The Zen Vision:M is our new favorite iPod alternative and should appeal to lots of people, but we have a feeling it's still not going to sway the iPod-loving masses.

---

Good design. Excellent screen. Very good audio and video quality. Broad feature set.

---

Short battery life. Requires a dongle to sync, charge, and output to TV.

function Video(mypage, myname, w, h, scroll) {
var winl = (screen.width - w) / 2;
var wint = (screen.height - h) / 2;
winprops = 'height='+h+',width='+w+',top='+wint+',left='+winl+',scrollbars='+scroll+''
win = window.open(mypage, myname, winprops)
if (parseInt(navigator.appVersion) >= 4) { win.window.focus(); }
}

---

Spec Data---

Player Type: Hard Disk MP3 Player, Portable Media Player
Radio: Yes
Recording, Voice: Yes
Recording, Line In: No
Audio Battery Life: 12.67 Hr
Storage Capacity: 30 GB
Dimensions: 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.7 inches
Weight: 5.7 oz
Video Recording: No
Screen Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels

---

Portable media players (PMPs) are still coming of age, and it isn't yet clear where the sweet spot is in terms of size and video quality. But Creative is definitely covering its bases, between its Zen Vision—a full-fledged PMP with a gorgeous 3.7-inch screen—and now the new Zen Vision:M ($329 direct), an iPod-size (yeah, we said it, so what?) 30GB player that plays music, photos, and video. Is this the iPod-killer the world has (or hasn't) been waiting for? Not quite. Apple still wins out hands-down for hardware/software integration. Still, in terms of just the hardware, the Zen Vision:M comes closer to taking a bite out of Apple than anything else out there. Creative is making some inroads on the software side as well, with its new ZenCast Organizer, which make a wealth of podcasts (audio and video) available to Zen Vision and Zen Vision:M users.

---

PRICE-
$229-$249

---

---

---