Creative ZEN Nano Plus (product - digital music player)

I don't generally do product reviews, not when I have two film reviews still waiting in my head, but I just had to say something about the Creative ZEN Nano Plus (512MB).

I bought this little unit from Dick Smith Powerhouse for $69.95. It even came with a $5 RipIt voucher (which I couldn't use no thanks to the Mac-unfriendly world out there, but moving right along...). You can get a similar unit on eBay for around the same price, including postage, give or take a bit according to the capacity, whether it's used etc. Anyway, it was a good price considering what I wanted in an mp3 player:

• 512MB+


• Recording capability + mic


• Line-in


• Mac compatible


• Smaller than palm-sized


• Under $100

I'd been having a bit of a problem getting all of these features, particularly the 'line-in', 'Mac compatible' and the 'under $100' bits, as most products that I looked at were usually two of those three.

Basically, I was looking for a simple unit for the main purpose of recording. I wasn't too fussed about the quality of the sound, just the ease in transferring files. In short, I wanted a dictaphone that didn't have all the unnecessary features that digital recorders have nowadays (with the unnecessarily large price tag of $300+ - like, WTF?!?).

I had a good chat to a sales assistant at the Powerhouse about the ZEN Nano Plus, however, and he was very helpful in answering my questions about using the ZEN with a Mac. To tell you the truth, there were a couple of other units that I might have bought except this one was 1) cheaper and 2) better looking.

The short of it is that even though the box states that the unit requires Windows, it doesn't. It's all lies. You can run it perfectly on a Mac. The only reason you would need Windows is if you wanted to install the accompanying software and the only reason you would want the software is if you were to play digital rights managed (DRM) WMA files. Which Mac users wouldn't be able to download anyway. And if they were, they'd be running Mac Boot Camp, in which case they could run the software. Kapeesh?

So... how does one play mp3s on a 'Windows-only' mp3 player? Just plug in the player via USB and transfer the files onto the ZEN drive. Done. It works the other way too - recorded material is saved into a folder on the ZEN drive as mp3 files and you can just transfer it onto your Mac.

The functions are quite instinctively designed so I didn't need the instructions to operate the unit except for figuring out how to record via line-in. The line-in is probably the most awesome part about the ZEN; you can convert all sorts of tracks to mp3 - like cassettes (remember those?!?) and DRM music that Apple won't let you play on any other sound device other than the iPod you don't have much to your chagrin (not bringing up anyone's particular experience...) - from any line-out, like a headphone slot.

Look, the Creative ZEN Nano Plus isn't going to rock the hardcore music lovers, the techies who love their video features and high capacity hard drives nor the fashionistas who want colour inside and outside their unit, but I have to give it full marks for ticking all of my boxes.

***** - Yeah, I like it a lot.

P.S: I gave the RipIt voucher to my flatmate, who is on PC, so all was not lost. I gained Brownie points in return. I may get Boot Camp soon... then again, I may not.