Get a 2GB Creative Zen V Plus for $19.99
Much as I love seeing an iPod Shuffle for $29, here's an MP3 deal that's even better: Creative has refurbished 2GB Zen V Plus players for just $19.99. Shipping will run you 5 bucks, but that's still an amazing deal on a player that does video as well as audio.
Yep, you read right: The Zen V Plus features a 1.5-inch OLED screen and support for uncompressed AVI and software-transcoded videos. Granted, 2GB of storage isn't enough to hold much, but it's nice to have the option if you want it.
Of course, most users will probably stuff the Zen with music (or Audible audiobooks, also supported) and take it to the gym. It's a good choice for that kind of thing, as it sports an FM tuner, voice recorder, and a battery that can go 15 hours between charges.
CNET had lots of good things to say about the Zen V Plus (as you can see in the above video), rating it four stars out of five. Creative's deal is only for the black-and-green model (make sure to select the 2GB version from the pull-down menu), but I think it's pretty spiffy.
Because it's a refurb, the warranty expires after 90 days. But, hey, for $25 out the door, it's hardly what I'd call a risk. And this little player does wayyy more than the Shuffle, so in the bang-for-the-buck department, it's the clear winner.
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog. 
* Don't count on it for video. The cpu isn't powerful enough for decompressing normal video. You're stuck with "uncompressed" video, i.e. huge files. The video capability isn't very useful.
* Great battery life. 15+ hours for music is accurate.
* It has real buttons like an iPod shuffle so it's handy for bike-riding, motorcycling, etc. where you cannot look at a screen to change songs, volume, etc.
* However, they put a recording button right under the volume button. I collected many choice sound clips of myself swearing when I tried to lower the volume and instead hit the record button. This necessitates stopping and looking at the screen to get back to the music.
I suggest you take a knife and rip off the recording button first thing with this device. I put a drop of Gorilla Glue in the hole to protect the interior and its been great ever since.
- by Digitalconcepts July 1, 2009 3:23 AM PDT
- I agree with all of you above. This is the best thing for the gym and I love the formating options BUT even when my Zen plus was brand new, the organizing software really was awful. It would make endless duplicates of the same song, I cannot find any way to stop this other than to delete each duplications one at a time when I can detect it. Also there are serious security issues with the free software. It is a shame the company will not treat its customers better than this.
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