Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)IMPORTANT NOTES FIRST:

YES, it is iTunes-compatible, and YES it is compatible with Yahoo! Jukebox, BUT ONLY THOSE TRACKS THAT YOU HAVE PURCHASED AS "BURNABLE". In other words, you will not be able to transfer your Subscription or Stream tracks to this device, which is only fair (for that, you have to have Yahoo! Music Unlimited To-Go, which is an invite-based service and thus uncommon). Needless to say, you can import tracks from any CD quickly and painlessly, and/or copy any wmv/mp3/mp4 or whatever that you already have on your hard drive: the device is browsable with Windows and all you need to do is copy/paste to the right folder.

Now for the review.THE GOOD:

++ Compatible with an amazing variety of file formats, without conversion, unlike iPods. Whatever is not compatible the software will convert for you if at all possible. This is a HUGE plus for the computer-illiterate.

++ Great sound quality, a bare minimum requirement for a music player.

++ Sleek looks, IMO superior to the trite iPod-like, spin-wheel design. It certainly got more looks and comments than the iPod I had previously. Also, it's more pleasant to hold in your hand: small but not too tiny, and very sturdy/solid (which, if you'll handle it 8-10 hours a day like I do, is a huge plus).

++ The included software is fantastic. It's fast, reliable (never froze), and lets you manage files and create playlists quickly and painlessly. Basically, anything you can do with the player's built-in software you can do with ZEN Media Explorer from your computer. So, go for it.

++ Many complained about the interface, but I actually like it very much. The built-in software is easy to understand and utilize. The buttons are a tad tricky, but all you need to do is play around with them for ten minutes before you're able to find them blindly by just sticking your hand in your pocket (something you certainly cannot do with iPods, whose interface is more visually-driven).THE SO-SO:

++/-- The SD expansion slot is both a pain and a pleasure. Yes, you can basically make this a 16Gb with an SDHC card for a few bucks--but it's true that only SOME content will run off of it, and that while you are playing content from the SD card you cannot navigate the built-in flash memory. So, caveat emptor... but if you know what you're getting there's no reason to complain. How many times do you really browse your music while you're already listening to something else anyway?THE BAD:

-- Perplexed about battery life info: "25 hours of continuous listening"? I don't think so. More like 10-12, which is on par with similar devices.

-- The shortest USB cable ever bundled. Buy a cheapo extension from Monoprice right away, unless you already own a USB hub. Otherwise, your player will lie on the floor or, worse, hang by the cable while it's being charged and sync'ed, neither of which is good.

-- The joystick buttons make a slightly annoying clicking sound, not when pressed but when released. However, this does not happen on my friend's ZEN, so maybe I got a "bad" unit?

-- AWFUL packaging! What were they thinking? Not only is it one of those impossible-to-open blister packs, but if you use scissors it's relatively easy to harm the contents... not the player, thankfully, which is in full sight, but the manuals and CD and bundled cables. So be careful.OTHER THOUGHTS:

** BUY A SCREEN PROTECTOR! Apply it immediately. The screen will collect dust (and thus scratches) within hours, like any LCD.
** BUY A CASE OR SKIN! Piano-black finish is attracted to fingerprints like flies to s__t.
** 8Gb is perfect for the serious music listener with varied taste. Buffs and pros want to go for 16Gb. Occasional listeners will do well with 4Gb. Media moguls, of course, need not apply: that's what the Vision is for.Overall, one of the best entry-level portable music players on the market. The price tag may well be the deal-breaker here: it is cheaper than any other brand music player, and it does the same things AND, in my opinion, more and better. Support by Creative is also famously good, so I see no reason not to buy a ZEN.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

Product Description:
Bring your media with you wherever you roam with the Creative Zen 8GB player. Watch 32 hours of videos, enjoy up to 2,000 of your favorite songs or share hundreds of photos with your friends. And do it all on a device that's about the width of a credit card.


A razor sharp 2.5-inch display makes your photos and videos come to life. See the Zen in detail.

Small size. Big features. All in the palm of your hand. View larger.

Add even more storage capacity via the SD card slot. View larger. Design
The Zen sports a 2.5-inch TFT color display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution and support for up to 16.7 million colors. This razor sharp display is packaged in a device that weighs just 2.1 ounces and measures 3.26 x 2.16 x .44 inches (W x H x D). The internal battery powers the Zen for up to 25 hours of continuous audio playback and up to five hours of continuous video playback. Use the Zen's SD slot to expand your portable media library with music, photos and videos stored on your SD card. There's also a handy built-in microphone for capturing notes on the go.
Features
Load up up your favorite songs, as well as your album art, and get going with the Zen. The device supports iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store and MP3 and WMA tracks. Subscription and pay-per-download music services are supported, as well. Discover, save, and play millions of songs when subscribing to services such as Yahoo Music Unlimited and Napster To Go. You can even tune into your favorite stations with the Zen's FM radio. The radio allows you to save up to 34 presets.
The Zen has you covered when it comes to video, too. The device supports MJPEG, WMV9 and--with transcoding--MPEG1 and 2, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5, and XviD. Enjoy purchased or rented movies and TV shows from online services such as Amazon Unbox and Walmart.com. Watch home videos. Even load your Tivo To Go movies and TV shows onto your Zen.
Additional features include a clock and alarm function, volume restriction, eight equalizer settings, and a USB hard drive mode, which allows you to drag and drop files directly to and from your Zen. The Zen can also function as a handy organizer, allowing you to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook and display your contacts, calendar, and tasks.
What's in the Box
Zen player, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, installation CD, and quick start guide.

A slick user interface makes it a snap to enjoy your media.

Want to buy Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black) at other amazon sites? Click the corresponding icon below:

Creative Zen 2 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a great choice for those people who previously limited their flash players to workout duty, or only holding a small piece of their large music collection and having to change the music on it every so often. With a 16GB capacity most people can fit their entire collection on here without difficulty, and even have room for some videos.

First impressions of this player are very good. It is extremely appealing to the eye, everyone who sees it will ask about it. It is about the size of a credit card, just thicker (less than 1/2inch). The front is a very glossy black plastic that looks great until you touch it, instantly covering it with fingerprints :) The back is a rough, cheaper feeling black plastic. Overall it has a nice solid weight and feel to it, but not very heavy. This will easily fit in a pocket.

The 2.5" screen is absolutely gorgeous. Very bright with vivid colors. The viewing angle is very good, two people can easily look at the screen at the same time while watching a movie for example. The menus are all nicely animated and intuitive to navigate. The icons and text are big clear and easy to read.

One of the big perks to having so much capacity is plenty of room for videos. This was one of the first things I've tested as it was a big reason for my purchase. First of all it DOES play Amazon Unbox videos perfectly. Transferring files was very easy (just a few clicks) and very quick. The quality of the video was great as well. The max size of videos is apparently 320x240, I have not been able to get it to play anything larger than that. If the video is smaller (for example widescreen) you have the option of playing it at the correct aspect ratio, or fill the screen (stretched out). I've gotten it to play videos encoded in Xvid and WMV format. Xvid files were encoded with AutoGK, and the WMV files were encoded with Arcsoft MediaConverter. If you synchronize with Windows Media Player, you can put in *almost any* video file and it will automatically convert the file into WMV format and then transfer to the player. How long it takes to convert depends on the type of video you're encoding, how big the file is and of course the speed of your computer.

Music sounds very good on this player, but please... get rid of the stock headphones they are horrible. Using a decent pair of headphones makes a HUGE difference. The EQ options are OK, there are about a half dozen presets and a customizable EQ. The "Bass Boost" option just made it worse in my opinion, it just distorted the sound. Otherwise it is a very even and balanced sound, very similar to the Vision:M.

The FM radio has a whopping 32 presets and the reception is pretty good. Strong stations are in stereo, weaker ones come in mono. I haven't had a chance to test out the built-in mic.

I easily transferred music and playlists onto this player from Windows Media Player and MediaMonkey, as well as protected music (WMA) from Napster. Everything was very easy, usually just dragging and dropping. The speed of transfer is probably the fastest I've seen. I've used this player on XP Home and on Vista Premium 64-bit.

Regarding the SD cards. I think its only a slight inconvenience that the memory card media isn't directly integrated with the other content. Meaning if you have videos on the SD card you don't go to the "Video" menu where all the other videos are, you have to access them through the "Memory Card" menu. Once there, you browse through the file structure like normal. If you organize the content smartly on your cards you should have no problem. And really its a small price to pay for that feature. Currently SDHC cards are up to 16GB in capacity, meaning you could double the capacity and carry around 32GB worth of content in your pocket. Amazing. I tested a Kingston 512MB SD Card and a Kingston 2GB microSD card (with adapter of course) and they were recognized and played the content without difficulty.

A quick note about the firmware. Mine came with 1.10.05. When my player turns off, it really turns off. With newer firmwares when it turns off it goes into a sleep mode for a while before it finally turns all the way off. What that means is with the older firmware each time you turn it on it has to "boot" all over again, whereas with the newer firmware you get an "instant-on" at the expense of slightly reduced battery life (since it is asleep and not off). Something to consider before you decide to upgrade the firmware.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Creative Zen 2 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

Product Description:
This credit card-sized Creative ZEN has a stunning 2.5-inch color screen and is perfect for music, videos, and photos. Enjoy up to 500 MP3, WMA, or AAC songs; watch up to 70 hours of videos; and share hundreds of photos with your friends. Even expand your portable music, video, or photo collection by adding additional content through the convenient SD memory slot. The player also is available in 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB capacities.



A razor-sharp 2.5-inch display makes your photos and videos come to life. See the ZEN in detail.

Small size, big features--all in the palm of your hand.

Add even more storage capacity via the SD card slot.


Credit Card-Sized Player Supports 16.7 Million Colors
View your album art, videos, and photos on this 2.5-inch razor-sharp TFT display. Your favorite photos will burst into life with 16.7 million colors on the fresh, new ZEN-patented user interface. The TFT display works under sunlight and allows everyone to watch your home videos and vacation slideshows from any angle.




Truly a Multimedia Player
ZEN is the first Creative player to support unprotected AAC format, so you can enjoy all of your favorite CD tracks that you've ripped through iTunes software. ZEN also supports iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store, in addition to MP3 and WMA music tracks. It also is compatible with music subscription services such as Napster To Go and Rhapsody.
ZEN also supports audio books from Audible.com. Download your favorite books to keep everyone entertained on long road trips, or download daily news reports every morning and listen to the news during your morning commute.
Watch purchased or rented movies and TV shows from online services like Amazon Unbox. Share home videos, or load your TivoToGo recorded movies and TV shows.
Plus, share your collections of latest photos in 16.7 million colors. Instantly turn your slideshows into attention-grabbing multimedia extravaganzas by adding your favorite song to the slideshow.


Expandable Memory
Need more space? Add additional storage capacity with the built-in SD slot and easily play new music, videos, or photos on your player. With SD cards to go, carry virtually unlimited amounts of your digital library anywhere you go.


FM Radio
In between your tunes, use the built-in FM radio to keep yourself up-to-date on world events, sports scores, or traffic reports. Or tune in to the program airing on the gym's TV while running on the treadmill.


Battery Life
Enjoy up to 30 hours of your songs or 5 hours of video on a single charge--over a full day of music. Or 10 episodes of Scrubs!


What's in the Box
Creative ZEN 2 GB player, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, installation CD, and quick start guide.

A slick user interface makes it a snap to enjoy your media.

Get 25% OFF

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