Micro on the way--questi

Question

I'm awaiting deli'very of a 6gb zen micro (dark blue), and would like some educated opinions before I start using it. I'm probably a geezer compared to most of you and not quite as high tech, but not a dummy, and I've got a Muvo N200 that I've been using and loving.
. Before I start loading my music, should I consider upgrading the firmware for any reason? I don't want to upgrade down the road unless I have to, and would rather not do it once I've got a bunch of music loaded. I'm unlikely to use music services (I don't even own a credit card), will get most of my music from CD's and having friends get me mp3's.
2. Is the file organizing similar to the N200? Or do you have more options? Can I create playlists easily? For example, if I load my music onto the Micro as complete CD's, can I later pick and choose songs from different CD's to play them in sequence?
3. I've seen different opinions on running with hard dri've players. I run with my N200 strapped to my arm, and I'd swear the thing doesn't get jostled any more than if I was walking with it. I've got a very smooth running style, and it would be great to go running with the Micro. What about dancing?
4. I've seen different opinions about getting the longer lasting battery sold for one of the other models (can't remember which) and using it in the Micro. Any thoughts?
5. Will the belt clip accessory for the Micro fit into the armband for the N200?
Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

. Yes, i would check what firmware your micro comes with first, the new players come with firmware version ..0, if you plan on using subscription music services such as napster and yahoo unlimited then you must upgrade your micro to the "play for sure" firmware update that found under the download section of the Creative site. You should always check for new firmware updates because updated firmware usually corrects small bugs in the firmware prior to the new firmware version, some firmware also improve the functionality of player.
2. I'm not sure how the N200 is organized, if its drag and drop then the micros file system is different. The micros file system organizes all music into albums/artists/Genres/all tracks. The micro allows "keyword search" where you can search for part of a name of a track and it will narrow the song you are looking for to a couple of tracks depending on how specific you are. The micro also allows "find artist" this is also a search function that allows the user to search for artist by the first letter of their name. Creating playlists on the micro is a very simple task, you just compile a group of songs into the "my playing menu", bring up the sub-menu and select "save playlist as"
3. Although its not recommended you can run with a harddri've player but do so at your own risk. If you jostle your player too much you can cause permanent physical damage to the dri've. All harddri've DAPs have a small amount of ram (random acess memory) that the harddri've dumps into, this means the the harddri've stay inacti've most of the time as long as you don't skip tracks or changes playlists/artist. My recommendation is that if your really set on running with this thing then create a playlist and lock the player, this way no buttoms are pressed while running significantly lowering the amount of time the harddri've is accessed while your running. Depending on how you dance you can seriously kill your harddri've within minutes
4. The new Micro Photo has a 5hr battery life claim on it, it has been confirmed that it will fit into the regular micro but i haven't heard of anyone trying it out yet.
5. No, the micro comes with a belt clip that you can order off the creative site or it might come with your micro depending on whether you got the limited edition or the basic package. I have the belt clip and i wouldn't recommend running with it, its not very sturdy.