The Creative Zen Vision: M

I picked up one of these this weekend and intend to devote some of WTG's space to the topic from now on. Here's what dapreview.net has to say about the device.

It's a solid MP3 player, and sounds great, but it's the other stuff that really puts it ahead of the pack. The quality of the screen, the refinement of the GUI, and its video playback capabilities are all state of the art for a device of this size.

Compared to the iPod, the ZVM has some key advantages: a built-in FM radio tuner, support for Xvid and Dvix type videos at resolutions of up to 640x480, and support for the WMA audio codec including DRM10 (Janus). Unlike the iPod, most videos will not have to be recoded for playback on the ZVM. You can play tracks from music subscription services like Yahoo Unlimited and Napster, and you're not limited to buying music from any one store like you are with the iPod. The customizable EQ is another handy little item you that you won't find on the iPod. If you can live without iTunes/iTMS, this is the one to get.