Creative Labs' Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 40GB - Extra Storage
by Andrew Ku on July 3, 2004 12:10 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
We are slowly chipping away at the available MP3 players on the market, and this time we have Creative Labs' Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 40GB in house. The Dell Digital Jukebox, which we would recommend as an alternative to Apple's iPod for those on a budget, is manufactured by Creative and is based on the Jukebox Zen NX/Xtra platform. While Creative was chosen by Dell, they still manufacture and sell plenty of MP3 players under their own name.
Starting with the Jukebox Zen, Creative started to shift their focus from a CD player styled MP3 player to one that is more in style with the likes of the iPod: sleek, rectangular, hard drive based, etc. (format switch from the Jukebox/2/3 to the Zen series). The problem with the Jukebox Zen was that it was still large, bulky, and quite frankly, not exactly something easy to tag along with you on a flight. The Jukebox Zen NX was something more in line with what could be competitive with Apple's iPod in terms of dimensions alone.
Built on the Jukebox Zen NX platform, the Jukebox Zen Xtra is almost identical, but it ups the ante with a bigger/better LCD screen and higher capacity hard drive. While the Jukebox Zen NX comes in 20GB and 30GB models, the Jukebox Zen Xtra comes in 30GB, 40GB, and 60GB capacities.
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jdmf13 - Saturday, July 3, 2004 - link
This is the MOST USELESS review I have ever read about the Zen Xtra!What kind of a reviewer writes a review like this and the only "test" he focuses on is the transfer speed from to the Zen?! I think the transfer speed from a PC to a Zen is the last thing one someone's mind when they're looking for an MP3 player....geez.
The reviewer forgot to mention two VERY important things like :
- sound quality (a world apart from an iPod)
- battery life (average of 10-12h)
I'm not really fussed how long it takes to transfer a few MP3s, and if I am then I'll use Notmad Explorer (from Redchair software - also left out by the reviewer) which is much faster than Creative's bundled software, not to mention stable.
To also answer a previous question in these comments, there is limited Mac support via a plugin for iTunes : http://www.nomadness.net/modules.php?name=Forums&a...
For USEFUL information on the Zen Xtra range, take a look at Nomadness : http://www.nomadness.net/
Quiksel - Saturday, July 3, 2004 - link
yikes, i'm glad i never bought one of those... gosh, doesn't look very good in any category, especially when you're comparing it to the iPod...Andrew, you mentioned the Windows support, but I guess there is no Mac support? Just curious.
Thanks for the review, but like #2, where's iRiver?
~q
EdvardGrieg - Saturday, July 3, 2004 - link
yay for once again failing to mention either Rio or iRiver....Souka - Saturday, July 3, 2004 - link
Yeah, but it can't be integrated into my BMW 3 series...unlike my iPod...which works great! :)