skyline889
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2006
- Posts
- 4,271
- Likes
- 17
As one of the earliest adopters of the original Zen Vision, when I saw the release of the updated W version I eagerly awaited the purchase of the new Zen Vision W to replace my 3.7" version when the time came for an upgrade. Well, that time has come and I must say that I am a little disappointed.
First off the build quality has certainly gone down since the original. The four exposed screws on the top and the bottom take away from the clean and elegant look of the original and the painted plastic framing around the face looks much cheaper than the original polished metal housing. I do like the Graphite rear however, I prefer a mono color design over the two tone. I do prefer the new raised Creative lettering on the face of the W though.
Second off is the size of this thing. The old Vision was pretty much the perfect size for me so I must admit I'm a little biased but imho, it's just too big for a portable player. If it was targeted towards the pvr style market than it should come with recording capabilities but since it doesn't, I'm assuming it is targeted towards those looking for a portable player that can actually do a decent job of playing video (i.e. Unlike the old Ipod "Video") and for this market, the player is just too big. With the silicon case mounted, it's almost like carrying a brick. While I do appreciate the larger screen, I would rather have had Creative implement a better replacement 3.7" for the original Sharp screen and keep the size the same as the original, rather than add an extra .6" of screen space and make the player substantially larger. For comparison, the new player is about the same thickness as the old player with the double size extended battery. The switched button placement of the volume and power controls also makes it much more awkward to use.
The user interface and functionality took a slight hit with me too. I love the fact that you can now set your own wallpaper however imo, the new music screen layout seems too basic now and the thick green play and elapsed time icons look really cheesy. Those are just minor nuances though, the biggest problem for me was the deletion of the FM record function. I know not many people still listen to the radio however, I found that this function was really useful on the old player.
Another part of the player's disappointment is the lack of wow factor. Even though my Zen Vision 30gb was over two years old, every time someone saw it, they always thought that it was the coolest portable media player they'd ever seen and it never failed to impress. With the new player people like the big screen but the main focus seems to be on the size of the player and not how much they like it. Again a small thing, but evidence of how much these seemingly small changes in design have made such a big impact on the targeted market audience. Some thing that also really bothers me is the lack of accessories offered for the player. With the last Zen Vision, they released a dock, an extended battery, and an IR remote. This time the only thing available is the IR remote which is the same one used for the original Vision. The lack of the dock really makes it a pain in the rear to charge and connect to an external amplifier and the battery life without the extended battery is really uncompetitive in today's market, though I can see why they didn't release one as it would make the player even larger.
To end on a positive note, the player's sq is still very good. Even though the snr has dropped slightly, the sound quality out of the headphone out is full and engaging and even worked relatively well powering my Sennheiser HD600 and 650s. The sq is very well rounded and stuck to the original Vision's great sound signature which was probably one of the best traits of the old Vision as the screen while good, was a bit lacking in terms of viewing angles. Overall imo, I think that the faults of the new W outweigh the benefits and I do not think I will be keeping this player. I will probably be getting rid of it in the near future and tring to find another Zen Vision 3.7".
First off the build quality has certainly gone down since the original. The four exposed screws on the top and the bottom take away from the clean and elegant look of the original and the painted plastic framing around the face looks much cheaper than the original polished metal housing. I do like the Graphite rear however, I prefer a mono color design over the two tone. I do prefer the new raised Creative lettering on the face of the W though.
Second off is the size of this thing. The old Vision was pretty much the perfect size for me so I must admit I'm a little biased but imho, it's just too big for a portable player. If it was targeted towards the pvr style market than it should come with recording capabilities but since it doesn't, I'm assuming it is targeted towards those looking for a portable player that can actually do a decent job of playing video (i.e. Unlike the old Ipod "Video") and for this market, the player is just too big. With the silicon case mounted, it's almost like carrying a brick. While I do appreciate the larger screen, I would rather have had Creative implement a better replacement 3.7" for the original Sharp screen and keep the size the same as the original, rather than add an extra .6" of screen space and make the player substantially larger. For comparison, the new player is about the same thickness as the old player with the double size extended battery. The switched button placement of the volume and power controls also makes it much more awkward to use.
The user interface and functionality took a slight hit with me too. I love the fact that you can now set your own wallpaper however imo, the new music screen layout seems too basic now and the thick green play and elapsed time icons look really cheesy. Those are just minor nuances though, the biggest problem for me was the deletion of the FM record function. I know not many people still listen to the radio however, I found that this function was really useful on the old player.
Another part of the player's disappointment is the lack of wow factor. Even though my Zen Vision 30gb was over two years old, every time someone saw it, they always thought that it was the coolest portable media player they'd ever seen and it never failed to impress. With the new player people like the big screen but the main focus seems to be on the size of the player and not how much they like it. Again a small thing, but evidence of how much these seemingly small changes in design have made such a big impact on the targeted market audience. Some thing that also really bothers me is the lack of accessories offered for the player. With the last Zen Vision, they released a dock, an extended battery, and an IR remote. This time the only thing available is the IR remote which is the same one used for the original Vision. The lack of the dock really makes it a pain in the rear to charge and connect to an external amplifier and the battery life without the extended battery is really uncompetitive in today's market, though I can see why they didn't release one as it would make the player even larger.
To end on a positive note, the player's sq is still very good. Even though the snr has dropped slightly, the sound quality out of the headphone out is full and engaging and even worked relatively well powering my Sennheiser HD600 and 650s. The sq is very well rounded and stuck to the original Vision's great sound signature which was probably one of the best traits of the old Vision as the screen while good, was a bit lacking in terms of viewing angles. Overall imo, I think that the faults of the new W outweigh the benefits and I do not think I will be keeping this player. I will probably be getting rid of it in the near future and tring to find another Zen Vision 3.7".
