[Zen Sleek] Reliability?

gucci

Hello There??
Im interested in buying a 20Gb mp3 player notibly a creative Zen of some sort ,for example this:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-CREATIVE-LABS-ZEN-SLEEK-PHOTO-20GB-MP3-PLAYER-FM_W0QQitemZ9734070763QQcategoryZ15058QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

has anybody got one of these or would they reccommend me a good reliable,easy to use model?Thanx in advance:o

projectmayhem

i had the zen sleek (not the photo, but it's basically the same software) for a long time before upgrading to the vision:m. it's very easy to use, and is very reliable (mine survived being dropped on many a drunken night somehow)... on top of that it has a great sound to it with a variable EQ..

any questions throw them at me!

Hal1

Yea I'd have to agree they are the best buget 20gig mp3 player, well they where when I bought mine about 2 years ago. You could do better now though and get the 'vision M' version which plays movies.

TommyGun

Ye,I got the 20g and then got the 40g model. I mainly use it in the house and the car playing through speakers. It is a very good but simple MP3 player. It is on sale on Komplett below for E169.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=302205&cks=WYO

gucci

excellent,thanks for the link,looks like a good deal,cheers!!

gucci

just a quickie, all thats holding me back from making my purchase is the fact the battery is built in and cant be replaced.how long should i expect the battery to last for before it starts losing charge??

Hal1

It does exactly what it says on the box, battery lasts 24 hours (although this will depend on what your using it for (hard-disk-drive, transfering large files, etc). Really was suprised at the battery performace of the zen mp3 player

gucci

sorry what i meant was how long before the battery will get knackered and not hold as long of a charge. what i wanna know is basically am i buying a disposable mp3 player,in 12months time 18months time is it still gonna be worth carrying around or will the battery be wasting on me. presume its prety good ro you would have remarked about it:cool:

Hal1

Well this is my 3rd year that I have my zen and I haven't seen any signs of wear & tear of the battery or sound quality. There is no reason for me to upgrade since this does everything I need it too.

gucci

lovely stuff...its sold!!!im gonna get it so!thanx for all the info.

TempestSabre

Anyone got a dock for theirs?

Hal1

There is a dock, where did you see that?

TempestSabre

http://ie.europe.creative.com/shop/product.asp?category=61&subcategory=0&product=1278&

Beau

Just wondering if my ZEN does go belly up before the warranty do i go back to the shop where I bought it from or do i contact Creative?

Just wondering because if its the the shop option I better start searching for the reciept!

Hal1

Beau wrote:

Just wondering if my ZEN does go belly up before the warranty do i go back to the shop where I bought it from or do i contact Creative?

Just wondering because if its the the shop option I better start searching for the reciept!

You would contact the shop where you purchased the player, explain it to them and they will replace it I reckon. A cavity block or a drop from a height is the only thing that would damage it imo :P

TempestSabre

TommyGun wrote:

Ye,I got the 20g and then got the 40g model. I mainly use it in the house and the car playing through speakers. It is a very good but simple MP3 player. It is on sale on Komplett below for E169.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=302205&cks=WYO

Thats the Zen Touch not the Zen Sleek.

This is the sleek on special offer now...

http://ie.europe.creative.com/shop/product.asp?category=61&subcategory=0&product=1278&

TempestSabre

TommyGun wrote:

Ye,I got the 20g and then got the 40g model. I mainly use it in the house and the car playing through speakers. It is a very good but simple MP3 player. It is on sale on Komplett below for E169.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=302205&cks=WYO

I don't think they make the Sleek in 40GB. Not certain though.

TempestSabre

projectmayhem wrote:

i had the zen sleek (not the photo, but it's basically the same software) for a long time before upgrading to the vision:m. it's very easy to use, and is very reliable (mine survived being dropped on many a drunken night somehow)... on top of that it has a great sound to it with a variable EQ..

any questions throw them at me!

Care to do a quick Sleek vs Vision:M?

Good points bad points etc.

Tchocky

Had the sleek photo for a while now, no complaints whatsoever. Good & sturdy etc.

Huge advantage over the standard Zen are the buttons, much more clunky & reassuring

seamus

TempestSabre wrote:

Care to do a quick Sleek vs Vision:M?

Good points bad points etc.

Well let's be fair here. The sleek is an MP3 player. The Vision:M is a portable Media player and costs €100 more.

Just ordered a sleek myself (with docking station, special offer...)

TempestSabre

Personally I think its an audio player first a media player second. Other then the video its more or less the same format & features of the sleek in a different form factor. Except its a €100 more expensive.

seamus

Got my sleek this morning. For anyone who's thinking about it, it's a nice player. Has a very solid feel to the build. It's about the same size as a Nokia 6680, so it's not as minimalist and "fit anywhere" as the Zen micro, but it should be fine in a pants pocket without bulging out or weighing you down.

It doesn't have all touchpad buttons like the Zen Micro - only the scroller is touchpad, everything else are low-profile buttons, which adds to its chunkiness, and which I like very much. The touchpad seems much less sensitive than the Zen Micro - you need to give it good tap to click, like a laptop - which also suits me a lot.

So, initially, I'm very happy with it. Just have to put smoe music on it now

creativezen

does anyone know how i can play sleek photo in the car. don't have a cassette player in car.

TempestSabre

creativezen wrote:

does anyone know how i can play sleek photo in the car. don't have a cassette player in car.

What do you have in the car? A CD player? If it has an AUX in you could wire it up to that.

seamus

You could also get your hands on a short-range FM transmitter like the Belkin tunecast. You can get them on eBay cos they're not legal here (though they will be soon).

Miles Long

I'm looking at buying the Sleek 20Gb (if there is a 40Gb I'm there). Not into the whole video deal, Just want it for the music. Does it work using the files-dumped-in-a-folder way that the Muvo v200 does or does it have is-probably-going-to-screw-up software with it?

Ta Miles!

bretttp1

Just to let anyone interested in buying the sleek photo 20 gig, its an unbelievable €155 in the Argos sale of all places !
Now I wouldn't normally shop in Argos for electronics but this is one hell of a deal, better than komplett and the 'special offer' on creative's own site, go get one I did! in fact buy two for that price!

But be quick!

seamus

You can only load on music using the creative software, but you can read music from it without the software. That is, if you want to share music with your mate, plug it in, and it becomes a read-only hard drive.

Make sure your ID3 tags are in order - you can't browse the folders on the player from the screen, you navigate your music by Artist/Album.

TempestSabre

I assume you can use other software like MediaMonkey, Nomad Explorer or Windows Media Player. Are you sure you can access the music. Usually its the data only on most of creatives players.