



No good for video -- dag nab it!!
I have had a Zen V Plus for about a year, and have been very pleased with it (great price, performance, features, etc. -- awkward software, but it works once you get used to it).
Two weeks ago, I bought the Zen Mozaic as a gift. (I was hoping to get another Zen V Plus, but it seems the Mozaic is intended to be Creative's market replacement. Also, everything about the Mozaic seemed to be an update of the V Plus and, given my pleasure with the V Plus, I figured this would probably be a little better.) Big mistake! One top feature is the viewing of video files. Creative totally messed up this time. The video conversion/transfer software crashes every time I try to use it. I made the attempt on three difference machines (two XP SP2, one Vista Home Premium), and to no avail. I wasted a whole day wrestling with the darned thing.
Returned the product, and am deeply suspicious of trying another Creative product ever again. Creative MUST invest in better management software. It doesn't matter how great the hardware may be if the software fails.




Good Mid-Range Player
I was immediately taken aback by this player. Its design took some time to get used to, but after seeing it up close and getting used to its controls, i feel like it is a good choice for any casual music listener.
The Good: 1. I like the design of it. Something new is always good for a market that has nothing different to give these days. 2. The sound quality is excellent. 3. The battery life is Amazing! I clocked in at 41.3 hours with all 128kbps songs and the screen off thanks to the lock. i havent done test with 192kbps songs yet, but i dont think it really matters too much. 4. Navigation is another plus. not just the default layout, but the customizability of it. you can move the menus around, add, delete, and set a certain item to the hotkey. this gave me the feeling that it was actually "My" mp3 player, unlike the Sansa, Ipod, and Zune mp3 players that do not allow any modification of the default layout.
The Bad: 1. Slow buttons. i noticed that when i scroll through the menus, sometimes i would have to push a button twice to get it to respond. i haven't had to push it three times yet, but if i do, i might have to start complaining about the lazy response times. 2. Creative Centrale. I dont like this program. i didnt have the install problems of the last reviewer, but the conversion times of videos, the hassle of trying to add albums to the program, and the lack of a good "find album art" utility make the software almost useless. so far, the freeware creative Vision:M video converter is doing a great job of fixing the vids, so i have absolutely no use for the bundled software.
All in all, i love this player. i get a couple random looks around town when i have it out, and the built-in speaker has quite a presence. $59.99US for 2gb and $79.99US for 4gb is crazy cheap for such a uniquely awesome little player. I highly recommend you go check one out for yourself.