Portable Movie-viewer Face-off: Creative Zen Vision M vs. Nokia N810

I spent five hours on a bus today.  During that time, I watched two movies, one on my Creative Zen Vision M 30 gig player, and one on my Nokia N810.  Here are my impressions:

Creative Zen Vision M 30 gigabyte

I watched A River Runs Through It on the Creative device.  I expected to have difficulty watching a movie on such a small screen, and was pleasantly surprised with the experience.  The colors are clear and vibrant, and I had no difficulty keeping up with the action.  I turned the brightness up to 100%, but probably could have been comfortable with less.

After I got home, I turned the movie back on and left the player running to see how far it would get before the battery died.  Including the time on the bus, it played for just over 3 hours before switching off.

Although the Creative Zen Vision M has been superseded by a newer model and is no longer manufactured.  It is still available in used or refurbished condition for a very reasonable price. Click here to view the product page on Amazon.com.

Nokia N810

I watched Hitman on the Nokia N810.  The larger screen was definitely a plus, and the sound quality was decent.  My only complaint, and I’m really nitpicking here, is that the playback controls are managed through the touchscreen rather than through hardware buttons.  This meant that if I wanted to adjust the sound volume, I had to take the movie out of full-screen mode.  Adjusting the volume required three separate actions rather than the one action required by the Creative player.  I managed to find a volume level that was comfortable for most of the movie, so this wasn’t a big problem.

I didn’t run the battery into the ground like I did with the Vision M, but based on the power level after one movie, I estimate that the N810 could have played at least one more full movie before running out of juice.

The Nokia N810 has come down considerably in price since it was first introduced.  It’s now available for about half what I paid for mine last year.  Click here to view the product page on Amazon.com.

Conclusion

Obviously any movie is better on a big screen, but both devices were more than adequate as portable movie viewers.  The N810 has the advantage of a bigger screen and a longer-lasting battery, but I think the Creative player has slightly better sound, and I preferred the hardware controls for simplicity and ease of use.  I was happy with both and will use them again.

© 2009, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.