One More Zen Player, Another Zen Moment

I must confess that I am not an iPod lover and have always been a big fan of Creative media players. My wife replaced her horrible Samsung YH-J70 (see my review http://www.epinions.com/content_412420574852) with an iPod Nano last year and that got me thinking about Flash-based players. Though my Creative Zen Vision-M (see my review http://www.epinions.com/content_417996639876) was still working like a champ, but it started to feel heavy and large to me. And that was all the excuses I needed to look for another media player.

Once again, I did some research, had actually thought about getting an iPod for 1 nanosecond, and settled on the Creative Zen 16GB player.

Sound Quality
I value sound quality above all else when it comes to MP3 players and the Zen delivers. I switch between two pairs of headsets for different occasions: Sennheiser PXC250 Active Noise Canceling headset (see my review http://www.epinions.com/content_177692380804) for plane rides or Sennheiser CX500 (see my review http://www.epinions.com/content_418198163076) buds for the gym. Both of them sound superb with the Zen, with everything from classical music to some other heavier fares.

Just like the Vision:M, the Zen has a number of equalizer presets as well as bass boost, Smart Volume and Restrict Volume. Volume control is straight forward with the four way navigation button. In fact, I could not tell these two models apart when I attempted a “play off” between them, using the same music, settings and headphones.

Form Factor
The unit is about the size of a small stack of credit cards. It is about 1/3” thick, 2” tall, and 3.25” wide. It packs a 2.5” screen, which looks and feel like the one on Vision:M, with the same sharpness and brightness. I thought the Vision:M was a scratch and fingerprint magnet, but that was before I bought the Zen. The entire top size of the Zen attracts fingerprints and scratches in such a manner that makes silicon skin and screen protector a must.

Overall the unit is well built and looks cool. Just like the Vision:M, the bottom of the unit is made of metal. There is a four-way navigation button with a central select button, along with two sets of buttons located respectively near the top and bottom right hand corners of the unit. The power switch is an on-off slider that doubles as the "hold" button on the right size of the unit. Ear phone jack is right next to the on-off slider. A blue LED embedded within the on-off slider will light up when the unit is on and blink when the unit is charging. The USB port is right next to the on-off slider.

Battery Life
The unit is rated for 30 hours of continuous play for music and 5 for video. In "locked" mode with the screen turned off, I have gone over 20 hours on one charge with juice still left in the unit. I am very happy with the Zen's battery performance.

Unlike the Vision:M, the Zen is equipped a standard mini USB port and can be hooked up to a PC without the use of a much reviled “media extension” module. As a result, the unit can be charged with any USB charger or the PC without using a proprietary appendage.

Video
I put the Zen side by side with Vision:M and played the same video on both at the same time. The result convinced me that these two shared the same 2.5” screen with the same spectacular sharpness and crispness. However, the Zen does not support as many video formats as the Vision:M. Its preferred format is WMV and it is the default output format of the Zen Explorer video converter.

Photos
Dumping pictures into the unit is easy with Zen Explorer. The 2.5" screen is sharp and bright enough to do a more than decent job displaying the pictures.

UI
The Zen comes with a very familiar Creative-flavoured UI. Not being a fan of touch pads, I enjoy using the 4-way navigation button for volume control and forward/backward movements,without having to content with a finicky touch pad.. This UI allows the user to build a play list on the fly and it has a number of features such as “DJ” and context-sensitive menus to make the unit easy to use.
SD Slot
This unit is equipped with an SD card slot and can accept SD and SDHC cards of varying capacities. I have always had a preference for media players that have a memory card slot. With the Zen, I doubled my unit's capacity with a 16 GB card about 30 seconds after extricating it from its packaging.

Through the UI, one can access an option to turn the unit into a card reader when connected to the PC, and allows the PC to access the SD card as an USB drive. A really handy feature.

On the other hand, the music and video library functions do not extend to the memory card unfortunately. One needs to browse through the card through the “Memory Card” options in order to play anything from the SD card. To me, it is just a slight inconvenience and a small price to pay. I segregated my music accordingly by putting all of my classical music and videos onto the SD card. Problem solved.

Sync and File Transfer
I use Zen Explorer as the main sync application for the unit and it is a no-brainer. The sync process is quick and painless. Similarly, the accompanying media conversion application is straight forward and effective, it converts video files (when necessary) and copies to the Zen without a hitch.

FM Radio
The unit has a built-in FM receiver and the headphones cable doubles as an antenna for the FM radio. The Zen can store up to 32 pre-set stations on the unit.

Other Features
-The Zen could sync up with Outlook to download appointments, contacts and tasks into the unit for viewing.
-The Zen could be used as a voice recorder. I used it recently to prepare for some work-related podcasts and it was surprisingly good.

Cons:
-SD Card content is not integrated into the libraries.
-The unit surface scratches easily