The zen x-fi looks like a nice update from the zen. It now has x-fi, wi-fi & better earphones. The design also looks more classy. reat news too, there's a contest to get free zen x-fi at http://creative.com/products/mp3/zenxfi/ just submitted a few entries :X

Lossless codecs I use are FLAC and APE.

My whole CD collection is ripped to FLAC.

You can get FLAC plugins for Media Player but Winamp and Media Jukebox have it out of the box.


flac - Completely Free as in liberty and price
ape - Free as in price
wma lossless - Free if you own Windows XP or Vista
Dolby TrueHD & MLP - Not Free at all
DTS Master Audio - Not Free at all

Could someone list some of them? Are any of them free?

Great honest review - it's just not yet equivalent to an iPod touch.. 

Also the screen is only 320 x 240 pixels compared to the iPod touch's 480 x 320 - though the X-Fi is half the weight.

No manufacturer has yet built my ideal MP3 player. 

Bluetooth headset makes sense, but wireless is a pointless addition to the RF 
smog already wrecking our wireless networks (how hard to use a usb cable?).

Don't want an iPod, because iTunes is bonkers. I do like iPod's ability to recognise 
albums as folders -- I won't spend hours tagging individual songs. 

Most decent MP3 players are pitched at slightly under iPod prices which we know 
are a rip off -- I want 8gb or so for under £50/$100 (I know it can be done because 
Argos recently offered Sony 8gb models half price at £60).

I'd prefer a model with a slot for SD cards which are so cheap and small enough 
you could carry dozens. 

I want a decent screen, not necessarily colour as this wastes power and MP3 
screens are too small to display pictures anyway. 

I don't want expensive proprietary batteries (with iPod you can't even fit a replacement yourself). I don't mind the extra bulk or shorter battery life of AA cells as rechargables are cheap and regular AAs can be bought anywhere. 

Curiously, the closest I've found to these ideals is a phone, the Ericssony
W200i. Though not a great phone, it's been offered at between £19 and £29 on 
PAYG -- which suggests just how little an MP3 player alone could cost. 

At present I use stick models (Matsui brand but also sold by other makers) -- good sound, good battery life from AAA cell. Single line display, drag and drop but 
unable to recognise folders (though with only 256mb it's easy enough to navigate). 

They cost about £1 used at flea market/boot sale and until the serious 
manufacturers wake up I will continue to carry several of them at a time.