Best bang for the buck!

I purchased this item to replace a Creative Zen V because I was looking for something capable of also playing back video. The Zen is amazing. Watching a movie or video on a 2.5" screen isn't the greatest but it's a good way to pass the time if you're sitting at an airport.

The Zen is phenomenal when compared to an iPod at twice the cost. It is capable of playing back MP3, WMA, WMV, and can convert most video formats as long as you have the right codecs installed on the computer. With 16 gb of storage and an SD card slot to expand to even greater capacity, this device is superior not only to the iPod but most of the portable players on the market. In fact, I like it so much I'm giving this one to my son and getting the Zen Vision W.

As far as sound goes, the Zen is exceptional. I have small ears so I purchased different earphones than the standard ones that came with the player (they're a little big and uncomfortable for me). Audio settings can be fine tuned so all songs play at the same level. There's also bass enhancement and EQ settings to make playback even better.

This is a great portable device. One of the best features of the Zen is it can be plugged into as many devices as you want, so it's not locked down like an iTunes library. I can plug in my Zen to a Linux box as easily as I can a Windows machine.