Creative MuVo TX FM 1 GB MP3 Player
Product Description
Creative's MuVo TX FM makes it a breeze to take your favorite music with you wherever you go--to the office, to the gym, or on a rollerblading expedition. The size of a small USB flash memory drive, the MuVo TX FM weighs just 1.1 ounces with the single AAA battery inserted into the battery pack. This multiformat player is compatible with both MP3 and WMA files, and it also includes an FM tuner and the capability to record music directly from the radio. It also includes a built-in microphone for recording short voice notes or long lectures. You can also use the MuVo TX FM as a mass storage USB drive, enabling you to carry important documents and presentations.
The 1 GB internal flash memory will store up to 32 hours of WMA files at 64 kbps or up to 26 hours of MP3 music at 128 kbps; it will also store up to 64 hours of voice recordings. With support for WMA, MuVo Micro N200 offers you access to the widest selection of music download services on the Internet, including Best Buy MusicNow, Buy Music, Musicmatch, and Napster.
It's powered by one AAA battery that provides up to 16 hours of continuous play. With super-fast USB 2.0 connectivity and simple drag-and-drop transfer without software, the MuVo TX FM accepts music files as quickly as a song per second. The 96 x 32-pixel blue backlit LCD displays file information, and you can scroll through folders, playlists, or individual songs. You can customize playback with a five-band graphic equalizer with four equalization presets, as well as environmental settings for pop, rock, jazz, or classical.
What's in the Box
This package includes the 1 GB MuVo TX FM digital audio player, earbuds, 15-inch velcro armband, carrying case with beltclip, and CD-ROM with Creative MediaSource music management software. MediaSource is an easy-to-use application for ripping CDs, organizing entire digital music collections, and easily transferring MP3 and WMA files.
Product Review
I've owned the original Muvo (128MB) for about two years. It's been heavily used as both a jump drive as well as an MP3 player. It has seen a LOT of use and shows no signs of giving up the ghost. I like my original Muvo so much I bought the Muvo 1GB TX FM just so I could store more of my data/music. (I know in this day and age it seems strange even ludicrous perhaps, but I actually buy my CD's from a store and then rip them to my computer - yes, you heard that right, I actually pay for my music!) I also own the original Nomad Jukebox 10GB (even older) which is hooked into the system wired throughout my house. I've played, recorded, dropped, and generally beat the heck out of both devices and both are still going strong.
As far as the Muvo TX FM 1GB, what can I say? I've had it for two days and already have formed a very positive opinion (I really like it).
Over my original Muvo 128MB it adds:
- 1GB storage for 16 hours of MP3 (8 times the storage of my old Muvo)
- FM receiver with a bunch of presets (woo hoo! a radio!) - with the ability to record.
- Voice recording - quality is mediocre, but comprehendible.
- 5-band custom equalizer with other presets.
- A backlit LCD.
- Folder support (but only 1 level deep for Music files).
- A bunch of play modes (personally, more than I need or will use).
- You can delete files from the player.
- Cool jog control allowing forward/backward/select operations.
- Settings for stuff like contrast, backlight, etc.
- Faster USB 2.0 support (still supports 1.1)
- Great "Steal Me" red color.
Like my old Muvo:
- Music sound quality is top notch as far as MP3 goes. Creative does have a bit of a reputation for this. Although any real audiophile worth his salt would never use compressed audio in a high end home system <sniff>, the Muvo still sounds pretty good.
- Shows up in Windows Explorer as a Removable Drive - allowing drag and drop operations. There is no problem storing data in n-level folders.
- Muvo separates from battery pack so it can plug directly into a USB port. I really like this as I am prone to lose cables among the jumble of other techno items around my house. A word or warning though: The form factor may not fit some USB ports. In this case, a USB extender cable will be needed (which is no different than other MP3 players with the cable).
Some things to note:
- The player plays ALL music files in alphabetical order unless your MP3 files are named with the TrackNumber -Song (e.g. 01-SongName.mp3) naming convention. This can be a problem if you've named your files without the prefixed track number. For me, this wasn't a big deal when I realized I could name my files with the TrackNumber-Song name and have a separate tag name for the song itself. (Interestingly enough, my original Muvo 128MB would play in original album order if the songs were transferred through Creative's MediaSource, but would play alphabetically if transferred using Windows Explorer). The TrackNumber-Song convention of file naming really solves the problem for me. Note that this convention also allows songs to be played in the correct order when dragged-dropped from Windows Explorer
- Uses 1 AAA battery. My old Muvo lasted about 10 to 12 hours. Not sure about the new one yet (depending on backlight settings, etc.) but Creative says 15 hours of MP3. I actually like the old-fashioned battery method - again, less cables for recharging and you can always get something called a rechargeable battery if you are a penny pincher.
- As mentioned before, the player allows tree based folder systems, but will only play music files from either the root level or the 1st folder level off the root. This is not a problem for me since all my mp3 files are arranged by Album as the folder name with the Album mp3 files contained in that folder. The Muvo TX FM series DOES have a menu item to skip to the desired folder and various play modes to play only that folder - so navigation is really not a problem. Playlists would be nice, but I really don't mind the lack of them on a device the size of the Muvo since this it isn't designed to be so much a "jukebox" type of player that holds ALL your music as much as it is a very portable "music of the week" type of device. I get my on-the-fly playlists from my Nomad (or someday the Creative Zen Touch 100GB or whatever).
- Since I have never had any problems with either my Muvo or Nomad I don't have any experience with Creative's customer service and therefore can't comment on it.
- I am impressed with Creative's continued Firmware updates. They have no less than four firmware updates for my ancient Nomad Jukebox - updates than not only fix problems, but added a lot of enhancements (as well as make it run with their new software). I've already made a firmware update (1.13.03) to my new Muvo that takes care of a couple of things (e.g. adds Audible format support). Make sure you look at the Firmware driver section before assuming that any Creative product has some show stopping bug or missing feature that you need.
- I haven't even tried the headphones that came with the Muvo TX FM 1GB, but I expect like most music stuff these days, the included headphones at the very least, can be greatly improved upon.
I'm not really a Creative advocate in the sense that I think that they are the only worthwhile brand to buy. It's just that I have only owned two (now three) MP3 players and they all happen to be Creative products and have served me well. (Although I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those froo-froo apple thingies though.