Pros: Subscription music compatibility, big screen, durable, lots of storage and functions for the price.
Cons: Freezes up, quirky to power on
The bottom line: Great player for someone that uses subscription music and wants a sturdy player. Definitely one of the best in the price range.
I bought this MP3 player approximately 2 months ago to keep me entertained at work. I work a warehouse job as a stocker so I wanted an economical player that would hold up to being dropped and banged. Preferably something that wouldn't be completely heartbreaking if it broke. Thus far, this little player has put in 50 hours a week just counting the time I listen to it at work.
The main selling points for me were the available storage and functions for the price AND more importantly the compatibility with subscription music.
It does have some quirks though, particularly in powering it on and the occasional freeze up. Once or twice a week it will take a couple tries to get it started. You have to hold the slider key down, but, sometimes you will shut it off again while trying to turn it on. That's kind of weird. Also, if you have the memory filled to capacity it seems to freeze up a lot more often. Keep a paperclip handy because when it freezes up the screen stays lit instead of going into standby, so your battery will drain very quickly. Resetting it is easy though with just inserting a paperclip in the reset hole. It takes a minute or two to rebuild your library and then your good to go. It seemed most likely to lock up when the alarm clock went off or otherwise when asked to perform an additional function. Interestingly though, it has not locked up on me once since I deleted about ten songs off of it. It does seem to have something to do with the available free space, so if your player locks up frequently and you have it filled just about to capacity, try deleting a few songs to remedy the problem.
Like any MP3 player, the accessories cost a lot more then they should. However, you can avoid that by picking them up at Ebay rather then an electronics store. There are plenty of Ebay stores out there that have off brand Creative compatible wall chargers and car chargers. I picked up a kit for about $9 that's compatible with the Zen V plus and included both chargers. Much better then the $40 plus you'll pay if you walk into an electronics store to buy the branded ones.
This player isn't right for everybody of course. If price isn't a big concern for you, you can probably get a smoother functioning MP3 player in the $100 plus price range. If you're going to be buying individual songs, then this player also won't offer much advantage over an Ipod. If you want to have a player for years, this probably also won't be a good choice.
For around $65 dollars though, this can't be beat. The way I see it, even if it only last a year, that's still only about $5.40 a month to listen to music anywhere I go. If it bites the dust at or after the one year mark, I'll buy another one just like it. Well, actually with the way technology goes I'll probably be buying one with even more storage for the same price.