Creative Zen 20GB Review
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Battery Life
Creative claims a battery life of 11 hours, which I found disappointing when you consider the Zen Touch's 24 hours.
Using our recording software, we set the Zen 20GB and Zen Touch to output the same volume as for all our previous battery tests. The resulting volume level on the Zen 20GB and Zen Touch is 16 out of 25. We also set the EQ to Rock. Tracks are played by the album.
A 3.5mm-3.5mm audio cable was used to connect the player to the line-in of a computer, with software recoding the audio input. The battery life is considered to be the time from which music starts playing till it stops (when the player switches off due to insufficient power).
Click for larger picture.
Both players stayed relatively close to the claimed timings. For the Zen 20GB, the difference in timings between the different formats were less than 30 minutes. MP3 128kbps gave a battery life of 10 hours, 57 minutes, very close to the claimed 11 hours. For the Zen Touch, it seemed to handle WMA tracks better, with WMA 128kbps tracks letting it exceed the 24 hours to reach 24 hours, 21 minutes. The Zen Touch posts really impressive timings. While the Zen 20GB seems so weak in comparison, it should be noted that the Zen Micro managed 10 hours, 26 minutes with the EQ on, which is about on par with the Zen 20GB. And the iPod 4G 40GB lasted only 8 hours 56 minutes.
Problems
It is really hard to find fault with the Zen 20GB. In terms of the operating system, it is a great improvement over the older ones like the Zen Touch. Even the sluggish touchpad response of the Zen Micro is gone.
The only problem I had with the Zen 20GB was the design. The Zen Micro looks fine, but bloat it up to the size of the Zen 20GB and it seems so... awkward. The Zen Touch, in contrast, looks so much classier and feels much more comfortable to hold in the hand.
Also, Apple, iRiver and Samsung, among many others, have already released digital audio players with colour screens, yet the Zen 20GB is still using a monochrome screen.