Creative Labs Zen X-FI3 16GB

This player so far has been all it's chalked up to be. The sound through my JayBirds are awesome! It's so compact and I can't wait to try it while riding my motorcycle. Not having wires is so great especially at the gym. My Jaybirds Bluebuds are perfect for this player and most people don't even know I'm wearing wireless earphones. Even though the "in" thing is to wear the big headphones now, these headphones are just not practicle in the gym. The player has been updated and all the "kinks" have been worked out so I feel I have the greatest of a great product. By the way, I've been through a lot of mp3 players dating back to Archos so I've tried them all except apple products because they are too limited because they want control of what and how you enjoy your music or videos on their products.

The sound quality is better than any headphones I've owned in the past, my place of employment is pretty noisy so would have liked for noise canceling to be incorporated, so other than that quiet happy with headphones.now onto the mp3 Zen, the Bluetooth works quite well cuts out a little if I get by a couple of presses we have at work but other than that it works good, was dissatisfied with having to go back to a corded headphone when I what to listen to radio (yes I understand it is the antenna for the radio) and would not pull in the two stations I like to listen to so the radio does not help me at work.Loading it was easy, and don't mind the little load time when starting up.I have not used the Bluetooth to answer or talk on phone yet but look forward to that feature.So all in all I am happy with my new zen.

Just received this today. Bought it because the Zen X-Fi Style is no longer available.Disclaimer: I use Windows Vista, don't have the deep pockets to stay up with the front runners.The first obstacle is getting the player out of the packaging. -1 starAfter that is overcome, examining the contents:They provide multiple types of ear bud covers. +1 starThe USB to Micro-USB Cable is miniscule in length. -1 starThe earbuds are typical. No harm no foul.The instructions, such that they are, are too small to read without a magnifying glass. -1 starBut I did get that you charge up the unit by connecting it to your computer (3 hours per instructions). No harm no foul.No charging icon shows on the unit's display when the hook up is completed. -1 starApparently, there is an industry specification for USB-Micro chargers. This is a great idea, own one charger and charge everything with it. Except they haven't bothered to let us know about it. I only found out after I purchased the Creative charger for $30. Creative says nothing about it except they have one for purchase. Abuse of the consumer: -2 stars.There is no explanation of the Micro SD card slot. Like I live and breathe that kind of knowledge? -2 stars for the insult.After an hour of staring at the blank display, I decided to free up the USB slot and put the unit on the Creative charger.It didn't blow up, no sparks, or other negative symptoms occured. This just rates a yawn.Now here is where things get wacky.I used the time to get some housework done and do some text message jousting with my former girlfriend. All the time I was thinking about this problem, and my bigger problem: after upgrading my cable service with the provider-that-shall-not-be-named, I remembered that the dinky-sized instructions mentioned that the user manual could be downloaded from the player.Sweet!So I grab the player off the charger and hook it up to my computer again.I use Explorer to find the manual, copy it, and put it my manuals folder. Then I double click it to open it. No go. Frustration = -1 star at least.I notice that the file is `compiled html format'.I forget that for the past few days I have been trying to get on the internet, and click on Google, it comes up! Search for compiled html. Nothing worth noting.So I go to Wikipedia, and there is no article titled `compiled html' but there are articles that mention it. Seems that compiled html was a format that Microsoft used to distribute their help files, but when a security issue was detected they stopped using it. File extension is *.chm.Guess what? Aw, you already know. The Creative manuals file extension is chm. Shucks I thought I had you on the edge of your seat.Major foul for distributing a flawed format: -3 starsBut then I realized I was on the internet fulminating about the poor performance of Creative Labs, I was on the Internet!Yikes!While I was on the Creative web site looking for the manual, I noticed that songs and such could bedownloaded to the player using Windows Explorer. X-fi Style users take note: Creative Centrale doesn't work for this unit.I know because I tried.So here's where I'm at:Can't download a note to the thing.Can't read the manual.On the other hand, I am on the internet.Add it all up: does not perform.1 starI will revise the rating if things work out.

What this is: an MP3 / wav / video-file player a little smaller than a deck of cards.Pluses: it's got a decent size format and a bright display, has extendable memory (accepts micro-sdhc cards), can be selected via BlueTooth or USB, has an FM receiver built-in, and some fairly neat features.The sound is excellent.Minuses:* the buttons are fussy at best* it pauses a lot* Upon detecting an SDHC memory card, it pauses to scan the entire card. It can understand some playlists, but has a limited ability to do so (there must be some fixed format they haven't published?) It can take more than 5 minutes to scan a 32GB sdhc. Playlists that work with Windows, and my car's audio system, do not work with Zen (it fails to find the music, though it lists all 300+ playlists).* The bluetooth interface seems also to be prone to lapses.* when it dims, there is no indicator if the unit is on, wasting batteries.* though it does not complain, it is unable to read m3u playlists* it seems to lack a decent playlist management interfaceI had recently had a different brand MP3 player that was over a decade old, which ran an open-source OS, and had a very terse interface. However, that MP3 player was extremely predictable, fairly fast, had friendly and easy to use controls, and was reliable (enough so I used it for over 10 years!).By comparison, this costs as much and is less functional for my uses.