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Creative Zen 8GB review

£92 inc VAT

Manufacturer: Creative

Our Rating: We rate this 4.5 out of 5 User Rating: Our users rate this 5 out of 10

By | 20 May 08

Creative's superslim Zen has an attractive 2.5in colour display, an FM tuner, a built-in microphone, robust video- and photo-viewing capabilities and the ability to import contact management information. And the Creative Zen 8GB even plays music.

Creative's superslim Zen has an attractive 2.5in colour display, an FM tuner, a built-in microphone, robust video- and photo-viewing capabilities and the ability to import contact management information. And the Creative Zen 8GB even plays music.

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The Creative Zen 8GB is about the size and shape of a standard-issue business-card case and comes in several other capacities: 2GB for £56, 16GB for £159 and the top-end 32GB for £249. All models have a built-in SD Card slot for an instant storage upgrade.

The Zen's tested signal-to-noise ratio of 77dB is decent (the higher the number, the cleaner and more hiss-free the signal). The Creative Zen 8GB's custom five-band equaliser also helped to bring out the best in a variety of high-bitrate MP3s.

This jack-of-all-trades Creative Zen 8GB can handle most audio formats, too, including unprotected iTunes AAC files. It can't play Flac or Ogg Vorbis codecs, however.

For video, the Creative Zen 8GB works with Mpeg4, DivX4, DivX5, XviD and WMV files and comes with the simple Video Converter software.

A standard mini-USB jack lets you sync and power the Creative Zen 8GB, while navigation is via a directional pad and four dedicated hardware buttons. These enable you to quickly drill down through the menus.

Another solid aspect of the Creative Zen 8GB is its long-lasting battery. Expect around a 30-hour playtime for audio files and five hours for video.

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Creative Zen 8GB Expert Verdict »

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Post Review

Reviewed by alan14 on Tuesday 20 May 2008

5 star rating

Duration of ownership: 3 months

Strengths:
One really good point with Creative players is the decent earphones - far better than the tinny ones that come with the fruit-based players. It also plays Audible audio books

Weaknesses:
Not easy to obtain accessories, due mainly to the market dominance of a certain other player bought by people with no imagination

Overall Evaluation:
A good all round player, I wouldn't want to watch a full movie on the tiny screen, but it's fine for loading up with a few episodes of 'Heroes' to watch in the gym instead of watching the RnB dross showing on The Hits channel

8GB media player
available in 2/4/8/16/32GB
SD Card slot for extra memory
available only in black
83x12x55mm
65g
2.5in, 320x240 pixel screen
plays MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, Audible books
signal-to-noise ratio: 77dB
displays Jpeg, Mpeg4, DivX4, DivX5, XviD, WMV
FM radio
alarm
voice recorder
battery life: 25 hours audio, 5 hours video
  • Build Quality: We give this item 8 of 10 for build quality
  • Features: We give this item 9 of 10 for features
  • Value for Money: We give this item 9 of 10 for value for money
  • Overall: We give this item 9 of 10 overall

The Creative Zen 8GB lacks the Wi-Fi capabilities of the iPod touch, but has plenty else going for it and is a great choice for gadgeteers and audiophiles alike. A worthy award-winner.

There are currently no price comparisons for this product.
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