So my mother bought my Dad a Zen Sleek Photo 20GB a month before his birthday. After she purchased it she found out that he has absolutely NO interest in having an MP3 player at all. My Mom being my Mom, she waited too long to attempt to return it so now the place she bought it from will not accept it back.

So she has sent it to me, along with a car charger and the FM transmitter. But I'm not really sure I want it honestly. I've kinda had my heart set on an iPod for a while now. I figured I'd get one for Xmas later this year.

The real reason I'm having doubts is just because I know nothing about these Zens. Do they work fine with Macs and iTunes? Or am I going to have to switch my music to WMP or something?

So do I keep this?



Or do I sell it on ebay and grab one of these?

no, it does not work with I-tunes, it has its own software that is really easy to use

this one can play wmv...but why would you do that when it plays MP3s.

I also believe they work on Macs

Dude - its free. Try it out, and if you don't like it, sell it on ebay.

Zen CAN work with Itunes. My husband found a way to make it work. But otherwise yeah it's pretty easy to figure out and use and they last really long without problems. Mine is going on almost three years with no issues, I can't say the same for many ipod users I know.

My husband and I both have Creative Zen's and wouldn't trade them for Ipods for anything.

I, too, have owned a Creative Zen going on three years now, and have not had one problem with it. It's still going strong.

The Creative software is very easy to use as well.

The Zen sleek is pretty nice, Busty. I doubt you'll have compatability issues, and it probably has the 2nd-best interface next to the iPod.

On the other hand, if it's unopened and either 1) you can't get over your iPod lust, or 2) you really want more than 20gb, you should be able to get something close to market value on eBay.

I'll second this; I've sold about 5 different mp3 players on ebay (including a Zen, I believe) and they've always sold fairly close to market value.

The Obner Morality question of the day is - should Busty give his mother the money from selling the player?

Already suggested this to her. In fact, when she first told me the situation I told her I didn't want it at all. I wanted an iPod. But she insisted that I take it because she already has one.

So here we are.

i love my zen. i've dropped it a few times, with the it's protective cover on, and it still works fine. i also heard that creative are makers of sound chips, so their sound is pretty good. yeah, the software is super easy as well.

You're home free, dude. Nice one.

I have a Zen too. Never a problem.

Just put it on ebay. If there are no bites, I'll try it out and see how I like it.

if you are considering anything else, the 40gb toshiba f40 is going for $199 new, for 40gb. not a bad deal at all. that's what i'm using now. i have used many zens and they were great. they used to be known as having better sound qual than the pod, but i'm not sure if that's still the case.

Did you see The Office where Dwight throws the girls mp3 player on the floor? That cracked me up.

Hook us up with a link to your Ebay auction.

I'd sell it and get what you want, but I'd do some product research/ sampling first to know what you want.

so what's the best non-ipod mp3 hd player 20gig+?

I'm a fan of the Sandisk players because they are flash instead of a hard drive which means lighter and no moving parts to break, work like a flash drive with no installed software so it's easy to put music on or move it to a PC, have a radio, and can record. The problem is the largest capacity is 6GB. Which is still a ton of music.

wish they made a 200gigger so i could take -all- of my music wherever i went...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&item=130004416004&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

Take the money and run!!

What is the supposed life of an ipod? Who's got an older one still in working condition around here?

I wonder what Apple considers to be an appropriate life for one.

Your mom must feel like shit, with two family members flat-out telling her they don't want the gift she got for them. I can never tell people that I don't like their gift, no matter what it is. Recently a guy got me a book that I already had and I couldn't even tell him that.

i've got a 3g that still works fine.

what the fuck difference does it make?

just keep the one you have and quit being an asshole about a free gift