Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Reviews

• Best flash player on the market, great even for large music collections

  
  By ANCTEVATRGO0K on 2007-12-01
  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.
  
  

• Excellent Player

  
  By A1S7I23Y2OQ4US on 2007-10-30
  This is an all around solid MP3 Player. I will describe some of the pros and cons about this player. I will say right now the pros strongly outweigh the cons. I have also tested this player adequately and have tested the SD card slot which I find very nice. Despite some complaints about the SD card, I find it adequate to suit my needs.
  
  By the way if you are wondering why I am publishing this review... I received the player from Creative where it is in stock. Amazon is taking a little while longer.
  
  Pros:
  
  1) Excellent Sound - This MP3 Player is a bit louder, and sounds better than my previous Vision:M. I think the sound quality is quite superb.
  2) Bright, Brilliant Display - The display is just stunning, and the 16 million colors really show great improvement over the ZVM.
  3) Easy Navigation - I love the navigation on this player, and I really love the different themes.
  4) Videos - The videos look incredibly nice... I've only played a few
  5) Transfer Speed - Extremely Fast! What can I say? This is what has surprised me the most. The speed is an extremely huge difference over hard-drive based players.
  6) Good Button Placement - Though small for some, I do happen to like the buttons
  7) Nice looks - I really like the looks of this (this is very subjective)
  8) Small Size - This is a very light player, that is only a foot print of what the ZVM was. The most amazing part is that the screen is 2.5" inches.
  
  Cons:
  
  1) Power Adapter - It should come with one, but it only comes with a USB power cable (which is acceptable)
  2) Crappy Ear phones - Eh. Buy the Creative EP-630. You don't buy a nice player and use the provided ear phones. The EP-630 are an incredible set.
  3) Buttons are a bit hard to push at first - This is something others have experienced... this is true for a while.
  4) Can smudge - to prevent this get the plastic case!
  
  How does this stack up against an ipod?
  
  It crushes it in my mind. I really think Creative did a fine job here, and I'm sure firmware will be updated constantly knowing Creative's attention to the customer.
  
  Edit: Added a few things.
  
  

• EXCELLENT PLAYER!

  
  By A13VD2669CW7KR on 2007-09-19
  Pros
  Surprisingly noticeably clearer screen (I had the zen vision m before)
  Looks nicer than promotional pics
  Very light
  Thinner than I thought
  small usb cable (I like it, but some may not)
  Easily recognized by computer and even easier to sync
  Sd card slot is a little sunken in so it is hard to accidentally pop it out
  Fast sync with window media player
  New interface shows album covers kind of like the new ipod nanos
  If you have external speakers you can use it as an alarm clock (settings also allow you to have a reoccurring alarm, so you don't have to re-set it every time)
  
  Cons
  small usb cable
  Cant rotate the screen
  Software for video conversion (very easy to use)
  Cant bookmark sd content
  Doesn't resume playback on sd content
  Might have to use an external card reader
  
  SD card slot
  -a neat feature is that I can take pics with my digital camera (canon sd 750) take out the card and view them in the player
  -there is no lag time in loading audio tracks
  -there is no lag time in loading video (video was 25 seconds long)
  -there was about a 1sec lag time in loading pics (maybe because the pics were in multiple folders)
  -in order to use the sd card as a removable drive you have to be in "removable disk" mode
  -if you are in removable disk mode your player will not be seen in Windows media player, the memory card will and you can sync like that if you wish
  -when I transferred files with the sd slot in my computer the player did recognize the files and had no trouble playing them
  -when dragging and dropping WMV files the player would start to play it then freeze...if you use the software to convert the WMV files it plays it perfectly
  -you CANNOT bookmark audio content on the sd card (bad if you want to store audiobooks in it)
  -it does not resume playback of sd content if it is turned off then turned back on again
  -when you "random play all" it does not include the audio in the sd content (good thing if you want to store audiobooks in it)
  
  I had a zen vision M but I always wanted something smaller. when I heard about this I sold the M and bought this one, so far it's basically the same product with the SD card slot, refresed graphics on the user interface and a suprisingly clearer screen. It was either this, the new nano, or the samsung yp-t10...
  I'm glad I chose this. In my opinion for this price range nothing can really compare
  (I uploaded some pics from the player)
  
  
  **************************UPDATE sept. 20, 07*****************************
  -if anyone has this player please respond...
  if the hold switch is on for at least 30 sec. and then released does your screen turn a blank white but the player still functions? If I turn it off then on again it works fine, but I want to know if its a glitch in the firmware. have you already installed the new firmware? please respond, I need to know if I should send it back.
  
  

• Creative Labs Customer support 1-405-742-6622

  
  By A23H8JKW9IRA6T on 2008-01-15
  I'd love to rave about this gorgeous little gadget and tell you it met every expectation I was seduced into by their website. But I can't. Not only can I not get my brand spanking new Zen off of "Recovery Mode" screen, I just wasted a HUGE chunk of my life trying to locate the phone number of the much touted "Complimentary phone support." Hint: It's nowhere on any printed matter or website by Creative. So, just between me and you and Google and every other review site I can post this on: The customer support phone number for Creative Labs, Creative Zen, is 1-405-742-6622. creative, zen, support, phone number, 14057426622, 1 405 742 6622, 1-405-742-6622
  
  

• SDHC compatible

  
  By A2EVQ8S7FMLGL on 2007-10-10
  MP3 players have turned into a commodity. They're not terribly expensive, they sound fine, they're very small, they're easy to use. There's really not much to say, and even Apple is tying them in to web browsers and cell phones and video players, to make them stand out.
  
  The big advantage of this player against the Nano (the obvious competitor) is that SD/SDHC cards allows a measure of expandability. I got the 4 GB version of the player; it's the smallest version but it still lets me put my favorite 60 albums or so on the player. If I want to listen to other albums, I put them on a spare SD card and pop the card in the player, it's easy.
  
  Of course this will be more and more of an advantage - right now, 8GB SD cards cost about half as much as this player, and I'm sure over the next year 16 and 32 GB SD cards will get released, at comparable prices. I have a very large music collection, I like the idea of being able to stick a very large collection on a very small player.
  
  The interface for this device is, like the iPod, pretty good but not great - sometimes you feel like you're working against the menu system. The worst fault is, music on the SD card is put in a separate list than the music on the device's internal memory - it's a little clunky, if not terrible. Also annoying is that the player takes about 10 seconds to boot up, whereas the iPod turns on instantly.
  
  The screen quality is very, very good, the included videos look excellent - on the other hand, it's a small screen for watching a movie, and converting a normal .avi file to the required format requires a couple hours. So except in special circumstances I don't expect to be doing that often.
  
  The battery lasts a very long time, and charges quickly off USB. The sound quality is pretty good, and I've heard it's better than the Nano, but I haven't done any direct comparisons so I can't really say.
  
  Also, be sure to update the firmware off the Creative site, it only takes a few seconds. The firmware as shipped would constantly crash when I accessed the SD card. After the update I haven't had a problem once.
  
  
• Who needs an iPod?
  By A1P19BMQKUMYST on 2007-10-05
  When it comes to MP3 players, I demand a relatively seamless user experience and just enough storage capacity that I don't have to delete songs every time I add new ones, both at a reasonable price (ie: not an iPod). I'm also not an early adopter, preferring to wait for at least a few months of user reviews, but the aptly named Zen caught my eye when it was released and, to my delight, met all three of my criteria.
  
  The Creative Media Explorer and ZENcast Organizer software make syncing and managing my content -- music, pictures, videos, podcasts, Outlook contacts, calendar and tasks -- a snap with relatively intuitive interfaces. Plus, the 4GB storage is more than enough for the average user, while the 8GB and 16GB versions are perfect for power users. As advertised, it's incredibly compact and sturdy enough to carry in your pocket; its screen is impressively sharp and bright; its audio quality is great, even with the included earphones; and its navigation is simple to use and customizable. My two favorite features are the aforementioned syncing of Outlook contacts, calendar and tasks -- my cell phone is for making phone calls, not listening to music! -- and the customizable "My Shortcut" button, which can be set to do one of a number of things, the most important of which is "Random Play All".
  
  For the price and functionality -- not to mention it's one of the better looking MP3 players out there -- the Zen can't be beat. Who needs an iPod?
  
  NOTE: I have a relatively new PC running Windows Vista and upgraded the Zen software via the ZENcast Organizer with no problems at all.
  
  
• Surprisingly good sound, even for classical (if you get the right earphones)
  By A2FHQVL4ZG0E1O on 2007-12-29
  As I listen almost exclusively to classical music, I never took much interest in MP3 players; hardly any serious music listener would cherish the idea of compromising a refined performance by compressing it into some lossy file format and then squeezing it through a pair of diminutive earplugs. On the other hand, however, these players are tempting gadgets, and of course there are ample occasions when it is nice to be able to take a sizeable portion of your favourite music with you in such a compact form.
  
  Compact this Creative Zen certainly is. It is slightly smaller than a bank card, be it rather thicker. Though made of plastic, it makes a sturdy impression and doesn't feel fragile at all. The design is effective and nice - no contrived minimalism here, functionality is the prime object; yet the whole thing looks clean and uncluttered. There are real buttons that you actually have to push, which I prefer much to the slick but error- (and fingerprints-)prone touchscreens. The buttons, too, make this feel like a serious little machine. They are easy to use and respond quickly. This is matched by a well-considered menu-structure. You will find your way around soon enough - no manual needed. Better still, menus are customizable. You can select from a full list of options which items you want to appear in your main menu-screen, and in which order. I must say I would have liked it if this had been taken one step further, and itemnames too would haven been customizable (so that I could, for instance, change "Artist" into "Composer").
  
  Albums, Genres and Artists are listed alphabetically and scroll vertically. If the list is very long you can use the alphabet on the right hand side of the screen to jump straight to the correct initial. Once a music track is selected, all relevant track and album info is displayed. Titles that are too long to fit the screen float by in ticker-tape fashion, which is nice, though the movement at times is less than smooth.
  
  So how about the sound? Frankly, it is hard to say, as the sounds reaching your ear are at least fifty percent, if not to a much greater extent, determined by your headphones. As per usual the makers of the Zen put all their efforts into a well-designed player, only to ship it off boxed with an indifferent set of earphones. They look nice, and at first impression may not even sound too bad, with their deliberately warm colouring and exaggerated bass. But in fact the sound is grainy, unfocussed, fuzzy, and lacking in detail. I found results infinitely improved once I plugged in my set of Shure SE310 phones, even before they were properly burned in. Indeed, while I had purchased the player thinking I would use it for baroque and chamber music only, I now found that listening to Mahler's Fourth was not only viable, but quite pleasant. I must add though that I need to crank up the volume to nearly its maximum in order to get a realistic orchestral sound; and bass performance is still a pretty long way of from what I get through my regular stereo set, even with the "bass boost" option turned on and after fiddling with the equalizer. I should furthermore add that the surprisingly satisfying results were reached using the MP3 format at its maximum quality bitrate. That is, the aforementioned Mahler adds up to some 135 MB, and the storage capacity of the 16GB Zen will be exhausted with a 100 to 120 works of similar dimensions. Well, still a lot more than I could ever take with my CD-walkman... Finally, I should mention one irritant I encountered in playback: there is an audible electrical "click" when the Zen switches from one file to the next, which can get very annoying in pieces that play continuously but are broken down in tracks. Obviously, this is a problem that only classical music listeners are likely to encounter.
  
  Next to the sound, the rest of it seems to me a collection of cute but fairly irrelevant perks. I cannot imagine anyone seriously wanting to view a complete photocollection, let alone watch an entire movie, on the tiny 2.5" screen. The screen has a clear, sharp image, but despite its many millions of colours is lacking in contrast so that pictures tend to look slightly washed out or overexposed. You can load one of your own images as a wallpaper, which is nice, though many wallpapers do not work out well due to the unnecessary, semi-opaque gray bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The screen cannot be switched off during operation (why not?), but fades to a low-lit setting after a customizable number of seconds. The lighting intensity of the screen can also be adapted to your own wishes, as so much else in this player can.
  
  The Zen comes with a CD-ROM that installs software for getting media onto your player. Though a lot can be done simply in Windows Explorer, I found that the Zen Media Explorer is a quick and easy way to transfer files and rip CDs to the player. It did a better job of it than Nero and some CD-rip freeware I tried. If, however, you need to correct errors afterwards, say in a track title, the Media Explorer can't do that and you will need a tag editor like Mediamonkey. Rather more problematic is the fact that the Zen software will only let you rip CDs to WMA-format. If you want to rip to the better quality MP3 you will have to unlock that option by getting the "Creative Audio Pack" at an additional cost of 10 dollars - it will not break the bank, but I found that pretty disgusting nonetheless.
  Finally, though there is actually a possibility to display an album's cover art, it is not made easy to achieve this. The (generally poor) manual doesn't have a word on it, and while the Media Explorer includes an option for adding artwork, you have to follow an obscure route to get there, in my case only to find that it didn't work. Use Windows Media Player to rip and synchronize, however, and artwork duly appears on your Zen's screen.
  
  In all however, a worthwhile possession, quite a gem in some ways; and soundwise I am pleasantly surprised - but only after investing in a good set of earphones.
  
  
  
  
• Absolutely stunning gadget!!
  By A1IA8D8NJ7ME2T on 2008-04-14
  I've owned this wonderful little player for about a month now, and I am totally enamored with it. The direct competitor to this player is the new ipod nano, and honestly, I can't imagine why anyone would go for that player over this one. I see that at the moment, an 8 GB nano costs $189, whereas with the Zen you get 32 GB for $285! Hello?? Do the math?? Plus, as always, a Creative player has much better sound quality (they are a manufacturer of sound cards, after all...) and a crisp, brilliant screen that is larger in size (Zen's 2.5" to new ipod's 2"). Music videos look nice on it, and, my Zen also doubles as a portable art portfolio; I can show people my artwork and photography on it and it looks great. Also, as compared with ipods, it is incredibly sturdy. I already dropped it a couple of times (yeah, clumsy...)and it's perfectly fine! Whereas I have friends who have irreparably damaged their ipods by dropping them once. It's a perfect size, slips comfortably into any pocket, and has a nice, sturdy feel to it. Compared with older Creative models, it's also VERY pretty! Pretty-ness is the sole advantage ipods really had going for them before, but this new Zen is definitely on-par in terms of looks.
  
  Also, the fellow who complained that this player is expensive compared with the larger hard-drive based Creative players - well, he's wrong to discount the importance of this being a flash player. The fact that this is a quite large capacity flash player IS a big deal. Main advantages of flash over hard drive: sturdier, much longer battery life, less prone to crash, less prone to damage if dropped, runs and loads faster. No moving parts, so it's overall more reliable and less prone to breakage. It's just a much superior technology overall.
  
  To those who complain about the earphones that come with it: no matter what player you use, if you care about sound quality, then you don't use the earphones that come with the player!! I think Creative is good to simply include some spares and NOT charge you for what they think are good 'phones. Why? Because it should be up to the individual what kind of headphones they prefer. I've been using my Zen with Bang & Olufsen Form 2 headphones, and this combination sounds fantastic. Also, I rip my CD's to ~192 VBR; I don't hear too much difference in sound between 192 and 320, but I DO hear LOTS of difference between 128 and 192, so for me this seems to be the ideal happy medium between file size and sound quality. I would encourage everyone else to experiment and find their ideal bit rate, because Creative sound quality and good headphones won't help you if you rip to 128 bps!
  
  A quick rundown of some pro's and con's in general:
  
  1. As mentioned - great sound and beautiful clear screen. I don't find that I really need a case (I usually keep it in my pocket so there's nothing in there to scratch it), however, a screen protector is a MUST! I bought one with the player and put it on before doing anything else.
  2. It's damn cute. Just looking at it makes me smile. :)
  3. The software is fine, and I also like being able to simply transfer files just using folders.
  4. The SD card slot is a GREAT idea. It would be nice if they integrate it better in the future, but even un-integrated it's very handy. I keep my videos on it and my music and pics on the player.
  5. Really not expensive at all for a 32GB flash player!
  6. Sturdy!!! I have dropped it without crying afterwards... :)
  7. It seems to be very stable. So far I have had to reset it twice while it was docked, but this was due to my own error - both times I had tried to delete an album off the player that was set as "now playing" - so I think I confused it! But as long as I don't do anything silly like that, I haven't had to reset it.
  8. Very long battery life. I've spent practically all day walking around listening to the Zen, and still have half a charge left at the end of the day. My ears get tired before it does!
  9. This may not be important for all users, but is very important for me: displays foreign characters correctly. I have music on here that uses Scandinavian languages (with some funny characters) and also some music in Russian - I have had problems with other players displaying Cyrillic letters incorrectly, but not this one.
  
  Not many con's, just a couple:
  
  1. The cable is indeed short, but it doesn't seem problematic to me. The player is light enough to just hang off the usb port on the short cable with no problems.
  2. The one major con for me - that it doesn't have a usb host function as its hard-drive based cousin seems to have. That would have been a nice feature, I hope they integrate it into the next model!
  3. Indeed the screen is very hard to see in direct sunlight. But, this is another one of those not-very-important cons that I have learned to work around. If I am in direct sunlight I simply work the player while shading it with my hand or jacket, or I step into the shade. Mild annoyance, but really not that big a deal.
  
  Anyway, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, obviously. I can't think of any other player on the market right now that even comes close to the quality of this one. And no, for all you cynics out there, I don't work for Creative, I'm just in love with my new toy ;)
  
  
  
• Faulty production?
  By A1EGJ7S2R5P83A on 2007-10-04
  I bought my first Zen 4GB last week. Within a few hours of ownership, I had the device attached to the PC via USB to charge it, when it suddenly went dead. No amount of pushing buttons or using the reset button would get this device to power back on. I contacted Amazon, and they overnighted a replacement to me and gave me a free USPS return slip. (excellent customer service!) I got my new device, was able to load some TV shows onto it... Awesome! MP3s sound great , the video was sharp, the radio sounds very clear...
  then it died the exact same way again, about 24 hours after I received it. Contacted Amazon again- They told me "As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread than we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement. I hope you will understand our limitations in this regard." Apparently I am not the only one having this problem.
  Maybe a bad production run?
  
  I would be wary of purchasing the ZEN at his timeand would suggest to maybe give it a few months for these issues to be worked out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I'm loving this device more each day!
  By A2YLKCSOYOJLB1 on 2007-11-18
  I had been researching for months before deciding on the Creative ZEN. My first player was a Sandisk Sansa e140. For a 1st player it was okay, but my main gripe was that it had no resume feature or bookmarks, amongst other defects. Anyway, it was okay for a beginner device.
  
  About three months ago I decided it was time for a change, since I knew Sandisk, I bought a Sansa e260 4gig: it was nice, but, still no bookmark and the thing was just not built right, seemed like it would break in two weeks...I returned it and after one month of looking at reviews on dedicated gadget websites and Youtube video reviews and looking and trying mp3 players at stores, I finally decided and ordered the Creative ZEN.
  
  Half a year ago,I subscribed to a "Rhapsody to Go" subscription for my son(at 14.99 a month), and I was looking for an mp3 player that would be compatible, the ZEN was not on Rhapsody's "Accepted Players" list.
  
  Still...I decided on the Creative ZEN
  
  I receive my Creative 4GB ZEN 3 days after ordering...Amazon quick!
  I looked at the packaging, not too impressive. Charged it up and after a couple of hours (with half a charge because I couldn't wait anymore) I began to experiment.
  
  You can operate all functions practically without reading the manual, it has a very intuitive interface.
  
  I was very pleased with the look and feel of the player.It has a nice weight to it, light enough for a shirt pocket, yet still has the weight of a quality product.
  
  The screen gets smudged up quickly, but it's a non issue. I love the interface and how the pictures and videos look. The volume is loud enough, it may not be the most top quality sound, but it's an MP3 player the size of a credit card...what would you expect?
  
  I was very happy for the first two days using my new toy...I loaded, photos, videos...I had a family video and a short Hendrix concert video. No problem, excellent playback. I even charged it using my Razor V3 cell phone charger! Cool!
  
  Anyway, last night I go in the Rhapsody site and plug in my ZEN and find that it shows on the system...hmmmmmmmmmmmm!
  I click on authorize device...BINGO! Device is authorized!
  I have loaded this thing with tons of stuff from "Rhapsody to GO"...up to this point I had second thoughts about this player, but the fact that it works with Rhapsody to GO was the biggest selling point for me...
  Rhapsody needs to update their site and show that this device is Rhapsody to Go compatible.
  
  PROS:
  
  1) you can set 10 bookmarks
  2) Beautiful interface menu display
  3) Good sound quality
  4) Small and slim (pocket friendly)
  5) Resume feature
  6) Many options including selection of a "personal shortcut key"
  7) Easy to operate and to load files to
  8) Lots of features at a very reasonable price
  9) Works with Rhapsody to Go...also has free Zencasts and other goodies
  from their website.
  10) It uses a regular USB connection (not propietary), so you can plug into a razor V3 charge (for example) and if you lose your USB connector, you don't need to panic because you can buy one of these anywhere for just a few dollars.
  11) SD slot (does not integrate fully, but works for me...I put in my card from my Panasonic FZ7 camera and was able to see the pics I took, cool enough for me. Besides, 4GIG is enough for me, I don't need to carry my entire music library with me. (not yet)
  12) Records off the air very well
  13) FM radio reception sounds great
  14) Videos and picures look vibrant adn very colorful
  15) You can view playlists by album covers if you want
  16) Digital and Analog clock
  17) Many more features I still haven't even discovered yet
  
  CONS:
  
  1) Sound quality could be improved (a firmware upgrade would do it)
  2) No carrying pouch included
  3) Doesn't make coffee
  4) Does not work as a can opener
  5) Cannot be used as a fax machine
  
  I will update later on, after giving this baby a full tryout.
  So far, I'm lovin' it!
  
  If you read the whole thing...I guess you should be considering to buy this gadget.
  Biggest bang for the buck I could find anyway!
  
  
• FOR AUDIOBOOK LISTENERS!
  By A2HVAMP25NRNUI on 2007-12-23
  if you listen primarily to music with lots of playlists (or watch a lot of videos) then this review will have little relevance for you. i spend a lot of time listening to audiobooks, often in WMA format which rules out the only really good mp3 player, the ipods. i've gone through (tried and given away or returned) several mp3 players. bottom line in my opinion: for audiobooks (where the book is 1 or 2 or 3 very big files), all mp3 players pretty much suck.
  
  why? first, often then don't hold their place well. secondly, the fast forward or rewind -- when you need to get BACK to your place, which often requires lots of interpolation -- is often clumsy and, worse, slow (i've had to literally hold down a "FF" control for 5-8 min to get near the end of a novel where i'd left off). third, the most egregious misdesign for audibookphiles is that (unlike the great ipods) the same control used to FF or RW also takes you back to the beginning or the end of a file. in many mp3 players it's woefully easy to be trying to FF and RW to get back to where you were (because the player lost your place or froze up or whatever) when, oops! suddenly you're back at the beginning -- 8 hours or whatever from where you wanted to be. blood pressure rising....
  
  enter the zen. it's certainly one of the least evil of mp3 players for audiobookphiles (which i will heretofore simply acronimify as ABPs).and why is that? one word (no, not plastics): bookmarks.
  
  very few mp3 players allow bookmarking (yeah, that's one area where even the well-designed ipods fall short). quite simply, when you set a bookmark, the mp3 player remembers that place in that file (book) and allows you to go right back to it. it's a failsafe. and it works.
  
  a few mp3 players (including a couple other creative products) do bookmark. the zen 4gb (and higher gbs) is one of the newest. it permits up to 10 bookmarks.
  
  i've had my zen for a couple weeks or a bit more and feel fairly good about assessing it this way: overall,it's so-so. again give me an ipod any day (except apple won't allow it to play wma files). i've had plenty of issues including freezing up (keep a paper clip handy for the tiny reboot hole!), battery life shorter than promised and -- very often -- this player also failing to keep its place (that's unlike the creative muvo tx i've used which had no bookmark but at least it always kept your last spot). i wouldn't necessarily recommend it for general use.
  
  however, its reliable and easy bookmarking is great and for that reason i do recommend it for ABPs. (it does have other commendable features which are summed up in product summary and other reviews; it's certainly not bad.) also, it's better than most at permitting you, with some care, to FF or RW WITHOUT accidentally telling it to go to the beginning or end.
  
  if you DO buy this to listen to long audiobooks, USE THE BOOKMARK FEATURE constantly. before i set the player down (on pause) or turn it off, i always, always bookmark my spot. doing so has saved my arse many times, now. you can set the handy shortcut key to "bookmark" so when you turn it on later, to find to your horror that your last spot at -- what was it? 4 and some hours into the novel? or was it 5? etc.-- is not what comes up but rather you're back at the beginning, you need only hit the shortcut then enter and bingo, there you are: 4 hours and 28 minutes, right where you'd left off.
  
  bottom line: obviously i'm saying if you listen to long audiobooks (such as wma files or audible downloads),the zen 4gb is a good bet. i'm also saying it could be a lot better and maybe someday creative or someone else will make one that's a home run instead of just a base hit.
  
  
• Do not upgrade firmware
  By A36XRGX51WTMWS on 2007-11-11
  Overall a very nice toy with plenty of storage. Accepts WMV and AVI video files flawlessly. I'm on my third unit as I tried to upgrade the firmware on the 1st two and it totally destroyed them. Beware of firmware upgrade 10.5.xxx. After doing it's thing it says it needs to reboot, please wait. 90 minutes later, after getting tired of waiting, I unplugged the player from my computer and did a reset. Not only did the player fail to boot up (just a dimly lit blank screen) but it no longer would sync up to my computer. Creative has a system recovery software program for this player but it won't work if the player no longer syncs up. So I have left well enough alone and the default firmware works just fine in my 3rd unit. The memory card (4gb SDHC) works well but is independent of the main menu.
  
  
• A very pleasing player for my needs (and most people's)
  By A20IJ2T3ZG4BH6 on 2008-03-28
  Well... after a lot of research and time spent, I decided to buy this Creative Zen 32 GB to replace my Zen Micro 6 GB: I needed more space as my music collection was growing larger, and I considered to add some videos in it. Before that, I had been undecided between the iPod Touch and this one, but the fact that iPod Touch is far more expensive, bigger, and it does not sync with Windows Media Player (unless you download a special program, but why bother myself doing that?) made up my mind. Fortunately, it turned out that, after about 3 weeks of usage, I am very pleased with my new Zen 32 GB.
  
  Let's go by parts:
  
  - The player is indeed small; as the ad says, it is the size of a credit card (of course, not the same in thickness).
  
  - It has a nice interface, where all media is neatly organized. I think anybody who uses a computer will find it easy to operate. It has a sidebar where you can browse by initial letter when you want to find a specific album, song or artist in your music library. You can also customize the main menu, and the background (which is limited to 6 options: Velvet Red (default), Marine Blue, Sable Black, Royal Purple, Neon Orange and Forest Green.
  
  - It has a built-in radio and voice recorder. This time, compared to the Zen Micro I have, there are 30 spaces instead of 20 for radio stations, which is convenient, especially when traveling often (station frequencies change by location). You can label each of the presets; you may label them with the name of the corresponding stations.
  
  - It has a equalizer with several presets. It also has a bass boost, which is disabled by default, and Smart Volume to avoid too high and too low volume, also disabled by default.
  
  - The battery: this is one of the aspects I like of the Zen 32 GB. I constantly commute from home to college, and to work in weekends. My Zen Micro lasted just two subway rides, or just one day to make it clear. This one lasts four days without recharging, only playing music with equalizer, Smart Volume and Bass Boost ON, and at a volume of 14. It last three days with the same setting but without putting the switch to "hold", where the screen goes blank to save energy.
  
  - You can let the device select songs for you, according to a specific criteria: Album of the Day (plays a random album), Random Play All, Most Popular, Rarely Heard, Highly Rated, and Yet to be Rated. All of these options are available in the DJ sub-menu in the Music menu.
  
  - Firmware upgrade: I was concerned about this issue, since users of the 8 GB and 16 GB Zen had problems updating the firmware of their devices. I did not have a problem with this one, at least. It takes time to complete the upgrade, though (I think I waited about 3 minutes, but, in the worst case, expect 10 minutes to complete the firmware upgrade).
  
  - A small note: I did not think that Japanese characters would display correctly on the Zen, but when I tried it, they actually do! Then, for those who listen to any songs with Japanese characters in their titles or artist names, you would be pleased to know this. It also displays correctly vowels with tilde and the "ñ" character, which are commonly used in Spanish.
  
  - There are three languages available: English, French and Spanish.
  
  - It has a Media card slot, which I have not yet used.
  
  - You can use this Zen as a hard drive for data; but I do not know if you can use it in a computer where the Zen software and drivers are not installed.
  
  - The volume can be raised enough for larger speakers, which is convenient. Of course, this consumes more energy; I estimate it lasts about 10 hours in that setting (music playback only... it would be weird having large speakers and a small screen for video playback, anyway).
  
  - The Zen software comes with a video converter; it converts most standard formats, but it takes many minutes to complete a single conversion. The worst is that the progress bar does not "progress" at all until it completes the task, which makes it pointless to display. You may reconsider this player if you want to use it mainly for video.
  
  Well... I may be forgetting several aspects of the player. Still, all in all, I give the Zen 32 GB five stars.
  
  
• Near perfect, but flawed SD usage
  By A2ZVDC7MMK5N4N on 2007-09-26
  Being highly interested in purchasing this player I did some more research. I find out that the SD expansion slot is designed poorly. Consumer beware! You think you are going to just pop in an SD card and jack up the memory of this unit.....sort of.
  
  All data stored on the SD is kept separate from the main on-board memory. So all those extra songs you put on the SD will be hidden away in their own lists and not integrated seamlessly.
  
  Pray for a firmware update to make the data on the SD expansion seamlessly integrated with all your other data.
  
  
• Out-of-the-Box Review
  By A3RHQ4YS7LIF6J on 2007-10-29
  This is an out-of-the-box review, based on first impressions of the device.
  
  Good:
  1) Sleek and shiny.
  2) High quality screen.
  3) Amazing color depth and picture quality, even at 10% brightness.
  4) Surreal sound quality, as long as you use good headphones.
  5) Microphone can pick up normal speaking voice from almost 20 feet away, though you may have to up the volume on playback.
  6) Videos look awesome. The screen on this device handily beats out Ipod, Sansa, and iRiver screens in visual quality.
  7) Visual themes. Haven't explored these much. Appear to change the wallpaper and the look of various menu/interface widgets.
  8) EQ. Not quite as expansive or customizable as the EQ on a Zen Micro, but better than anything you will find on a modern device.
  9) Transfers occur much faster than they do with an Ipod or Sansa.
  
  Bad:
  1) Crappy earplugs, just marginally better in quality than the earplugs that ship with Ipods.
  2) Button resistance: you will feel the buttons on this device. Requires an adjustment if you're coming from one a touch-sensitive button-freee device like the ZEN Micro. The buttons become easier to press with use.
  3) The buttons, once successfully depressed, make a loud clicking noise. The noise gets softer with use.
  4) Exclusively for right-handed users, unless you can read upside down.
  5) Tiny buttons. I have small hands and I think the buttons are too small.
  
  The Ugly:
  1) Clamshell encasing safely ensconces the ZEN from harm. It also keeps the device safely out of your hands for several more minutes.
  2) The included USB cable is 3 inches long, *including* the USB plugs. On the bright side, the ZEN uses a standard mini-USB hub, so any mini-USB cable will work, such as the generously long cables that once shipped with all ZEN products. I use the cable that came with my ZEN Micro.
  3) No power adapter. I use the power adapter that came with my ZEN Micro.
  
  Untested:
  - Memory card slot. I don't own any SD cards.
  - TV (Video>TV).
  - Radio.
  - File format compatibility.
  
  EDIT:
  I gave this 5 stars, despite the button problems, because the problems faded away with use. It also took a few minutes to adjust to the button size. My gripes in The Ugly section apply almost universally to almost all modern mp3 players, including Ipods. I didn't think it was fair to penalize this device for industry-wide shortcomings.
  
  
• World's First 32GB Flash-based Media Player and still the best
  By A395OTF1P658GF on 2008-02-18
  Creative has always been a pioneer in the the audio industry. I have owned three different Creative mp3 players in the past, the latest being the 30GB Vision M. I have always supported Creative over Ipods due to their superior audio clarity, guided user interface, battery life, universal connections (non-proprietary). The flash memory improves the longevity and speed of the device as there are no moving parts as a spinning hard-disk does.
  
  The new simply named Zen improves upon the Vision: M by making it a fraction of the thickness, decreasing the length and width of it to that of a credit card, and making the video resolution even higher and brighter. Another welcome update is the addition of an SD-card expandable memory slot so you can add another 16GB of so of memory to the player. Creative needs to do a firmware update so that the media on your music card fully integrates with the rest of your library. Another con is that there is a new firmware update that keeps the player in standby mode for a long time so that it powers back on quicker, but this also drains the battery. The screen also always stays lit unless out press the Hold button, which is kind of annoying. The battery life varies greatly depending on how you use it, but you could expect typically to get over 20+ hours on a single charge.
  
  Besides these minor inconveniences, which should hopefully be solved by firmware updates, I highly recommend this player. Just like it's predecessors, it packs all the same great features, FM radio, voice recording, multiple file format compatibility (including iTunes tracks), charge with any standard USB cable, all in a slim package for under $300. That's $200 less than a comparable crappy ipod with the same storage, Creative is definitely the best choice on the market.
  
  
• Good player Very Bad Customer Service
  By A9J7J9V97T9HM on 2008-01-14
  This Zen is a very good player when it worked which was a little over 3 months. The screen is just white now when you turn it on. Creative seems to have no customer service phone number to call, you have to e-mail to return the product. In starting this process I found out the ZEN only has a 90 day labor warranty and that to get it checked to find the problem it cost $25. Knowing this now I will probably buy Apple products even though I like how the Zens works, this type of warranty is unacceptable to me.
  
  
• Not much longevity!
  By A3PVIV75DROK6E on 2008-01-29
  After three months of intermittent use, start up screen remained blank when device powered up. All knowledge base suggestions tried and new firmware installed to no avail. SanDisk Sansa e280 much more reliable and is only about $25 more plus you receive double the memory (8 GB vs. 4 GB). Caution advised when considering the Zen 4 GB as customer service practically not existent, difficult to get in contact with via telephone (placed on everlasting hold by answering machine) and website requesting RMA authorization difficult to negotiate.
  
  Update February 6, 2007 After eventually obtaining a RMA number from Creative and shipping the device for repair with a lengthy letter enclosed describing the problem of white screen, the device was returned to me in the same condition with the exception that all my music had been removed and the demo music installed. I took it out of the box, turned it on and guess what: a white screen. I called customer service and chose to wait for a live person (29 minutes) and explained the problem. Per instruction of service tech, reloaded filmware, turned off and on, connected and disconnected from computer all to no avail--still white screen. Eventually tech support said I could ship it back and they would write a note in the file with the new RMA--will wait to see if Creative simply sends it back to me. PS: New customer service number: 405-742-6655. I quote: "If you still encounter any difficulty or problem, pleae contact our technical support at 405.742.6655." This sentence was in the letter enclosed with the defective unit when they returned it to me.
  
  Update February 13, 2008 Creative shipped and I received a completely different Zen 4GB player. As of date, about one month after receiving, the replacement unit is working as designed. What a hassle--neat player, rates a 4 or 5, but customer service issues lower rating to a maximum of 2 and in reality a 1. Suggestion when your unit dies, be persistent and hopefully Creative will respond in a positive manner.
  
  
• Zen Heaven
  By ABJ7KDCU29LGW on 2008-03-02
  What's not to love about this device? For one, it's flash based memory, so no hard drive to crash, which is what happened with my Zune. It's lightweight and small. The picture/screen is gorgeous! Everything is so clear and the (16.7 million) colors are incredible. No complaints. Converting videos to a format isn't an issue with AVS Video Converter. I created a new profile with the recommended Zen settings (use WMV, 320x240, 24FPS, etc.) and videos are converted flawlessly with a couple of clicks of the mouse. You can also use the Zen software that comes with the device to convert your videos. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't comment on it. Music sounds great even though I have not replaced the clunky earphones that come with it, which I highly recommend doing. The ones that come with the device are painfully large! Also, the mini USB cable is tiny and you're probably going to have to replace it. I was lucky, my Blackberry Curve plug works with the Zen - charger AND mini USB. Also, unlike the Zune, I can plug my Zen into any Windows PC and copy music to and from or just charge it. I love everything about this device - especially that I am not forced to use iTunes or Zune software. Right-click on a file in Explorer and send to Zen. It's that easy! Pictures look great on the Zen's screen. The menus are easy to navigate with its tactile buttons. It has an SD slot so if you run out of space, expand the device's storage memory! Be forewarned though, the SD card's contents are not integrated with the main menu at this time. Whether or not this is a planned firmware fix is also unknown at this time. I use the SD slot for pics at this time and when I start to run out of space, I'll move my videos over to the SD card. The Zen has an FM radio and a microphone, so you can record your husband snoring and prove to him that he is LOUD and really DOES keep you up at night! You can't record off the radio though. This is no loss to me. I can honestly say that I am happy my Zune broke, otherwise, I wouldn't have this great new Zen! Yes, it might be a little pricey now, but flash media at this size is more expensive than a HDD device. However, your HDD is more likely to break due to hardware failure.
  
  
• One Huge Problem with SD but I still like it!
  By A2Q5OH3DGQGMXD on 2007-09-29
  WARNING: Any content on your SD card will not show up in the Music Main Menu. You litterly have to browse to your SD Card, browse through whatever directory you have created to find your MP3s for playback. You can not shuffle the expanded memory with the onboard memory, nor can you shuffle the music from the SD card period. This is a huge flaw, and I have looked on Creatives website for a firmware upgrade to solve this, from what I have read there is no indication that they are going to integrate the SD card so that it can be used in this way.
  
  I am litterly on the fence about taking this back as this was the main selling point for me.
  
  However that said, it is a wonderful product, perfect in size, the music sounds fantastic, far better than my iPod. There are still gaps between Classical or New Age tracks, the interfeace is nice too. I love it, but the SD is a HUGE disapointment!
  
  
  
• Creative Zen Preferred to iPod Nano with Video
  By A1NB4AFV3LOQYP on 2007-10-02
  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.
  
  
• Excellent Flash Memory Media Player
  By A3OOQH73VQ97VN on 2007-09-21
  Excellent screen, video playback, audio quality and user-interface. The downside is the smaller capacity compared to hdd players. The SD slot can support up to 16GB SDHC though expensive. If X-fi can be integrated it'd be perfect. Aurvana X-fi headphones will complement this very well.
  
  
• Love the Creative Zen
  By A2G23UKP2RX7GU on 2008-02-20
  I just bought my first MP3 player mainly to listen to at work in order to cut down on background noise. Now I wonder why I have waited so long. I researched the various players online for days. I am not one to jump on the bandwagon, e.g., iPod, to buy what everyone else is buying, but I was leaning toward the iPod because "everyone I knew had one." That is, until I did the research. The Zen does so much more than the iPod and for a much more reasonable price. My biggest concern when reading the various reviews was installing the firmware. Seemed to be an issue in a few cases. But because of those reviews and concerns, I made sure that I installed the lastest updates on my computer, including the media player. So bottom line, the Zen arrived and it took no time at all before I had it up and playing (and recording, an managing my Outlook calendar and contacts, and listening to my favorite FM stations...and more!). I'm about to buy the 32GB and give my husband my new 16GB, just because I know I'll use the capacity. So anyone who is thinking twice about Zen vs. iPod (or anything else for that matter), jump out of the box, be different and go for the Zen. Much better value for the money, many more features including its compact size, big screen, great sound quality -- and it's easy to use. As far as the buttons are concerned, I've read reviews where they were described as having loud clicking noises. Well, not in my case. Yes, there is a soft clicking sound that you may notice with your earbuds off, but again, hardly noticeable. I can't say one bad thing about the Zen. As I said, I'm going to purchase the 32GB just as soon I complete this review.
  P.S. I did replace the stock earbuds -- they were pretty crappy and uncomfortable -- and that's the only negative comment that I have about my Zen.
  
  
• Oh wow, too cool.....
  By A2BCDZO1XQLDH on 2008-04-06
  I moved from the Zen Vision: M 60GB player to the Zen 32GB player. THe ZVM is now a home player that is hooked up to speakers in the living room. Yes, there are some features missing on this newest Zen, but there are some benefits:
  
  1) Size, so tiny...
  2) No dongle for charging etc.
  3) Fast, start-up.
  
  I miss some things from the ZVM:
  
  1) TV-Out; can't play video or display stored pictures.
  2) USB-host. SUre it was slow but on vacation I could download my images from my camera to the ZVM. My camera uses CF, not SD cards...
  3) The touch slider thingy (not sure what they called it) but the Zen is all tactile, and that winds up with a lot of clicks and, you guessed it, button failure I am sure.
  
  I give the Zen a 4 because I am stunned at how CHEAP Creative has become. The included USB cord is about 4 inches long, there is NO case (and it is a scratch magnet) and I have not even tried the included earphones.
  
  But overall, this is a very nice alternative to the Ipod machine... Great screen (you liked it on the ZVM, right?), superb sound you would expect from Creative. Buy it!
  
  
• I found my Zen! Beauty and power in a small package.
  By A3TPNC3TKGCCEI on 2007-12-27
  I've had my new Zen for a month now and all I can say is that I'm in love.
  
  I originally planned to get a larger capacity Creative Zen V (which I also highly rate), but this new Zen caught my eye. The 4GB capacity, larger vivid LCD screen, the ability to play videos, and an SD expansion slot - and still a small slender player - it's everything I was looking for.
  
  Now that I've used it for a month, I can say that this player is indeed a wonderful device to own. It sounds great, it looks great, and everything functions the way it should. This slender player indeed packs a punch.
  
  What I enjoy about the Zen:
  
  1. What a looker! This is a gorgeous, slim, trim black beauty. It's also nice to the touch.
  
  2. Vivid sharp 2.5 in. color screen. Photos and videos come up brilliant. The display is set at 50% brightness by default and looks perfect. I've actually lowered the brightness to 20% without losing quality and still see everything fine.
  
  3. Sounds great! I keep my EQ set on acoustic - it's my perfect zen setting that makes my ears happy, but I can choose from several other settings as well. The sound really shines when I put on quality set of over-the-head earphones.
  
  4. Having a SD slot is less worry about running out of space. I currently have a 2GB Sansdisk SD in my Zen and haven't had to use it yet.
  
  5. I truly enjoy that I can use several different programs to manage my media files or load my Zen. However, I found Creative's software that comes with the Zen works great and is my preferred media manager by choice. The software can rip, convert, burn, and manage media files easily (both music and video). The only thing I've never too crazy about their software is their album art and tag management...I usually end up going to Media Monkey to take care of that.
  
  6. It's slim, small and lightweight making it easy to tuck away. My previous Zen V spoiled me with it's small size, but the credit card sized Zen is just as easy to keep. (I tried to "upgrade" to a 30GB Zune but the sheer size of it made it impractical for me in my daily activities. My hubby is keeping that one and he loves it.)
  
  What I'm not so crazy about this Zen:
  
  1. The navigation - I feel like this could have been done better. The large square button functions both as the directional input and volume at different times. Although this is not hard to use, your thumb does a lot of traveling especially because of the "back" button which is on the upper left of the navigation area. Not perfect, but not a huge detraction for this player.
  
  2. It collects fingerprints way too easy and they don't like to wipe off nice, like it usually does with the Zen V. I'm constantly cleaning it with a soft lens cloth. While slightly inconvenient, it's also not a huge detraction for this player.
  
  (UPDATE: Now that someone showed me how to shut off the screen while playing music by using the lock feature, I can no longer complain about the screen staying on all time. I removed item no. 3.)
  
  None of the above complaints alter my favorable view of the Zen.
  
  I truly found my Zen with Creative's gorgeous Zen. I'll gladly buy it again if I had to.
  
  Update 5/19/2008:
  
  1. It grieves me to report that my lovely Zen now suffers the white screen of death. Despite updating the firmware, resetting, or other tricks reported on the Internet, the problem has not been resolved. It looks like I'm going to have to return my unit to Creative. Now I get to report on their customer service.
  
  2. Another problem I found with my Zen is when I was watching videos that are longer than a few minutes. The voice/soundtrack would lag out of sync of the movie I was watching for more than a few seconds. It got worse if I fast forwarded or rewound it.
  
  
• Everything Zen
  By A20OFEBBJ7J9QY on 2008-03-03
  I just purchased the 32 gb Zen to replace the 30 gb Zen Vision that died on me. I like the idea of it being a solid state drive. It's a great little mp3 player with tons of storage space. It even has an SD expansion slot for even more space. I just wish 3rd party companies would pay more attention to other mp3 players. It seems most only care about the ipod. I hope soon someone comes out with a portable speaker system for the Zen. I recommend the screen protector and the skin pack or other skins that are being made for it. I wish they would of made the body out of metal like the Zen Vision. It has a very plastic feel to it. It has all the cool menus and settings of the Zen Vision but with better resolution and colors. Movies are amazing on it and with a good pair of headphones the audio sounds very nice.
  
  pros:
  amazing audio (with good headphones)
  video quality is a lot better then previous Zens
  Lot's of extras and easy to move around interface
  
  cons:
  still packed with lame headphones
  no wall charger included
  
  I think people should give this one a chance. I know it's not an ipod but there are other mp3 players that are equal if not better then one. This is one that is better!
  
  
  
• Deeply Flawed Software
  By ADC3H8H3XX36G on 2008-04-21
  If you're like me and have thousands of mp3's that are not classified by album, then don't go near this player with a ten foot pole. The reason I say this is that when you attempt to browse songs by a particular artist or band, you can only view the songs by album - any song that does not have it's album tag filled in won't show up under that artist. Basically, if any track has no album info, it becomes invisible. Older Zen mp3 players had a "List all Tracks by Artist" option when you browsed a particular artist or band - selecting this option would show all the tracks by that artist in alphabetical order regardless of whether the album info was filled in for a track or not. The new Zen players do not have this option. I went to one artist on my player that I had 60 songs for, except none of the tracks had album info, and when I selected that artist the player told me their were no tracks by that artist on the player - totally and completely ridiculous.
  
  Worse yet, all those tracks that have no album associated with them will not play in shuffle mode. I loaded the player with 1000 songs that had no album info and 10 songs that did have their album info, and put the player into shuffle mode. Shuffle mode then told me their were only 10 songs on the player, and proceeded to play those 10 songs (the ones with album info) over and over, while completely ignoring the other 1000 songs (the ones without album info). This has to be about the dumbest thing I've seen in any consumer product in years. I've seen complaints about how lame the shuffle play feature is on these players and how they seem to play the same songs over and over in shuffle mode - well this is the reason why. A large percentage of these users tracks are not even being recognized in shuffle mode.
  
  If you keep all your mp3's tagged by album then you will be fine. If not, then don't go near this player.
  
  
  
• Solid Product - Great for iPod converts
  By A2NIJ4YV4RTKR0 on 2007-11-12
  The 16 GB Zen is a solid MP3 player. There's nothing super-amazing about it, but it gets the job done and it looks fine. The space is enough for people like me without extensive music collections.
  I used to have an iPod mini, until it died recently. I decided that I was finished with Apple and went with this player. What really saved me was the fact that this player supports AAC files (unprotected, that is). I used my iPod for podcasts and music. I have about 65 songs bought from the iTunes store, and a few hundred songs from CDs. I originally had thought that iTunes ripped CDs to MP3, but in fact, it doesn't (correction: You can actually select to rip to MP3s when ripping. I was unaware of this when I ripped my CDs, so I ended up with 200+ AAC songs, which didn't matter thanks to the Zen's AAC support). I didn't have to lift a finger to get most of this music onto my player. It really is one of the best features. I recommend this as the first player to turn to for people who want to leave the iPod product line.
  
  Pros:
  Easy Interface
  Syncs Fast (A 45-min TV show took about 20-30 seconds)
  Great Display
  Voice Recorder
  FM Radio
  Plays Unprotected AAC files
  
  Cons:
  A little quiet - Listening in public places is a little difficult.
  SD Card support is mediocre - you cannot manipulate content on the card as much as you can with the native memory
  Podcasts - The ZenCast program does not boot up on my computer, so I use iTunes (which I find a great podcast organizer), but there is no menu selection that can easily separate the podcasts from the music - shuffling through all my songs, I run into a few podcasts.
  Minimal contents in packaging - only the player, manual, 3-inch USB cable, and headphones come with it.
  Video support - I've been having difficulty getting WMV's to work with the player, but XviD and DivX are supported in the .avi container. I haven't tried other formats yet, but things can get confusing. I really don't understand why there isn't native support for MPEG4, but there is for MJPEG. Also, all of your videos have to be smaller than 320x240, which is especially annoying when your format is correct, but your video is too big. I would have been happier if the video support reflect that of the Vision M.
  
  Although there are some problems with the player, it's still great. You can't go wrong with it. Although you run into some problems when it comes to video formats, as well as the accommodation of audio podcasts, this i still a good choice.
  
  
• Greatest Value MP3 Player Ever
  By A3OOQH73VQ97VN on 2008-01-10
  At US$79.99 (before any special promotion), it's the greatest value mp3 player ever. You have 2.5" 320x240 16.7 million color, smooth and bright video playback, great for video, 97dB SNR, great for music, SDHC, great for expansion/add-on. It has a very small footprint, it can hide behind a credit card! It supports AAC/WMA/WMA lossess/MP3, comes with voice recorder and FM tuner. It's very user-friendly too. Get a 16GB SDHC at US$74.99 and you have a total of 16GB, cheaper than Creative Zen 16GB (US$199.99). If you want better earbuds, consider Creative EP-630 (great bass and noise isolation). If you want better sound enhancement, consider getting Creative Aurvana X-fi Noise-cancelling headphones. Any cons? Yes, the firmware still has some bugs that may need resetting, so be prepared. The SD card has yet to be fully integrated with the main memory. Future firmware upgrades should resolve those bugs and SD integration issues. Other features that are missing include built-in speaker, wi-fi/bluetooth/web-access. You cannot find any equivalent high quality player today.
  
  
• Greatest Value MP3 Player Ever
  By A3OOQH73VQ97VN on 2008-02-28
  At US$284.99 (before any special promotion), it's the greatest value mp3 player ever. You have 2.5" 320x240 16.7 million color, smooth and bright video playback, great for video, 97dB SNR (very little distortion with bass boost and equalizer compared with most other players), great for music, SDHC, great for expansion/add-on. It has a very small footprint, it can hide behind a credit card! It supports AAC/WMA/WMA lossess/MP3, comes with voice recorder and FM tuner. It's very user-friendly too. Get a 16GB SDHC at US$64.99 and you have a total of 48GB flash memory. It can withstand shock due to the flash memory and not hard disk drive. If you want better earbuds, consider Creative EP-630 (great bass and noise isolation). If you want better sound enhancement, consider getting Creative Aurvana X-fi Noise-cancelling headphones. Any cons? Yes, the firmware still has some bugs that may need resetting, so be prepared. Get a skin if you need to protect it from scratches/fingerprints/dust on its glossy surface. The SD card has yet to be fully integrated with the main memory. Future firmware upgrades should resolve those bugs and SD integration issues. Other features that are missing include built-in speaker, wi-fi/bluetooth/web-access/x-fi upscaling (upcoming Creative Zen Share should address that?). You cannot find any equivalent high quality player today.
  
  

• Belkin F8V234-WHT-APL Headphone Splitter
• iHome IHM4S Portable Speaker Case for iPod and MP3 Players
• Belkin TuneCast II FM Transmitter for MP3 Players (White)
• MACALLY IceTune Stereo Speaker and Charger
• Maxell P-13 Stereo FM Transmitter

• Creative Screen Protector for Zen (Clear)
• Creative Hard Plastic Case for Zen (Clear)
• Creative 3-In-1 Skin Pack for Creative Zen (Red/Blue/Black)
• Creative Leather Case for Zen (Black)
• Creative Power Adapter for Zen Players (White)