it 's not as stylized as a sony or samsung .


the 6600 will provide similar service in more developed areas of the states and not as well in more remote areas .


the battery life can 't be very long ; . let 's not be greedy .


don 't use them , so i delete them for addle space .


when you consider expandability ( downloads via computer ) , the numerous features , two transmission programs and multiple storage devices , dependability - this is a phone that isn 't easy to out-grow .


bluetooth does not work on this phone .


though nearly a dozen different people at both t-mobile and nokia have told me otherwise , it is simply not possible to use this phone as a bluetooth modem for the vast majority of pdas and many other devices .


only then did i learn the truth -- this phone does not work with palm pdas ! .


this simple nuance was too much for nokia , and they still refuse to acknowledge the fact that their technician could have broken the phone or repair the phone for free .


in short - nokia themselves don 't know that this phone doesn 't work with the palm , and if you don 't heed my advice you will spend hours with technicians around the globe reading from scripts , chiding you in broken english for not following their directions exactly .


ultimately you will learn just how bad nokia is , and why their recent loss of market share is so utterly deserved .


the photos in the address book are terribly scaled too ; . they look as though they were built out of lego's .


it 's important that people know the following : first , the interface is slow .


you hit the message button on the front and it takes a matter of seconds to bring up the menu .


secondly , in addition to the lag each time you give a command , it 's just not that easily use able on the go .


the number buttons are crammed into a 3x4cm area , the fonts are small , the interface is too convoluted and frustrating , it 's not that customizable as well .


this phone is not suitable for fast people , maybe only for old people .


the menu pops up after 3 seconds the picture takes a while to load from its slow card memory .


the navigation takes so much time that it would eventually drive you crazy .


at first glance , i thought this phone was a little too big for me , maybe a little too complicated .


i can not find a carrier for this phone i like , end up just tossing it in my purse .


this phone doesn 't include phone card calling .


this process can be very annoying and unsafe when you are driving a stick shift on the highway .


my old sony ericsson t610 has this feature .


in noisy environment , it 's hard to hear from the earpiece .


speaker volume is loud and clear but it sacrifices the battery life .


unfortunately , i sold it exactly a month later .


1-a cell phone is to make calls , in other words , quality of reception and mic/speaker are the most important , the 6600 has a relatively low volume speaker , you 'd have to press it hard against your ear to hear anything the other person is saying , unless the surroundings were completely quiet .


2- it is bulky and the small buttons on the sides are sloppy to use .


3- it is slow , if you keep the original configuration and prigs ( why 'd u buy it then ? . ! . ) it 'll run smoothly , but still slower than most other coloured-screen nokias .


4- my idea was that it was an all-in-one , and that theory -once again- proves wrong , this phone ex cells at nothing , less than average in everything , if you seriously need any of the " other than phone " functionalists , you 'll be disappointed . . . . if you have lots of money and bought it for the love of gadgets then fine . . . . but don 't expect to get much done .


basically the 6600 is a bundle of over-hyped features you don 't and won 't need ( if you do get yourself a pda or pocket pc ) , none of them work as they should , and the basic phone functions and ergonomics are less than average .


i 'm an advocate of nokia , but this phone and the following models ( 7610 ) , are seemingly a desperate trial at squeezing as much under-engineered and experimental technologies in one sloppy phone .


i 'm giving it 1 star because as compared to other nokia phones , its a 1 , compared to other blunders by other companies ( such a samsung and motorola ) it might be good . . . . but if you 're getting a nokia , don 't get this one .


among its weak points is the mmc slot location and a bit vague design .


downside : it takes a long time to start up .


my last simpler nokia started right up and was immediately ready for use .


the " movies " last about 5 seconds .


i mean , they 're short ! .


i find this feature on this phone useless , but , since i don 't really need this function anyway , i don 't really use it .


also , when i dial an " 800 " number like an airline , it will not allow me to use number keys to navigate the prerecorded menu .


finally , after about a week 's use , the screen started to freeze on me .


it would not hang up on calls .


once it froze so bad i couldn 't even use the power button to turn it off , and had to open and take out the battery .


the only con i can think of is the lack of a mega-pixel camera .


they have the worst service of any of the major companies .


i really regret signing up with t-mobile , but i 'm stuck with them for the next 6 months of the contract .


just don 't get drawn into t-mobile 's catchy rebate .


t-mobile wasn 't upfront about some of the terms to qualify for the rebate .


the os is ab it confusing at 1st , but within a few days you will pass this learning curve ! .


i was using a motorola t720i with verizon and i had alot of dropped calls and i had troubles syncing data .


i saw a few complaints on the load time of menus and i feel people are over-exaggerating the menu load time .


on occasion i 'm not able to connect to the phone with isync via bluetooth but i found that rebooting the phone seems to solve this problem .


the video recorders a bit odd , sometimes i get 9 secs on my recordings , sometimes i get 17 .


i will say that the os that the phone runs does have a few issues .


sometimes , various applications crash .


especially the bluetooth server . . . meaning you have to restart the phone if you want bluetooth to work again .


this is somewhat annoying , but from working with computers ( especially windows -- ugh . . . )


the only main drawback is the fact that the voice-dialing system is kinda picky .


it takes a while to learn how to use it right , and at this point i am able to make about 70% of my calls using it .


however , it needs to be quite quiet for it to work at all -- dosn 't work at all in the car , for example .


some people have commented about the size and weight of the phone , and it has rightfully gotten the nick-name " the bar of soap " which , it really is .


the only problem is the size of the keys .


my fingers are kind of stubby so it took a while to learn how to hit a key without hitting the adjacent ones .


they really are awfully small .


also the battery life isn 't great but it 's sufficient for my needs .


the only downside i have found with this phone is that it is a bit slow to react , meaning when i push the contacts button , it takes a while to load , this is true for almost all the menus and programs on the phone .


these people takes lest effort to process rebate forms .


for last one month my rebate status showing me that my rebate is approved and check is delivered but still i am waiting for check .


there is no way you can talk with customer care about this .


dont rely on t-mobile rebates .


now the bad : 1 ) as usual , battery power not sufficient for daily usu age .


the battery power discharges rapidly especially on using the web browser .


2 ) phone is awfully slow .


sometimes when you press buttons , the menu appears after a second or two .


4 ) buttons are quite small and is really a pain exp if one is fond of text messaging .


there will be much erasing of text as , one would tend to type something instead of the actual letters .


5 ) video recorder is of no use and one can not record something useful in 10 seconds and it takes a while to send the same through the " free picture and video messaging " offered by service provider .


so , right out of the box i had issue .


namely , it wouldnt sync .


after scouring the various boards i find this is an arbitrary and pervasive problem .


but , i am quite unhappy with nokia at the moment .


if there was a zero-star rating i would give it .


downside is the size of the phone , it is big for today 's standard .


and the battery life is bad ! .


i could hardly use it without a recharge in 2 days ! .


a bit disappoint on that ! .


the gprs web access is slow ! .


you can 't do that with a sony t610 ( which i traded for a 6600 ) .


t610 supports only midi files .


after several years of torture in the hands of at&t customer service i am delighted to drop them , and look forward to august 2004 when i will convert our other 3 family-phones from at&t to t-mobile ! .


the day finally arrived when i was sure i 'd leave sprint .


after years with that carrier 's expensive plans and horrible customer service , portability seemed heaven-sent .


i spent hours setting up the stations ( accepts about 13-14 , i believe ) , though the reception is unpredictable .


the colors on the screen are not as crisp as i 'd have liked them to be .


the backlight on the phone goes off way too quickly ( dangerous when you 're driving at night ) , and there 's no way to change this --


the buttons on the phone are small , even for my small fingertips , but you get used to them rather quickly .


the menu options are uncreative , as you can 't see a full screen of menu items to pick from ; . you have to scroll up and down to find what you 're looking for ( yes , this is minor , but not when you 're trying to keep your eye on the road ! . ) .


the volume .


i have excellent hearing but the volume level on this phone is especially quiet .


i assumed they had exceptional service , but their reception in my area ( laos angele's ) is horrendous .


also , their t-zones , although cheap ( $ 4 . 99 / mo . ) never works .


since i received the phone , i spent countless hours on the phone with customer service reps who promised t-zones would work " in 24 hours " .


i must have heard this about a dozen times over the span of 2 weeks , when t-zones never worked .


apparently , t-mobile is heavily back-logged and can 't keep up with demands .


however , the calls constantly drop in my area and i experience mega-static , to the point where i 'd have to dial numbers 6-7 times to get a clear line .


the volume level of the phone is not all that good .


some of the higher pitched rings are very easy to hear , but not easy to listen to .


the more subtle tones that were included with the phone are hard to hear at times .


the vibration is not top .


i am bored with the silver look .


they are not wow able good .


it also does n 't have voice activated dialing . big minus ! . ! .


we got two phones for the t-mobile family plan ( indeed very easy to switch to the family plan ) and one came with a broken headphone ( can hear but can not be heard ) and one died today after less than two weeks of use .


when i got it home , i discovered that the menu options for sending messages via either text or email simply were n 't there :


negative : impossibly tiny and difficult to operate , barely visible , power button .


poor visibility on the keys .


only con i can think of is no camera . . . .


only one complaint about the speakerphone , you can only activate the speakerphone feature once the person you are calling answers the phone , not while it is ringing .


the only problem i had was a small glitch with t-mobile .


the phone has a few minor inconveniences , but only because it lacks those features , bluetooth and high spend internet , but there are very few problems with things that you expected this phone to do .


ring tones only come with crazy songs and annoying rings , there is only one ring that sounds close to a regular ring .


the screen is easily scratched but if you have the warranty you should be able to swap it out .


games kind of stink and you cant download them you have to get the link cable to get additional games .


buttons do seem a little sticky tho . . and the hands free kits ' connector might be a problem . .


the keys are close together , and the layout is a bit funky in relation to standard rectangular layout keypads , but it 's not too weird .


the fact that the " 0 " key is the space key for text input is a bit confusing , as many phones use the " # " key instead .


there are some features in the user interface that i find a little inconvenient .


the menu options appear one at a time , taking up the whole screen , and one has to scroll down one by one , or have memorized where they are in the menu order , to select them by using the number keypad .


the vibrate setting is loud ! .


so loud , really , that it does n 't work terribly well as a silent ringer option .


other things that i miss are voice-activated dialing and a standard 2 . 5 mm headset jack .


- some features in the user interface


- no voice activated dialing ( what were they thinking


- no option for caller-id pictures or individualized ringtones .


- no proprietary headset jack


only if we could get one camera in it . .


the volume key can be hard to press , but i think this may be by design rather than a flaw , perhaps to keep you from pressing it accidentally when you are in a call .


pc cable is too expensive . . . $ 50 for a usb cable ? .


the 6610 has the radio function which is utterly useless .


it also has a stock tracking app built in ( also useless ) and a somewhat useful application which converts all types of metrics ( currency , length , area , etc ) .


regarding pc software support nokia suite does not work with some versions of xp as i tried to connect my phone via infrared port on my laptop .


its quiet .


i do here a constant high-pitched distorted sound , not to mention the volume does not seem to be loud enough .


although i find it more convenient to use 1-touch dialing , this phone does not have voice dialing .


the keypad is a decent size , but the power on/off key is small and difficult to press .


in my opinion the worst issue on this phone is the side-mounted volume control .


one other issue is that the headphone jack is unique to nokia , so standard headphones will not work .


one complaint . . . the screen is too easily scratched ! .


one more thing , the default ringtones that come with the phone are horrible .


the only problem that i have found with the internet service is that it does not access mils ( real estate broker software ) very well at all .


i find the lack of entertaining games on this phone quite disturbing .


my only gripe about the hardware is the buttons .


this model does have the traditional key arrangement , it 's just that they are really close to one another , and have unconventional shapes , so it takes a big getting used to for someone like me with big hands .


finally , i reiterate my thumbs-down rating for t-mobile as a carrier .


their network coverage is very sporadic , and the network always seems overloaded , resulting in very unpleasant calling experience .


unfortunately , the 6610 does not offer voice dialing like my previous phone , but the other features it packs outweighs this shortcoming .


one downside : as of this writing , t-mobile has n 't updated their t-zone system to fully support the 6610 .


the one huge disappointment is that the phones manufactured for t-mobile lack many of the menus and functions that a nokia straight from the manufacturer should have .


the internet functions of the phone - wap and gprs - will only work through t-mobile 's services , because they have deleted the menu options that would enable you to configure the phone to be used on a different network .


however , the main problem that i think is the with the sound quality .


when talking the voice is not very clear .


there isn 't much features on the ipod at all , except games .


it has an equalizer , but the iriver h10-20gb has a lot more presets than the ipod .


durability : not good . first problem , if you haven 't seen the news recently , the ipods are being recalled for battery problems and not lasting the advertised 18 months .


also , the battery 's aren 't user replaceable .


another thing you should know , the metal on the flip side of the ipod is very tacky , and scratches very easily .


also , not liking the gel case .


features : really , there aren 't any features , unless you call the games a feature .


there is no fm tuner , while there is no fm tuner on the creative zen ( on the micro version of the zen there is a tuner ) , the iriver h10-20gb , the rio karma , and the audio x5 have fm tuners .


there is also no voice recording , something most if not all mp3 players have that the ipod doesn 't .


there is no photo viewing option , however , there is a 20 gb photo ipod , but it costs $20 more .


i 'm probably the only person that dislikes the itunes software .


customer service : awful . listen to this one , remember the battery statement i made earlier .


there technical service isn 't helpful either ; . they just read what 's on their website and charge you $50 ( + toll fees ) to do it .


doesn 't have alot of good games on it .


the back of the ipod is in a chrome finish , and this surface is prone to scratches .


but i had to give you four because the service for my brand-new ipod was terribly slow .


the interface took a little getting used to .


one caveat i have is that i understand the ipod does not save the photos in such a way that the quality of the image is preserved .


cons : no am/fm radio tuner -- something a large number of compete tors are doing


3 no voice recorder -- this has also become an important and popular feature that the ipod unfortunately doesn 't have .


no memory stick slots -- although a rare feature , it would be nice to have extra storage , not that it needs it built-in lithium battery -- a huge hassle to bring this back ; . draining the battery once you get it helps , but removable/replaceable ones are a lot more convenient


no in box accessories -- an arm strap , belt strap , case , or anything would be nice , but nope . . . moveable parts -- this makes me almost want to keep my 3rd gen over a 4th ; . with moveable parts , its easy to damage an ipod at a gym , so this is for more casual listeners ; . note the ipod mini doesn 't have moveable parts and is made of titanium .


the battery issue is superficially a concern , but any reasonable solder-jockey ( such as myself : - ) can pop in a new one when the time comes ( based upon the plentiful info gained from a go ogle for 'ipod battery replacement ' ) .


first , let me say that i got the 20gb ipod for christmas , and i most likely would not have spent the $300 myself .


in addition , i do not think the battery lasts much more than eight to ten hours , and it can take four hours for a full charge .


*the ipod is overly sensitive to just about everything and gets scratched easily .


the battery does not last 12 hours .


you can 't change the battery , so i don 't know what i 'm going to do in a year or so .


my ipod freezes occasionally , which is especially annoying when you 're in the middle of a game of " brick . " *


if you call apple and tell them your ipod has been damaged , they charge you roughly $105 . 50 per minute and blame you for " abusing " your ipod .


the user support service isn 't too great either .


the ipod comes formatted for the mac , but within seconds of plugging it into a pc , is automatically reformatted for windows . ( the hp version comes with windows formatting , and takes seconds to change to mac . ) although the ipod can be changed from one format to another , you will lose all of your music and data when doing so .


its steel backing picks up fingerprints and scratches easily , not great from a cosmetic standpoint .


holy cow ! . it really does scratch easily ! .


the thing has survived plenty of falls with little or no damage , except the inevitable scratches .


apple closed their island to anything that resembled microsoft , and clearly let napster know it could not use their products with napster 's services .


as a windows user , i had to install the software including drivers and itunes on my desktop , and this is the only area where i encountered a nuisance .


my only complaint ( really more of an observation ) is that the outside finish of the ipod is rather delicate , so i am going to get a case for mine so it doesn 't get all scratched up .


if there were any complaints i have , they are marginal , but one is apples ' proprietary set-up for music files , their incompatibility with other music services ( i . e . napster ) is down right wrong .


also , some other mp3 players such as the nitrus allow you to play wma ( windows media audio ) files , whereas the ipod does not .


as with most headphones that come with any type of music player , i recommend throwing these into the nearest river , unless you like having hard , round pieces of plastic in your ears .


because steve jobs is a twisted individual and he made sure that he ruined this device by giving it an unrepeatable 18 month battery .


this was obviously a conspiracy as it is freak in ' easy to manufacture a device with replaceable batteries ! . ! .


however , in my mind , $299 is a lot to pay for a device that will only last 18 months .


looks and durability : i realize many people are fond of the minimalist white interface .


the biggest red flag for me was the fact that although my cousin 's player was relatively new , it was riddled with scratches .


battery : compared to the other players on the market , the ipod has one of the worst batteries around .


maybe this new design is more durable than the last , but i kind of doubt it .


we can start by losing the shiny miracle-material cover that you can literally scratch just by looking at it wrong , and thus eliminate the need for third-party " asking " protective covers for an extra thirty bucks .


first of all , i 've never been big on earbuds - they 're just not that comfortable .


and if you 're a mac user like me , they 've naturally made sure you have no viable alternative .


however , the battery life isn 't as good as i would like .


cons breaks easily .


hard drive screws up occasionally


this is only a problem at night , during the day the screen is very easy to see .


the only problem is the battery life .


apple 's ipod battery replacement service costs $100 ! .


i have read the installation instructions for both nis 2004 and navy 2004 prior to installation , but still ended up with the same result . . . junk software .


but if i installed either one of these norton products , neither works after installation ? .


i have used norton for the past 5 years and for the last 2 years , the software has gotten more and more disgraceful .


i am glad that i do not work for norton .


after 4 attempted installs , i have finally given up .


during install , nis would either freeze or not reboot properly when asked to do so .


the ms scandisk would appear due to manual shutdown and would only scan to the 2nd bar , over and over ( up to 1 hr , i then shut it down and used go back ) .


i have never had this problem with any other software on my computer .


being a past norton customer , i consider this to be a slap to my face .


buying software that can not be installed normally and being put into the position of having a non-working computer .


norton has been on a downhill slid recently with their products , but with this one , they have fallen off the cliff .


as a loyal customer of norton/symantec products , i purchased internet security 2004 as a software firewall and could not be any more dissatisfied with the product ( and hence the one star rating ) .


yeah - this program protects your computer all right - by locking you off the internet .


other than that it is all the same except the new updates .


so far i haven 't had so much complaints except that i still haven 't mastered how to scandisk when using internet security .


too bad the product is cumbersome and intertwined trying to do so much at one time .


sometimes a suite is not a good deal and all you get is a bundle of headaches .


norton internet security 2004 is one of the more buggy implementations .


this product has virtually all the same installation problems .


for purposes of clarity , here is my review from that product , edited to be appropriate for this product , since , for the most part , they share many of the same problems .


this version of internet security 2004 , is beyond hope .


they are a royal pain to install , and don 't function properly once finally installed -- if you can install them at all .


the biggest problem is the installation .


also if you do manage to get it installed , any problems with liveupdate or with system works will also affect the functionality and/or the process of updating internet security .


i 've had to install and uninstall them four or five times so far , and i 've not to get either product working properly .


first , it serious , serious installation problems .


back in may 2004 , when i first reviewed this , it had taken me over 16 hours to install and run .


almost from the beginning , liveupdate would not function .


first , it failed whenever connecting to get updates .


when i finally got it working , it only worked properly for many a month .


the next problem was that it didn 't recognize all the installed components , so it would not update them , most notably and importantly , virus definitions .


but this doesn 't make up for it 's innumerable other short-comings , the biggest of which is the inability to download any updates due to problems with liveupdate .


the other annoyance with this that you have to remove every single remnant of previous version of norton systemworks before you installs this .


warning ! . the windows " remove program " feature does not do a good job of this , and neither does norton 's own removal program .


a lot of " fragments " were left in the registry , and it the norton system folders .


if you have an older version of " internet security " installed , you may also need to remove it as well before proceeding with systemworks install .


you also need to go in and manually remove many symantec files from the registry .


as of october , 2004 , these products are not working and i 'm ready to demand a refund from symantec .


i just uninstalled systemworks and internet security for at least the fifth time due to functionality issues .


once again it won 't reinstall , even with online and email assistance from symantect technicians .


the best thing to do with this version , is to leave it on the store shelf . it doesn 't work , and will cost you an enormous amount of your time , not to mention your hard earned dollars .


personally , i may never buy symantect products again .


avoid this product at all costs .


there are some highs to the 2004 edition , but mostly lows .


the program brings more problems than a virus , albeit not as major problems , just not what you expect for 70 bucks .


i had a question about the pros and cons of turning off the norton firewall vs . the windows firewall , and waited 45 minutes to speak with a tech support representative because i did not have a " customer priority id number . "


then when i went to norton 's website to obtain a priority id number per the instructions i had been given , i couldn 't find a way to get one .


so i e-mailed the online tech support with that simple question , and got a reply which was totally unresponsive ( it looked as though they didn 't actually read the e-mail and just sent back a few boilerplate paragraphs ) .


and , when you think about it , it 's insulting that norton requires its customers to jump through these hoops -- anyone who can provide proof of purchase , whether on the phone or online ( what if your computer is down ? . ) , should have equal priority .


stay away from this product ! .


i don 't know what 's happened to norton , but 2004 is absolute garbage .


the customer support is pathetic .


i have found too many bugs in norton internet security professional to recommend it to any one without extreme patience and experience .


this product is absolutely not ready for release .


it is buggy , slow and basically frustrates the heck out of the user .


i am an it professional and have used norton for years , but this product is a complete and utter dud .


it 's a rip off if one buys norton internet security and antivirus .


nothing spectacular is done by internet security or by antivirus software .


even though i have the parental controls off it constantly starts updating them then freezes my computer .


now in october , 2004 , the firewall said i couldn 't ok anymore software to use the internet because its full .


im at full capacity ! . ! . ! . ! . i called syman tic and they said they don 't know why but i should get tech 's support at $35/hr to help ! . ! . i did call them and was on hold for 55 minutes until i hung up ! .


so , don 't buy this or upgrade .


if you currently own the 2003 version , and are looking to upgrade to the 2004 version , don 't .


there is little meaningful difference between the two versions aside from the tedious activation process , and the product is currently rather buggy and has problems running unless cleanly installed on a formatted drive .


if you are new to the market and looking to buy a symantec software product , save yourself some money and buy the 2003 version .


from day one , we 've had hangups , crashes , glitches , continual reboots , long shutdowns due to " cc app . exe " program running which is a norton program .


long reboots due to norton taking forever to boot .


we constantly got " windows virtual memory low " error messages popping up foll wed by ridiculous slowdowns and/or crashes .


norton online support does not even acknowledge this problem nor does the computer company that preloaded it on our new computer .


norton support is completely pathetic .


do not buy any home version of norton anything .


our norton internet/av 2004 was terrible right from the get go , so i 'd think that if steelworks is ok now , it should remain ok .


just the home version of norton internet/av has too many glitches and problems to even remotely bother with .


i am an advanced computer user , so i can not even imagine how a new or novice user would ever get this terrible program to work ! .


seems the " program scan " feature did not find the exe file for outlook ! .


like most of their solutions ( which first blame other applications for errors ) , the tech persons line was that this was probably a microsoft error - it was not .


it was a symantec error .


after a recent update , i can no longer open more then 1 browser window .


i 've searched the program and their online tech support ( worthless ) and have found no solutions .


this is definitely one of those products , especially as the company is leaning more towards making a profit .


the only problem i had was a few components didn 't quite load correctly upon startup , but a reboot fixed the problem .


i give it 4-stars only because the installation process - or rather problems that may surface during the installation process - can be frustrating to the average computer user .


if you experience problems with installation , you can visit symantec 's website , click the support tab , click the 'home or home office support ' and there is an automated support assistant that can scan the norton program files on your computer and it will tell you what is not working right and how to fix it .


can 't get easier than that ! .


i already knew something was wrong , because much of the spam i 've seen in the past six months was from resellers of norton products .


i read many reviews on norton i . s . 2004 from a variety of sources ( cnet , amazon , message boards ) and came to the conclusion that nis 04 was a terrible product and not worth the update .


booting up my computer took forever ! . ! . ! .


then , my ad/pop-up blocking was completely gone .


my file log was not responding and the program was not blocking any cookies or unauthorized sites .


again , every review written about the tech line is true . . . after waiting close to 45 minutes i finally spoke to a rep .


after telling the rep and his tech supervisor the problem the only answer was to uninstall the program ( which i had already done ) . . .


they didn 't know what the problem could be .


i did it and it was worse the second time around . . . unbelievable .


basically , i ate the cost of the renewal and ate the cost of the tech help .


unfortunately , it does not give you the option of installing ( or installing ) them individually .


you can " disable " some of the individual components , but don 't be fooled -- they 're still there and running .


although i disabled norton antispam , it is still there .


but those 2 come up every time .


next , the big reason not to buy any norton product : if there 's a problem with it , norton charges $30 to even tell them about it .


sure they say if it 's their fault you won 't get charged , but they are the ones who get to decide whether it 's their fault .


the problems i had installing norton extended way beyond what symantec should reasonably expect the public to deal with .


when i purchase software , i never want to have to spend hours looking up solutions to my install problems -- in particular solutions that involve manually setting driver preferences or editing the registry ! .


i downloaded this set from norton , and within minutes my internet connection failed and my pc was almost dead due to registry problems from the download .


their site offers no live help at all .


i tried to call norton , and the only numbers they list on their sites are either for non-tech customer service ( tried this one and hung up after 75 minute of muzak ) or they have a $30 tech-support number .


who wants to pay $30 to discuss a defect in a product that just cost $95 ? . ( i also bought the back-up cd ) .


i finally got a free support number for norton through my usp support staff , but waited an hour or more for a voice .


they said they would refund all the money , but a month later , they tell me now the back-up disc is not refundable as its cost is purely handling and shipping - $15 to " handle " and ship a cd ? . -- and they have been indignant and combative on the phone and in emails .


this is a terrible company with a bad product and awful support .


after 10 years , i now downloaded mccaffee 's product after calling their support . . . . they answered quickly , and for free , and were very helpful .


no problems now , just a sickly disappointment in the way norton has abandoned their customers .


i see many other reviews that say the same . . . . stay away from norton , they don 't deserve you , or anyone ! .


i 've always liked symantec products , except for this version 2004 .


if you are already using a previous version of nortron security and uni stalled it to install the new version , you will still have all kind of problems in installing the new version on your system ! .


to install that version you have to uninstall from the window registery anything called symantec or nortron , . . . also from the common files in the program folder the symantec folder has to be deleted .


if you have no previous version of nortron security on your system , or nortron antivirus , the installation will go fine , otherwise dig in and in to do a major registery clean up ! . the old programs will leave a trace that will mess up the new installation , even if you uninstalled the old programs perfectly .


what disappoints me the most that a software like that is not cheap gets zero support form symantec , if you want support , they 'll charge you a fee ! .


i am giving a zero star to symantec for this version ! .


the only way my pc internet works is if i open the firewall program configuration and manually refresh it .


symantec should give us all a refund and apology ! .


i will never buy their product again at this rate , and neither should you .


however , symantec has taken a significant turn for the worse with this release .


i 'm currently using a sony vaio s-150 ( which i bought at the end of this past august ) , and it takes about five minutes just to boot the system - in fact , i 've taken to just hibernating , rather than shutting down completely .


however , i am very disappointed with this product and with symantec .


it feels like i 'm back to the days of 56k dial-up internet service , even though i 'm running a dell 2ghz pentium 4 with 256mb memory and have had excellent broadband service for the past year .


i tried disabling the various components provided with this product , paring it all the way back to anti-virus only service . . . and saw no improvement .


there is absolutely nothing useful at the symantec/norton site .


however , i suspect that many people are having a bad experience -- do not purchase this product .


this program would not let me send outlook email or listen to audible sample books online .


buy this if you like mental challenges or trying how to pick locks .


i had much of the same problems that everyone else has listed ( mainly the slow processor ) , and then i couldn 't get the damn thing off my computer completely ! .


it locked during install and i had to reformat the drive and start from scratch ( greer ! . )


and i can 't warn you enough to stay away from norton ! . ! .


it was immediately noticeable that nis slows down my computer ( pent4 , 256 ram ) .


i think it is a combination of the program size taking up resources and the open/close scanning that it does with every program .


is it necessary to scan my ms money database when i close the program ? .


i have a modern pc with lots of speed and memory , but this firewall just brought it to a halt .


start up , log off , log on . . . everything became very slow .


configuring it for a home network was almost impossible .


multiple users on one machine never seemed to behave like you 'd expect .


while i was trying to play half life 2 it started popping up with " alerts " every twenty seconds ( literally ) , warning me my antivirus protection was off .


but it wouldn 't let me turn the av protection back on and it wouldn 't stop with the alerts .


i had tried to uninstall norton internet security a few weeks ago , and it wouldn 't let me do that either .


i tried it again this morning and it said i didn 't have the required " permissions " and lacked proper administrator status .


of course , if you try to reach symantec customer service you get useless automated systems unless you want to pay $30 per incident .


this time , it started the installation process , then i left for work . i think it will work . i hope it will work .


i simply hate symantec . i swear , if i could have physically ripped that software out of my computer with my bare , bleeding hands , i would have .


and it does an excellent job of keeping the odor contained , which the diaper genie never did ! .


if you are looking for a user-friendly diaper pail that actually does keep the odor contained , than the diaper champ is the one for you ! .


this item is exceptional i like the ease of use and it held the odor in great .


diaper champ is by far the best diaper pail ! .


it holds a lot of diapers , not to mention the odor ! .


it 's easy to use ( just a flip of the lid , and the diaper is gone ! . ) .


it 's also easy to empty out .


and best of all , no wasting money on special refill bags -- -this takes ordinary garbage bags ! .


whether you are using disposable or cloth diapers , this is the truly the only diaper pail to get ! .


even though i never ventured into the cloth land , i was very impressed by how well this works at keeping diapers and their accompanying odor in the pail and out of our life ! .


being a very economical person , i appreciate the fact that any plastic bag can be used with this system- i never did like the prospect of buying special diaper genie refills .


but from my experience , by the time it gets to that point , the bag is really heavy , so i think this is kind of helpful- it 's a built-in way of keeping the bag manageable upon emptying .


this is a really great buy , for yourself or as a shower gift .


go for the champ .


i love this product ! .


with the enormous numbers of diapers that you go through with a newborn , it was great how easy it was to dispose of the dirty ones .


plus , the fact that it used regular trash bags is great .


no need to pay for the special refills that the other brands require ! .


and we still love it ! .


*holds a lot of diapers -- a full week of toddler diapers ! .


( we wrap them nice and tight ) *we use our regular kitchen trash bags -- cheap ! .


*holds the odor in nicely ! .


( every now and then i spray down the inside of the pail with lysol ) *easy one-hand use *impossible for my inquisitive child to get the dirty diapers out of the pail every now and then odors do escape the pail , but that is rare -- and it usually just means that we 've crammed too much in there and need to change the bag .


we keep the diaper champ in our daughter 's nursery and her room definitely does not smell like dirty diapers .


it holds quite a few diapers , and pops them in quickly and easily .


i use the same store-brand tall kitchen trash bags i already use in the kitchen for it -- no special " diaper " trash bags necessary .


it works with a minimum of fuss .


the diaper champ turns the smelly diaper into " what diaper smell " in less time than that .


this is one of the best purchases we made .


great product , easy to use , economical , effective , absolutly fabulous .


update i knew that i loved the champ , and using the diaper genie at a friend 's house really reinforced that ! .


there is no comparison , the champ is easy and smell free , the genie was difficult to use one handed ( which is absolutly vital if you have a little one on a changing pad ) and there was a def finite odor emanating from the genie plus we found that the quick tie garbage bags where the ties are integrated into the bag work really well because there isn 't any added bulk around the sealing edge of the champ .


i love this pail ! .


no smell , easy to use with one hand free , and best of all it uses regular tall kitchen garbage bags so you don 't get suckered in to using only the bags made for the pail that are impossible to find ! .


i think it 's great .


it definitely keeps the smell out .


first 4 months it was in our bedroom and we did not even smell any odor .


the diaper champ is the best ! .


i have tried other pails , but none have compared positively to the champ .


1 ) the champ is easy to use .


with the champ all you had to do was drop the dirty diaper into the opening and flip the lid .


it was so easy my toddler would dispose of her on diapers .


2 ) the champ uses regular store bags .


you do not have to waste money or time trying to purchase special bags for the champ .


3 ) the champ is odor free for at least 15 months .


the champ did not start letting a little odor through until well over a year .


regardless to this fact , i believe the champ is the best way to go .


let the champ win you over ! .


no need for deodorizers .


i use the regular kitchen trash bags and it is so easy to empty .


even did while daughter sleep and no noise ! .


i use the scented bags and even if i don 't no smell ! .


this holds alot and does not take up alot of space .


but like i stated , its better then a trash can , but i 'm not sure if its better then the diaper genie .


it holds almost a week 's worth of diapers , and you don 't need expensive refills - any kitchen bags work .


at first i had a problem with some smell , then i realized if you flip the lid back and always keep the same side facing in - then there is no smell at all ! .


personally , i am very pleased with the diaper champ .


it is mindless to operate .


it doesn 't stink , ever ( like some have assumed since it doesn 't wrap each diaper into its own neat little cocoon ) .


and it is very easy to clean .


i can keep one hand on my baby and dump the diaper at the same time , it is that simple .


this is a great diaper pail .


there is no odor and it is very easy to use .


( you can do it one handed while still hanging on to the baby . ) also , we like using regular trash bags instead of having to worry about buying refills ( like with the diaper genie ) .


and it 's the largest diaper pail i 've seen without taking up more floor space .


and we definitely prefer our champ ! .


not only is it much more cost effective ( you can use regular trash bags rather than refills at $5 a pop ) , it is easier to use and clean , and has a larger capacity .


i got the diaper champ because of the great reviews as well as the fact that you can use regular garbage bags .


it works great .


i can 't smell anything ( and believe me , this is quite something with my baby ) .


i ended up buying one for upstairs and one for downstairs because it works so well and because i change him so often downstairs .


we have been using our diaper champ for almost 14 months now and we are very happy with it .


it sits in the corner of our bathroom and we have never had any problems with odors at all ( and we live in the damp and humid south , where odors of all kinds are generally rife ) .


it is easy to install and change the ordinary trash bags , easy to clean , and most important , easy to use one handed - just insert folded dirty diaper and flip the handle .


we have never had any problems with anything like loose wipes getting stuck ( we always wrap them in the dirty diaper ) .


it is a bit difficult to get the unit open ( the advice to take it slowly is sound ) , but now that our son is walking and exploring , i consider this a positive attribute ! .


update ( march 2005 ) : my son has been out of diapers for almost 2 years now , but the diaper champ hung in there till the very end - easy to use , no problems with odors , and one of the best bargains among all of the paraphernalia required for the modern baby : - )


i decided to go with the diaper champ rather than the more popular diaper genie , because i didn 't like the idea of having to buy special bags .


this product is a lifesaver ! . ! .


i have never had an odor problem ! .


no one has ever come to my house and noticed 'diaper odor . '


in fact , people who have been present while i changed my almost 3 month old son 's diaper have been amazed at how the very 'potent ' smell of the dirty diaper seems to disappear once i dispose of the diaper in the diaper champ .


simple and it works ! .


all in all , this product is definitely one i would recommend and certainly worth the very reasonable price .


i love the diaper champ , it is really easy to use and since you can use regular garbage bags it doesn 't cost an arm and a leg for refills .


using your own bags is much cheaper and convenient .


the height is a more convenient reach than others , where you have to hunch over .


its stable , so a curious toddler can 't easily tip it over .


i wanted this product because i didn 't have to buy special bags for it and it also came highly recommended .


this is a great product ! .


the champ works great .


we use regular kitchen sized garbage bags .


we 've never experienced odor from the pail .


it was easy to assemble , and the diapers fit perfectly into the little nook before they make their way into the pail portion .


i also love that you can flip the device with one hand . . .


excellent diaper disposal unit .


i am so pleased with this product ! . ! . ! .


a wise investment for the pocketbook & for the nose ! . ! . ! .


diaper champ is great .


so i can 't tell you if diaper champ will be as good at containing the formula generated poop smell , but it 's excellent at containing the smell of poop of my breastfed baby ! .


friends told me that the diaper genie did not work very well , so bought the diaper champ based on on-line reviews and i have been happy with it .


it works easily with one hand , which is important .


also , it takes any kitchen sized trash bag , so there is no special bag to stock .


while the perfect odor free diaper pail has yet to be invented , the diaper champ is a good as it gets .


i was using the cheaper pail . . . and it worked ok until the opening device fell apart .


i could probably use a trash can and be ok at this point , but this pr duct seems to work very well so far .


this one is really great .


i actually took a friends word on it and went with this champ when registering and i am glad i did .


well the champ has survived it 's first year with our son and it is great ! . ! .


the thought of not having to buy refills and just using regular bags is awesome ! .


we just buy the smaller bags that come like 250 to a roll and are scented and they are like $6 . 00 and they work great .


we just recently had to buy another roll of bags . so $6 . 00 for a year of bags- can 't beat that ! . ! .


we lysol the champ every time we change the bag out and have not had any problems .


this is really a nice diaper pail .


i recommend it to both parents of infants and toddlers .


in fact , i liked it so much after using it with my son who is now 2 years old , that i bought one for our new baby 's room .


wow - was that disappointing and we didn 't even have it 6 months before it broke .


i bought the diaper champ and have been very happy for the following reasons .


1 . the diaper champ doesn 't require special refills that are expensive and hard to find ! .


we just use the glad tall kitchen trash can bags with odor shield from target and they work wonderfully .


we don 't have to worry about running out of refills with this diaper pail ! .


2 . it can be operated with one hand - leaving a hand on your baby on the changing table .


so much safer than the others that require a two handed operation ! .


the diaper champ is so simple that my toddler loves to put his own diapers in the diaper champ and flip over the handle .


3 . bags are easy to change .


works great ! . ! . ! . ! .


5 . the price is right .


i purchased this router at a woodworking show after watching the ct people using it to demo their bits and was impressed how it performed .


from the internet , woodworking books , local stores and personal opinions the hitachi m12v 3-1/4 hp router time and time again came up to be the router of choice or best for its price .


but i wanted to do some raised panel work and needed more power and variable speed to run the large-diameter bits .


the hitachi has plenty of power , runs smooth , and cuts effortlessly through maple ( with freud bits ! . )


since i use it in a table , i don 't use the plunge feature , but if i ever need it i 've got it .


the hitachi is made in malaya , and looked cheap compared with the makita , which is made in the usa .


but it is smooth , it is powerful , it is affordable & it has a proven track record .


so for the money it costs for one of those top-of-the-line models i 've got a good router & a nice table to put it in & i like that .


hitachi 's m12v is a big beast of a router .


in my table the m12v has been a real champ .


the heavy motor and continuously variable speed control let this router churn through everything i threw at it .


nice things about the m12v : - in a table , the powerful 3 1/4 hp motor is great - soft start helps a lot to control the beast when you turn the router on - continuously variable speed control - amazon 's price


this is truly a clydesdale among the industry 3hp+ router workhorses .


built like a tank , yet nimble enough to be comfortably used with the leigh dovetail jig .


the soft start is a tremendous help for this type of operation .


the edge guide is top quality , easy to install and accurate .


this was possible due to the variable speed settings for any sized bit .


the height adjustment knob is a bit flimsy , but it works well and provides good accuracy .


this is a great deal , and i 'm elated with my decision to go with hitachi 's green machine .


wish i could give it 4 1/2 stars .


i noticed that the micro adjustment knob and collet are well made and work well too .


the speed control is well designed and it works perfectly .


the included fence guide is easy to set up and quite accurate as well .


the plunge lock and power switch are very easily accessible which is a must when doing free hand routing .


it is heavy enough to make it stable , but not too heavy to preclude hand use .


overall this tool is very well worth the price and i have no regrets about my purchase .


this is an excellent router for the money .


other than that , i think it is the best router for the money .


i must have gotten a good one .


i don 't have problems with the depth adjustment , the speed control , the collet ( i haven 't tried the 1/4 " sleeve yet ) .


i would put the hitachi up with the best ! .


no vibration ! .


smooth plunging ! . ( it did stick a bit so i sprayed it w/ lubricant .


it is a great router for a table and with the depth adjustment knob it is easy to adjust depth precisely .


it is very easy to change bits without removing the router from the table and the shaft lock works great .


very good balance in the hands and lighter than most 3 1/4 hp models .


the soft start is nice .


the price is incredible with the bonus pack and hitachi 's $25 incentive ( you need the code -- -go to tool seeker . com and it tells you )


the total price with delivery ( free shipping ) was $135 ! .


less than a cheap cordless drill or a laminate trimmer .


saw the hitachi on amazon . com with their $25 . 00 coupon ( at the time ) and could not resist trying it out .


unlike other reviewers , i like the tool because it is easy to operate outside of the router table .


both the on/off switch ( soft start ) and the depth lock are within easy reach of the right hand .


it is no more heavy than any other powerful router and not as bad as some porter cable models i tried .


for me , it is as important that the tool be comfortable to use as it is that it produce a high-quality result .


can recommend the hitachi in this ergonomic arena -- at the price quoted on amazon it is a bargain .


after getting used to the m12 all the rest seemed lacking .


on top of being a workhorse and ultra reliable , it is just a plunge router that works really well .


i use it in the table ( never take the springs out - just attach the fine adjustment knob ) , in my woo drat and freehand and it works great in all circumstances .


what an upgrade ! . ! . ! .


i have only used it with the 1/4 " collet and a 1/2 " round over bit , but i love how it starts up with little torque and runs very quietly .


the depth adjustment and bit changing is much easier on the m12v than it was on my old router .


the handles make it very comfortable to use and i experience little vibration .


combine this with the excellent price we got in the gold box , and i 'm really happy .


i 'm sure i don 't use it to the degree of some of the other purchasers , but i really like it ! .


i first used the router in the free hand mode and liked it a lot .


i find it very stable and comfortable to use , it doesn 't jump around or make me feel like i need to use a lot of arm strength to keep it under control , and it has very good visibility to see your cut .


it came with a good fence that is simple yet precise and thats well made and won 't break .


also i like the position of all the controls and the fact that it doesn 't have any extra knobs or gizmo's .


i prefer things that are simple .


the router has plenty of power for any type of bit or wood i need to cut , and the speed control knob is easy to get to .


its not a perfect system but its a very good one .


i 've owned this router for over 8 years and am somewhat satisfied with it .


it is quiet and has plenty of power .


i find that it is stable in my hands and its ' weight actually contributes to that stability .


i love the performance and features of this router .


for the money , i 'm not sure you can do better .


it 's very quiet for a universal motor-driven tool , and the height adjustment stick and variable speed control are great .


smooth plunging mechanism .


the guide fence for freehand routing is well made and solid .


even with that , i highly recommend this router - outstanding performer .


i purchased two of these beauties .


i have a tendency to do quite a bit of research before i drop money on a tool and everyone i talked to loved this router .


one cabinet shop has been using one regularly in a router table for 11 years without a problem .


the design of the col lets is excellent and far exceeds any of the craft man ( toy/junk ) routers i have previously purchased .


they were easy to setup with plenty of power to hog through anything i have encountered .


i have less money invested in the router table and dual routers than i would have if i had purchased a single cheap reliant sharper .


the setup works awesome , as with any tool i look closely at the individual tool for it 's merits , and not just the company as a whole .


i would however highly recommend the m12v router ! .


i 'm not overly fond of green but when i used this hitachi m12v it turns out that now i 'm very fond of it .


the smooth operation variable speed and a set of good masada bits will provide just the right combination for great predictable results .


its well made and user friendly .


you 'll love it ! .


it is currently permanently mounted ( 3 years now ) in my router table and will most likely stay there until its shot .


this router has soft start and runs smooth and true .


i use the router with a 3 1/2in raised panel bit with no problems .


it has enough power to hog out all the material in one pass , but i usually take multiple to prevent blowout and a smoother finish .


for the price , i am considering purchasing a spare just to have as a backup .


you just can 't go wrong with this one ! .


enjoy .


this is an excellent router for the price .


the first one lasted about 6 years of heavy use .


this is a well-made and powerful tool .


the m12v has been great .


the height adjustment works well- not perfect .


the wood can be pushed thru fast or slow with little bog .


what i really like about- its quite , it can handle my workload and it was so cheap that i can throw it away and buy another one without blinking .


i did like the heft of the machine .


the power is incredible , it cut through md and plywood like butter .


the edge guide has a nice micro adjust feature that works well .


i do not count this as a negative , however , because it is not that much of a nuisance and at the price for what you get this router is way too good to pass up ! . ! . ! .


the ones i 've kept ( porter cables , dew alts , bosch , and this hitachi ) have proven their worth over the years , however , when i need a real workhorse , i grab this router .


i recently had to run a 3/4 " straight bit through hard maple to make a deep dado and was amazed that this machine didn 't even slow down .


i could take 1/2 " passes and it still didn 't skip a beat .


i 've yet to find the limitation for this hitachi ( my only hitachi tool , by the way ) and quite frankly , i don 't know that i have the muscle to push this machine any harder .


bottom line is that at $160 , this is an absolute steal .


i 've got a buddy who 's trying to offload his almost new $300 systematic because he saw what this router can do .


it is without even a slight doubt , my new favorite .


the hitachi m12v is a dream to work with , smooth starts , adjustable speeds , micro-adjustable depth , and plenty of power to spare .


i couldn 't believe what i had been missing .


if you 're looking for a 3hp plunge router , the hitachi m12v is your best bet to stretch your equipment budget .


i 'll be getting a second one for my router table ! .


i have been impressed with the power of the hitachi m12v .


it doesn 't bog down under load .


cuts are easy and smooth .


i use it on a router table , and it is works well .


other than this , i am very pleased with the router and would buy it again .


i really liked the price . . .


i like the speed control .


it has plenty of power .


all in all i am pleased with the router .


the power , low noise operation , and speed control makes up for the problems i have experienced .


overall it is a great value .


for the price i don 't think you can beat it .


this is a fantastic tool to use .


this is a quality product , not to be confused with the cheap junk that hitachi gets manufactured in china .


when the router is working it is a very nice machine for the money .


but , for the money it is a good machine .


for the hobbiest , it 's probably a nice buy .


for the person that uses the equipment every day , pay the extra and get a reliable & safer unit .


this router does everything that it is supposed to do , so i dont really know how to talk that bad about it .


it was a very quick setup and installation , in fact the disc that it comes with pretty much makes sure you cant mess it up .


by no means do you have to be a tech junkie to be able to install it , just be able to put a cd in the computer and it tells you what to do .


it works great , i am usually at the full 54 mbps , although every now and then that drops to around 36 mbps only because i am 2 floors below where the router is .


it really is a great buy if you are loo kin at having just one modem but many computers around the house .


there are 3 computers in my house all getting wireless connection from this router , and everybody is happy with it .


its the easiest thing to setup i thought , and i am only 16 . . . so with all that said , buy the router ! . ! . ! . ! .


i recently bought the linksys wrt54g router and have been very happy with the router itself .


but the product is elf is great .


once you set it up , it 's great .


and it is extremely well-priced for what you 're getting .


another 5 star performance .


this setup using the cd was about as easy as learning how to open a refrigerator door for the first time .


pertaining to the speed issue : i got 54mps while i was in the same room .


this router works at 54mbps that 's megabyte not kilobyte .


i hooked the linksys wireless router up to a broadband connection which is running at a maximum of 700 plus kilobytes on the download e ! .


broadband hooked up to this wireless setup flies .


installation was as near automatic as can be .


all in all this is a 5 star piece of equipment .


even during the firmware updates my roommates did not loose wireless connectivity .


new firmware update allows for automatic wireless network configuration .


all you have to do is click one button on the router configuration window and the router automatically senses the devices and configures the network .


awesome for the newbie , though i personally like to fasten every bolt myself .


comes with a installation cd which instructs you step by step to setting up the router .


you need to know absolutely nothing about setting up the network .


the router works fine for both wired and wireless .


i can go pretty far away from my router and still connect wirelessly .


overall , if you know what basic steps to take , it was not difficult to connect , and the s/w worked well to connect .


i 'd give it 4 . 5 stars if possible , but since 5 stars would be misleading , i give it 4 stars .


i have had mine for about a year and use a third party firmware on mine and love it .


just want a wireless router for home or your very small business , you can just get a wrt54g from here and configure it .


i would highly recommend that you do this if you want to learn something , but if you are not interested in learning this stuff and just want a working wireless router , just get the wrt54g .


yes , the 1-800 number probably redirected me to someone in india , but the guy was easy to understand , and he helped solve the problem .


it 'll make life a lot easier , and preclude you from having to give this product a negative review .


this is my fourth linksys product and , aside from the rough start , i 'm very satisfied with this router .


this linksys router does it for the right price .


the range is terrific , i am using this for my home and i was transferring at 50+mbs from my backyard .


i 've since gotten the linksys modem ( befcmu10 ) and stacked it with the wrt54g router and it works fantastic ! . ! . ! .


it took me about an hour to set up a wireless environment in her townhouse and she hasn 't called me yet with any problems .


there are instructions to encrypt your personal wireless network so no one else can end up hogging/stealing your bandwidth .


and the tech writers have made the installation process so easy for people lick my aunt to follow .


a very well made product that has worked very well for me over the years .


i upgraded from an older 801 . 11b router to the linksys wrt54g for its improved security , and of course , speed .


as i mentioned in my first paragraph , it supports wpa security , which is far superior to wep .


in addition it is very easy to setup .


anted to rate the router higher than 1 star , due to its security , easy of use , etc .


so far it all works fine with either cable or wireless connections .


the setup was very easy .


just follow the instructions carefully , it 's all based on a cd that has everything you need to get you up and running in no time .


the dual antenna is a plus and the design is slick .


drops and strong signals even from the backyard .


the wrt54g offers excellent security features and much more ( and easier ) configuration menu that i didn 't even need a manual to setup correctly .


even though you could get a cheap router these days , i 'm happy i spent a little extra for the linksys .


the quality is significant and you 'll be very happy from saving time and the headache .


i got it working fast enough .


it is a nice router in all ways but one .


i also wanted to switch to broad com hardware ( which the linksys uses ) because my wifi menisci card in my dell laptop with lucien silicon in it used 70% of my 1 . 2ghz laptop 's cpu when using the wireless at full speed .


however , setting up using the quick start instructions was a breeze .


it 's easy to install the security on this product but linksys doesn 't do a good job of explaining why its important .


while i am not happy that a solid state device died after such a short period of time , my quick review of this product space did not yield any other brands that seem much better than linksys .


the new router came with an updated setup utility that makes getting the router installed a fairly straight forward process .


unlike other reviewers , i have found the support to be responsive , almost no wait time on the phone , and relatively knowledgeable .


overall , this router seems like a reasonably priced product th ! .


at works as well as can be expected for products in this space and the company backs it up with good support .


it 's easy and really works , with some incredible range .


compatibility with other devices is excellent too ; . i 've only found one 11b device that won 't work with its mixed mode ( and it won 't work with *anyone 's* mixed mode ) .


setup in xp was instant and intuitive .


the main advantage of this system over its predecessor is the ability to open a wider pipeline between clients .


linksys quality and tech support have been outstanding .


my experience with installation was quite good .


i upgraded both my card and router and really had no problems with installation on my sony vaio laptop ( xp operating system ) .


the card basically installed itself and the " install wizard " on the cd that came with the router basically set the router up to work with one computer ( with the 54g card ) and also a second computer in my house ( with an 11b card ) .


i haven 't tried to set up any advanced features on the router , but it is not difficult to set up for basic use .


the documentation is much better than the documentation that came with the 11b router -- i needed a lot of help from linksys technical assistance to set that one up .


i like this router a whole lot better the linksys 11b router it replaced -- the signal strength seems ot be much strainers , seldom falling below the " very good " range ( and most often excellent within 25-50 feet of the router .


the transmission speed is also quite good , with pages loading very quickly .


i have had no problem either with backward compatibility , in that the " mixed mode " feature lets you both 54 and 11 mb cards off the router .


as far as dealing with network access of other computers this router is pretty good given the price- remember this router is the same one that was released right when the g standard was introduced to the market .


all in all , it 's a good router if you don 't have the cash for a speed booster one .


i just replaced my old linksys router with this one , turned everything on in the right order , and it was up and running with no problems .


all of the wireless components that i bought were a breeze to set up as well .


this product is by far the best broadband router on the market , i bought this to replace one of those linksys instant wireless b routers , worked great for about a year .


my op ion is concentrate on what you need now , this product has excellent range , holds a teddy connection , ha sent even drooped one and i have it for more than a month now .


if you need a wireless router . . . . get it get it get it . . . . works really good . . . .


i was an early purchaser of the wrt54g , and had a few problems with stability and speed - finally , the march 03 firmware update has resulted in an excellent product ! .


i just upgraded to the linksys wrt54g wireless-g router last month and i am very happy with the quality of the product .


this router acts as a wireless access point , 100 mb switch and a router making it a nice multipurpose device .


the in ital setup of the router was simple .


works pretty well .


the best part about this router is now i have a dhaka server .


my brother had an old linksys b band wireless router in his home and it was like magic .


well linksys was one of the original big players in the router industry .


yin to point out they have experience , and so the reliability of the connection you get is among the best .


this model appears to be especially good .


the darn thing works as promised and it 's amazingly cheap too .


if you want to work wirelessly , this router does just what you want it to do and my geek friends say that the security is as good as it gets right now .


the setup was a breeze , i had some reservations about a wireless network ( see my review for linksys wet11 ) but this item was on sale as well as the wet11 so i just had to splurge .


to set up the box , wap , and ether nest bridge , with the encryption on was less then 30 mins .


the setup software did everything .


in a week of use i 've never had to reboot the router .


a decent piece of hardware with great speed ( i get the same speeds as with my comp connected directly to the modem ) and good signal quality .


i guess the two antennae help with that besides making it look cooler .


i am getting better speeds on all my web programs .


there seem to be fewer collisions and dropped packets as i read from the router logs than with my old dlink router .


it works well with my vip adapter , which is also a linksys .


pros . 1 . speed 2 . signal strength 3 . advanced configuration options


purchased this router a few months back , no problems whatsoever .


in fact , it supports the new wpa encryption standard , which is way better than wep .


works perfectly with my netgear wireless paramecia .


feature wise , its a lot better than the dlink and netgear routers out there .


reset the network , tried the connection , and it 's working like a charm .


however since this router is backward compatible , that doesn 't pose a problem at all .


overall , it 'll make my move that much easier knowing i don 't have to worry about connectivity .


for more than a year , and it is totally reliable .


no down time , great signal strength .


there is an open-source firmware on the net which has tons of extra features .


setup is totally breeze and linksys 's web site is pretty easy to navigate .


the fact that has an open-source firmware makes it a great option in my opinion .


so the pretty solid router all around good for the money here 's the link to firmware updates http : //www . suavest . com/forum6 . html


absolutely no problems with this router .


i downloaded and updated the firmware , and followed the easy setup instructions .


a call to customer support ( got to a live person within a couple of minutes ) helped me tweak a couple of the settings to streamline performance .


speed is not a problem .


after upgrading the drivers and firmware a few times and e-mailing tech support for some setting tips it now works fine .


as far as linksys goes , i have used several of their products and they seem to hold up well - no problems .


getting the router setup in a " vanilla " configuration that works for 99% of users was very easy , and i was able to do this no problem .


second , the setup cd actually worked perfectly .


i still need to read up on some of the security settings , etc to fully understand all that 's up there , but bottom-line is that the installation was like night and day compared to the speed boost router .


when i saw a high gain ( low price ) antenna was available to the wrt54g router , i thought i 'd happily give up some ( practically unattainable anyway , since you 've got to be in spitting distance from the router ) speed in favor of wider coverage .


having done all this , i was quite pleased to see that all corners i needed were decently covered by the signal .


the box is upstairs , and in the farthest room i get connected at 11-18m speed - that is similar to the older 10m ethernet standard .


apart from speed , the signal is consistent and works without interruptions , etc .


the wrt54g plus the hga7t is a perfect solution if you need wireless coverage in a wider area or for a hard-walled house as was my case .


all of this said [as it 's on it 's way back to amazon] , the one song it did include provided far better sound than the ipod .


the base was deeper and the highs were crisper .


what a kick butt mp3 machine and the freedom to get songs from a reasonable source , instead of paying for them two or three times , then get the creative zen ipod killer , kiss my ass itunes ! .


the sound is great , the portability , etc . . . all the " stuff " you expect from a good mp-3 player , this zen micro has it .


) one outstanding positive feature is the battery . it holds a charge for a long time , longer than most other similar products and the user can replace it easily or take another along as a backup .


creative did well on its rechargeable battery feature . .


the zen micro fm receiver is ok , not great .


) the zen micro appears sturdy and well constructed , hefty , if you will , far better than many of its competitors . .


well , i have an ipod mini - and i really like it , but all in all , i like the zen micro more .


smaller size , 1 gb of more space , radio , voice recording , removable battery , cooler look , all in one .


i love how small the thing is , and the blue glow - i 've had it for two weeks with no electronic problems at all .


creative media source is very easy to use once you get the hang of it , and the file transfers are fast .


sound quality is great , fm tuner is fine , as is the recorder .


this is the mp3 player with everything i need . as long as it lasts me a good three years , i 'm satisfied .


also if you want a device that does so much more than the ipod mini but is at the same price , this is the player for you .


upon opening the box i was confronted with this small cute little mp3 player .


the software included is an easy installation and you have the option of using the creative software , windows media player 10 , or simply windows explorer to move music back and forth between your zen touch .


the package also comes with a usb cable , an ac adapter , a pair of headphones ( they 're okay until you get a better pair ) , a stand , and a microfiber pouch to carry your zen touch in .


overall i 'm incredibly impressed with my new zen touch .


it 's cute as anything and the glowing blue led looks super cool around the edges .


for the price i think this is a remarkably fun mp3 player .


i 've had this player for more than 4 months and i 'm very happy with it .


1 speakers at home , i rarely use it with the earbuds , though they are much better than the ones you normally get with other mp3 players .


the look & feel : i have the black one and the contrasting neon blue on the buttons add a very nice ambiance .


it feels tiny in the hand without it .


the stand that comes with it is very useful to prop it up on the desk .


the blue backlit lcd looks really neat and is easy to read .


the touch buttons are textured so that your finger sdon 't slip which was very thoughtful .


reliability & build i dropped the player once from about 4 ft , and it fell hard , but kept on playing .


the hard case they give with it must work well .


it feels solid and not flimsy like the carbon .


sound i 'm no audiophile but i was amazed by the clarity the player had , it was much better than the sound card on my computer and louder too .


i have had the ipod mini and it performs on the level with my sound card but the micro beats it outright .


best of all the wmas ( i have a lot of them ) sound great .


utility its got a huge list of features including an fm recorder a calender and contacts list .


the songs recorded with fm are as good as the original signal .


creating and modifying playlists is easy and clean .


i think that for its price compared to the ipod the creative zen is pretty good .


the good news is that the creative support is very responsive and after some emails and postal exchanges , i had a new zen .


the sound is quite good , in terms of volume .


i didnt have any installation problems ; . and the touch pad is fine , even if it is sort of inaccurate .


i didnt get ipod because i dont especially like itunes ( no music i want , but thats just me ) and the creative product was cheaper ; . and i needed to be able to use wma files .


all-in-all , its good enough for its price as long as it doesnt break again due to normal use .


the battery is removable .


fm radio built in ( howard stern ) .


record memos using the built in microphone .


the player looks so much better when you 're actually holding it .


the back of the player is nice too , with water ripples inside the clear white coating .


you can use it as a storage hard drive .


i have no problem using itunes with the zen micro ( in a makeshift sorta way ) .


however , if there was one thing i liked about the creative , it would be the car adapter .


while they all seem to have their own positives and negatives , i picked the zen micro over the ipod mini , because i am not an apple person , never has been - i wanted something that is fully compatible with windows media player .


also , the wma compression format is superior to mp3 , especially at lower bit rates , so i needed a player that could handle wma and integrate well with my windows xp computers .


i was fortunate to get the packaging that still included all the accessories ( desk stand/hard case , belt clip , wall charger , etc ) .


and so far , i have been very , very happy with my zen micro .


it 's being used daily and i have had none of the problems reported by other reviewers ( headphone jack , player locking up , etc ) .


the micro has an impressive array of very nice features and a well designed user interface .


what i like the most : - small and solid feel .


the zen micro is smaller than it looks in pictures , and feels very solid .


the blue backlight is pretty cool .


the screen is clear and readable , and the touch pad works very well , it took me less than a day to get the hang of it , and now i like it better than having to click buttons or fiddle with a separate volume control .


- great sound ! . i was very impressed , i encode at 192 kbps and the audio quality is great , especially with the better headphones .


the first thing i did was upgrade the firmware to the version required for wmp10 , it syncs flawlessly with media player and transfers are fast .


- replaceable battery .


with the right firmware , drag and drop to and from the player like any other jump drive .


i have not yet used all the features , like the calendar , etc , but as a music player this little thing rocks .


if you can get one with all the accessories and a cheap extended warranty , this is the player to get ! . highly recommended .


the micro seemed like an ipod for less .


pros : - excellent sound , even with the headphones that come out of the box , but it absolutely rocked with my bose quiet comfort 2 set .


- looks sleek , compact , has a radio .


don 't worry this player rocks .


it was also the most appealing .


for the zen creative focused on packaging which looked well thought out , well presented and easy to open and put back together .


it has a cardboard slip cover with a nice layered box casing inside .


a distinct ipod relation is evident with white colored cables , power plug and the very nice zen case with a white rubber inside covering .


i do give create to creative for their attractive design .


creative has put a lot of effort into making this player appeal to those true geeks that search for coolness and functionality in electronic devices .


creative was defiantly giving the ipod a run for their money with this device .


it makes the nomad i purchase feel and look like junk .


everything shines of quality .


i was more excited about this player upon opening than i was about the nomad .


i am now staring at an array of stuff including zen micro player , stereo earbud headphones , a rechargeable lithium-ion battery , an ac/dc power adapter , a usb 2 . 0 cable , a belt-clip , a stand , a stylish cloth pouch , an installation cd , a quick-start guide , and creative mediasource software .


the interface works great .


i enjoy getting use to the touch pad .


in minutes i was easily navigating through the menus .


what impressed me most was the sound .


at 128 the songs sound very good .


the zen lives up to the audio quality i love and expect .


the earbuds are great headphones as good as my ak studio 240 , well not as good but darn close .


the zen was an impressive purchase and i would highly recommend it to anyone using napster .


i absolutely love it .


it 's so small .


it looks sleek and modern .


it holds plenty of songs .


the sound is amazing .


the menu is easy to use and understand .


i love the touchpaper controls .


they 're easy to use .


the radio and voice recording are nice .


the earbud headphones are really nice .


the battery has a long life .


it 's rechargable and supposedly easy to replace though i haven 't had to do it yet of course .


the file ripping/transfering software that comes with the player is easy to use .


it 's faster than wmp .


so far i have no complaints with this player .


if anyone is thinking of getting an ipod mini , forget it and go with this player .


it 's cheaper , holds more songs and is smaller .


i have stored 40 audio cds and i still have close to 2 . 8 gb free .


user interface : the software is simple and straight forward .


you can use the player to store your computer data files ( good feature to have ) .


battery : a big big plus .


most of the other players i checked dont have user serviceable battery .


each battery lasts about 10-11 hours .


another good feature is that you can charge the battery by just connecting the player to your computer using the usb cable .


fm tuner & microphone : having a tuner in the player is a blessing .


built in microphone is great for recording short voice notes .


sound : this is where i love zen the most .


excellent sound i mean the player has juice .


the bass treble the sound detail is aw some .


i compared it to other cd players ( two models of panasonic , rio & samsung ) and they were no way even near zen micro .


looks and shape : i have a black one and the first time i charged it and switched it on jeez the blue light looked so cool .


its compact and has rounded edges .


fits well in hand in trouser pockets .


freebies you get : a cradle with detachable stand and belt clip , some thing very handy and useful .


fm transmitter ( belkin has a good one ) to use zen with your car stereo fm tuner latest find : connected this baby to my $3800 audiophile audio system and it produced clean sound compared to ipod .


thankfully , creative has come through with a product that puts the ipod back in its place .


while i have not had the " privilege " , as many call it , of owning an ipod , based on the experience of friends who have had some misfortune with their ipod ( and subsequently purchased the zen touch or zen micro ) , i can pretty much rest assured that my decision to purchase the zen micro was one of the more informed ones .


by focusing exclusively on quality rather than excessive marketing , they have introduced a player that can look the ipod straight in the eye and not flinch .


while i 'm not too keen on their customer service ( none of the products i have from creative have given me issues ) , i can definitely recommend the zen micro for the simple fact that it does exactly what it is supposed to do and more . . . without needing any of the extra hype except word of mouth .


about the product : the zen micro is a sleek , stylish device that caters not just to " hip " youngsters but to people of all walks of life who like to listen on the go without having to worry frequently about battery life , size , or the " awkward " factor .


it fits comfortably in my shirt pocket and while very well-designed , doesn 't look to ostentatious while i 'm walking around with it .


the interface , while a bit confusing at first , is very easy to navigate after about 15 minutes .


battery life is exceptional , lasting longer than the 8-10 hours that seem reasonable with most music players on the market .


transferring files couldn 't be easier thanks to the included software bundle .


also , i am quite partial to the creative mediasource organizer and player software , which i had with audigy zs sound card originally ; . it is definitely an added plus .


all-in-all , creative has definitely come up with a winner in terms of product design and features , and i look forward to the nomad/zen line of products seizing more market share as people begin to realize that quality is a better determinant of experience than quantity and hype .


initially , i was very impressed , after loading 180 songs it seemed to function very well but then it would lock up on me and a battery removal remedied this , i then downloaded the upgrades and everything seemed to be alright .


the extra gb of hard rive space , remove able battery and fm tuner , as well as the fact that i was previously a satisfied owner of the nomad ii put it over the top for me .


fortunately for me , i have yet to have a single problem with this player .


i think the os and controls are very well thought out and although i 'll admit i was a bit intimidated during my first few hours with the micro , the interface and controls became second nature after the first day or so .


however , there is a more detailed pdf manual on the cd ( and online ) that should answer any questions about the operational features of the zen micro .


as opposed to the nomad ii or any other flash based player , the songs load extremely fast . . . about one or two seconds per song .


i also like the fact that you can edit your mp3 titles , etc .


after comparing the included creative earbuds directly against my sony md-e828lp 's and sennheiser mx-400 's , i find myself still using the creative 's , which in my opinion , sound every bit as good and have a slightly longer cord .


perhaps i bought the micro to be different , the cheaper price tag ( from amazon ) , the design , or avoiding the high ipod theft in nyc subways .


whichever it may be , i 'm happy i 've made this purchase .


when i opened the box , i was shocked by the size of this thing . . . it 's tiny ! .


it 's shorter , sleeker , more compact and fits comfortably in my small hand than the ipod . . . my nokia cell phone towers over this bad boy ! .


the interface has a sassier flair and the blue-lit trimming is an added bonus .


moving on to sound department . . . it delivers ! .


there are extra features packed inside this unit ( some that most will hardly ever use ) such as fm radio tuner , voice recorder , calendar , and alarm clock .


speaking of battery , it 's removable and replaceable ! .


overall , the micro is a solid device and i haven 't fell into a problem with it yet *knocks on wood* .


transferring music is a breeze . i don 't subscribe to music services , but as mentioned on other reviews , micro allows you to subscribe to services other than itunes .


it may not top the ipod mini , but it 's definitely an alternative if you also want the extra features and good sound quality .


strong points : - design : small , comfortable , curved , and stylish .


colors : 10 variety of hot colors made it difficult to choose from .


you don 't need to cough up an extra couple bucks for a " special edition " to get black ! . - sound : awesome ! . - batteries : removable/replaceable .


- audio formats : supports both mp3 , wma . . . and yeah , wav too .


you do get 1 more gb than an ipod mini .


this product is amazing and better than the ipod you can get at the same price .


the 4g ipod costs the same as this 5g zen micro .


it also has a voice recorder and fm radio that you can only get on an ipod if you but an adapter seperately .


creative did an awesome job with the design .


the headphones have great sound and durability and mine came with some extras when i bought it ( a stand , a belt hook , charger ) that i know doesn 't come with every one .


i have the black one and adore it .


it looks nice and sleek and the blue background light looks awesome against the black .


i bought my zen micro three months ago mainly because i preferred the size and style to the ipod mini .


overall , i 've been very impressed with the player .


i 've had almost no problems with the firmware ( ie , lock-ups , shut-downs etc ) , but i have kept the player up to date .


i 'm not sure whether this is related to the charge cycle of its li-ion battery , the better firmware , or a combination of both factors .


i imagine if i left my player untouched ( no backlight ) it could play for considerably more than 12 hours at a low volume level .


one of my favorite features about the player is its ability to sync to windows media player .


its just as fast as the included creative software , but much less invasive , and overall better looking .


the touchpad is great once you get used to it , and i much prefer it to standard buttons or scroll wheels ( as on the dell dj for example ) .


they are sensitive and accurate ( perhaps too accurate , it senses through t-shirt cloth , but the touchpad can be locked ) , but easy to clean , unlike buttons .


also , the touchpad seems to be waterproof to some degree .


its ability to record radio is useful as well , but would have been more so if it could be preset .


the player looks great , feels great , and sounds great .


so far it has been very durable ( other than the little pads on the earbuds ) , but those aren 't really necessary as i find them comfortable on their own .


they also sound excellent compared to other earbuds including retail sets like panasonic's and sennheisers .


i 've dropped the device several times onto hard surfaces , and it still works flawlessly .


this year , it seems that i choose my timing perfectly , having discovered the awesome device that is the zen micro .


everything that i have listed above , the zen has , and more .


the menus are easy to scroll through ; . they are laid out naturally , and make sense .


the computer interface is 90% good , only losing points due to the fact that " creative " branding is all over the place within it .


songs transfer lightning fast , and the two batteries that came in my box give me 24 hours of listen time .


on the fly play list creation , address book , removable storage drive capabilities , sound recorder , the list goes on people , this thing is literally so chalked full of goodies , it was like halloween all over again .


so far i have used all of the above-mentioned features , and find them well designed , and easy to understand .


that 's it for now , what are you doing still reading this , click the " add to cart " button already ! .


right out of the box , i loved it , better features than the ipod , great sound quality and no limitations on what music sources i can use .


so , i was one who was ready to give it 5 stars with no complaints at all .


original review december 2004 i 'm sorry to read about other people having problems with their zen micro , but mine has worked great ! .


this is my first mp3 player and i am so impressed with what such a small device can do .


i have ripped over 100 songs from my cd collection and it was so easy and fast , and they all sound great .


i love that you can create custom playlists , and organize music in so many different ways .


i love my dark blue zen micro and would definitely recommend it .


the fm tuner , the 5g of storage , and the removable disk are all great features .


the fit and finish of the product is first-rate .


overall , i am very pleased with it .


the more i use it and figure out how to do things , the more i like it .


before you run out and buy an ipod , understand something : there are reasons the zen is worth encountering this kind of hassle , principally excellent ( for mp3 ) sound quality .


the supplied headphones are hands-down better than the mediocre ipod buds .


the player is smaller than you think .


bottom line : if you value excellent sound quality and the ability to use music subscription services , and are willing to deal with the possibility ( not the certainty ) of setup gremlins , by all means get the zen micro .


the zen micro is near perfect .


it 's still alive , still kicking , and still playing .


the zen micro ( mine 's black ) has a lot going for it .


it fits into a hand well , it has a removable battery ( this is important ) , great sound quality , fm stereo , recorder , smooth ui , and a feature that most uni pods lack . . . char ! .


the accessories that come with the player are great .


white earbuds ( i replaced those with some shire headphones , big difference ) , a case , a stand , a clip ( which doesn 't really work ) , and a nice little zen micro bag .


best in class .


it gives you the most bang for your buck , period .


creative has been making computer sound equipment for decades and with the zen micro it finally has something with enough quality and , yes , charm to win a nice size of the digital player pie .


pick your favorite color and buy it .


pros the design is very nice , and the colors are too .


it also has tons more features then previous creative products , and most of them are very useful such as the ability to customize the main menu to show the stuff you want , not the default items ( creative labs . com for more on that ) .


the battery is also convenient , but could have been better , such as the zen touch 's battery ( but at least this one is removable ) .


if you don 't mind all the buttons being touch sensitive , i 'd re comment buying it to try out , and also buy an extra 2 year warranty for it ( there are some offered here , for about $15 dollars i think ) .


anyway , my wife got this for me for my birthday and i love the thing .


the program is called nomad and works great for me and seems to cover all the features the included windows software does .


+looks snazzy +smaller than a pack of smokes - easily transported +ac charger included as well as a hard shell that comes with a clip and a stand adapter +usb cable ! .


+battery life is awesome if you upgrade the firmware [requires a windows pc] or make sure to always plug the ac adapter into the player before plugging into the outlet +awesome sound quality . . . i mean it is creative right ? .


+sorts music by artist , album , genre , etc . . . it 's easy to wade through 5 gigs of tunes to find what you 're looking for .


but since it 's so small , it isn 't a big deal to bring it with me .


overall though , i 'm very happy with it and highly recommend it to folks looking for a mp3 player , even if it is to pretend your not a brain dead consumer giving into the marketing hype of the ipod . ; . )


i finally decided to purchase this player because it was compatible with napster 2 go . . . . which is a subscription service , allowing me to download as much music as i want for a $14 . 95 flat fee .


and i must say . . . this mp3 is very cool .


it 's so cute . . . and behind the black panel it glows in a neon blue .


after installation , which was very simple . . . . i downloaded any updated software from the creative website , before i downloaded any music .


the sound is very nice .


i also like the lock feature , so it makes the touch pad inactive .


otherwise , i am extremely please with the creative zen micro 5gb mp3 player .


however after playing with it for three weeks now , i 'm convinced , the zen micro is superior .


i think sound quality should be the first and foremost feature , and the zen is leaps and bounds better in sound quality , with no need to upgrade the earphones .


i thought the fm radio would not see much use with so many tracks available to me , but its great for tuning in to tv programs at the gym while on the treadmill , concerts and programs being simulcast , npr , and on and on .


mine is as easy to use as the mini without any firmware download .


its also smaller , and gets more looks .