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Creative Zen 4GB MP3 Player

Zen 4GB MP3 Player

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Most recent User Reviews for

Creative Zen 4GB MP3 Player

  • Reviewed by: KaraKent

    04-15-08

    Duration of ownership: 5 Days

    Strengths: I love that it plays videos,pictures,music and radio.the memory expansion is a great feature.

    Weaknesses:I don't see any. Even though I've only had it for 5 days

    Overall Evaluation: I feel it's the best mp3 player that creative has made. being able to change the SD card is a great feature. No matter what player you've bought, 4gig, ect. you are able to buy SD cards to put more music on or maybe even video. I'm still learning more.

  • Reviewed by: lrgdeyenwrb

    12-28-08

    Duration of ownership: 4 Months

    Strengths: LCD screen, memory card slot

    Weaknesses:crapped out after 4 months of limited usage

    Overall Evaluation: This is my fourth creative mp3 player, of which 3 stopped working. I had previously purchased the Zen Xtra 30 and 40 gigs. I decided to purchase a smaller mp3 player that was eaiser to carry around and chose the Zen 4GB. I have had this since the end of August 2008 and it stopped working for me on Christmas 2008. I am so disappointed that I am going to make the leap to an IPod.

  • Reviewed by: realshopmaster

    04-28-08

    Duration of ownership: 60 Days

    Strengths: Price, Compact Size, Screen Size, Expansion Slot, FM Radio, and Voice Recorder

    Weaknesses:Playing MP3 on the memory expansion card would not have full function that is available to the player when using internal memory.

    Overall Evaluation: This is a good and quality MP3 player from Creative. Unlike Zune and iPod, you can just hook it up to your computer and add songs via drag and drop. It is compact but not the smallest ones. The expansion slot makes it easy to add MP3 songs, pictures or video clips. However, many of the functions that are available to the player when using internal memory are not available to if the external memory card is used. This is a good MP3 player for the money. I would recommend it. However, today you should also consider a tiny MP3 player called Meizu SL M6 for a better price, more functions and smaller in size.

  • Reviewed by: emueh

    04-20-08

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Lots of features packed into product. Big Video screen, memory card support to expand memory, plays library audio books, lots of space.

    Weaknesses:Will not stay docked. Small controls easy to mess up. Poor software. Short battery life. Memory card not well integrated. Clumsy navigation menus.

    Overall Evaluation: On the good side. Being able to quickly set FM station presets is really nice and easy to use. Being able to play licensed audio library books. -On the bad side. Unable to keep the Zen docked to a computer and recognized by the computer. Repeatedly being recognized and dropped. Zen player thinks it is docked the entire time. Changing cables and computer doesn't fix the problem. Make it difficult to transfer files. When trying to rewind back a few seconds, because of the small buttons, I end up rewinding to the beginning of the track. Really difficult to figure out the software even for a technical geek. Using Windows Media Player instead. Menu navigation could be better. Need to use fingernail on controls to hit the right buttons.

  • Reviewed by: aseltzer

    03-09-08

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Excellent 2.5 inch screenVery Good Audio QualityNice Build Quality Very PortableExpandability via SD Slot

    Weaknesses:Not True WidescreenNo Line-In or External Mic RecordingFM Tuner Not as Good as OthersLimited Video Formats SupportedWorks with Macs but not supported by Creative

    Overall Evaluation: After two ipods, I wanted a portable video player primarily to stay connected with some video podcasts I regularly watch. Originally I thought of the Ipod Touch or the Archos 605, both touch screen, WiFi equipped players. After thinking it through, I probably wouldn't have the chance to use the WiFi connection all that much and touch screen devices a magnet for fingerprints. When I learned of the Creative Zen player, it made sense for the intended purpose, as a portable video player to use on my daily commute. The first thing I noticed about the Zen is that the build quality, controls, and user interface were all well done. While very different from the way Apple does things, the Zen is nearly as well made and the interface is similarly intuitive. After turning it on, the unit's most outstanding feature becomes apparent - the screen is exceptional and state of the art. So good is the resolution and color rendition of the Zen that it makes watching video on a 2.5 inch screen very satisfying. Small text and subtitles are very legible. Even on wide screen videos, where less than the entire height of the display is used, fine details remain well rendered and watchable. Many video podcasts are now provided in the MP4 format native to the ipods. The Zen only supports the AVI and WMV video containers, all ipod format videos need to be converted. The Zen comes with a high quality WMV converter, but it is a bit slow. I mainly use third party converters and I am still looking for the best one. The FM tuner is a nice inclusion, but reception is only fair. I also have an older iRiver player which has an FM tuner (and also line-in and external mic recording that the Zen does not have) and though smaller, gets slightly better reception. In areas where the reception is good, the sound quality is very good. With video compression, even the smallest 4GB internal memory can still hold many videos. The inclusion of an SD slot gives this player effectively infinite memory as well as the ability to pop in a card that has been prepared on a PC with a card reader, not requiring that the Zen be attached to a machine to add content. Of course, the Zen can work as a card reader and data can be copied directly to the SD card in the Zen. As both a PC and Mac user, it is a bit disappointing to learn that the Zen is only supported by Creative on the PC. However, using the GNU XNJB (Zen connection and copying) and some video converters for the Mac, the Zen will work with a Mac. All in all, this new Zen player is a viable alternative to the video ipods, especially when viewing video is considered. Video performance exceeds that of even the ipod Touch. The price makes this player a great value, with extensive features and an easy to learn interface. Its size makes it very portable. Overall, its a very solid device and comes highly recommended.

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