Firmware Maddness for the Zen Mic

Is it just me or is this firmware business out of control for the Zen Micro?
Having a .0 series and a 2.0 series at the same time is creating way too much confusion!
Aren't MP3 players supposed to be replacing portable CD Players and Cassette Players? Well the coolness factor is there, but the user experience has some serious room for improvment.
The common person would have no clue what the heck to do with all these firmware downloads. Even the descriptions of the firmware would be very confusing for most people getting into MP3 players for the first time. I am very happy with my Zen Micro and am using Windows Media Player as my Music Manager without any problems. I guess I am supposed to wait for the new 2..02 beta to get "un-betad" instead of downloading the new .02.05 but that's just a guess at this point. There are a ton of MP3 players out there with more features and a lower price than iPods, but they still don't come close to outselling it. That's because its the ease of use, not necessarily the features that separates iPods from the rest of the pack. Hey Creative, dummy these things down and watch your sales go up! You will reach a whole new set of customers if you do!

I agree, I'd like to see creatives mp3 players and napsters service to be a profitiable and long-lasting business because I think this way of finding and listening to music is wonderful.. but the firmware updates/formatting the dri've/and all this other technical stuff is a little bit much for the average person to deal with. Also the newest non-MTP version has a bunch of new fixes which the newest MTP version apparently doesn't even have but they both came out the same day or so? I dont understand that.

Similar Messages

  • What was the last firmware version for the Zen Micro before M

    I would like to know what was the last firmware version for the Zen Micro before the MTP firmware?
    Please make sure you are 00% on this.
    Thankyou.

    I think it does, but I'm not sure; since I wanted MTP, I only used .x firmware long enough to save the original Creative test files (with MediaSource, not ZMME) before upgrading to 2.x. And yes, I had to li've with 2..02's shorter battery life until 2.20.05 came out.
    May I ask why you want to go back to .x firmware? The only thing that will get you is the ability to use it with Win98SE/2000/Me--but only if you can install Creative drivers on every PC you use it with. MTP requires WinXP SP or 2 and WMP 0, but doesn't need any Creative software at all to work. (Microsoft has made an MTP driver for Win98SE/2000/Me, but it requires customization and may not be supported by other software. I'm tinkering a bit with the customization part right now.)
    There are other pitfalls in changing Micro firmware families, in either direction--you'll lose all the files on your Micro, you'll have to install a different ZMME (and I've heard non-MTP ZMME isn't quite as full-featured as MTP ZMME), and you'll need a new plug-in for MediaSource to work.

  • Software and firmware updates for the Zen Vision M 30 gb.

    On the Creative support homepage I can find the software and firmware updates for the Zen Vision M 60 gb, however, there is nothing listed for the 30 gb unit. Where can I find the software and firmware updates (downloads) for the 30 gb unit's

    http://support.creative.com/Products...me=MP3+Players

  • Arm strap for the Zen Mic

    I'd like to take my Micro to the gym, but I need an arm strap because I'm afraid of bumping the unit with a weight if I were to clip it to my waist.
    Could anyone recommend a good arm band/strap that will fit the player snugly? Anything specifically made for the zen micro (5gb) would be a plus.
    Thanks!
    p.s. I won't be able to check this board too often. If you have a suggestion and would be so kind, please e-mail me at [email][email protected]][email protected][/url]. Thanks again.

    I got one of these
    http://www.tunebelt.com/ab4
    which is pretty good and very affordable. Good service from them as well!
    As it says it was intended for ipodmini but also fits the Zen Micro.
    jake

  • External Charger For the Zen Mic

    will there be an external charger for the Zen Micro? So you can always have a juiced up battery ready and willing to go? =)

    I think it's a huge inefficiency to require that the player be out of commission during the battery charging.
    An optional external charger would remedy this problem and would make having a second battery the seamless way to have constant connectivity.
    As it stands, you can't use the player for 3+ hours while it's charging.
    These proprietary batteries that are only chargeable via Creative products are confining and non-user-friendly.
    An optional external charger would make this player much more usable.
    PS - otherwise - I LOVE IT!!!

  • A question about the Flash intro for the Zen Mic

    Message Edited by davidz on 09-0-2005 09:42 PM

    davidz wrote:Hello: This is going to sound incredibly stupid, but I want to know where the music on the flash for the Zen Micro is from. The music is very soothing and I tried looking in the source code for a media file.. but to no avail. If anybody could tell me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks a lot. - David.
    I don't know but I bet this is what you are looking for: http://home.ripway.com/2005-4/282720/microflash.wav (on the flash its a 7second song that just repeats) well thats what you were looking for.~Derek

  • How long is the warranty for the Zen Mic

    Can anyone tell me how long the warranty is for the Zen Micro? Thanks!

    SSR,
    The year/90 days warranty is our standard for PDE devices to my knowledge. It does happen to be the warranty in the US; however some countries have laws requiring different warranty lengths. We don't do any warranties on current PDE products that are less than this to my knowledge.
    Jeremy

  • Someone please help me to find a USA to US power adaptor for the Zen Mic

    Help ! I recently received a 40th birthday present zen micro from a relati've in New York, however the plug is the USA 'two flat pin type'. I have detached it from the power supply to find two smaller pins underneath so please someone tell me where I can buy the UK version of this 'plug top' from. Standard US to UK travel adaptors don't work as the collar diameter on them is too small meaning that the Zen's power supply won't fit ! I am desperate to try my new Zen out but I'm stuck ! Many thanks for any help.
    Martin.

    Thanks to everyone for the ti
    ps.
    I've gone for the cheapy uk shaver adaptor and it works fine. My zen didnt need any firmware updates but bizarrly the spare battery took nearly fi've hours to fully charge against the first which was just under three !
    Lastly, does anyone know if the warranty is valid in the UK (ie Global) seeing as my zen came from the US.
    Thanks again to all.
    MD.

  • Is there a driver for the ZEN Mic

    ok so like my friends Zen Micro died and i offered to take a look at it, i beli've its the?5 GB one it could be the 8GB but its not the photo one, when i connect it to my computer it says it needs to find the driver, so i say it can look through the internet for the driver but it does not find it so for fun i try my CD that came with my Vision:M as they might share a driver i dunno it was worth a try but nope nothing, so i have been googling the driver and cannot find it, so my question is where can i download the driver or software or whatever i need cause obvioulsly this MP3 player is not plug and play so yah a link would be nice thank you so much.

    ok so i finally found the driver and my computer finally recognizes it but now my computer is lagging it took forever for the media organizer to finally open and anything to do with the player takes a long time to load up, im trying to fromat the player to start from scratch any idea i downloaded the firmware thingy and i choose english and ten nothing happens....

  • New Features for the Zen Mic

    So I have been buzzing around this board for the last week or so, reading up on my new Micro. And now that I have figured everything out and gotten the player to work with WMP0 properly (knock on wood) there are a few things that I would suggest to the developers for future versions of the firmware that I have not even seen mentiond. First off, I would like to see the ability to rate my music, I know that this is probably not the most commonly sought after, or even useful feature, but I like to have all my music rated, and the ability to do it right on the player would be nice. The other thing, witch I think of as more of a bug then a new feature, is that the second a song starts to play it adds one to the play count. I think that the play count needs to be updated AFTER the song has finished playing or, if possible, it would be best sometime in the middle of the song. As it is now, if I *accidently* play a song, the play count goes up, even though I stop playback or change the song only a few seconds into it. Another thing that I would like to see improved is the creation of playlists on the device. I know you can save the "Now Playing" list as a playlist, but you can't reorganize the list. I would also like to see some of the other more asked for features, EAX would be nice for instance. I Don't know, just my two cents.

    Sounds like something went south in the OS or actual mp3 decoder in the player. I might try a Clean Up in Resuce mode then maybe a Reload OS. You can get into rescue mode by turning off the player and taking out the battery. Push the power switch in the on position and keep it held over while you re-insert the battery. It should boot into Rescue mode. Try a Clean Up. It should display a status % complete and only take a few moments. Try the songs again and see if there's the same problem.
    If that doesn't work download firmware v.0.03 and select Reload Firmware via USB.
    If either of these things don't work and the source files are clean it might be a bigger problem that might require a replacement.

  • Games for the zen mic

    does the zen micro supports games like solitaire (etc etc) like the apple ipod? thanks!

    ticklish_jelly,
    The Zen Micro player does not support games at the moment. For product information on the player, you can check the web link below.
    http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=23&subcategory=24&product=079 5
    Jason

  • How about a hard-shell case for the Zen Mic

    I recently bought my Zen Micro and the one accessory that I still need to pick up for it is a case. Now I know there is a pouch for it, but what I really want is a something more protecti've to put up with the rigors of travelling.
    I see they have the leather case which covers the entire unit and looks to currently be the best bet to offer some overall protection of the unit. But what I can't seem to find (either through Creative or a third party) is a hard-shell case. I'd love to have a good, solid clamshell-type of case (either hard plastic, or even metal) like you can get for PDAs. I've got a metal case for my Palm and I'm sure its been that device's best friend in terms of protection from all of the bumps and bruises of travel.
    So if anyone fm Creative is peeking in here - that's my big suggestion for you all.
    An if anyone knows if such a case does exist, please feel free to post back.

    Gee I never would have thought about using a search function to do a search ;>
    Yeah I saw this a few days ago - thank you - but its not quite what I'm looking for. If I wasn't clear, I am looking for a hardshell case that completely closes up the unit. This one is cut open on the front for access to the buttons. I was looking for one similar to the leather case where the entire unit is fully enclosed, basically with the only opening being for the headphones.
    I do like the earbuds offered on this website - the ones with the little lapel clip spool.

  • Russian Language support for the Zen Mic

    Can we get a russian language support in the next firmware update?
    I have many songs, that I can not see the name of, because the Zen does not support Russian/Cyrillic alphabet.

    it doesn't support Russian ID3 tags on my Zen Xtra or within updated software - Creative MediaSource 2.03.29 or Nomad Explorer 3.0.0. If anybody knows how to fix it - please let me know!

  • Games And Extra!! for the zen mic

    since the ipod has a couple of wack games..does the zen micro has any games to download since it didnt came with one..also are there any new extra features that can be downloaded.

    There aren't any games on the Micro. Some people prefer it this way (to keep the player dedicated to its primary use) whereas others do miss things like this. The only way you can add new features is by upgrading the firmware, and the firmware downloads page will detail any new features with the download.

  • Know of any good Arm Bands and FM Transmitters for the Zen Mic

    I'm thinking of buying a Micro and want to make sure I can get an arm band and transmitter. I notice on Creative's Micro page they list transmitters at the bottom but there is no link. What have you done to get these products?
    thanks,
    garrett

    <font size=>The FM Transmitter shown on the website is the Belkin Tunecast II. I own it, and it works great for me. I suggest rechargable AAA batteries though, because it uses the battery fast. That is not a problem if you are using it in the car though... it has the Car Adapter and it uses that for power.
    As to the armband- there is not one mad specificly for the mico, but I have heard that there is one that do fit the micro pretty snugly.Message Edited by bberenbaum on 03-7-2005 02:02 AM

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