UGLY!!!!!

Can Creative try to make th eplayer look a little more like an ipod mini?
Save yourself the trouble and buy an ipod -- you won't be disappointed. Thousands of accessories and the best user experience you can get. None of the others offer the complete solution that Apple has with the ipod, itunes and itunes music store. It does everything seamlessly. Plays more formats then the others and works on both Mac and Windows unlike most other players/music services. Apple innovates and everyone else copies. There's a reason Apple was voted #1 in customer service by ConsumerReports, Apple stock is up over 200% in the past two years, Apple wins awards for design and has many pieces in the Museum of Modern Art.

Creative makes good players, but they don’t make them fast enough.

AND, there's a reason for that. They're not creative. They're not "forward" thinkers with regard to design. Take a look at the player above - it looks like a mini. Seriously. Sure, it has an OLED screen - but so do other mp3 players. Besides that, there's nothing to stand it apart from other mp3 players. The ONLY thing it has going is the fact that it somewhat resembles a mini.

There are only a few companies who are really innovative, with regard to design. Sony, Apple, and iRiver are a few I can think of...

apple innovative ?? all they have ever done is "steal" other peoples ideas. Try not to have a heart attack over this but they did not invent the GUI, they stole it from Xerox and they did not invent the portable music player or music stores. They just have Steve Jobs who is one of the worlds best spin doctors. why hasnt any ever wanted to copy the Mac ?

You call deadly copyright locks, easy-break players, and those infamous batteries a good user experience? Funny.

There's a reason for Apple's "seamlessness". It's called a "vertical monopoly".

Basically, Steve Jobs has been publicly hating Bill Gates as long as he's secretly been admiring him. Jobs wants to launch his company into a Microsoft-level monopoly, and players designed only to work with iTunes are a good start.

Why is Creative not as fast as Apple? Well, it's not too hard to understand. Apple is bigger. Apple is richer. Creative can't manage the same kind of production budgets or teams. Nevertheless, the Zen Micro trumped Apple all along the watchtower. Why? As Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot just by watching." Creative looked at what's wrong with the iPods (non-removable battery, restrictive copyright controls, shoddy build when it comes to drops, etc.) and fixed it. Surprisingly easy.

I'm intrigued by the new player; I wish it had a removable battery, but it has plenty of pros. I don't think it looks overtly like a Mini, and don't care. We guitarists allow for some similarity if there are new features.

why are yall arguing about the company. im sure that apple has a good hardrive, and im sure creatives is good enough. when i buy an mp3 player i am not wanting accessories and fashion, i want a device that plays music well. creatives sound will always be better than apple, who cares if it doesnt look "pretty"

Creative players are not "ugly". Ipods all look the same while creative has some variaty.

Even though Creative is a little behind, they are worth the money. Ipod simply got everyone to buy their products and start a trend through lots of advertising. If you really know what you want and not buying an Mp3 player just because all your friends have one, then Creative is actually a really good. It doesn't require a specific format like "Itunes" and if a song is deleted off the computer, it'll still stay on the Creative. A zen sleek photo can cost as little as $200, and it has a long battery life. It's size is relative to its capacity and it doesn't make rediculous products like a 4 gig Mp3 player with a color screen that i can crack in half by pushing on a button too hard.

I've benn using my ZEN for a while now & find it EZ to use. I take it to the gym, I use it at work with a set of computer speakers & I use it in my car with a Casette adapter. All three are ez to do and give great sound. my only complaint might be with the lack of accessories avalible and that while using the software for playlist creation you can't sample the song before you chose (or don't chose) it.

Creative is the coolest unlike like an ipod. ipods are too freaking expensive and they all have the same design but creative has many different design so all of u out there dont buy an ipod buy an creative.

i have this mp3 it rocks, and is nice looking, it sure is not ugly. IPOD are the ones are that are freaking ugly.

While I like how it looks and how it sounds when working, but I'm currently waiting for it to un-freeze, last time it froze the screen was on and it took many hours to be able to use it again, this time the screen was off when it froze. Plugging it in to the usb doesn't help, the power switch is useless at the moment, and I can't take out the battery. I'm looking at a long time without my music...

I'm having a similar problem. I bought mine with some Christmas money a month ago, and now it won't turn on. The blue light on the on button is illuminated, but plugging it in doesn't help. I think it ran out of battery, and I want to charge it and load it up with more music, but it's "dead". Help? Other than that, it is very user-friendly and similar enough (in looks only, of course) to an iPod to still be "cool." I hope it comes back. I was really enjoying it.

Use a pin or needle and put it in the small hole next to the usb cable port on the bottom of the player. That should reset the player

okay.

apple isn't all powerful! microsoft is #1. everyone recognizes them...everyone. creative likes to sit back and relax as apple gets richer. apple is the first, then come creative...iriver...rca...so on and so forth with tech companies. the others look at it and come up with better ideas. mp3 players are mp3 players. hence the removable battery. have spares for the rest of your life!!! cool, idea. beautiful design. iPod users get pissed off at me whenever i borrow their iPod. i always drop them real hard so it'll act funny. i drop mine over 20 times and counting and a few dents and dings in the aluminium alloy chassis and works like a charm. creative will get some...only if they get attention by the non-apple people. iPod WAS an mp3 player, but now is soooo isolated. it is now a MEDIA PLAYER. it's always good to beat the normal and go for something others won't usually buy. so be brave and buy creative today!

okay i'm having the same problems with my player as "Mora." i've tried resetting it a couple times and its still not working. any other suggestions?

what if the charger port of my zen is broken how can i fix it

problem...
my sleek photo went into recovery mode and i have done everything i could to return it to normal. i tried reloading the firmware but it just tells me to connect the player. wmp doesnt recognize that the player is plugged in either, but it does show up in my computer. i cant really do anything with it now so will someone please help me!?!?!?!

Let me know if you've found a solution. Mine's doing the same thing.

Zen Sleek Photo is the best MP3 player i have ever had! The sound quality is awesome and even if it is a little bulky, if you drop it, it won't break. Creative kills iPod anyday.

Mine did that once too. . . I plugged it into a different computer and it came back to life. . . No idea why or how but it was amazing. I love my zen it really is the light of my life :)