Nomad Jukebox
`
`We Test Drive the Creative Nomad Jukebox
`
`By Richard Menta- I l /2]i00
`
`The Creative Nomad Jukebox establishes several mini milestones in the MP3
`arena and confirms immediate market credibility to one major milestone. That
`milestone was the concept of the jukebox digital music portable itself
`
`Invented by another manufacturer- Remote Solution's Personal Jukebox -the
`concept jumped memory storage several gigabytes over the then standard
`32MB/64MB configurations by using a laptop drive. Creative was the second
`company to employ this concept in a player and the result was an unqualified
`success. They took this portable and ran with all the way to being the number
`one selling digital music portable on Amazon, an impressive feat for an item
`that originally listed for $500.
`
`Creative's NOMAD Jukebox can be
`ordered from Amazon. Available in Blue
`and Silver.
`
`Both the performances of the Nomad Jukebox and Creative's marketing savvy earned this success.
`
`The Hardware
`
`The Nomad Jukebox resembles a CD portable in size and shape making it larger than most of the MP3 portables on
`the market. We actually compared it with a portable CD player and found the Nomad Jukebox to be heavier. Size and
`weight is the major tradeoff for jukebox players, but the advantages of capacity and cost per MB of storage weigh very
`strongly in their favor.
`
`The average person can hold close to their entire CD collection on these players. Relatively speaking, you can't get
`much more portable than that. We decided to live with our player on the go, regularly taking it with us during our
`commute to the office in NY City.
`
`The Nomad Jukebox comes with a 6GB hard drive, good for 140 to 150 CD's. There is an ample 8MB memory buffer
`which eliminates the chance that the music will skip. Despite our attempts to make it skip, the music never wavered.
`
`The Nomad Jukebox plays both MP3 and Wav files out of the box and can be upgraded to read future formats like
`ATRAC3 or WMA. Songs are uploaded to the unit via a USB connection. Best of all, both Mac and PC users can load
`to the player with two exceptions.
`
`Right now, Windows NT and Windows 95 users cannot run PlayCenter 2.0, the player's download software. This is a
`trend that is running in all of the new players coming out. Windows NT 4.0 and 95 don't offer the best support for USB
`and many of the manufacturers are choosing to not support them with Windows 2000 (really NT 5.0) now out.
`
`The problem is most corporations have not made the migration to Windows 2000 from NT, nor will they make the
`move soon. Older Pentium machines, in particular, will require a hard drive upgrade to handle the extra 600MB of
`space Windows 2000 requires, which means they may never see the upgrade. Considering how many people use NT at
`the office to download via T1 rather than their modem at home, we are disappointed by this trend even though we
`understand the reasoning for it.
`
`Power and Connections
`
`The Nomad Jukebox runs on four rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. While they provide ample
`power- about four hours of continuous use -the lithium batteries found in the Remote Solution's Personal Jukebox are
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`Nomad Jukebox
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`better.
`
`We tried the player with Duracel Ultras to see how regular batteries worked in the player. The unit crushed them in
`only 45 minutes of use.
`
`One of the best features this player introduces is a line in connection that allows you to record a song directly from
`cassette or vinyl album and save it in theW A V format. W A V files are slightly superior to MP3 files, but they take up
`to 10 times more memory. Still, with 6GB's that should not be much of an issue and it allows users to tap into their
`music collection beyond CD's. Overall, a great option.
`
`More Options
`
`Another terrific feature is the search option. With the ability to store thousands of songs, this feature saves a lot of time
`scrolling up and down lists. To search, first hit the Library button and select whether you want albums or artists. When
`you hit the search button you can type in the name letter by letter. As each letter is entered, the name of the nearest
`album or artist is displayed allowing you to find the song you want without having to type the name in its entirety.
`
`Creative did a very good job of allowing the user to enter this information without a keyboard, a design move that
`deserves notice.
`
`Creative's most unique option is its EAX sound capabilities. Think of it as an equalizer on steroids that can perform a
`number of interesting audio effects. We will go into more detail on it later.
`
`The Nomad Jukebox has an infrared sensor for future options like a remote control and possibly for more robust
`features like file transfer. The sensor is dormant now, but look for future software upgrades on Creative's web site to
`signal its awakening.
`
`Travel
`
`As we said before, we took this unit into the city with us every day to get a feel for what it's like traveling with this
`thing. As the fall months crept up on us, we found a good coat with big pockets is the best way to travel with the
`Nomad Jukebox as it carries the weight and breadth of the unit quite well. In warmer weather we found the player to
`be big and cumbersome despite the aid of some nice ergonomics in the way the player's body was shaped. A soft
`leather briefcase is a convenient way to carry the player in the late spring and summer months for those who use one.
`A laptop bag is another good option, especially on plane travel.
`
`For the rest of us, the Nomad Jukebox will serve quite well attached to the stereo system until its time to drive. The
`player is easily carried into the car. We highly recommend that owners pick up an auto kit (not included) for about
`twenty dollars allowing you to tap into the cigarette lighter adapter for the units power needs.
`
`Joggers need to look elsewhere for a portable player. The unit comes with a carrying case, but if you like to be on the
`run you will want something lighter. A 64MB player increased to 96 or 128MB's via additional flash memory will
`serve much better, though the added cards can easily add another $100 to the price of the unit. That can bring fine
`players as the Diamonds Rio 500 and the Sensory Sciences Rave MP2200 close to the price of the Nomad Jukebox.
`
`Getting Started - A
`
`Loading the software and hooking up the USB connection was uneventful due in part to an excellent flash tutorial that
`comes on the CD. This tutorial is another terrific feature of the Nomad Jukebox, especially for those who are not the
`most technically adapt. It walked us through all the features and controls of the player with clear graphics and a
`guiding voice track. It would greatly serve the makers of the i2Go - whose very good eGo player had poor instructions
`and convoluted key press sets - to copy this feature.
`
`The Nomad's Play Center 2 software is one of the best ones we have come across, with an easy, intuitive interface and
`a built in MP3 player. Like the Personal Jukebox, the Nomad Jukebox can rip CD's directly into player, one of our
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`favorite features.
`
`Controls- A
`
`The buttons were big and well separated to avoid accidentally hitting the wrong key. The player lets you navigate
`easily through your library of songs. The tracks are sorted by playlist, albums, artist and genre.
`
`To improve the keystroke process, Creative added three keys called 'soft buttons' which are located just under the
`display screen. The buttons are soft because their functions change dependent on which menu screen is displayed. The
`functions are labeled on the screen itself just above each button. We found the soft button process to be simple to use
`and another innovative feature of the Nomad Jukebox.
`
`One feature curiously missing was a scan feature within a song. This seems like too glaring an over site to be missed
`by the design team, hinting at a technical issue inherent in laptop drive players that prevented its inclusion. Still, with
`8MB of buffer memory, enough to hold two entire song tracks, what technical reason is there to omit such a handy
`feature in a feature laden device?
`
`Because of the power demands of the drive, there was a significant lag in button action whenever the drive was in
`action. Scrolling through tracks, in particular, could be quite choppy during this time. This delay may drive type A
`personalities absolutely crazy, but then they are first ones to complain about the short memory in other portables so it's
`a wash.
`
`To save battery power, the player automatically shuts down if it has been inactive for several minutes.
`
`Display- A
`
`Aided by a backlight, the display on the Nomad Jukebox is large and clear and took full advantage of the extra real
`estate the large size of the unit offered it.. We can't ask for much more.
`
`Sound- A
`
`The sound, like with all of the players we have tested, was fine with one definite advantage. As we said before,
`Creative's EAX system is an equalizer on steroids. Below are the settings available through EAX:
`
`• Playback Speed: The user can change the speed of the track without changing the pitch (which causes that
`chipmunk sound on the voice). With a range from 0.5x to 1.4x, this is an ideal option for DJ's who could use two
`Nomad Jukebox units with this option active to match the beats. That DJ's can bring their entire catalog without
`lugging all their CD's should make this the new tool of that trade.
`• Environments: Less satisfying were the Environments, which emulate listening to the music in such venues as a
`cave, a high school auditorium, or an arena. While this may sound interesting, there was a significant volume
`drop that tended to muddle the music more than enhance it. Some of the effects were more distracting than
`entertaining. The most gimmicky of the settings.
`• Spatialization: When listening through earphones, the spatialization feature emulates speaker placement to
`enhance the listening experience. The Narrow setting emulates two speakers directly in front of the user. The
`Wide setting emulates a speaker 90 degrees to the left and right of each ear. This effect, which is also called a
`3D effect, is explained in technical detail in an article we ran last year called MP3 and 3D Audio Perfect
`Together.
`• Parametric Equalizer: A three-channel equalizer, which we found quite handy. The user can also set the middle
`frequency from 200 to 4500 hertz giving the user plenty of control.
`
`Conclusion
`
`The Nomad Jukebox is not a milestone player because it is the first to hold more than a gigabyte of space, that honor
`goes to Remote Solution's Personal Jukebox.
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`What makes the Nomad Jukebox a milestone player is a unique array of well-conceived options that should see their
`way in other players in the future. This includes the ability to convert music from album and cassette directly into the
`player, a well-designed search tool, an excellent flash tutorial, the introduction of 'soft buttons', and a robust sound
`equalizer system.
`
`Like the Personal Jukebox, the Nomad Jukebox is not a perfect player. It's heavy and relatively power hungry. Lithium
`batteries would have been a better choice for it, and the button lag is quite noticeable at times.
`
`But compromises are the norm for MP3 portables in this early stage of their commercial development and the pluses of
`the Nomad Jukebox far outweigh the minor inconveniences. Overall, jukebox players give the best bang per MB for
`the dollar despite their healthy price tag. The best news is the Nomad Jukebox not only out points the Personal
`Jukebox, but it costs less.
`
`If you have a top-notch home stereo system the Nomad Jukebox makes a fine component, especially since you can
`record directly to the player without a computer. An auto kit will do the same for your car stereo system. In the end,
`the Nomad Jukebox joins the Sensory Science Rave MP2300 as the best players we ever tested and set a new
`benchmark for all evolving digital music portables.
`
`Final Score: A+ (A Milestone Player)
`
`Other MP3 Portable Reviews:
`
`We Test Drive the Rave Clik! Drive MP3 Portable (Rave MP2300)
`Test Driving the Sensory Science Rave MP2200
`Sony Memory Stick Walkman
`Test Driving the i2Go eGo
`Test Driving the Diamond Rio PMP 500
`Review· AVC Soul/0-Link
`
`Back to
`•
`MP3Musrc
`ne,wJ~wtre
`MP3PLAYERS
`WANT T O KNOWWH l CH MP3 PLAYER ~S B ETTER ? RADI"O STREAM
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