Creative Nomad II

"The design is also very neat, with a nicely rounded profile and simple controls accessed either by a four-way toggle dial or direct action buttons for volume, record, menu and so on. Connectivity to a host PC is via a USB port, which hides under a rubber flap. Another rubber flap hides the charging/connecting socket for the optional desktop cradle (which will probably last a full five minutes after purchase). Apart from this flaw, the new model is definitely better built than its predecessor and has a much more solid feel. "

"We liked the first Nomad because it distinguished itself from the crowd with its FM radio and voice recording features. The Nomad II builds on Creative Labs' previous effort, adding a fast USB connection, top-of-the-line headphones, and a remote control, earning a CNET Editors' Choice award"

"Creative's Nomad II does sport some unique features"

"Our biggest beef is with the Nomad II Manager software. It's rife with useless popup boxes that appear when the cursor rolls over just about anything. We used the time that it takes for songs to load onto the unit to brush up on our baccarat skills--you can't upload and browse through files simultaneously."

"The Creative Nomad II is a full-featured MP3 player that supports flash memory and a USB connection. While the Diamond Rio 500 remains (barely) in the lead because it offers the convenience of on-board memory and support for expansion memory, the Nomad II offers some strong competition."