Originally posted by: swNYC
Received mine from the Amazon $299 deal a few weeks ago.
The unit is pretty solid, slightly larger than I expected (and compared to the IPod). Its roughly the size and weight of Two 12.5mm 2.5" HDs stacked on top of each other.
The scroll-press button is 'a la Sony style'. Menus are pretty easy to navigate, and as ATers confirmed in the above posts, the sound is excellent compared to my friend's Ipod. The only gripe is, the Zen does not act like a FireWire Hard Drive when plugged into the computer unlike its USB cousin, the Creative MuVo. You must transfer files through Creative's Jukebox program.
Best of all, the Zen supports International MP3 UTF Name Tags, and I believe its the only player in the market capable of doing so. I tried it with some Japanese and Chinese MP3s and the characters are correctly displayed. Make sure you set the language as 'English - International' to display the characters correctly.
However, be warned that Creative's rebate fulfillment procedures (Stillwater, Okla.) can be quite unpleasant. From what I have heard from FW, make sure you photocopy everything, even the envelope. Send your rebate via Priority Mail, w/ delivery confirmation, and keep your USPS receipt and tracking slip. Do not use Certified Mail since its mailed to a mailbox, and no one will sign for it.
Edited for speeling [sic]