Customer Reviews

Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black)

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(105)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTES FIRST:

YES, it is iTunes-compatible, and YES it is compatible with Yahoo! Jukebox, BUT ONLY THOSE TRACKS THAT YOU HAVE PURCHASED AS "BURNABLE". In other words, you will not be able to transfer your Subscription or Stream tracks to this device, which is only fair (for that, you have to have Yahoo! Music Unlimited To-Go, which is an invite-based service and thus uncommon). Needless to say, you can import tracks from any CD quickly and painlessly, and/or copy any wmv/mp3/mp4 or whatever that you already have on your hard drive: the device is browsable with Windows and all you need to do is copy/paste to the right folder.

Now for the review.


THE GOOD:

++ Compatible with an amazing variety of file formats, without conversion, unlike iPods. Whatever is not compatible the software will convert for you if at all possible. This is a HUGE plus for the computer-illiterate.

++ Great sound quality, a bare minimum requirement for a music player.

++ Sleek looks, IMO superior to the trite iPod-like, spin-wheel design. It certainly got more looks and comments than the iPod I had previously. Also, it's more pleasant to hold in your hand: small but not too tiny, and very sturdy/solid (which, if you'll handle it 8-10 hours a day like I do, is a huge plus).

++ The included software is fantastic. It's fast, reliable (never froze), and lets you manage files and create playlists quickly and painlessly. Basically, anything you can do with the player's built-in software you can do with ZEN Media Explorer from your computer. So, go for it.

++ Many complained about the interface, but I actually like it very much. The built-in software is easy to understand and utilize. The buttons are a tad tricky, but all you need to do is play around with them for ten minutes before you're able to find them blindly by just sticking your hand in your pocket (something you certainly cannot do with iPods, whose interface is more visually-driven).


THE SO-SO:

++/-- The SD expansion slot is both a pain and a pleasure. Yes, you can basically make this a 16Gb with an SDHC card for a few bucks--but it's true that only SOME content will run off of it, and that while you are playing content from the SD card you cannot navigate the built-in flash memory. So, caveat emptor... but if you know what you're getting there's no reason to complain. How many times do you really browse your music while you're already listening to something else anyway?


THE BAD:

-- Perplexed about battery life info: "25 hours of continuous listening"? I don't think so. More like 10-12, which is on par with similar devices.

-- The shortest USB cable ever bundled. Buy a cheapo extension from Monoprice right away, unless you already own a USB hub. Otherwise, your player will lie on the floor or, worse, hang by the cable while it's being charged and sync'ed, neither of which is good.

-- The joystick buttons make a slightly annoying clicking sound, not when pressed but when released. However, this does not happen on my friend's ZEN, so maybe I got a "bad" unit?

-- AWFUL packaging! What were they thinking? Not only is it one of those impossible-to-open blister packs, but if you use scissors it's relatively easy to harm the contents... not the player, thankfully, which is in full sight, but the manuals and CD and bundled cables. So be careful.


OTHER THOUGHTS:

** BUY A SCREEN PROTECTOR! Apply it immediately. The screen will collect dust (and thus scratches) within hours, like any LCD.
** BUY A CASE OR SKIN! Piano-black finish is attracted to fingerprints like flies to s__t.
** 8Gb is perfect for the serious music listener with varied taste. Buffs and pros want to go for 16Gb. Occasional listeners will do well with 4Gb. Media moguls, of course, need not apply: that's what the Vision is for.


Overall, one of the best entry-level portable music players on the market. The price tag may well be the deal-breaker here: it is cheaper than any other brand music player, and it does the same things AND, in my opinion, more and better. Support by Creative is also famously good, so I see no reason not to buy a ZEN.

Got about 4 good months before white screen problems occurred. These issues are very common; Google "Creative white screen of death". I don't know about you, but I expect more than a few months out of a $100+ purchase. So I bought a Sony NWZ-A726B. Suggest you do the same.

Got my Creative Zen this week, and have been nothing but impressed. It is a sleek, solidly built player. The #1 thing to me is audio quality, and the Zen is a Ten there. I've been using an iAudio U2, and it sounded great; way better than my daughter's Nano. This is just as good if not better.

What I was looking for in a player: First, good sound. Second, good battery life. Third, a nice screen for video and photos. I was tempted by the iAudio 7, because of that great battery life and my knowledge of their sound quality. But they're irrelevant in terms of video. The Clix is highly thought of by the techie sites, but it is weak in terms of space (still waiting on the 8 GB) and display (2.2 inches vs. the 2.5 of the Zen). So as a confirmed Apple apostate, when I saw the Zen, with its awesome audio, brilliant video, and SD slot, I knew it was "the one".

It seems a little odd to me that a player can claim to "support" multiple video formats, yet I have to convert almost all of them. And the Zen software seems to convert everything to WMV. But I guess that is just the normal fallout of all these format wars. I have yet to find a video or audio format (including audiobooks .aa, which I haven't seen mentioned as specifically suppported) that I can't (eventually) get on the Zen. And the bottom line: the video looks vivid, the audio sounds awesome.

I synched up with Windows Media Player, cuz I'm used to it. It mostly worked, but there was some weirdness; songs that appeared under an artist, correctly, didn't appear under that artist's album. I assume that synching with the Zen Media Explorer would work better. But with the ability to drag-and-drop, or even delete and create folders, directly from Windows Explorer, these glitches are easily fixed.

The key to me is the SDHC slot. With SD cards gaining in capacity and dropping in price, this seems like the future to me. I'm betting the next generation iPod will jump on this bandwagon. I've seen complaints about the SD-card implementation, which sees the card as sort-of a separate device. But I actually like browsing on the card BETTER than elsewhere, because I can structure things there like I want. If you know how to create a folder, and drag things into it, you won't have a problem. Just keep it simple: a Music and a Videos folder, and only WMA/V and MP3. I can see monster "playlists" of video and music, organized by cheap, tiny SD cards. The ultimate in modular expandability.

It is a bit slow to boot up, but that is minor, to me. The battery life is average. But it's easy for the Cowon iAudio 7, with a screen half the Zen's size, to have that awesome battery life. A brilliant, color-rich screen like the Zen possesses must come with a cost.

In sum: This is an awesome player--well-built, feature-packed, with unlimited SD capacity.

P.S. Works great so far with Amazon Unbox. The video is very good, the audio has a little crackle-and-pop; but overall, not bad at all, and easy to load. (No conversion necessary, although Unbox doesn't yet list the Creative Zen as an approved player.) However, the .amzn files aren't recognized on the Zen's SD card--easily worked around.

I purchased this item based upon Creative marketing that it worked with Amazon Unboxed, Audible, and the SD card slot would "expand my media library" so that the 8GB core memory would not be a limitation. Well, Amazon Unboxed and Audible do transfer to the unit and play on the core 8GB memory only, but will not transfer or work from the SD memory slot. So, if you expect to be able to run protected videos or audible books from the SD card slot, you can forget about it.

Unprotected MP3's do run from the SD card slot, but they are not integrated with the units software for playlists. So, you have to manual browse folders on the SD card and play one song at a time (no queuing or creating a play list). The moment you navigate away from the song playing on the SD card to look at the list of other songs, the playing stops. So there is no browsing through your songs on the SD card while playing a song. It works, but the SD interface is sloppy.

I talked to Amazon about the issue with the Unboxed videos not playing on the SD card and they said they Unboxed player has to transfer the files to the device. If the SD memory showed up as part of the core memory, than there would be no problem. Also, they said if the unit allowed you to copy/cut from the core memory and move/paste it to the SD memory from the device, this would allow the videos to play. I could not get a response from Creative on this issue after 2 days of phone calls and emails.

I so much wanted this device to be great, and it is so close but the SD card limitations make it really nothing more than an 8GB flash players. I need more room than that. I recommend reading the forums on Creative to see the list of complaints about this very problem. Creative has come out and said they plan NO firmware updates to better integrate the SD card with the core memory or core software to allow protected video or audible to play from the SD memory. It is a slick, small device that has so much potential, but the SD limitations make it useless for a user with a large video and audible library. If you only have unprotected audio, than this device will work for you. Thanks to Amazon's generous return policy, this item is on its way back for a refund since it did not work as advertised. People are also reporting the Napstet to Go does not work on the SD card slot as well, but I do not have this service to confirm it

I gave it 3 stars, instead of 2 because it does work with the core memory, looks good, is small and lite; but I am very disappointed in what I feel is deceptive advertising from Creative where they hide the limitations and imply that the SD care will offer you an endless media library while working with these paid services. .

I recently sold my iPod Video 30GB because iTunes has always been buggy for me and I had to purchase a separate Video Converter, just to watch my videos on the small screen. Most of the time my Divx or MPG files cannot be converted properly into the Apple video file. The video will either be all green or blank. What a shame.

Also Hard Drives are a thing of the past. Flash Memory is definitely the way to go. With Flash Memory, there is a less chance of failure or bad sectors on the hard drive.

I have decided with Creative because of their easy usage of copying Music files into the player via USB. Creative has their own "ZEN Explorer", which allows you to drag and drop files. Very easy. No hassles or waiting for iTunes to run or crash.

The Creative Zen program also comes with a Video Converter for FREE. Of course it converts the movie file to WMV, which you can choose from Normal, Good, or Best quality. You can transfer the file directly to the ZEN player or you can copy the WMV files to a SD card and play videos from there.

I have tested a 2GB Mini SD Card, 1GB Micro SD Card, & 4GB SD Cards. All works great and easy to remove and swap. Removable SD Cards!!! Everyone has SD Cards now a days.

I am truly impressed with this player and charging the player from my car and at home is flawless.

After many months of searching for the next MP3 player (Samsung, iPod Nano, iRiver, etc... ), this is definitely worth the money I paid.

So if you have problems with iTunes and do not want to go crazy for iPods, then this MP3 + Video is definitely for you.

Good luck in your search for your next Music player.

I have the Sansa Clip 2GB and it is a terrific little MP3 player that sounds great, but I wanted to get something with more capacity so I spent quite a bit of time comparing specs and reviews between the Sansa e280, Sansa View, and the Creative Zen. 8 GB seemed to be enough to store all of my music and leave room for expansion.

The Sansa View just seemed too large to carry around in my pocket. I was really considering the Sansa e280, a nice sized really cool looking player, but it is older technology and most reviews said that the Creative Zen had better sound. Also, my daughter has a Sansa e200 and has been having problems with the navigation wheel. So I finally decided on the Creative Zen.

I ordered from Amazon with expedited shipping and it came a day earlier than I expected, which was great!

The Zen design is what I would describe as minimalist. It's not something that is really going to catch your eye, and it comes in every color of black that you would want, but it is a nice size and weight and the image quality is outstanding. There is no external volume control but you can program a short-cut button to access it, and I like to use headphones with a line volume control anyway. The navigation buttons work nicely, even with a skin installed over them.

The sound is just awesome...even better than the Sansa Clip, which had previously impressed me. Now I know what a really great MP3 player sounds like! The navigation menus are logical and well designed too, and I like how you can customize them. The device has a lot of really nice features. The expandable memory is one reason that I chose this player, despite the fact that there is a HUGE flaw in that it is not integrated into the main library and you have to access it thru the menu into the "Memory Card" selection and access files like you are using Windows explorer. I think this would be a killer if you plan on putting more music into the expandable memory thinking that it will just integrate into the rest of your music library, but since I knew about this in advance and I just plan to put documents, videos, photos, and maybe music that I don't listen to very often there it was not a big deal to me.

Here is my advice to you if you are planning on getting this player:

Follow the instructions and charge it up for 4 hours before doing anything. If you install the software and plug it in and start going thru the registration process while it is charging, you can update the Zen software but it will not let you update the firmware because the battery is too low and you will have to exit and do it later.

The biggest !!!WARNING!! that I have to give you is that you need to be really be careful if you have Windows Media Player installed on your PC. You need to find out if you have version 11.0. If you don't you will be fine. But if you do have 11.0, you will find that when you upgrade the firmware on the Zen that the upgrade will hang up and suddenly your unit will be stuck in recovery mode and your computer will no longer recognize the player and you won't be able to do anything with it. I could not even turn off the Zen without using the paperclip in the reset hole trick. Trust me, this will happen. I've spent many hours reading forums about others that have had this problem and the official FAQ for Windows Media Player specifically mentions the problem with the Zen Creative. If you have WMP 11.0 on your PC your are either going to have to roll it back to an earlier version, or set up your Zen on a different PC with an older version of WMP and update the firmware. Once that the firmware is updated, if will work fine with WMP 11.0 (which is really cool and I prefer using it over the Zen software), but DO NOT upgrade your firmware with WMP 11.0 installed on your computer! I'm sure that Zen will fix this problem eventually, but as of this date it is still an issue that I am sure will screw up many customers. By the way, the only way I was able to fix it was to take my Zen to work and find a PC with an older version of Windows Media Player and install the software and upgrade the firmware. After that, the player was working fine again and when I took it home it worked fine on my PC. Again: You need to upgrade the firmware BEFORE upgrading your WMP to version 11

The expandable memory and the firmware issues are the reasons that I downgraded my rating from 5 to 4. If the sound was not so excellent, I probably would have given it a 3.

After much research and being a Creative buyer for a long time, I decided on the Creative Zen 8gb. I was looking for something compatible that had enough memory to use for music, photos and videos. I also liked the ability to use a memory card. I had a Zen V Plus 4gb and the new Zen is so much better. The screen is bigger and brighter and the controls are so easy to use. I would recommend that you buy the Creative charger with it. I tried many other chargers that claimed they worked but didn't and wound up wasting my money and throwing them away. I bought some Creative speakers (I-Trigue 200) and use these at work (they sound great) and the unit can play for 16 hours without a recharge. I also bought the PCMICROSTORE Zen Snap-On Crystal Protective Case Cover, the ZEN Clear Case, a Case Logic Large Pocket, the Zen armband (for jogging) and the Koss KSC22 DVD Sportclip Headphones. The PC Micro case fit perfectly, is thick enough to protect the unit and has cutouts for access to all controls. If it had a lanyard with it it'd be perfect. The Zen clear case is good too, but you can't plug in the speakers when it's in the Zen clear case, although you don't have any problems with the headphones. The Case Logic Pocket is neoprene and has a great lanyard which I took off and put on the Zen case and it works great. I carry the unit back and forth to work in the Pocket and can use either one around the neck, I would highly recommend both. I don't like ear buds (and the ones that come with the unit aren't that good) therefore the Koss headphones. I also put a screen protector on the screen after reading some of the other reviews. In summary if you're buying this unit you need to consider the additional costs of a case, screen protector, charger, headphones and for exercisers, the armband. I would recommend all and am very happy and satisfied with my Zen.

One week, and little time to explore the Zen's various functions. But I immediately filled it with songs. About 1,700 mp3 files left me with around 500 mb of memory remaining. The sound is much better than my old Dell MP3 player and better than my wife's Ipod Nano. The display is the best I've seen -- like you're holding a tiny HDTV in your hand. I feel it was a great deal for $199. Battery life is great, but I'm only listening to songs -- no video yet.

CONS (minor, really):
1)Slow to boot up (oh well).
2)The included software CD took nearly an hour to download (my computer is by no means slow), and dumped more than 100 mb of stuff onto my hard drive, including FOUR new desktop icons. I have no clue what any of it is. All I wanted was music, and to load mp3s I simply dragged and dropped the files from my hard-drive to the player. They moved quickly and quietly. So what's with all the software?
3) The Zen comes crammed with about 75 needless (yet quite vivid) sample photos and several strange songs. I killed them all to free up memory.
4) The USB cable to connect the player to your computer is not even 5 inches long. My computer sits on the floor, so my Zen would have to sit on the floor, too. I decided to use my old Dell cable instead. It's 4-feet long.
5) The FM radio is a nice touch, but as far as I can tell it only self-programs stations by scanning the dial for strong signals. I'd like to be able to manually program stations into the presets. Maybe I missed that function.

Cons notwithstanding, I love the new Zen already and look forward to using it for photos and video.

I have now had the Creative Zen for about a month.

What I like about the Zen:

(1)its looks (very stylish and "with the times")
(2)the screen (clear!)
(3)the sound (crisp)
(4)the size (perfect).
(5)the alarm (it turns the player on automatically at your set time) .. but no snooze.
(6)the ability to drap & drop

However, there are two annoyances that I have found with it that make me give it only 3 stars -- an "average" rating.

(1) it does not have resume play. So when the Zen turns off, so does the place you were at in your music. ESPECIALLY if you are in shuffle. It turns back on a completely different song, in a random place. I don't like this, because when I'm in my car, when I leave and come back, I want to continue listening to what was just on, more like a CD.

(2) it tends to freeze A LOT when importing music and syncing. I have had to push the restart button at least 50% of the time I am loading new content. It doesn't get rid of anything when it has to be restarted, but it's a pain to have it constantly freeze and then have to restart it.

Because of these two issues, I am not sure if I would recommend the Zen to anyone.

**************************>>>>>>>>>>update 6/24/09:

I have now had the Zen for a year and a half. I still don't really like it. Here are the additional pluses and minuses (none of my original pros and cons have changed)

pro:
(1) you can change the wallpaper to whatever you want -- nice customization
(2) good size - have never had any problems carrying it or pushing the buttons
(3) has a real radio -- not streaming.

cons:
(1) VERY difficult to import music on to it. It will put everything on there whether it's already on there or not...so I end up with TONS of duplicates. I have solved this by backing it up, completely erasing it, then going through my music list and re-syncing EVERYTHING back on to it. It's a real pain.

(2) The software it comes with to sync sucks. And I have found no software that will allow you to update files while ON the player. Again, I end up taking it all off and putting it ALL onto my computer, fixing the tracks or updating them, then reloading everything back on. I have found only Media Monkey to work the best...but I still can't really do anything with the tracks that are actually on the player.

(3) Battery life is awful. When you turn it off it really doesn't turn off for a while -- it's like hibernating, so it's sucking energy even when you're not using it

(4) When the battery is drained, it's impossible to charge it in the car.

(5) Also when the battery is drained, sometimes I have to reset it to get it to even charge.

(6) If a track does not have an album, it will not play and don't show up on the song list. So those songs you don't know what album they came from - -- you need to make up an album or you'll never find it on the Zen.

(7) The way it stores album art is weird. I will have it all good on my computer, transfer it, then on the Zen it's something completely different. I have yet to figure out why it does that. But in order to change the album art, you have to do it when the song is on the computer, as - again - I have yet to find a program that will let you do it while the song is on the Zen.

I don't buy electronics without doing my homework. I have been buying Creative Labs MP3 players for several years, since they were more the size of graphing calculators. My 22 year old has had one for 5 or 6 years now and still loves it despite it's bulkiness. I bought my daughter her first one last year, 1 GB and so tiny I was afraid it would be lost immediately. She loved hers as well, with the exception that in fact, it held about 350 songs and for some strange reason that isn't enough!

She wanted an IPOD for music only but recognizing they were wildly expensive she said she would buy it herself after Christmas. Not content to let her waste her money, I researched and found this honey. All the major reviewers loved the Zen 8 GB, both for its sound, its video and its style. I debated between this and the 16 GB but the latter was difficult to find, and since she told me she didn't care about video AND it accepts SD Cards for expansion, I settled on this.

She is completely agog over this machine. She has well over 1000 songs, the latest Harry Potter film downloaded and two Harry Potter audio books download and there is still more than 1.5 GBs. She intends to take the books off and put them onto SD cards for long trips in the car. The picture quality and clarity is absolutely remarkable, and while the ear phones that come with the machine aren't great, as my 27 year old said after listening to it, the sound is darn good even with a cheap pair of earphones.

It was worth every penny and is such an amazing alternative to an IPOD.

I think this player is awesome. I've had it just for a little while now but I have not had any issues with it so far and it works great. It does collect finger prints but I don't care much. I like the whole functionality of the player. I've had the RCA H115 for a while now and this is much better, in every way, than the RCA. The screen is beautiful! The colors pop off the screen and the motion of video is smooth with a crisp picture. I like the radio, too. I read that someone said you can only set presets by the auto scan..... not true. If you hit the play button in radio mode, it takes away the preset mode and lets you tune manually so you can set your own stations. I just hit random buttons to figure that one out because I knew Creative was smarter than that. And there are "dedicated" volume buttons while in music, radio, and video mode. Just hit the up, volume up, and down, volume down, buttons while in one of the modes that has audio. I have not used the organizer yet, no need for it so far. The time display is very convenient, my old player didn't have the time and I had to pull my phone out every time I wanted... the time! I have not used the SD slot yet but plan to really soon. I'm gonna put video and pics on the SD and leave the 8 Gigs for music. I don't see why some people are disappointed, its memory expandability! I like that the user can choose what shows up on the menu. The included Creative Zen explorer software is good. The only thing that I don't like is that you can't drag and drop folders into other folders with the "explore media" (I think thats what it's labeled) menu. You have to do it in "removable media" mode. Why is this bad, I did a few CD ripping's and then imported media, with the import media button, of the same artist and tried to put the imported album into the already existing artist's folder and it wouldn't let me. I had to go into the properties, choose the "show as removable media" option and then go back into the player shown as "removable media" and then do it. Sounds like a long process but not too complicated, just a little annoying. Now that I know this, its a lot easier. Hope it helps someone out. So overall for me it's a great media player, function, ease of use, quality, and enjoyability!