Creative Hard Plastic Case for Zen, Zen MX (Clear)

by Creative Labs

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.3 x 7.1 inches ; 2.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000VY9HFE
• Item model number: 70AB216000012
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Package your player in acrylic clarity with the Clear Case for the Creative Zen player. The clear design lets you carry and show off the Zen, which comes with an attached key chain and built-in stand for watching videos. Carry your Zen around all day with confidence as the case protects your player from scratches and dirt.

What's in the Box:
Acrylic case with stand, keychain.

Product Description

Attach your player anywhere and carry your tunes everywhere. This acrylic case keeps your player protected at all times. Plus use the built in stand to watch your videos. This item is for use with Zen and Zen MX MP3 players only. This item is not for use with X-Fi and X-Fi 2 players.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overall A Bad Case, November 24, 2007

By 

B. Hutchinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Hard Plastic Case for Zen, Zen MX (Clear) (Electronics)

The Good:
-Solid build and thick plastic
-a section of the back of the case (that sits flush with the case when closed) pops out on a hinge to use as a stand for the player. The viewing angle is good for tabletop viewing.
-Comes with a circular carabiner-style key ring connected to the case by a small leather strap

The Bad:
-Slight, but *very annoying* defect in the fit of the case to the player that causes a noticeable "spot" on the screen.
-The thick plastic makes the right-most buttons more difficult to push with the thumb
-The carabiner-style key ring is of very poor quality.
-The stand can be difficult to "pop out" of its closed position
-Scratches easily - more easily than the player's face.

The good points are self explanatory, but allow me to elaborate on the bad. I got this case in tandem with the player, and the first (and most unforgivable) thing I noticed was that the case itself pushes on the front of the screen so that you see what looks like a translucent oil spot on the screen, but it is actually a contact point between the case and the player. The contact spot is noticeable when the player is off, which is understandable, but you still notice it when the player is on and displaying information, and even when playing video. Also, the thick plastic of the case (which adds to the player's overall thickness by about 50%) makes the buttons on the right side of the control interface (right, menu, and play/pause) more difficult to depress with the right thumb because the edge of the case comes right up to the right side of the buttons. As for the carabiner key ring, it feels really cheap and doesn't close properly if you're not paying attention because there is so much play between the parts of the red, metal ring that you can easily see the pin connecting the two pieces of the hinge. When closing the clasp may even be so far off that it won't even catch leaving it gaping unnaturally open. With regard to the stand, the tight fit of the plastic piece in the closed position can make it difficult for someone without long fingernails to pop it open, and I imagine this becomes less of an issue with more use, but for a new case it is an obvious annoyance. To top it all off, I noticed some very small, fine scratches that seemed to appear on the case within the first couple hours of use, but these are barely noticeable when the player is on so this is perhaps the least and most forgivable of the many offenses of this case.

I expected to be able to allow the case to absorb the brunt of the wear on the player, but what I didn't expect was that a brand new case would hinder my viewing, and even interfacing experience because of several design and manufacturing flaws to begin with.

55 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Clear Case for the new Creative Zen, October 31, 2007

By 

Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)   

This review is from: Creative Hard Plastic Case for Zen, Zen MX (Clear) (Electronics)

For those that own a Creative Zen 4GB, 8GB or 16GB, this is one of the best all around cases available from the manufacturer at this point. Everyone has their own preference. A leather case, a silicon case and an armband holder are available as well.

The case has ports for your jacks and allows you to access all your controls. The built-in stand is a nice touch, and the attached keychain may be useful for some. I think most people will keep the unit in their pockets or bags.

The case is good at remaining very clear. It doesn't have the cable managment features of the silicon case, but that probably was not an option with the thickness of the acrylic. This case adds at least 1/4 inch to the player. This is a trade off for safety.

The real test is the "drop." This case has held up to some light drops by me, but somehow I still feel nervous about it. I would recommend not testing it too much yourself. Treat it well and it will hold up nicely, protecting your player from scratches and dents.

If you want a clear case this is the only one available from Creative at this time. Enjoy it!

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent case, crappy key ring, January 4, 2008

By 

J. Lawson "toon loon" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Hard Plastic Case for Zen, Zen MX (Clear) (Electronics)

The only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the ring. The circular shape doesn't work for carabiner rings, the latch can easily be misaligned and it doesn't snap quickly onto things. Takes a minute or two to clip it onto something (unless you're extremely coordinated, which I'm not). I switched the circle ring out with a standard D-shaped mini carabiner and that works much better, it snaps together securely and very easily. And why is there no access to the SD slot with the case on? The slot already has a dummy card in it to protect the slot, so why is it necessary to cover it with another layer of plastic?

Aside from these two issues, this is a great case, it protects the screen and I can access (almost) everything I need to. The case fits tightly but on mine there was no "oil-spot" contact point between the case and the screen- maybe that was fixed in later production runs. And for those who complain about the case adding thickness to the player- it's not that much, and how else are you supposed to protect the player? It's a non-issue for me. Unless you want to smother your player in a leather case, this is the best thing you will find for the Zen. And if it scratches, you can always buy a new clear case instead of having to replace the player itself.