BAD:
1. FILE MANAGEMENT: As with my interim MP3 player that I used before this (Zen MicroPhoto 8GB), I initially connected it to my PC in hopes of being able to use only Windows Explorer to manage my mp3 files. This is very limiting because a)I wasn't able to play mp3s from my Zen V Plus via PC application like Winamp, b)files aren't arranged by filename, but rather by Album Title(?!?!?), and c)deleting or copying files takes EXTREMELY LONG (especially deleting). So in other words, you are forced to use their proprietary software.
2. TRANSFER SPEEDS: Transfer speeds on this mp3 player are abysmal. It took about 25 minutes to transfer 2 gigs of audio files.
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4. RECHARGING & BATTERY LIFE: It takes 6 hours to recharge the battery. 6 HOURS! When I had my previous iAudio mp3 player charging via USB, it took less than an hour to fully charge. Seriously, it should not take 6 HOURS to charge an mp3 player that has a battery life of 20 hours.
5. PLAYING FILES IN ORDER: Unless you create a custom playlist(s), the songs will play in alphabetical order of ALBUM! WHY?!?!? It should be in order of ARTIST! What were Creative's engineers thinking???
CONCLUSION: The mp3 player is great in terms of sound, navigation, it has enough features to satisfy most users, it is sturdy, and it looks nice. However, file transfer speeds are slow, file management via Windows Explorer and even the Creative software is poor, and the time to recharge the battery is way too long.
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ADD-ON TO REVIEW (10/17/06): Hi, just want to add a few more notes on this review. In the manual, there is a warning that reads, "the cord(s) included with this product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling." Hmm...so I guess if you're pregnant, or want to avoid cancer altogether, this may deter you from purchasing this mp3 player. Another thing, you can't delete songs/files directly using just the mp3 player. You have to delete from a connected PC. Though the mp3 player menu has a "remove" option, it will only remove the song/file from the list, but the file will STILL OCCUPY SPACE on the mp3 player. And when I use the Creative software, there is nothing that indicates which files are "removed" and which files aren't. One last thing: when you are in the middle of an audio file, and let's say you pause, walk away for a few minutes, and come back to find that it's turned itself off (to conserve battery life; shutdown from idle time can be configured), the mp3 file doesn't resume from the place it was paused. It will only start BACK FROM THE BEGINNING. This is a major problem, particularly if you listen to hour-long podcasts or really long audio tracks. Even when I go into menu mode, and accidently go into voice record,fm radio, or line-in record mode, it will stop the audio and you'll have to start back from the beginning again! The chances that I will return this product now? 99.9% (I bring my review down to 1.5 stars)
