Creative Zen 4GB
Introduction
Creative Technology has been fighting a losing battle against Apple Inc. Attempts to claw at Apple's huge market share only resulted in even more bloodshed, and were it not for the US$100 million in licensing paid by Apple, the company would have reported a second year of net loss. But, despite the diverse product line including PC sound cards and speakers, Creative is still not giving up the fight for the digital audio player DAP market. On 29 August 2007, Creative announced the Zen, a compact, slim flash-based DAP with a large, true colour screen. The Zen, not to be confused with the Zen Micro's big brother, came 1 week before Apple announced the new generation of iPods, including the 3G (third generation) iPod nano. It then became clear what the Zen was competing against. In fact, Apple's announcement came a day after our review unit of the Zen arrived. The Zen is available in 4, 8 and 16GB priced at US$129.99, $199.99 and $249.99. The 4GB version is slightly cheaper, while the 8GB is priced similarly to the iPod nano.
The Zen is revolutionary is several aspects. First, it is one of Creative's better looking products in a long time. It actually looks compact and slim, and in fact, looks like a scaled-down version of the Zen Vision, which we liked a lot. Second, this is the first time a Creative DAP has AAC support. No, it does not support protected (DRM) AAC, but we are not complaining. The Zen also has video support for Windows Media as well as MPEG-4. And third, again a first for Creative, is an SD card slot that accepts SDHC cards. Finally, the Zen has a 2.5" screen, the same size as the pudgy Zen Vision:M, but with 16.7 million colours. Like the Zen Vision:M, this Zen is a DAP that plays video, and not a portable media player (PMP). We will see why later in the review.
Package Contents
Packaging for the Zen is slightly different, with the player visible, like the Zen Stone.
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The usual specifications and details on the back.
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Finally, everything in the box.
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Included with the Zen are Creative's EP-480 earphones, a short USB cable, a Quick Start guide and the Installation CD. We have always appreciated the EP-480 for the better quality sound than most other brand's bundled earphones.