Creative Muvo Micro N200 1GB short review - Page 2

bangraman,

After looking at the Creative web site, my impression is that the major difference between the TX and the N200 is that with the TX you can plug the player directly into a regular USB port, whereas with the N200 you use a cable from the N200's mini-USB to the computer's full size USB. Does that sound right to you? Also, does the above discussion of the N200 match up with the TX in other respects? I'm thinking of returning the N200 and getting a TX. It's probably a bit bigger, but the advantage of transferring music w/o the cable would make up for that (the TX is still damn small!). If there were any other advantages to the TX over the N200, that might clinch it. However, on their web site Creative uses mostly the same language to describe both products.

It's not too big, but it all adds up. Nice to have the option though. The one area where iPod beats all contenders is in available accessories.

What do you know about the V200? Creative doesn't mention it on their US web site, nor is it listed by major retailers I've checked with. I found a link through Yahoo that had a price of over $200, which is substantially more than Creative's current line of flash players.

Hi Davie, as far as I know the V200 is the new generation of the TX, and very similar to the N200. The major difference between the two is that the V200 like TX consists of a USB stick, while the N200 is one piece (and smaler) and thus must be connected via cable.

I saw the V200 on the Creative worldwide page, and it was already listed at several websites (even amazon.de). I had the impression that both models cost the same, but that my depend on the shop.

P.S. I saw the N200 with 1gig for 150 Euros which is quite a deal.

I got my 512mb N200 for 129 USD, which I consider to be quite a bargain. The TX series sells here in the US for comparable prices to the N200 series. Do you know if there are any significant differences between the TX and V200?

Sorry, I don't know. Maybe the decoder chip or so changed? Hopefully not for the worse. The fourth line in the first post states that it is a new chip.

The N200 MP3 encoding function supports 96, 128, and 160 kbps. The player decoder handles WMAs and MP3s of all kinds. I have not found an MP3 that the N200 does not play.

The N200 has the biggest pluses of line-in encoding, smallest size, and lightest weight of all of Creative's line.

Sorry, I'm stupid...
I read DEcoding instead of ENcoding (which I don't need).

Well, in that case I guess my old friend the Nomad IIc is ready for retirement .

thanks for writing the review.
I've never considered these flash based players but I've changed my mind on them. I like the fact that most of them have a FM tuner which is perfect for emergencies and some can be used as an usb drive device.
the fact that it's tiny and uses regular aaa batteries is a plus.

think im gonna go for the TX as it doesnt need the cable and i dont need the direct encoding. and as far as I see theres no real difference other than that. far more convenient to be able to plug it in to any pc anywhere than have to carry some cable around with you

The fact that you can get up to 1 gig also narrows the gap. You could fit a decent amount of music on one of those.

well looks like the only things the n200 has over the tx is drm which i have no need for, and direct encoding. shame you can no longer plug it straight in as i would much rather be able to just plug the thing in any pc i happen to be near than have to carry some cable all the time just in case. I expect the only reason the n200 is smaller is because it obviously hasnt got the normal usb plug on it anymore.

unfortunately as i cannot get the 512mb tx (with fm radio) for less than £99.99 in the UK, i am going to have to go for the 512 n200 because I can get that for £88 delivered and im not paying 15% more for an older product with less features. can get the 512 tx without radio for £76 so they are basically all asking £24 for the radio.

I have the Muvo Micro n200 512MB. I've been sticking with minidiscs for years because I've been waiting for a player as thin as MD players to come along (with all the cool features of mp3 players too of course). I usually don't get too excited about electronics, but the N200 is really incredible. It's actually slightly thinner than my Sharp MD-DS9, half the width, and half the weight. I find the controls very intuitive and effective. It's very easy to navigate songs, FM radio, and toggle between modes.

I actually like that the usb plug isn't on the player - it makes it a little smaller. Also, the usb 2.0 ports on my PC are only at the back of the case. If the usb plug was on the player I'd have to awkwardly reach behind my pc, unplug another usb device so it could fit, then have the player sitting back there while I transfer files. I'm not going to be transferring files to PCs everywhere I go. I will keep a second cable with my laptop when I carry it around. So not having the port on the device doesn't bother me.

I really love how tiny this player is. I haven't been interested in getting a HD player because even the smallest ones are big compared to what I'm used to.

The N200 comes with an arm band and case too. The sound quality is also very good for a flash player. Being able to carry around a second rechargeable NiMH AAA battery on a longer trip and swap it out is very convenient. Being able to copy files quickly without drivers or a proprietary app is definitely the way to go. I haven't even opened the install cd packaging and will probably leave it that way.

I usually have disliked Creative products for being cheap in quality. In my opinion they've really made a great mp3 player here. Portability is the most important feature of any mp3 player for me and the N200 is the most portable player I've ever used that doesn't skimp on features. $130 for 512MB with a built-in FM tuner in a tiny package is a really good deal. Plus I love the minimalist look, in black. I highly recommend it.

I ought to mention a quirk I've come across with the Muvo TX... I think it has problems with high-bitrate VBR MP3's. In all honesty of course this is not going to cause problems for the average user of these devices but I've been playing ~256K VBR files on it and had problems navigating in the tracks (i.e. FFWD/RWD) and also come across audible glitches. It's nowhere near as terrible as typical Sony implementations of MP3 playback, but still defeats the object of playing high-bitrate MP3's for the quality. I'll have to try CBR and see if my results differ.

I've had no issues so far seeking or playing Lame 3.96.1 -V2 vbr mp3s (~200kbps). I haven't tried higher bitrates than that. -V2 is good enough for me. U2 sounds good on this thing.