Customer Reviews
2nd Zen that broke down 
2008-06-23
I have had both an 4GB and 8GB Creative Zen V Plus, and the first died in about 5 months, the second in about 10. I'm going to try a different brand and see if it lasts longer.
Where is the instruction book? 
2008-02-24
I just got this 8gig mp3 player. Using the Zen V Media Explorer I was able to load songs and generate a playlist. I can play the playlist.
HOWEVER, there are no instructions for anything. I cannot even get the main menu to come up (actually, I did it once and can't do it again as I don't remember the magic set of keystrokes required). Also, I understand it has an FM radio, but can't see how to turn it on. There needs to be an instruction manual. I surfed the web trying to find something like this and only ran across blogs bemoaning the same thing I am complaining about. So, if anyone knows of online instructions or tips, please let me know at bwolfe01@yahoo.com. Thanks.
Having vented, I must say I really like the size and quality of the player. It seems to be really nice and, with an instruction manual, I might give it 5 stars.
Cool, short-lived lemon 
2008-02-20
My unit lasted about four days. It performed very well until it shut down last night. Now it refuses to boot... maybe the screen is dead. Either way, it's a lemon. After checking out reviews at other sights, this problem is not so uncommon. I'm returning my unit today for a refund.
Outstanding portable recorder... with one major flaw. 
2008-02-09
If you have old tapes and records you would like to be able to archive, put into your computer or other MP3 player, and/or burn CD copies of, this is the the portable media player/ recorder for you...but it has one MAJOR flaw*
A line in jack (odd 2.5mm, but adaptable) is a very rare thing on a portable media player/ recorder, and this has one...add to that it's VU meters and it's close to perfect for making digital copies of any audio source including your old analog recordings. That's right it actually has a line in jack AND VU meters..how sweet is that? With an adapter ( Audio Adapter - Rca - Mini-phone Stereo 3.5 Mm (m) ) you can jack it right in to your stereo system..with the included 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable you can jack into anything with a standard stereo 3.5mm headphone/ output jack.
Recoding is encoded at 128 or 160Kbps WMA..ok so it.s not high end top notch audio, but it's just fine for cassettes,LPs, 45s, radio, and yes even your old 8-track cartridges. 320 Kbps would have been better, but 160 is adequate.
It also has a built in mono microphone that makes decent sounding recordings.
..and yes it'll play your audio and video files, and display pictures too... just like everything else, bla, bla ,bla. Nothing new there.
Audio output is not very loud, but it does have a real user adjustable five band equalizer.
Battery life is about 9-12 hrs...Uh... battery..battery...WHERE'S THE BATTERY?
* THE BATTERY IS NOT USER REPLACEABLE. IMHO that's inexcusable. When it goes dead on you and you're away from home you're sunk. Likewise when it'll no longer hold a charge. The only way to replace the battery is to literally pry the case apart or have it replaced by a technician!
As a recorder I'd give it an 8/10.
As a portable media player I'd give it 2/10 because of the battery issue alone...where it not for that I'd say 7/10.. sounds good for what it is, but I wish it had more output power.
Good, if you haven't been using Ipod before 2008-02-08
This is a nice gadget, but as i lost my Ipod, i thought of a cheaper options. When i got it i wasn't satisfied with the interface it had(Music quality is good). Very confusing as compared to an Ipod. I returned it and got a new Nano.
I would say buying an old Ipod can be a good option if you are a Ipod user already.
A great mp3 player! 
2008-02-05
Creative's Zen V Plus is the symbol of style and object of desire. It has a neat rounded shape that fits comfortably in the hand. It can store from hundreds to thousands of songs and photos and includes an FM radio with 32 presets. A bright color screen and Creative's famous interface make it easy to use, and it supports multiple audio formats including MP3, WMA and Audible Audio. The Zen V Plus can record straight to WMA without a PC, and it has a built-in microphone for voice notes. It can also play video clips.
Buggy Bloatware, Defective Hardware - How UnZenlike 2008-01-26
If you buy this player, be prepared for a huge amount of "required" and promotional software to be installed on your system.
In the end, I wound up with a defective player, but my biggest objection to this unit was the sheer volume of useless, redundant, and trial software that got placed on my system during the installation. I bought this to play Overdrive audio books provided by my local library. Overdrive uses DRM that requires Windows Media Player. I'm no iFanboy, but my everyday audio players for commuting and the gym are those are made by the company that has ~80% of the market - and now I see why. One required program that manages my media, including Amazon MP3 purchases, beautifully. It just works.
The unit arrived along with an installation CD. Going along with the installation, I wound up with several Creative programs (media manager, transfer manager, etc.) and some promotional trial software including Audible. I thought the Audible trial installation was interesting as I already had an Audible account and software installed. In the end, I had 5 or 6 new icons on the desktop and a ton of unwanted and unneeded software. Much of it didn't work or was unnecessarily complex.
The Creative software took control as default media player without asking. It even managed to cause my PC to be deauthorized with the iTunes store. The Audible trial installation hosed my existing Audible software. In the end, the unit itself had defective memory so I just uninstalled the software, cleaned up my system and sent it all back. Four hours wasted.
I wound up replacing this unit with the Sandisk Sansa Clip. The capacity is less, but it holds 5 - 6 audiobooks and meets my intended purpose perfectly. There is no software needed other than a simple driver. Audio book files are transferred using the Overdrive console. Other means of transfer include via Windows Media Player or simply by using Windows Explorer and dragging files into the Music folder on the Clip. (Imagine that!)
Sorry Creative, but I agree with the Sandisk approach. If I buy an audio player, that's all I want. I don't need you to replace all the media management software on my system with buggy versions of your own. Oh, and besides, the Sandisk hardware wasn't shipped with defective memory.
Great Machine - Plenty of Bookmarks 2008-01-23
Great machine--plenty of bookmarks to keep your place. I bought this as a gift for my wife who listens to classes more than to music.
I selected this player specifically because it has multiple bookmarks. She had a two-to-three day learning curve to become familiar with all the features and now she loves it.
Whenever we drive together, we play one of her classes using a Kensington FM transmitter so the Zen plays through the car speakers--it's wonderful. Sounds great, works great, and as far as I could tell, this has more bookmarks than any other machine I could find.
This MP3 player was selected as one of the top five players by CNET Review Editors.
Excellent player 2008-01-18
I shopped for a long time for a MP3 player and chose the Zen Plus V because it has the line-in record. This feature is excellent for capturing songs off old cassettes and the radio or internet sites. There is no need to use this for CDs if you have a PC since it is better to rip a CD on a PC and then load it to the Zen. The sync manager with cassettes does not separate the songs out if you just start the tape and let it play. So this is a short coming. It will separate the songs if you monitor it and stop it after each song. The sound quality for the Plus V is good. The toggle button is small as other viewers mention, but I have not found it to be a problem. I have had it lock up only one tiem on me. It was under very heavy recording usage at the time. I hit the reset button and everything restored correctly. I also bought the extended warranty because of the problems I read in the reviews with lockup. So far it has not been much of an issue. I would highly receommned this player and recorder. The line in record feature is good for people who want to transfer old cassettes and I also use it to record public presentations and speeches I do.
a quick death 2008-01-15
I got this as a gift from my wife just this past Christmas. It completely died mid-song while I was walking to the supermarket. And that was only the fourth or fifth time that I used it.
Caveat emptor.
