Creative Zen MP3 Player

(First Look) - While much of the consumer electronics world is focused on Apple's iPod, Creative is in a world of its own. It's refreshing, to say the least, especially when the company is actively kicking it. The latest music player to hit Creative's product line is the Zen, as if we haven't had enough of Zen to begin with. Really, somebody at Creative must really love the name Zen, since they aren't willing to let it go. It's meant to replace Zen Vision:M when it debuts soon. Despite the stale name, it promises to be a fine, very fine, player. Here's what it has to offer:

Available in 4GB/8GB/16GB capacities + expansion slot for SD storage, you can expect to store hours of audio/video files. On the exterior, there's a 2.5-inch vibrant display with 16.7 million color support and 320x240 resolution. Can you say amazing? It's going to be a breathtaking display, and we expect photos and video to pop out and immerse us in the experience. For images, you can expect support for JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF and TIFF formats; for audio, there's support for MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC and Audible 2,3,4; and for video, Creative Zen supports MJPEG, WMV9, MPEG-4, DivX and XviD. Then there's the FM tuner option, equalizer options, calendar, contact and task list, support for album art and voice recording capabilities. So far so good.

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Really, what it all boils down to is the updated display and an impressive exterior overhaul. The device is expected to be as small as a typical credit card (which is pretty small by all measures) and will have a clean, glossy overview with embedded buttons for maximum attraction.

Of course, there are other features as well, such as the ability to customize your wallpaper, but those aren't inherently important to us in the grand scheme of things. That's not to say they aren't nice, though. According to Creative, the battery life is expected to last 5x hours for video and 25x hours for audio. We are content with audio, but what's up video? The hours have got to go up. Then again, maybe the rechargeable, Lithium-Ion battery might help take care of that issue somewhat.

Creative's Zen 4GB is available for $149.99, while the 8GB retails for $199.99, both of which are exceptionally reasonable. All in all, Creative's latest Zen promises to be a solid competitor to Apple's iPod as an all rounder. Look for our full review soon to get our final verdict.

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