Zen Micro Rev

Question

I just got my Zen Micro yesterday. Bought it on eBay because I specifically wanted the Dark Blue color with the extra battery. Cost was $260 shipped and it arri'ved in three days.
I had researched getting a new MP3 player ever since my Zen Xtra fell victim to the dreaded headphone jack problem. I've sent it back to Creative for repair and will probably give it to my gf now that I have my Zen Micro.
Prior to purchasing, I looked at several MP3 players. The most important factors for me are size, sound quality, price, and features. I like the Zen Xtra but barely used 4gb of space and it was fairly bulky and heavy. I considered the iPod as a friend of mine loves his and recommended it to me. Although the controls are intuiti've and the sound is decent, I balked at the price. With the iPod Mini starting at $300 for only 4gb of space lack of additional features, I really didn't even consider it. I checked out and even bought the Sandisk G model with the FM tuner. Extremely tiny, good sound quality, and priced at only $59 after rebates. Still, the space was extremely limiting even more my needs and I returned it.
As it turned out, the Zen Micro was the perfect fit for me. It had the features I wanted and was fairly priced in my opinion. Here's my thoughts on the different aspects of the player:
Cosmetic
Quite simply, it's the best looking player I've ever seen. Small but not tiny, it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. The case that comes with it so you can attach the stand or belt clip does make it a little thicker but not that much. The most impressi've looking thing is how the player pulsates a soft, blue light when it is charging. A little ominous but it gives it a real hi-tech feel.
Sound Quality
I'm not an audiophile but I can appreciate good sound. For such a small player, the Micro deli'vers excellent sound quality. I think the max volume is 25 but for me 2 is more than enough. The headphones are pretty good considering they are stock. I've played around with a few of the EX settings and found Pop to sound the best. Haven't tried the custom setting so I can't report on that yet. Overall, very impressed with the sound quality.
Functionality
Having had a Creative player in the past, the interface was fairly easy to pick up. Still, this is probably the weakest part of the Micro. The touchpad takes some getting used to. I'm getting better at it but even at the least sensiti've setting I've had problems. However, I think that this will actually help the Micro become more user friendly. Once you get used to the touchpad, it is a very easy method for maneuvering through the various menus. The one thing I would have liked to have is a dedicated volume control. You can use the touchpad to adjust the volume while your listening to the player but there is no specific volume button like on the Zen Xtra or other MP3 players I've tried. I guess it's a matter of preference though.
Features
The FM tuner was one of the selling points. The reception isn't too bad where I'm at. I can get all the stations that I like to listen too although the sound quality isn't as great as a dedicated FM tuner. Still, it's a handy little feature for me. I still have to test the Outlook organizer feature but that's not something I plan on really using. The ability for the Micro to become a USB storage device is an outstanding feature. You basically have a portable storage device and can dedicate up to 2gb of space to store files. I've tested the feature on several computers and it works like a charm. Although most users probably won't use their Micro as a portable dri've on a regular basis, it's nice to to have this feature and it's one that I plan on using on a regular basis.
Conclusion
Everything considered, the Zen Micro is the perfect MP3 player for me. It's combination of good lucks, oustanding sound quality, features, and price is hard to beat. I don't know of any other MP3 player that combines everything that I'm looking for. I haven't run into any problems so far but I'm confident that Creative got it right with the Micro. Highly recommend it to anyone looking into a quality MP3 player. I don't think it's an iPod killer like some people have said because frankly, the iPod isn't in the same class.

Answer 1

ERROR IWTH REVIEW:
You mentioned that you cannot tune the radio for youself. You can do so however. Just go to the FM Radio and press the play/pause button. The 'Preset
?' thing will dissappear and then you can just tap the |<< and >>| buttons until you reach the disired frequency