Posted by: stop smoking

Like any other industry, the digital music player industry has its leading brand. Other brands are in lower ranks, hoping to come up with a product that can topple off the leader from its throne. If the Apple's iPod is the number one, then Creative Labs Zen Micro is a worthy contender.

Creative Labs is responsible for one of the most affordable yet durable MP3 players being sold in the market. Zen Micro, in particular, comes in three sizes, each of which is already huge in its own right--4 GB (1000 songs), 5 GB (1250 songs), and 6 GB (1500 songs). The best thing about this is the budget-friendly price range, from $179 to $229. Take these factors into consideration, and you'll have a very good alternative to the more expensive iPod.

If the iPod has the clicking wheel, Creative goes back to the old-school vertical touchpad, but with a twist--it is customized according to the consumer's taste. Zen Micro can also save as much as 32 FM stations for your listening pleasure. Aside from that, you can also record them whenever you want. These alone easily help Zen Micro find its niche in the market, but there is much more to it, like two of its extra features: a 12-hour battery life and built-in voice recorder.

The iPod can be really fragile and easily damaged so the people behind Creative used that to their advantage. Creative released audio players that are much sturdier than the iPod. Zen Micro, in particular, is a very portable player with its sleek design and moderately-sized disk space. It's also more navigable and loadable than iPod because it isn't as strict as iPod with formats.

Of course there is a downside to all this. Since most electronics stores are focused on serving iPod patrons because it's the leading brand, you can find a bit of a hard time looking for accessories for Creative Labs' digital audio players. Sometimes you have to search online to find the products you are looking for.

All in all, Zen Micro is a worthy product to buy. It's very user-friendly and highly durable, and more so than the iPod players. However, remember that buying accessories for Zen Micro can be a hassle. But if that's fine with you, then there should be no problem at all.