My first portable MP3 player was the Rio Volt. What a piece of junk. So I bought this Nomad Jukebox 10GB player. I don't have 10GB of MP3s in my music collection, but I'm pretty close. With these hard drive-based MP3 players, I was under the impression you could just connect it to your computer, have it show up as a removable drive in Explorer, and just copy over the files. On the contrary, you have to start some bloated software to connect to the Nomad and copy the files over. Unfortunately, navigating a large collection with the Nomad is difficult. For example, you can't organize the files into folders on the original Jukebox models. Fortunately, the computer software does make it a tad easier to create playlists than on the Jukebox alone.

Battery life is short...maybe 4 hours using AA rechargeables. The power adapter doesn't seem to charge them very well, so I use an external battery charger. At least it doesn't use a proprietary battery like the iPod. I've dropped the unit a couple of times. The unit shuts itself off, but I was able to turn it back on with no problems.

If you need to carry your extensive music collection every where you go, the Nomad Jukebox is a good choice. I absolutely recommend you go to nomadworld.com and upgrade the firmware to 4.1. You will have fewer problems. Also, stay away from the Nomad bloatware. There is a freeware app called "MP3-Library" that works very well with the original Jukebox. If you have a the Jukebox 2 or 3, look into Notmad Explorer (redchairsoftware.com) which allows you to move files to and fro in Windows Explorer. It costs a little, but the software is updated every 2 weeks or so with new features and the updates are free forever. Also check out nomadness.net for underground info on your Nomad.

Personally, the volume isn't loud enough to hear over my lawn mower or whatever when doing chores. The Nomad takes a good minute or two to start up which is slower than my computer. I'm constantly rotating in and out the songs I listen to. It takes about as long to copy the files over to Jukebox as it does to burn a CD, so I think I am going back to a MP3 CD solution (Samsung MCD-HM200). It's easier to use and cheaper, so I won't cry when it breaks.

Seeing that the reviews here are all really good, or really bad, let me explain. I bought this a short time ago,and have had no serious issues with it at this point. Battery life is only about 4 hours, which is about right when you consider they're running a hard drive (moving part, always uses more power.). Second, transferring music. It can be a little confusing to get your mp3's transferred over, but once you figure it out, it really isn't too difficult at all. Sound quality is excellent, and while some reviews may sway you away from the products, Creative Labs tends to make an excellent line of audio products. I'd say this product is worth buying, at the very least if you see it on sale...and don't worry too much about those who blasted it with just one star...most likely frustrated "Newbies".

I thought this would be a very hard to use player. i was wrong. i have never seen anything easier. the menus are easy to make and the songs are very easy to navigate through. also the space is enormous. compared to other mp3 players i would definitely say that this is the best. using this you don't have to carry all the cds around.

Seeing as I have a large CD collection (250+), it's difficult for me to decide what I'd like to listen to on the bus that goes to and from school. I saw an ad for Future Shop. They said that going back to school is the day you "put 150 albums in the palm of your hand." I thought that was cool, but Future Shop had no idea what it was, maybe a burner. How can you hold 150 albums in just one burner, anyway? I found out later that this machine was an mp3 player, and, using my birthday money, I got it. Disasters kept striking when we tried to set it up. Eventually, it works and now I have something to amuse myself on the long bus rides for Ladner or North Delta. My only complaints would be that it doesn't have enough room for ALL the CDs I like, and has very short battery life.

Like many people, I resent shelling out my hard earned money for something which it seems has been designed to be a disposable commodity like an old video cassette tape, which this product clearly has.
Creative have produced an apparently amazing concept without listening to the customer...hmmm, now there's a surprise, another corporation ripping off people with products with short shelf-lives, built no doubt by cheap foreign labour and sold at staggeringly high profits. Sound familiar? Just look around...
This product was ok to begin with, but performance tailed off quickly as soon as the warranty expired...coincidence? You decide.
Creative have seen the last of my money, and I hope others arent as easily conned into buying the latest must-have gizmo like I unfortunately was. My advice? Go with the Ipod, and lets see Creative try being creative with their accounts as their profits disintegrate like one of their poorly assembled products. The revolution starts here!