vnunet.com has posted a new review of Creative's Zen Vision device. The device basically does what the iPod does, but (a) has a bigger screen, (b) has a lower maximum storage space, (c) is larger and heavier, (d) has a shorter battery life (even with music playback only), (e) costs the same as Apple's 60GB iPod ($399), and (f) does video. The article doesn't comment on how usable the device is, and doesn't provide a good photo at the item itself. As iPod users know, ease of use and sexy looks are what it's all about. (About the only thing the article does depict well is the Zen Vision's photo browsing screen, which looks exactly like the iPod's.)

The article's assessment: Despite its shortcomings, video playback puts this item ahead of the iPod, "which is not expected to offer such a function until 2006."

Evidently they have been so busy reporting the news lately that they haven't had time to read it.

This item is good for one kind of user: those who have never bought songs from iTunes (it won't play them) and therefore is not upgrading from a low-end iPod, or someone who has to have video. (The "video makes it an iPod killer" conclusion is about to be blown out of the water, since we're evidently on the brink of an "iPod video" release.)

Now is a really bad time to buy a non-iPod music player. Except for buyers who have to have the ability to play WMA format (the format all the other stores offer which is incompatible with iPods, which use AAC songs offered by iTunes Music Store), potential buyers shouldn't dismiss the iPod.