Creative Labs Zen MX 16 GB MP3 Player (Black)

After hanging on to a Zen Micro for a few years (due to a stingy character), I picked up this "update" and have been so pleased. It has easy to operate button/rocker switches rather than the erratic touch controls of its ancestor. Transferring my old library and playlists was a snap. Having the chance to store a few photos also ups the pleasure of the device.

Although others may wish for a combo camera-phone-music-whatever piece of hardware, if you're interested in any easy to handle mp3 player at a reasonable price, this is definitely something you should seriously consider.

I have both the older 8gb Zen (2007) and a new 16gb Zen MX. They are basically the same except that the MX has integrated access to the removable SD card directly from the Creative Centrale software that comes with the it. With the old Zen you had to go into a removable card menu on the Zen and then access the card via the computer operating system to add or delete files. Zen MX also does not have the code for some video formats and the software has to convert them before transfer to the Zen MX; on the old Zen you could just transfer the video files directly to the Zen. Finally, the Creative Centrale software that comes with the new Zen MX does not seem as intuitive and user friendly as the older software that came with the Zen. If I had to do it again I would have bought the older Zen rather than the new Zen MX, but the older ones are becoming hard to find and are a lot more expensive. Strangely enough the 16gb version of the old Zen is more expensive than the 32gb version...Read more

I bought the Creative Zen MX 16gb player from Costco for $[...]. It works great for the price. I use it primarily for songs but am using it for audiobooks too. I did not own the original Zen so the software and the features are all new to me.

With regards to the 2 previous reviews about it not playing media that was purchased, this player does not play DRM-protected WMAs. I downloaded DRM-protected files from my local library and it does not work...just silence so it has nothing to do with the player itself or its software.

The 16gb is plenty of space and I like the fact that this player is compatible with SDHC or SD cards so that you can expand the memory further. Also, the player is about the size of a credit card and is not bulky at all. You can put it in your breast or poants pocket with no unsightly budges. Since I've been using it for audiobooks, one of the features I like is that you can store up to 10 bookmarks (it's easy to set and retrieve a...Read more