Creative Zen 20GB Review
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Comparisons
| Specifications | Creative Zen 20GB | Creative Zen Touch 20GB | Apple iPod Photo 40GB | Samsung YH-925GS 20GB |
| Picture |  |
 |
 |
 |
| Dimensions (inches) (mm) |
3.7 x 2.4 x 0.8 95 x 62 x 19.5 |
4.1 x 2.7 x 0.86 104 x 68 x 22 |
4.1 x 2.4 x 0.63 104 x 61 x 16 |
4.2 x 2.4 x 0.7 107 x 61 x 17 |
| Weight | 140.5g/4.96oz | 200g/7.06oz | 167g/5.9oz | 136g/4.8oz |
| Capacity | 20GB | 20GB | 40GB | 20GB |
| Battery Life | 11hrs | 24hrs | 15hrs | 10hrs |
| Battery Type | Lithium Ion | Lithium Ion | Lithium Ion | Lithium Ion |
| Removable? | No | No | No | No |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz - 20kHz | 20Hz - 20kHz | 20Hz - 20kHz | 20Hz - 20kHz |
| Signal/Noise Ratio | up to 96dB | up to 97dB | No Info | 90dB |
| FM Tuner | Yes | No | No | No |
| FM Transmit | No | No | No | No |
| Recording | FM, Voice | No | No | Voice, Line-In |
| Realtime Encoding | No | No | No | Yes |
| Connectivity | USB1.1/2.0 | USB1.1/2.0 | FireWire400, USB2.0, Composite video | USB1.1/2.0 |
| Remote Control | No | No | No | No |
| LCD | 1.6" (diag) | 2" (diag) | 2" (diag) | 1.8" (diag) |
| Colour? | Mono | Mono | 65k colour | 260k colour |
| Specifications | Creative Zen 20GB | Creative Zen Touch 20GB | Apple iPod Photo 40GB | Samsung YH-925GS 20GB |
| OS Support | Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP | Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP | Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP | Windows XP |
| Formats | MP3, WMA, WAV, IMA ADPCM | MP3, WMA, WAV | AAC, MP3, AU, AIFF, Apple lossless, WAV, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD, PNG | MP3, WMA, JPEG, Motion JPEG |
| Upgradeable firmware | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audio effects | 8 EQ Presets, 1 5-band custom EQ | 8 EQ Presets, 1 4-band custom EQ | 20 EQ presets | 5 EQ presets, SRS, TruBass |
| Can use as external HDD? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Price (USD) | S$449 (approx US$270) | $224 | $331 | $247 |
Summary
| What's good | - The same, ingenious interface from the Zen Micro - Somewhat smaller than existing hard disk-based digital audio players - Sounds great, plus a 5-band custom EQ to make your music sound just the way you want - FM tuner & recording - Voice recording - Good battery life - Good transfer speeds |
| What's bad | - Removable drive feature requires partitioning and
enabled before connected to PC - Dodgy FM reception - Design just doesn't look good - Still a monochrome screen |
Conclusion
Creative took their successful Zen Micro, stretched it a bit and threw in a 20GB hard disk. They then took the Micro out of the name, and called it the Creative Zen. While the Zen 20GB is somewhat smaller than existing hard disk-based players, it doesn't look that way, probably because of the curvy design. And while the design might look nice on a Zen Micro, it looks out of proportion and bloated on the Zen 20GB. With digital audio players sporting 65k and 260k colour screens, the monochrome display on the Zen 20GB just seems outdated.
The price also isn't attractive. You can get the Samsung YH-925GS for about $20 less. Or the iPod Photo for just $60 more.
If you do like the design of the Zen 20GB, prefer a smaller player and don't mind the shorter battery life, then you could consider the Creative Zen. Personally though, I would pick either the Zen Touch or the iPod Photo.
7 out of 10.
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