Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)IMPORTANT NOTES FIRST:
YES, it is iTunes-compatible, and YES it is compatible with Yahoo! Jukebox, BUT ONLY THOSE TRACKS THAT YOU HAVE PURCHASED AS "BURNABLE". In other words, you will not be able to transfer your Subscription or Stream tracks to this device, which is only fair (for that, you have to have Yahoo! Music Unlimited To-Go, which is an invite-based service and thus uncommon). Needless to say, you can import tracks from any CD quickly and painlessly, and/or copy any wmv/mp3/mp4 or whatever that you already have on your hard drive: the device is browsable with Windows and all you need to do is copy/paste to the right folder.
Now for the review.THE GOOD:
++ Compatible with an amazing variety of file formats, without conversion, unlike iPods. Whatever is not compatible the software will convert for you if at all possible. This is a HUGE plus for the computer-illiterate.
++ Great sound quality, a bare minimum requirement for a music player.
++ Sleek looks, IMO superior to the trite iPod-like, spin-wheel design. It certainly got more looks and comments than the iPod I had previously. Also, it's more pleasant to hold in your hand: small but not too tiny, and very sturdy/solid (which, if you'll handle it 8-10 hours a day like I do, is a huge plus).
++ The included software is fantastic. It's fast, reliable (never froze), and lets you manage files and create playlists quickly and painlessly. Basically, anything you can do with the player's built-in software you can do with ZEN Media Explorer from your computer. So, go for it.
++ Many complained about the interface, but I actually like it very much. The built-in software is easy to understand and utilize. The buttons are a tad tricky, but all you need to do is play around with them for ten minutes before you're able to find them blindly by just sticking your hand in your pocket (something you certainly cannot do with iPods, whose interface is more visually-driven).THE SO-SO:
++/-- The SD expansion slot is both a pain and a pleasure. Yes, you can basically make this a 16Gb with an SDHC card for a few bucks--but it's true that only SOME content will run off of it, and that while you are playing content from the SD card you cannot navigate the built-in flash memory. So, caveat emptor... but if you know what you're getting there's no reason to complain. How many times do you really browse your music while you're already listening to something else anyway?THE BAD:
-- Perplexed about battery life info: "25 hours of continuous listening"? I don't think so. More like 10-12, which is on par with similar devices.
-- The shortest USB cable ever bundled. Buy a cheapo extension from Monoprice right away, unless you already own a USB hub. Otherwise, your player will lie on the floor or, worse, hang by the cable while it's being charged and sync'ed, neither of which is good.
-- The joystick buttons make a slightly annoying clicking sound, not when pressed but when released. However, this does not happen on my friend's ZEN, so maybe I got a "bad" unit?
-- AWFUL packaging! What were they thinking? Not only is it one of those impossible-to-open blister packs, but if you use scissors it's relatively easy to harm the contents... not the player, thankfully, which is in full sight, but the manuals and CD and bundled cables. So be careful.OTHER THOUGHTS:
** BUY A SCREEN PROTECTOR! Apply it immediately. The screen will collect dust (and thus scratches) within hours, like any LCD.
** BUY A CASE OR SKIN! Piano-black finish is attracted to fingerprints like flies to s__t.
** 8Gb is perfect for the serious music listener with varied taste. Buffs and pros want to go for 16Gb. Occasional listeners will do well with 4Gb. Media moguls, of course, need not apply: that's what the Vision is for.Overall, one of the best entry-level portable music players on the market. The price tag may well be the deal-breaker here: it is cheaper than any other brand music player, and it does the same things AND, in my opinion, more and better. Support by Creative is also famously good, so I see no reason not to buy a ZEN.

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Bring your media with you wherever you roam with the Creative Zen 8GB player. Watch 32 hours of videos, enjoy up to 2,000 of your favorite songs or share hundreds of photos with your friends. And do it all on a device that's about the width of a credit card.
Design The Zen sports a 2.5-inch TFT color display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution and support for up to 16.7 million colors. This razor sharp display is packaged in a device that weighs just 2.1 ounces and measures 3.26 x 2.16 x .44 inches (W x H x D). The internal battery powers the Zen for up to 25 hours of continuous audio playback and up to five hours of continuous video playback. Use the Zen's SD slot to expand your portable media library with music, photos and videos stored on your SD card. There's also a handy built-in microphone for capturing notes on the go.
Features Load up up your favorite songs, as well as your album art, and get going with the Zen. The device supports iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store and MP3 and WMA tracks. Subscription and pay-per-download music services are supported, as well. Discover, save, and play millions of songs when subscribing to services such as Yahoo Music Unlimited and Napster To Go. You can even tune into your favorite stations with the Zen's FM radio. The radio allows you to save up to 34 presets.
The Zen has you covered when it comes to video, too. The device supports MJPEG, WMV9 and--with transcoding--MPEG1 and 2, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5, and XviD. Enjoy purchased or rented movies and TV shows from online services such as Amazon Unbox and Walmart.com. Watch home videos. Even load your Tivo To Go movies and TV shows onto your Zen.
Additional features include a clock and alarm function, volume restriction, eight equalizer settings, and a USB hard drive mode, which allows you to drag and drop files directly to and from your Zen. The Zen can also function as a handy organizer, allowing you to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook and display your contacts, calendar, and tasks.
What's in the Box Zen player, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, installation CD, and quick start guide.

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Universal Remote Complete Control MX-3000 IR RF Color Touch Screen Remote Control Review

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(More customer reviews)We splurged on a $20K home theatre bonanza, all of which is pretty awesome except the mx-3000 universal remote. There is a constantly fluctuating variation in the sensitivity and latency of the touch pad. I feel like the biggest sucker in the world sitting here on the sofa having to make 10 attempts at pressing channel "500." After 3 seconds it takes whatever you've been able to successfully press .. so, a few times is is only "5", then "50", then "500", then "800" (oops, you dropped your finger too close to the 8!). I promise you, it is the most frustrating, annoying thing you will ever pay $1000 for. We are very close to throwing it away and fishing out all the remotes our installers left somewhere in the theatre cabinet.

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SVAT GX3000 Wireless Four Channel Analog Audio/Video Sender and Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this transmitter receiver to watch cable in a room with no line access. I placed the receiver about 15 feet away from the cable box and transmitter, and it still did not work. The best reception I got was by holding the receiver above my head as close to the door as possible - not practical for everyday use. In addition, answering the phone caused more static, a "flipping" screen, and crackling sound. Basically, if you do not have a wireless network or a cordless phone, and have direct line of sight between the units, this unit will probably work for you. I don't know anyone that falls in this category...

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Frustrated with wires everywhere and the incapability to broadcast your technology in more than one location? Want to avoid the expense of purchasing two satellite receivers? This item is a solution to this problem and a true technological breakthrough. The GigaXtreme 3000 allows you to easily broadcast your DVDs, DSS, CDs, MP3s, Satellite, PC, gaming console, streaming video and more to any TV or stereo in your home, without running any wires! Send the signal through walls, floors and ceilings from up to three 300 feet away (clear line of sight) to multiple rooms (and even outside) without buying costly satellite receivers. The GX3000 2.4 GHz audio/video sender installs and configures in just minutes. There are no limitations to what you can do with the GX3000.

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Philips Bluetooth Stereo Headset Combo Review

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(More customer reviews)The vox340 is a Bluetooth stereo headset with mic that also includes a separate blue tooth transmitter adapter with a 3.5mm plug that plugs into any headphone jack.
It works great as Bluetooth stereo headphones and beats all the FM and 900MHz headphones I have tried over the years. The range is about 25ft when going through the walls where I live. Since stereo operation only requires pairing with the included adapter, makes it possible to listen wirelessly to anything with a stereo jack. I have it plugged into my laptop.
When paired with a cellphone, the vox340 solves the problem of being able to listen to stereo without wires and still be able to switch to talking on the phone without changing to another headset (or removing the stereo headphones/ear buds to put a phone to your ear).
The device has a loop that is worn around the neck and the 2 inch pendant has volume control, on/off, and 2 other buttons that have tape deck like forward/rewind markings. Each ear bud branches off the loop a short distance to reach the ears. It comes with a charger; the batteries are not removeable.
I have only been able to get it to work with the adapter as Bluetooth stereo headphones since pairing is tricky with my cellphone and laptop, but I have not given up making it work with a MacBook Pro.
The manuals included were minimal and only in French and Spanish, no English. I had to get translation help to know what the various blinking LED modes mean and how to do Bluetooth pairing.
After searching and translation help, I found out:
* Bluetooth 1.2 device.
* Alternating red-green LED in the adapter means it is in pairing mode.
* Pairing mode is triggered by pressing On and Off buttons simultaneously and holding until it starts to blink.
* When the battery is totally drained, it needs to be paired again.
* Device can act either like stereo headphones or a hands free headset.
An insert into the package lists many cell phones that are compatible. To keep this review succinct, I will try to post more "missing vox340 manual" details elsewhere so others can benefit.

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Philips Bluetooth Stereo Headset Combo allows you to wirelessly stream music from your MP3 player and switch between your music and phone calls with a touch of a button. It has handsfree function with dual earbuds and includes universal audio adapter and carrying bag.

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Targus PAUM30U Notebook Wireless Presenter Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll just hit the highlights. I didn't have it long before I exchanged it, so I can't address the battery issue. But some other negative features include:
* The on/off button is incredibly tiny so if you're inclined to stubby fingernails, forget it.
* The battery cover is suprisingly flimsy and feels like the tabs that click and hold it in place could break easily. It's hard to open, too, so I doubt the cover would last long.
* The overall size is larger than most products of this kind and surprisingly heavy. If you're going to go with this much bulk and weight, you might as well carry a full-sized mouse.
* Surprisingly, this is NOT PLUG-AND-PLAY! To use this mouse, you have to plug it in before you turn on your PC. If you unplug the receiver while your PC's running, you have to plug it in again and reboot.
* Also, mine did not come with the carrying pouch that's listed on the packaging.
There's absolutely no good reason to buy this mouse when there are better, comparably-priced, plug-and-play ones available online and in stores.

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Cisco-Linksys PLK200 Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this because my wireless quality has been declining steadily over time. I live in a large aparment building in New York City and as more and more of my neighbors get wireless devices my signal quality has been dropping. I stream music wirelessly using Apple AirPort and the quality became so poor that I could not listen anymore. Not wanting to run cables all over my apartment I thought I'd give this a try - but buy from Amazon since they have a good return policy in case it did not work.
I just plugged it in and it worked! Simple as that. If you have monkeyed around with wireless you'll appreciate that there is basically nothing else to this. And it is fast! I can now play my ripped music from my PC to my stereo with excellent quality - better than I ever got with wireless. Luckliy the AirPort can stream music using a LAN cable in addition to wireless.
The only hitch that I can think of maybe the wiring in your house/apartment. I was worried about mine living in a aparment building that the circuits may not be linked, but they were. I had no problems plugging in other rooms with different circuit breakers - since they are all on the same control panel. I guess it is possible that this is not always the case - depending on how your house is wired. For example, if you have combined two apartments they could be separate. But if they are then it does not get any easier or much faster than this.
Only downside is the very high price - it is way more expensive than wireless. You can buy a good wireless router for less than $50 and if you have a laptop you are done. This option costs MUCH more than that. For me it was preferable to running unsightly network cables throughout my apartment.
Another option for me could have been trying an 802.11n wireless to see if the signal was better. But since that is not yet a published industry standard, each vendor (DLink, Linksys etc) has they own flavor of it and so they are unlikely to work together well. So I'd probably have to completely retool my existing wireless which may be no better and may have the same problem with interference when my neighbors all move to it in a few years anyway. So I gave this a shot and I could not be happier.

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The PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter lets you turn the existing powerlines in your home or office into a high-speed network. Now you do not have to drill through the walls and climb through the attic or cellar to install network cables -- just use the wires that already run through the building! The PowerLine AV Adapter interfaces Ethernet devices to the HomePlug AV PowerLine network standard. Just plug the PowerLine AV Adapter into the wall, and connect your Ethernet-equipped device to the Adapter using the included network cable, and you have turned your whole house into network infrastructure! Attach more computers to the network by simply plugging them into the wall anywhere in the house, using more PowerLine AV Adapters.

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Boyo VTM3000 3-Inch Monitor for Rear-View Review

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(More customer reviews)I ordered this because of the price, yes I was trying to get off cheap and at $130 off it seemed like a steal, but after recieving it I think I was the victim. Now I expected it to be small, but take the picture they show and divide by half and you might be close. Most cell phones these days had larger screens. Ok, I can live with it, I'll just have to mount it real close, but the so-called manual you get is a single page and you get no more information other than the contents in the box. There is nothing about wiring suggestion, voltage or anything. Before I bought this item I did go to Boyo website, read reviews, which naturally made it sound like it was the best thing out there. Obviously they edit reviews !
Now I am quite capable of hooking up car stereos, home stereos, setting up a home network, all the home tech stuff, but atleast 99% send a detailed manual or even a customer support line, not these guys. I have yet to install this item, I just openned the box and saw what was shipped and thought I had better write a post before someone else falls into this trap.
Maybe if your a professional installer you might not see this as a problem, but you know you'll be laughing at anyone else who buys this, because you know they'll need to come to you to install it.
I blame myself for trying to save money ( again I knew it would be small ), but I also blame Boyo and Amazon, I tried to get as much info about this product as I could before buying it. As I said Boyo had rave reviews, but do nothing more than offer a email "contact us" way of support. I partially blame Amazon because they don't check what they sell, only rely on it's customers, I think they should require from vendors more info or a sample of the product before tossing it up to it's customers.

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This compact and sleek monitor has a video input. When reverse gear is engaged, the system will start to work automatically. Resolution: 960 x 234 'Display Resolution: 960(W) x 240 (H)Screen Size: 2.96 (Diagonal)Color Configuration: RGB DeltaWorking Voltage: 12VPower Consumption: 8W MaxWorking Temp: -20C ~ +65C

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