that comes with the unit is really poor and never worked properly. I had to buy a SmartMedia reader in order to use the player. All in all the product worked ok at best. I was very disappointed in the FM sound quality. However the sound quality when playing well encoded mp3's was pretty good.

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Various PCDP's Sony MZ-N707

size, durability, price

better sound?

mine is actually the "c" version without FM radio. onboard 64mb and bought an extra 64mb to go with it. the music capacity is pretty good, especailly if you convert your mp3s to wma. btw, i paid 199CAN for it. i gotta say, sound wise, you can't really expect much from a small device such as this one. but it isn't bad. I'm not sure why so many ppl have been having problems with it. personally, i've dropped the thing on concrete at least 10 times and it still work flawlessly. I use it extensively every time i go to the gym.

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panasonic shockwave cd player(s)

* lightweight--perfect for excercising * extremely easy to use * FM tuner with 32 presets * Voice recording * Great backlit display * One word: iTunes (unbelievably easy transfers--all set to go with no additional software!) * Cheap! (Adjust the list price for Pete's sake)

* Only one 64 MB card included. Additional 64 MB cards run 30 bucks, 128 50 bucks. This is OK if you only will be using it for a shorter period of time, and thankfully you can always turn on the FM tuner if you run out of songs.

This is an excellent MP3 player with outstanding features. For the price and feature-set it simply can't be beat. Creative has made an outstanding music device and I would highly reccomend this to anyone.

FM Tuner Good sound quality for a few hours (cost me about $50 per hour of use)

Poorly designed and built - this should last a long long time with no moving parts.

Purchased because of the built in FM tuner. Died after 3 hours of use. Creative wants $20 to diagnose + more to fix. This is the worst consumer electronics experience I have had in 25 years. You are asking for problems if you buy this product. It was discontinued for a reason (It''s a POS)

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Archos 6000 (6GB MP3) - featureless but no problems even after getting it wet. Nike MP3 - paid only $30 after rebate - quirky but still works.

Is this a joke? NONE!

The Product, The Company, The Customer Service. I would ahve to say everything!

I dont think it would be right to use the language to describe this product or the company in public! Puchased a brand new Nomad II only to have it fail after a week! After sitting on hold with creative labs, by the way thats a call the buyer must pay for as they wont spend their money on an 800 number. They ran me through all sorts of BS attempts to fix but the box-o-crap would not work. I told the guy it would not work but their policy is you can''t get an RMA number to return the damn thing until they keep you on the phone and run up your bill! Finally they concede this piece of crap does not work and I have to pay to ship the item I just bought back. After they have had it for 8 weeks I call and they tell me they wont honor the warranty because its been tampared with. Lets see, I bought it new, it broke, how in the hell is that tampering. So I told them to keep the piece of crap! All told I am out the cost of the player, A $30 phone bill for 3+ hours of wasted life, and $11 for shipping. Thats a costly lesson! I can assure you as a business man and as a consumer I have never been so pissed of by poor treatment. Creative labs feels as though they dont owe consumers a thing and will still reamin on top. Well for those who got a mp3 player from them that works I say count you blessing, for those like me that bought a piece of crap I saw I feel you pain. I will never buy any, and I mean any creativelabs product again!

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None, I dont normally use CRAP!

FM Radio, nice looks, big icons, "Future proof"

Easy to fall off with supplied belt clip, headphones too short without using the wired remote

The Nomad II is a great product. Works well, no skipping! I was drawn to the Nomad II because of its built in FM tuner, and its changable card capability. The "Future proof" upgradable software is excellent. If there is ever another form of audio compression out there, it will be able to handle it, since it is upgradablable.

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CD-Player, MP3 CD PLayer

Download speed, memory capacity, size

Buttons easy to press if not locked, questionable longevity with athletic use, poor headphones and no belt clip or good case

I looked at several mp3 players, including the Rio's/Nike, the Intel, the Nex II, and the Bantam 350. The Rio/Nike did not have enough memory, were too big, and did not seem to be a good value. The Nex II seemed to have a questionable reliability issue. The intel was overpriced for a unit that will not be produced anymore and therefore will have possible poor support. The MGII I purchased came with 128 MB of memory (a special deal on blue units) and that swayed me toward it.

If I were looking at the 64MB version, I probably would have gone with the Bantam 350. It also has 128 MB of memory, and comes with a good selection of accessories. It has gotten very good reviews from several sites, and was a highlight of this years CES show. Unless you can find a good deal on the MG II I would recommend the Bantam.

As far as sound quality goes, I listened to the Rio, the Creative MG II, the Creative Nomad, the mac mp3 player, and the Intel. The mac sounded best, then the intel, then the creatives and finally the Rio's. Headphones do make a big difference. After I puchased I listened to the MG II with the Intel headphones and they sounded just the same. I ended up buying some Koss headphones, which definitely improved the sound.

I would recommend only buying an MP3 player with USB connectivity. Generally speeds will be quicker for download, and work better. Also look for rechargable batteries, an easy method to transfer (cradle). The software with the Creative is ok, but I prefer the music match software because playlists are easier to make.

Lastly, another piece to consider is the Compaq Ipaq-PA2 if the 64MB of memory it comes with is enough this seems like a good unit, and can be used with the Compaq music server as part of an integrated home system (I sell these if you want one). The MP3 player is definitely designed for running/working out and has a great case. It gives you more than the Nike for a better price.

My last note is to shop around. Price varies quite a bit on all units, and at bargain prices most will perform well.

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none

Size, Mem Capacity, Upgradable Firmware, Bat life, Voice Recording & FM Tune

Poor Software and product support, No NT 4.0 compatable program at all!!

For use in support of Field Geology and personal entertainment. Will see how it holds up compared to the SM-320f that was used last year. Already it out performs the Pine unit in FM reception by an order of magnitude.
The play pack is a little superior. However I have yet figured out how to use the Various tone and eq functions.

support from creative is nonexistant unless you call the main office. No Email support service, the download software support was minimal. The complete lack of NT 4.0 software was very disapointing.

The USB was ok and the software adequate for win 98.

still have to get the 128 Meg ram (saving up my pennies).
Disapointed that it could not use my older 32 Meg smart medias now I'll have to just through them out?

Hope fully it will take the verbal field reports accurately
so that the home office can transcibe the reports. Will have to let you know on that however.

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Pine D'music SM-320F

Styling, high memory (for the time), built in Tuner (big plus), good sounding phones and player.

Not shock resistant, headphones replaced weekly, belt clip kept coming loose

I won't bore you with many details. I got it because it had the FM tuner built in and had 64MB memory. It looked cool, but the phones broke every week (I'm a jogger). The belt clip fell off my belt 4-5 times and the last time it did out went my player, the screen cracked, and it was rendered almost useless.

I pulled the 64MB card, bought a Rio 500, plugged it in and now I have 2 hours uninterrupted.

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Diamond Rio 500