size; upgradable memory

no armband for jogging; very small buttons

I bought this after winning $350 playing blackjack (:-)) and have used it a lot while jogging. I was initially disappointed that it didn't come with an armband carrier but I found a very good one at Radio Shack. One thing that I noticed immediately was that the coating on the buttons seems to wear off pretty quickly and that they are damn hard to manipulate while running. It has also locked up a couple times, which was solved by removing the battery and letting it reboot.

looks great, easy to handle, voice recording, fm, docking station, batteries instead of built in accu

accessoires are hard to get in europe, firmeware is a bit bugy, wired remote not really optimal, headphones for the fishes

i have this piece for three weeks now and it really is the best thing i´ve ever seen so far.
it suits exactly my demands and except the few things about errors in firmware, troubles with playcenter and the lack of possibilities trying to get additional accessoires i can really recommend this mp3 player - it really rocks!!! the best thing is the service of creative - fast and competent.

First of all, I have the Nomad IIc, meaning no FM radio, and 32 Megs of memory built in. That said:
Great software, very fast trasfers through USB port, easy to navigate menues on player, small size, great manufacturer support including driver updates faq's etc. very good deal when taking $$$ into account, great sound.

volume level does not go high enough (aka: could use more powerful amplifier). The volume buttons are pretty ackward to use, and mine make annoying "squeek" noises when pressed.

I searched about two days on the internett, through websites like this one, before purchasing the unit. My main criteria in this purchase was price, quality and expandability in the future.

Only closest Mp3 players in price, would be the RIO 600 and RCA Kazoo (which is about 30 dollars more expensive than the Nomad).

The Rio 600 needs a majorly overpriced "backpack" for expandibality, so if you want more than the included 32 megs, you will pay HUGE amounts of money. Not good at all.

The RCA Kazaa mp3 players' worst fault was the use of the MultiMedia Cards. These are the most expensive types, and the largest card at this time is only 64 Megs. I was also very leary about RCA support, as they didn't have any dedicated websites, software updates etc. online, that I could find. Not Good.

The Creative Nomad IIc, was a clear choice. About 80 bucks US (150 Canadian), brand new, comes with 32 Megs of memory to get you started, great quality, and has a SmartMedia card port for more memory. It will take a 128 Meg card, with a driver update from Creative. So for another 80 dollars for the card, you have 160 Meg Mp3 player, for about 160 dollars US. That's hard to beat at this time.

If the amplifier for the headphones, would be little more powerful, I'd give it 5 stars. The sound volume just isn't as loud as I would prefer.

Take into account that I like "loud" to be "painfully loud". You may be different. I am contemplating purchasing some high quality headphones from Sony, to see if this will improve the sound volume dillema.

Similar Products Used:

No Mp3 players, but CD players (which always broke, skipped, too big to exercise with) and tape players (crummy sound quality, who's got tapes anymore??)

reasonable good sound, displays tags, USB interface

headphone, low output level, smart flash, power consumption

A good review is possible in comparison, since it’s my first player I can say only what I like and dislike in it.
I like:
1. Size, it’s pretty small and lite and can fit any pocket.
2. Ability to record voice.
3. FM tuner.
4. Displaying MP3 tags.
5. Sound quality.
6. Software for uploading music and USB interface.

I dislike:
7. Plastic cheap case.
8. Reception of FM is weak.
9. Controls are far from being intuitive.
10. Long file name cut, so impossible to add more than one file having similar names.
11. Low liner output, so it’s a problem to hook into home audio system.
12. Smart media card has less capacity than Compact Flash and more expensive.
13. 32MB is far from enough to listen over 30 minutes music, but 64MB is costly.

In any case, it’s great entry-level device, if you didn’t pay much.

Similar Products Used:

None

Cheap
Durable
Light
Ergonomic
Easy To Use

No playlist options

This is a great player.
I got the nomad IIc for $99 and then bought a 64 meg memory card for about $50.
This was cool because I got 50% more memory for about 70 dollars less. The only difference between the Nomad II and the Nomad IIc is that the nII has 64 megabytes of memory (not built in) and the nIIc has 32 megs of memory built in and an expansion slot.

I also liked it because it is very easy to snowboard, jog and bike with.
Many of the other players (like the iomega) were bulky and heavy.
This is also better than the psaPlays by nike simply because it is a lot cheaper.
I would only recommend those of you have lots of money to spend and are a weight friek.
I would also reccommed getting a case for this because even though it has no moving parts if you drop it I imagine it might break.
I got a waterresistant case logic mp3 case for about 7 bucks.

Similar Products Used:

iomega hipzip (tried)

Very stylish, upgradeable, great sound quality, extremely fast USB connection, i love the backlight, useful options, loads of functions, small.

small bad points include: no clip on the protective pouch, expensive (but u get what u pay for).

This is a review of the European version and there are some differences between this and the US version. These differences are the headphones, which are the larger 'ear-muff' design, and the remote control which is included. The rest i think is the same.

It took me ages to finally decide on the Nomad II MG as my digital player. I'm very pleased with my choice. The sound, firstly, is great and, with the ability to play multiple formats and compressions, very flexible. Headphones are fine, and the remote makes the unit accessible when its locked away in the depths of my pocket. The LCD is very easy to read and has numerous options on what to display making it very nice. The blue backlight is very funky. I think the button placement is fine, although i tend to use the remote more often. Software is fine too and easy to use. Files can be transfered very easily to and from the unit. I've even managed to use the player to transport my 33 Mb geography project from the office to home.

I much prefer this unit to the Sony memory stick, although there aree some things on the Nomad which should not have been missed off. The clip on the pouch for instance is small but important and it just isn't there. Also, despite the ability to upgrade, i would have still preferred at least 128 Mb as the factory default rather than having to buy those bloody expensive Smart media cards. I want to upgrade the memory on mine to 192 Mb, but i'll just have to wait till the media cards get cheaper and larger capacities.

Similar Products Used:

Sony memory Stick (64Mb)

Great options with future upgradability

Radio reception is horrible and design

I have had this product for a week and will definetly be returning it. First off, the headphones are horrible although you can always buy another set. When just comparing mp3 playing, I found the sony to be much clearer and smaller. The radio is a nice option but it gets horrible reception. (even in NYC the reception isn't great). The final problem is the design. The buttons are placed on the side which will cause you to accidently hit a button. To make matters worse, one of these buttons is an erase button. If you accidently press it (which I did on numerous occassions) the mp3 file is instantly erased. I will probally wait for a newer version that addresses these problems.

Similar Products Used:

sony

Uses Smart Media Memory; Easy to use menu; back light helps in dim rooms

No onboard memory. Bigger than my Sony Memory Clip but more expandable

This is a rocking unit and I got a smokin' deal from Creative Labs Online Store. I found the unit there with 0 MB memory for only $99. And then I went out to the web and scored 2 64 MB chips for another $200.. so I'm ready to rock. I encode at 64 MBPS and can get almost 2 hours of music on a chip.

Highly reccomend this unit....!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony Music Clip MP3 Player

Hardware:Solid construction, excellent sound, small and stylish.
Software: Simple.

Software: Too Simple. Bugs in Digital Rights Management.(Read below.)

Hardware: I can't really find anything wrong with it yet, but It would be nice if the LCD displays more info.

Software: The Digital Rights Managment in the MusicMatch (Creative Ver.) doesn't really work. Half the time it would tell me that I don't have the rights to play a song that I bought the CD for!

Similar Products Used:

Rio 600, Sony NW-MS7

Superb sound, and great controls. Comes with a quality headset that fits on from the back of the head. Great for jogging/exercising. Size is prefect and a nice big backlit screen. One AA battery lasts 10 hours. Love the lock features on both the device and remote so you wont hit any controls by mistake. also FM radio and voice recording. Good looking player.

The software that lets you download, but does not let you upload from the MP3 player to the computer, even though the upload button is there. (maybe a future upgrade?) Also the device does not support a 128mb smart media (SSFDC) card. Only 32 or 64.

Buy this one unless you can afford the Nomad II MG which has 64mb built-in and can handle an additonal 128 SSFDC card for a total of 192 on line.