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I can't believe it's not iPod: Zen NX jukebox launches

For those who really like the size and shape of Apple's iPod portable music centre - but find the price a bit daunting - Creative's new Zen NX "Jukebox" looks awfully similar, but costs £249 (inc VAT) to buy.

It's a portable music system, just like the iPod. It's certainly big enough to hold the music collection of most casual collectors, available in a 30 Gb capacity; and with a claimed 15-hour battery, should keep the travel noise out of your ears for the longest flights or train journeys.

But until it ships next month, it's hard to know just how good the "great bundle of software and utilities" will be.

Crucial questions will be about the speed of download. In theory, the Zen should be quicker than the iPod at transferring data, because it uses the USB 2.0 connection which runs at 480 megabits per second, noticeably faster than the iPod's Firewire which goes at 400 megabits.

But the max speed of the pipe doesn't tell you how fast the pump runs. One user compared his iPod's download speed using Music Match Jukebox, and then switched to XPlay. Very roughly, he estimates, the XPlay runs five times faster - the MMJB software chokes the transfer rate to 20% of what Firewire would be able to shift.

Come to that, it's still not clear which direction the data can travel. IPod has some safeguards built in to prevent people sharing copyright music, but it can be used as a portable disk drive. Creative hasn't yet revealed whether there is any such mechanism, or whether you can transport ordinary data around from PC to PC with the Zen NX.

Creative is coy about comparing the two devices. "There aren't any Mac drivers, for a start," said a publicity official - adding, mysteriously, "we're waiting for Apple to provide them."

One thing the new software can do, is rip your standard discs; it will create either MP3 or WMA (Windows Media Audio) files automatically, says the press release.

And with the new jukebox, you get a leather pouch, a belt clip and a replaceable battery, which will definitely please some.