uhhh 2gb flash drives are like 20-30$

and oh yea consider that we haven't seen a new MuVo in like 2 years.

I just got one last night at Fry's Electronics (11/26/07) for $80 on a whim. I already have a Creative Zen Vision:M, and while I like it, I wanted something smaller that didn't have to mess with cords and such. (Actually, I got 2 mp3 players, the Muvo T100 & some Pixxo 2gb player that was $40, which I'll mention later in comparison).

Before I go into my mini-review, I noticed today (11/27) on Creative's site that they're selling the T100 for a promo price of ~$40. Talk about shafted...I paid $40 more for mine. D'oh! Oh well, that's what you get for spur-of-the-moment purchasing. Hehe.

Anyways, here's what I like about it so far.

1) slim, sleek & light ... it's smaller than the regular flash drive I own and has more room.

2) battery life is good, and recharges pretty fast, too. It was near-depleted when I got it, but within about 30 min hooked to the comp, it was about 1/2 charged (you can tell by the blinking indicator light on it).

3) The indicator light is pretty intuitive, since it uses stop-light (red, yellow, green) indication for stuff. Generally, when you see red, you know something's up (like the battery is about dead). Yellow means there might be a problem (like the battery has about 1/4 charge left or the file/song it's trying to play is an unrecognized format). Green is good.

4) It plugs in like a normal flash stick, without screwing with cables or special adapters.

5) You don't need special software or crap like that (a big pet-peeve in my opinion). You just plug it in, toss files on it as you like, and you're good to go. You can organize the songs into folders, and then use the controls to move to different folders and play the songs in them, which is exactly what I was looking for in a player. (I personally like using folders to manage my music, which is why the Vision:M irked me a bit, forcing you to toss all your songs into one folder, and use id3 tags to manage them. To each their own.)

6) The controls are semi-intuitive. The usual "+" pad and button in the middle make for easy single-thumb operation. The controls are stiff enough to ensure you won't accidentally do something (there's a noticeable push & click to do things). But there's still a standard locking toggle on the side to help avoid accidental interaction (EG: in your pocket and you sit on it or something.)

7) Has a solid feel to it (not sure if it's metal or just good-quality plastic). But, it doesn't feel flimsy or frail. Pretty sure if I chucked this thing at the wall, it would bounce back and still work, maybe with just some superficial scratches.

8) Most importantly (for me), since it acts like a generic flash stick...it's compatible with Linux! I can plug it into Ubuntu w/o having to go through Gnomad 2 or Amarok.

Here's what I don't like...

1) the bass boost is a bit laughable. I didn't notice much difference, other than maybe the mid-tones on the EQ were probably shifted down so the bass and treble came through more. Personally, I use bass-boost headphones, so it's not a big deal to me.

2) The end cap covering the USB stays on, but there's still a slight, loose "wiggle" to it. I'd really like for it to go on firm, so you won't notice it moving ever so slightly when you're holding it in your hand.

3) It's a flash drive with a built-in battery. One or the other will wear out eventually (flash drives can only take so many re-writes, and lith-ion batteries can only take so many charges). I'm pretty sure it'll last a good few years, though.

Overall, I give it 2 thumbs up.

However, the Pixxo 2gb player I got for $40...

* Plays mp3, wma, etc (the usual)

* Has an FM stereo (muvo doesn't)

* Also has a USB slot plug-n-play design

* Has FM player (capable of auto-scanning for presets)

* Runs off a single AAA battery (which gives it about a 1-2 life span, unfortunately, but still..you can change the batt's if you're on a long trip)

* Has a visual display to show the songs and feedback (Muvo doesn't)

* Also uses generic file transfer...can be used like a generic flash stick, for files or songs.

* Can toss songs into folders to organize, and have it play the folder contents.

* Can record speech / audio, and stash them as sound clips, so you can play back and record others as needed.

* Can record telephone numbers (acts like a mini personal phone directory !)

Unfortunately...

* It has a vaguely noticeable hum in the background when it's playing songs, like someone's running a motorboat in the far distance. So, all those swiss-army features, but the main one, playing songs crisp and clear, it seems to be lacking ... D'OH! You don't notice it after a while of listening to a song, but when the song fades out, you notice it again.

* It's like 3x bigger than the Muvo.

* It's made of some cheapo plastic. One of the controls (a switch which you flip back and forth, then springs back to the middle position) I'm pretty sure will break before the actual mp3 player is worn out.

* If this thing eats batteries like popcorn, I probably won't use it as much as I'd like. Sucks going for a work out or walk, and the batt dies mid way.

Update on Muvo T100 ... Ok, so this thing is basically Creative's version of the iPod Shuffle, 1st gen (you know, the one that looked like a flash stick with male USB plug).

Apple, however, decided to make their successive gen Shuffles use the mini female USB port design instead of the flash stick USB male connector. So, for 2nd and 3rd gen Shuffles, you have to bring along a cord to hook the damn thing to your computer.

I think Creative was smart in this sense, because they kept the Muvo series with the USB male plug, so you don't need a cord, and they also tossed out the Zen Stone now, which is like the current gen iPod Shuffles and their mini-USB female ports.

So, you can choose which type you like. The Zen Stone even comes with or without a screen, so if the iPod Shuffle annoys you being screenless, you can get the Zen Stone Plus instead, since it has the screen.

But, I wanted to clarify that there is no "hold" button/toggle on the T100. So, if you stuff it in your pocket and sit on it, you might end up switching songs accidentally.

It's light enough to hang from your neck if you use headphones with a lanyard, but it'd be nice if Creative put out some kind of click holder for it, so you could clip it to your shirt or sleeve. It bobbing back and forth when dangling is just annoying enough during a work out to almost make me take it off.

The audio quality is very good on it, though, and even when you're moving to a very large MP3, it loads almost instantly (I've got some DJ mix mp3's that are pushing 100mb, and they just instantly start up like the smaller mp3's.)

I can't confirm yet if there's seemless playback.

All in all, I think it's a good player...basically a flash drive that plays mp3's. Easily portable, and 4gb with folder organization is great for folks who like to just load on what they want to listen to currently from their comp, then bump it off later as they replace it with new stuff.

Now if they'd just make wireless earbuds... The damn earbud cord is getting freakin annoying....

When are you going to post a review for the Zen MuVo T100?
They are avaible on creative website

I just got this one. My first MP3 player! Everything Bob Smiley said about it is right. I'm sorry he got shafted on the price, and to rub it in even more I got a 4 gig model for $40 from Creative directly.

Lots of reviews poo-poo this player as it's not very gee-wiz and some bs about it being a copy of Apple, but I don't care. It works and it's cheap. I loaded about 2gigs or 250 songs from my Mepis/Linux box and randomly play them thru my car stereo via a cassette adapter. It works! Sounds about as good as the FM radio. For the few days I've had it I'm happy.

ps This is good site, very handy for mp3 shopping.

Is it a rip off from the old Ipod shuffle - Yes. Does it work better for cheaper - Yes.
The only CON I have with this is that I can't plug into my stereo or car radio. It will only output music through headphones

I'm really disappointed with the sound quality. The bass is like non existent. I expected much more from creative.
this isnt the player to play any songs with extensive instruments like rock, metal, etc.

i ve bought a muvo T100 and it was great, but now its not working when u put in the computer to recharge insted of the red light, it give a permenant green light and the computer did not recognise it, so why is that.

@wageih - that`s exactly what happend with my ipod shuffle 1st gen. This is also why I`m considering a new mp3 player, and since Creative are on the top of the list on that matter, I`m thinkin of something similar to what I had & muvo t-100 seems like the right choice.

@robert - is the player itself weak on the audio output, or are the headphones faulty?

Please reply, thx in advance.