The Good
Compared to Diamond Rio
PMP300 and jazPiper, the NOMAD player is smaller in size. And similar with the
Rio and jazPiper, it has no moving parts as well. Weighing only 64g without
batteries, the Creative NOMAD has an internal memory of
32MB and a Flash Memory of 32MB as well, which means that it can store up till
64MB worth of MP3 files. Unlike the rest of the players, the Creative NOMAD is
the only one that comes directly with 64MB space. However, it is not upgradeable
as yet.
Check out the interface of the player...sleek
ah....
The Creative NOMAD has a
sleek magnesium casing. It has a round shape LCD
display at the front of the player, together with small buttons at the side and
a headphone jack located at the top of the player. The shape and design of the
Creative NOMAD somehow reminds me of the electric shaver my father is using.
The all new NOMAD Shaver!
This is a real electrical shaver.
Packed with the
high-quality Creative earphones, the Creative NOMAD has a more powerful bass
than the Rio. Like the Rio, the
creative NOMAD also has 3
preset sound environments – Classic, Jazz and Rock. The equalizer (EQ) is
found at the left side of the Player. Just hold on to it for about 3 seconds and
you can choose the different sound environment, visible on the LCD display.
Buttons on
the left side of the
player Buttons on the right side of the player
If you are using a Discman,
you will know that the one of the most practical criteria when owning one is the
ESP (anti-shock) program, created to withstand the uneven ground when traveling
so that there won’t be jerks and interferences while listening to your CD.
However this ESP program could only last to a certain time limit. Well, the
Creative NOMAD offers a 100% skip-free CD-Quality playback even when you traveling
on uneven ground.
The Creative NOMAD allows
you to enjoy up to 2 hours of near CD-Quality music with the 64MB ram. 2 CDs are bundled in this package. One, a software
installation CD and the other a MP3 content CD. By simply installing the
Software installation CD, a “Creative NOMAD Manager” and “The Creative
Digital Audio Center” will be extracted from the CD. The NOMAD Manager enables
you to upload and remove your MP3 files from the player while the Digital Audio Center
allows you to rip and convert CD audio from personal CD collections into MP3
files for storage and playback on the NOMAD player.
Like jazPiper, the Creative
NOMAD provides up till 4-hours of Voice Recording. It has a little MIC at the
top right hand corner of the player. The voice recordings can even be uploaded
into your own computer for listening and also for storage. This feature
certainly benefits students who do not wish to miss important information during
lectures.
Ever since the business of
MP3 players started, consumers have demanded for a FM Tuner to be attached to
this portable digital audio player. Creative, satisfying the needs of these
consumers, has in-built a FM Tuner, which can store up till 10 different FM
channels. This is one of the main differences between the Creative NOMAD and the
rest of the current MP3 players that are in the market now.
Along with this Creative
NOMAD MP3 player comes a docking station within the box. This docking station is
used to upload the MP3 music into the NOMAD player, connected to your computer
with a parallel port and powered by a two-pined AC Adaptor. This clears the
inconvenience of connecting and disconnecting the player to the parallel
port. The docking station also charges the two AAA rechargeable batteries
to be ready for your listening pleasure. In simple words, More Convenient.
Front of the Docking
Station
Back of the Docking Station
Creative NOMAD
Manager
Uploading
MP3 files into the NOMAD Player
Like the other MP3 player
updating software, the Creative NOMAD Manager is
written for use in Windows 95/98. When you start the NOMAD Manager, a
graphically designed NOMAD player will appear while your computer loads the program. The
interface of the NOMAD Manager reminds me of the touch-screen PDA. As I have
said, the NOMAD player is divided into two storage sections – 32MB of internal
memory and the Flash memory card consisting of another 32MB. To view the
different sections, just simply click on the “View” button located at the
top left-hand side of the program, and then click on the section you want to go
to.
To download MP3 files
into the NOMAD player, just click on the “Transfer” button located at the
left side of the program and an identical window will open which will allow you
to download the MP3 files from a specific directory on your computer. It took me
less than 10 minutes to complete a full transfer of 64MB of MP3 files.
When
downloading songs into the player, you will see this three screens.....looks
quite cool.
VOICE
RECORDING
As
for the voice recording, simply just change the mode of the NOMAD player to
voice recording. To start the recording, simply just press the "REC"
button located on the right side of the MP3 player. To stop, just press the
button with the square above it. Through the NOMAD Manager, you can
upload the recorded voice into your desktop for listening and for storage. You
even hear the recorded voice through the NOMAD Manager. Do remember to change
the mode of the NOMAD Manager to the "Voice" mode, button located on
the top right of the program, just to sort the files clearer between MP3 files
and voice recorded files.
Transferring the voice recorded files to
the Desktop.
For those who are worrying where you could
get MP3 files, the Internet provides websites where you can download MP3 songs
for free. Websites such as MP3.com are one of the most popular URL people go for
the latest MP3 files.
The
Bad:
All things have bad points.
This applies for the Creative NOMAD as well. The greatest bad point they have is
the price quoted for this player. S$429(quoted from the NOMAD Review from the
Computer Times) is really very EX for a MP3 player.
Although it consists of a 64MB memory space, a FM Tuner and a Voice
recorder, some people would rather get a MD player which costs around the same
as well.
There
is an audible "POP" sound when you power up the Creative NOMAD
Player. This results to some irritation upon initial encounter. Well i guess
the only way to prevent such irritation is to lower the volume every time
before you power off the NOMAD player but this is rather troublesome i guess
as the previous MP3 players do not have such encounters.
Another thing is that when
I trying the 3 different preset sound environments of the NOMAD player- Classic,
Jazz and Rock, I found not much of a difference between the normal preset and
the 3 other presets provided by the NOMAD player. An example is when I switched
to the Rock mode, the bass should normally be heavier. However, when I changed
to the Rock preset with the NOMAD player, I found little difference in the sound.
Summary
of all the existing MP3 Players there are in the Market
| Properties |
Diamond
Rio PMP300 |
jazPiper |
Creative
NOMAD Player |
| Weight
(without batteries) |
70g |
74g |
64g |
| Memory |
32MB |
32MB |
64MB |
| Upgradeable |
64MB |
64MB |
- |
| Power |
Single
1.5V standard AA alkaline battery |
2
x AAA size alkali |
2
x AAA NiMH fully charged batteries or alkaline |
| Battery |
Non-rechargeable |
Non-rechargeable |
Rechargeable |
| Colour |
Black |
Sliver |
Sliver |
| Outer
Case |
Plastic |
Plastic |
Magnesium |
| Sound
Environment |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Signal
to Noise Ratio |
>90dB |
>90dB |
>90dB |
| Frequency
Range |
20 - 20 kHz
|
20 - 20 kHz
|
20 - 20 kHz
|
| Voice
Recorded |
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Fm
Tuner |
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
| Docking
Station |
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
| Price |
$280
|
$290
|
$429
|
| Software
Provided |
- Setup Installation CD
- CD Music Sampler
|
- jazPiper Desk File Management
Software
- Jet Audio Integrated Multimedia
Player
|
- Software Installation CD
(Includes a Multimedia player - Musicmatch)
- MP3 Content CD
|
Conclusion:
Creative NOMAD is the latest model in the MP3
player industry and the only MP3 player with a FM Tuner and an initial 32
MB Flash Memory Card. Although the NOMAD player looks sleek and small, the
price of this product would draw many away towards a better and cheaper choice
Digital Audio Player. But if you got what it takes to own the best MP3 player
currently in town, go for it. You won't regret it.
