Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
by Creative
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List Price: Our Price: $45.00 You Save: $54.99 (55%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
Customer Review: Creative Zen Preferred to iPod Nano with Video
Summary: 5 Stars
Debated long and hard between the Creative Zen and the new iPod Nano with Video. Same price for each. Had been very happy with with my 2nd generation Nano and was leaning toward the Nano with video. Availability of the SD card, somewhat larger screen (although same 320 x 240 resolution), and -- very important for me -- FM tuner persuaded me to try the Zen. Got the 8 GB model.
Have been very impressed with the quality of the sound; video is as acceptable as could be expected on a screen this size. When pulling in a local signal, FM tuner audio is as clear as my expensive table model; signal sensitivity may be slightly better than the cheap radios found in the typical hotel room -- if you get the earphone cord/antenna oriented the right way. I am disappointed that "most recent positions" are not remembered for audio and video content on the SD card. Can be a real pain to have to go back and find the place you left off in an audio book or movie. But, then, simply having the card reader is a major improvement over that Nano I was also considering. If used to iTunes for syncing, learning how to sync with Windows Media Player will require some time -- not more difficult, just different.
After thoroughly exploring the software that came with the Zen, I found no use for any of it. Not a negative, just stuff that's not necessary. Windows Media Player will do the video conversion as well as syncing. Zen does provide software (ZENcast) to download and sync podcasts but there are much better pieces of software to do that. (Took me hours to figure out how to get ZENcast to download podcasts not featured on their web site; I just continue to use iTunes and point Windows Media Player at the folder where iTunes stores podcasts.)
To put DVD's on the Zen, I use a third party piece of software (purchased separately) that crunches the main feature down to about 1GB avi or mp4 file. Then Windows Media Player (or the video conversion portion of the software that came with the Zen)to convert to the wmv format required by the Zen. Those files run 500mb so many hours of movies can be put on the Zen. Each step of the 2-step conversion can take upwards of an hour on a fast PC. Must be a way to go directly from the DVD disk to wmv but, if so, I don't own the software.
All and all, a fine product -- performs well, looks great.
Customer Review: Definitely not for lefties!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
Before anything, i just want to let you know that i've only had this player for 3 days.
I'll start with what i like about the player.
The size. Not thick and fits nice in my hand.
The look. Definitely not ugly!!!
The memory card slot. Didn't use it yet but i'm pretty sure it's helpful. I heard playing songs from the memory card isn't as nice as playing it from the player's memory though.
The power light. When it's on there's a blue light that lets you know it's on.
Mini usb. If you lose your connector, it's easy to replace.
User interface. Very easy to use menus. Very clear display.
Time for what i hate!
Freezing. This thing froze FOUR times on me and i've only had it for 3 days. First, when i play a video (Family Guy episode), when i press Seek to, and try to go to a point, it freezes!!! You have to soft reset it. I tried this twice and it always froze. The other two times it froze is when i was transferring songs to it. It was connected to my laptop and it crashed twice. As if this player is still in beta mode.
The usb connector. VERY short! I have thought a lot of why they would've made it that short, and i have no idea why they did.
The menu button needs to be pressed 2 or 3 times (or hard) to popup! I don't know if this is only a defect in mine or in all of them.
This player is definitely for righthanded people. You can't rotate the screen, and it's really hard to use when you're lefthanded like, well, me. But i usually put it on shuffle all and i know where the "Next" button is, so i don't mind carrying it the wrong way. But they should've thought a little bit about us lefties!
The control buttons on the front don't light up! I'm used to my old Zen V Plus, it was pretty cool to have them light up that way you know what you're pressing.
There's no carrying case!
DEFINITELY needs a screen protector. And probably a case.
*UPDATE*: Zen crashed on me one more time while transferring songs. Very frustrating. Also, sometimes when i go back to browse songs on my player through my laptop, it messes up some songs (renaming them to blank -nothing-) where i have to delete them and add them again.
This is all i can think of right now. When i remember or find something i'll update it!
Customer Review: The Creative Zen is an answer to my prayers!
Summary: 4 Stars
What I was excited for when I purchased my first Mp4 player was being able to play uploaded videos and pictures....
Well....my first Mp4 purchase was a generic brand that showed the video file name in the player, but when selected nothing happend- IT DIDN'T WORK-
So I figured name brand was probably my best bet and purchased the SONY mp4 player which had software and all that- but the software didnt convert the videos into the right format for the player (or something- the guide was confusing) -AGAIN IT DIDNT WORK OUT-
So finally after giving up on the idea for a couple months, I tried one last time to find and buy a player that played video (and pictures)-
I went to my local Walmart and stood at the locked Mp4 display for awhile, asked the store clerk to see the 3 I had narrowed it down to- and liked the size of the CREATIVE ZEN display screen compared to the other two at around the same price crossed my fingers praying that it would play my videos....got home...plugged it in- installed the software...
AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW! IT WORKED! MY PRAYERS HAD BEEN ANSWERED! THE SOFTWARE IT CAME WITH HAS AN EASY TO FIGURE OUT VIDEO CONVERTOR- PICTURES AND MUSIC WERE A BREEZE TO UPLOAD TOO- AND I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY THE VIDEO/PICTURE QUALITY- CRISP AND CLEAR~
I PLUGGED MY CREATIVE ZEN INTO MY STEREO IN MY CAR (VIA AN AUDIO CABLE-SOLD SEPERATLY) AND THE MUSIC/SOUND QUALITY IS GREAT TOO!
The buttons are easy to remember- i don't even have to look at the player anymore when I use it in the car (while driving).
now....only reason i gave it 4 out of 5 stars is there has been one lil problem I've been having with the player....I've had it for almost a year now, and only in the last month has it happend- but a couple times after unplugging it from my computer the player has shut off and not turned back on like it should- I found the tiny little RESET hole and have had to "RESET" it a few times- but it has always come back on and NEVER deletes any memory when I've reset it....(which the fault may be because of an old USB cord i WAS using- and also because I had it plugged into a cheap multi USB hub)
SO moral of my story is:
I LOVE IT, IT PLAYS GREAT VIDEO/PICTURES AND AUDIO/MUSIC- would definitly recommend it to a friend!!!
Customer Review: A handy gadget
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first mp3 player. I had purchased it mainly for audiobooks and talk show podcasts. This has become a tech gadget that I use daily.
I have very little patience for technology that isn't intuitive. The Creative Zen is very intuitive. The screen is easy to read. There can be up to 10 bookmarks. A handy feature for me since I often listen to multiple books and shows. It is easy to add and remove items. I've used both the software that is included and Windows Media player with no problems (I've used it with both XP and Vista platforms). The battery life is quite long. The size is perfect and easily fits in my pockets and tiny purses.
One quirky thing I've come across is that the player won't remember where you left off on a podcast if you pause the player and then turn it off (without bookmarking). However, if you simply turn the player off while it is playing, the player will pickup where you left off when you turn it back on.
The quality of video is great. I don't use the video feature much because if I want to watch a show I'd rather see it on a bigger screen. My kids love that feature though.
You can place some of your favorite photos on it as well. Again the photo quality is great.
The radio is a joke. Around here I can't pickup any stations. There must be away to tune it directly to a radio station, but that is one of the few things that I wasn't able to figure out. It has a scanner that automatically fills the presets, but it never detects anything. This could be partly because of where I live. I have a hard time getting radio stations with our regular radios. This isn't a huge deal since I download alot of stuff from the computer.
The only other thing I'd like to advise. Make sure you purchase a case. I thought the case simply a vanity thing. Then I dropped the player while it was playing. I had done this many times before. However, this last time it landed just right that a portion of the screen broke internally. It still plays, but it is difficult to read the titles. I found a deal on an 8GB one that came with a case as a bundle. You can still access all the controls with the case on and it makes the player less slippery.
Overall, this is a great player and very easy to use.
Customer Review: Creative Zen 4GB
Summary: 3 Stars
Sound: A
With my Sennheiser PX-200 headphones, the Zen has a very clear, accurate, clean sound with the EQ flat; and it has plenty of drive. Almost identical, IMO, to the Zune 120GB or iPod 3rd gen (6th gen "classic" is awful). The EQ on the Zen is really great. A full 12db boost at the lowest band still produces a clean, natural bass sound, without sacrificing clarity in the mids and highs. I haven't heard another mp3 palyer yet that does this so well. My collection is all 256kbps mp3, and everything sounds good on the Zen. You can also program the go-to key on the face to jump to the settings menu, which is nice if you like to change EQ a lot.
Video: I'm not going to rate this because, 16.7M colors notwithstanding, watching video on the tiny screen is not practical, and I stopped doing it about two weeks after I bought my Zen. Also, converting and loading your own videos onto it is a masochistic effort in frustration and time-consumption.
Let's be frank, everything else on the player is a gimmick. Voice recorder, FM radio, photo viewer, calendar, clock, SD expansion card slot that does not integrate to the video or music menus... etc. I would be surprised if anybody uses any of these "features" more than a few times.
Design: D
It's a nice looking unit, with some poor design choices. The lacquered plastic screen is flush with the rest of the face; it scratches easily. The buttons are impossible to differentiate by touch, so it takes guesswork to operate this without looking at it, and the button configuration is placed horizontally - as if this was a full-time video player. (Zune does this better IMO: the buttons are on the bottom, and "flip" in function when you switch to video mode, with the player horizontal.) The plastic buttons make a pretty loud "click" noise when pressed, which can really annoy people around you when you're clicking back and forth through menus; and the headphone jack is on the same side as the control buttons. There is only one way to hold this player: awkwardly.
Luckily, Creative got the one big thing right. After a year and a half, I am still impressed with the sound. But they need to simplify the functions (there is nothing "Zen" about it), and work on the case/button designs and layout.