Creative Technology MuVo2 (1 GB) MP3 Player
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- Number of Songs: 380
- Usage: Music
- Interface: USB
- Main Storage Type: Hard Drive
- Storage Capacity: 1 GB
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The MuVo squared, a superb mp3 player.
Pros
Price, Looks, Simple to use, Good functionality.
Cons
Small LCD
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
You get a very decent 1.5Gb player for your money.
Creative - a well established name in the PC Audio market, which has managed to bring us high quality products for years. And with that said, the MuVo squared is no exception. The MuVo is one of a rapidly increasing number of mp3 players that are using reduced size hard drive technology (equal or smaller in physical size as those used in laptops), as opposed to removable or flash memory. This offers one distinct advantage: storage capacity.
The MuVo offers a storage capacity of 1.5Gb. Creative quotes 850 as the number of songs that you can hold on this device, but it's a maximum, since this assumes that you're using 64kbs WMA files with an average length of 3.5 mins, which let's face it, probably isn't the case. Still, you're still going to be able to store several hundred tracks, which is plenty for my liking. Sure, I could spend a lot more money on a 40Gb jukebox, but as it stands, I don't currently see the point. It's also worth mentioning that you can store any file you want on this player, from word docs to films. You can't play them of course, but it makes an ideal solution if you need to transport data around. You'll find that 1.5Gb storage is more than enough for trips to work, etc.
Onto the MuVo's design. It's a very minimalist player, in that it doesn't have fifty thousand buttons and a complex control panel. You've got a directional pad, LCD panel, and one button that's used for play, pause, and to turn the player off. The D-Pad is used in order to make track selections, and to control almost all the playback and sound controls. Tilt the pad up or down to alter the volume, while pressing it during playback will access the menu. The play/pause/power button does just that!
The LCD is a two line panel, backlit with good ol' blue. It scrolls the artist and title of the currently playing track on the bottom line. It also displays battery life, play mode, sound mode, track time and track number. Considering the amount of empty space on the front of the player, a larger LCD panel would have been nice. It's rather small, but OK, a larger panel would have bumped up the price. So it does the job.
There's three sockets along the top of the player: USB2.0, 5V DC in, and the headphone/remote. Unfortunately I've not seen a remote for this player. I hope one is announced, since it would make switching tracks on the move a lot easier. Having said that, the remotes released for the Creative Jukeboxes were rather expensive for what they were. The USB2.0 (backward compatible to 1.1) will accept a standard miniplug, which is good news if you're using more than one USB device at the moment, since your existing cable may well fit.
The player's menu system is simple, and easy to use. You press the D-Pad once to get to the menu, which allows for basic control of the sound modes, as well as the play modes. The menu is also used to lock the player, and to access the in-built FM radio. A physical switch is preferable to lock the player with, but the menu system makes this quick and easy, so it really isn't a problem. Here's the menu layout:
- Folder: Is used to access the root directory, where you can access files and navigate sub-folders.
- Playlists: Edit playlists.
- Playmode: Repeat (track), repeat (all), track once, shuffle (repeat), shuffle (once), and normal.
- EQ(ualiser): Rock, pop, classical, jazz, normal, and custom (four band parametric is used here).
- Delete
- Settings: Contrast, backlight, language, idle shutdown, and information.
- Microphone Recording
- FM Radio
- Lock: Locks the player from accidental button presses.
As you can see, they've got the basics covered pretty well. It's a little basic compared to some more expensive models, but it's more than enough for the casual listener (most of us, right?).
If you're using Windows XP, the MuVo is recognised as a generic drive. This means that you don't need any drivers or additional software for its operation. All you need to do, is plug it in, and simply drag and drop your files onto the player. As mentioned above, you can do this with any files, not just sound files. The driverless operation makes it quite useful as a generic drive. Creative requires some of its portables to work in this manner, but (annoyingly) requires software for its jukeboxes. Since this is sort of a miniature jukebox I was worried about driver. Thankfully they took the smart path.
This drag and drop interface means it's possible to select entire chunks of your music library, and transfer all the files in the selection, at once. For example, if you have a folder for all your Rock music on your hard drive, with say, ten albums in it, you can transfer them all, while keeping the directory structure intact. The MuVo uses ID3 tags (if they exist) to display information about your songs, but doesn't sort your songs according to them. This means that you can browse your music as you would any other data.
Creative created the MuVo with easy access to the battery. The back panel is hinged, and opens to reveal a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. Being able to replace the internal battery is becoming an important issue for buyers, and rightly so. Some players out there *cough* Apple iPod *cough* are basically disposable. When the battery eventually dies and won't hold much charge, you're left high and dry, since, you can't change the battery without sending it off to apple to replace it. Fair enough, except they charge $100 to do so. Creative claim you'll get 10 hours playback on a full battery I got 9. Having said that, they probably tested on a lower volume, without the backlight, and not using any EQ settings. Nine hours is actually rather good, and since you don't have to spend money on a pack of AAA batteries every time your player runs out of juice, you're sorted.
The MuVo ships with some headphones, but they're not up to much. I'd highly recommend going out and buying some better headphones, preferably Sony (Sony are good..). If sound quality is high up on your priority list, the MuVo will do you proud.
If you are looking for something very portable, then the MuVo2 will fit the bill. At 2.6" x 2.6" x 0.8" and 3.2 ounces with the battery, it is extremely small. The flat sides also help it fit neatly into a pocket. Creative bundles a carrying case with belt clip, which is nice.
In conclusion, if you're looking for a micro drive portable mp3 player, consider the MuVo. It combines most of the important elements you'd need, into one small package. It looks nice, sounds nice, and the price is right. At around #150, it won't break the bank, and you get a very decent 1.5Gb player for your money.
The MuVo offers a storage capacity of 1.5Gb. Creative quotes 850 as the number of songs that you can hold on this device, but it's a maximum, since this assumes that you're using 64kbs WMA files with an average length of 3.5 mins, which let's face it, probably isn't the case. Still, you're still going to be able to store several hundred tracks, which is plenty for my liking. Sure, I could spend a lot more money on a 40Gb jukebox, but as it stands, I don't currently see the point. It's also worth mentioning that you can store any file you want on this player, from word docs to films. You can't play them of course, but it makes an ideal solution if you need to transport data around. You'll find that 1.5Gb storage is more than enough for trips to work, etc.
Onto the MuVo's design. It's a very minimalist player, in that it doesn't have fifty thousand buttons and a complex control panel. You've got a directional pad, LCD panel, and one button that's used for play, pause, and to turn the player off. The D-Pad is used in order to make track selections, and to control almost all the playback and sound controls. Tilt the pad up or down to alter the volume, while pressing it during playback will access the menu. The play/pause/power button does just that!
The LCD is a two line panel, backlit with good ol' blue. It scrolls the artist and title of the currently playing track on the bottom line. It also displays battery life, play mode, sound mode, track time and track number. Considering the amount of empty space on the front of the player, a larger LCD panel would have been nice. It's rather small, but OK, a larger panel would have bumped up the price. So it does the job.
There's three sockets along the top of the player: USB2.0, 5V DC in, and the headphone/remote. Unfortunately I've not seen a remote for this player. I hope one is announced, since it would make switching tracks on the move a lot easier. Having said that, the remotes released for the Creative Jukeboxes were rather expensive for what they were. The USB2.0 (backward compatible to 1.1) will accept a standard miniplug, which is good news if you're using more than one USB device at the moment, since your existing cable may well fit.
The player's menu system is simple, and easy to use. You press the D-Pad once to get to the menu, which allows for basic control of the sound modes, as well as the play modes. The menu is also used to lock the player, and to access the in-built FM radio. A physical switch is preferable to lock the player with, but the menu system makes this quick and easy, so it really isn't a problem. Here's the menu layout:
- Folder: Is used to access the root directory, where you can access files and navigate sub-folders.
- Playlists: Edit playlists.
- Playmode: Repeat (track), repeat (all), track once, shuffle (repeat), shuffle (once), and normal.
- EQ(ualiser): Rock, pop, classical, jazz, normal, and custom (four band parametric is used here).
- Delete
- Settings: Contrast, backlight, language, idle shutdown, and information.
- Microphone Recording
- FM Radio
- Lock: Locks the player from accidental button presses.
As you can see, they've got the basics covered pretty well. It's a little basic compared to some more expensive models, but it's more than enough for the casual listener (most of us, right?).
If you're using Windows XP, the MuVo is recognised as a generic drive. This means that you don't need any drivers or additional software for its operation. All you need to do, is plug it in, and simply drag and drop your files onto the player. As mentioned above, you can do this with any files, not just sound files. The driverless operation makes it quite useful as a generic drive. Creative requires some of its portables to work in this manner, but (annoyingly) requires software for its jukeboxes. Since this is sort of a miniature jukebox I was worried about driver. Thankfully they took the smart path.
This drag and drop interface means it's possible to select entire chunks of your music library, and transfer all the files in the selection, at once. For example, if you have a folder for all your Rock music on your hard drive, with say, ten albums in it, you can transfer them all, while keeping the directory structure intact. The MuVo uses ID3 tags (if they exist) to display information about your songs, but doesn't sort your songs according to them. This means that you can browse your music as you would any other data.
Creative created the MuVo with easy access to the battery. The back panel is hinged, and opens to reveal a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. Being able to replace the internal battery is becoming an important issue for buyers, and rightly so. Some players out there *cough* Apple iPod *cough* are basically disposable. When the battery eventually dies and won't hold much charge, you're left high and dry, since, you can't change the battery without sending it off to apple to replace it. Fair enough, except they charge $100 to do so. Creative claim you'll get 10 hours playback on a full battery I got 9. Having said that, they probably tested on a lower volume, without the backlight, and not using any EQ settings. Nine hours is actually rather good, and since you don't have to spend money on a pack of AAA batteries every time your player runs out of juice, you're sorted.
The MuVo ships with some headphones, but they're not up to much. I'd highly recommend going out and buying some better headphones, preferably Sony (Sony are good..). If sound quality is high up on your priority list, the MuVo will do you proud.
If you are looking for something very portable, then the MuVo2 will fit the bill. At 2.6" x 2.6" x 0.8" and 3.2 ounces with the battery, it is extremely small. The flat sides also help it fit neatly into a pocket. Creative bundles a carrying case with belt clip, which is nice.
In conclusion, if you're looking for a micro drive portable mp3 player, consider the MuVo. It combines most of the important elements you'd need, into one small package. It looks nice, sounds nice, and the price is right. At around #150, it won't break the bank, and you get a very decent 1.5Gb player for your money.
