Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 GB Multimedia Player (Aluminum/White)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I have had this player for a couple of weeks, so I feel I've used it and familiarized myself with the controls enough to write a review. This is my second MP3 player. I already own a CD based player made by IRiver that is excellent. I bought that player in 2002 and I have not had any problems whatsoever. By 2006 with the market saturated by the more portable hard drive and flash memory based players, I decided to make the switch to something more portable that could also hold a substantial amount of music.

I've always been of the line of thinking that it is a ridiculous thing to carry ones entire record collection with them. My collection however, is quite large. The 20-gigabyte hard drive the Zen Sleek Photo is equipped with was surprisingly a comfortable fit. I used to carry a CD wallet full of Data CDs formatted for my old player but now I've transferred most of the songs on those discs to the Zen player. The portability of this player is one of its best features. It is small, light and well designed. All of the hard drive based MP3 players currently on the market are made for casual use, but it does seem that this player can stand up to constant use better than it's counterpart the Ipod.

The Zen's controls are awkward at first, but it does not take long to get used to the vertical touchpad. The touchpad's sensitivity can be modified by accessing the player options through the main menu. Once songs, albums and playlist have been loaded, it's a breeze scrolling through the various names to access any song (or group of songs) that's wanted. One of the drawbacks of it's scaled down simplistic control system is the inability to make playlists, edit or change the order of songs directly from the player. If you want to make any revisions to track information or even change the sequence of a playlist, you must rely on the software that comes bundled.

The software, while it's easy to use, is a taxing application when it's loaded onto a computer. If you have a newer system with a processor in the 1.5 to 2-gig category you should be fine. If you are like me however (with a processor of less than 1 gig), then it can be a little sluggish. Running this program is similar to starting Musicmatch's jukebox application. Once the program is running, navigating through it is simple. Even those who are novices to this type of technology will find a user friendly environment that makes it easy to access the content on the computer hard drive, load the player and put it to use.

Another one of the player's best features is it's battery. This is the thing that is the most dramatic improvement compared to my last player. A 2 hour charge will last at least 12 hours (it lists as 15-20). When I put this in contrast with my other player's 4 hour battery time it is significant because once I charge the new player, I generally don't have to charge it again until the next day. The feature that turns the backlight off when it is not in use probably contributes to the long battery life. File types also factor into the equation. MP3's are the easiest to play, while WMA and WAV files are a little more demanding on the battery.

The sound quality is superb. The player has an extensive EQ system that allows users to choose a preset (ranging from hip hop to classical) or customize their own settings. The smart sound feature will take all of the distortion out of songs encoded at high ranges and keeps the songs at a general levelness as far as loudness is concerned. This feature does affect the sound quality a little bit, but it can be side stepped almost entirely by turning the volume up a few notches. The headphones included are of average quality. The phones get the job done nicely and are a comfortable fit. I do wish that the padding that covers the ear buds were of a little more quality. I'll probably be in need of new padding (or new headphones) in a month or two.

The photo viewer shows crisp (miniature) replications of the photos loaded onto it. The quality drop when loaded onto the player is noticeable but not drastic. As a portable viewer, it is a good feature to have and it is the main reason for the player's color display. The ability to partition a section of the hard drive for storage is also a useful tool. At the moment I just have 512 megabytes set aside to use for school work but you have the option of up to 16 gigabytes.

Overall, the ZEN Sleek Photo is an excellent MP3 player, with great features (microphone, FM radio, limited organizer, photo viewer, drive storage). It does have a few functionality issues but these don't warrant any great complaints and usually just require a tad more patience. I've enjoyed using this player and I would recommend the Zen Sleek Photo to anyone looking to buy a quality player of this class.

Design * * * *1/2 stars

Functionality/ease of use * * *1/2 stars

Sound quality * * * * stars

Features * * * * stars

Portability * * * * * stars

I just purchased this player (my third Creative Labs mp3 player), and I love it. The previous two players I've had were a Zen Xtra and a Zen Micro, both great for the price and features. I've never had any problems with a Creative product, and I really like them better than any of their competitors.

The Zen Sleek Photo really shows off with some of the extra features it has. The OLED screen is amazing! The picture is very clear and beautiful in all conditions except outdoors in bright sunlight. I have loaded a few pictures to it already, and they look great. I really appreciate the ability to set a photo as the background and the ability to zoom in on the pictures in viewing mode. As far as most of the other special features of the Zen Sleek, many people have summed them up better than I can under the non-photo (Zen Sleek) player. The built-in microphone, FM receiver, and sound quality top the list of things that put this over the top.

Altogether a great buy! Very recommended, the 20gb and screen make it an ideal player for those who want a great looking device that holds a lot.

My father got me an iPod nano (2gb) for Christmas. It was decent, although as a music lover I felt restricted by the fact that I could only have 500 songs. Then in May, someone at school stole it, partly because of my own stupidity.

Well, to say the least, I was very disappointed, but my uncle who works at Wal-Mart was so moved by compassion that he bought me the Zen Sleek Photo at Walmart with his employee discount.

First of all, big props to this player for being the SAME PRICE AS THE iPod nano with 10 TIMES MORE STORAGE. And then I find out that it has microphone and FM radio?? And that albums, artists, and genres are nicely organized? And that photos look great? And that I can change the backgrounds? Incredible.

My one complaint was that setting up the software was a bit of a struggle, there are two programs you can use for updating, one for novices and one for advanced, and I actually found the novice one a bit more complicated than the advanced haha. But this really is a great alternative if your thinking of dropping $200 on an iPod nano.

This is a great product. Despite what others say the touchpad is easy to use. It's fun to look at and play with. The FM radio is hella cool too.

However....

make sure your computer is up to snuff with all the updates needed, otherwise you're in for frustration. AND if you need the updates, make sure your version of Windows is legitimate, otherwise you're going to shell out another 150 bucks to make it so.

Aesthetically it looks beautiful! It's a little heavy, if you're used to the small flash player types, which I'm upgrading from. I started years ago with a mini disk player and loved it, but hated how I had to "record" everything to it instead of either burning or syncing, so I went for the iRiver MP3 CD Player and used that for a couple of years. Loved it! Then I bought a 512MB Samsung Yep. It was very nice for about 6 months and then everything I put on it had an annoying clicking noise for accompaniment. So I ditched it and went big with the Zen Sleek. It took about 5 minutes to get 1500 songs on it, and I guess I still have room for about 8000 more.

Navigation is very simple. Sort through artist, album or all music, listed alphabetically. Be sure to update all you ID Tags in MP10 1st. Radio reception is very strong. Haven't tried recording using the mic yet. Photo's uploaded easily, but contrary to the Amazon description I haven't been able to listen to music while I browse my photos yet, but that's not too important as photo viewing is just a bonus to an mp3 player anyway.

The only thing I'm worried about is the screen. I wish they made a case that had a protective screen built in, but unfortunatley I cannot find that many cases, other than the leather pouch and rubber skins for this player.

I'd say if you're looking for an easy to use player, with photo, radio and recording ability, this is THE PLAYER at Amazon's current $169 price. Something with 20 gig 5 years ago would have cost us $2000. It's just incredibe how prices of high tech drop so fast. I always say buy the best from the last couple years and you'll be very happy, or get the latest and pay twice as much.

Like most Creative products, the Zen Sleek Photo has excellent music reproduction abilities. I listen to a pretty broad range of music (from Bach to Miles Davis to Death Cab) and this player handles every genre beautifully. It probably even makes country music sound good, but I'll never know... The top end sound level could be higher when connected to a home stereo or car sound system (Scion), but that's a pretty minor issue. I've also download audio-books without any trouble.

I don't have much patience for manuals, so usually just bang around with things until I figure them out. The setup, loading and controls are intuitive and the scroll bar didn't give me any problem at the preset sensitivity level.

The one BIG problem, however, is that the player seized (no music, black screen) when I paused the fourth song I listened to. I could (barely) hear the hard drive when I held it up to my ear, and the power button was illuminated, it was still "on". I let the battery drain completely, recharged it and it seemed to be back to normal. Everything I had loaded onto the player was still there. After a week of using the player extensively, it just happened again. This time, it happened when I turned it on. Weird. Amazon was very good about getting another player to me (2nd day), and I'm hoping that this one's problem is merely an anomoly.

Could have been great, but a couple of serious but silly shortcomings -

1) Charging the device off the supplied AC adapter requires a special purpose USB cable to which the adapter plugs in. Means that when I am travelling, I now have to carry an additional cable for me to lose!

2) The creative explorer software did not load on my win2K machine - with a very cryptic message saying about the OS not being supported. There isn't even a README file on the CD>

3) In use the device is still clunky - if you want to change the graphic eq for example, you have to go through a couple of button clicks/scrolls. When using the radio, you cannot adjust the equalizer while the music is playing which I find astonishing. YOu have to stop the radio and then adjust the equalizer!. At least it has an user adjustable equalizer.

4) Radio does not seem to have a selectable mono/stereo switch. You will be stuck on listening to multipath distortion. The radio quality is pretty good, but the sensitivity sucks.

5) You cannot use an external microphone - except through maybe the docking port at the bottom - but a mic that works through a port at the bottom will also cost 10 times as much with all the connector and cabling and besides, this mike won't work anywhere else.

7) At its brightest, the OLED screen is not that bright. Its like any other TFT screen, possibly a tad worse except for viewing angle - as if that matters on a small screen.

8) Limited compatibility and peripherals as compared to the iPod.

9) The adapter could have been much smaller. However, this adapter will also power the creative Travelsound - a bonus if you happen to have their excellent portable speakers.

10) You need to load yet another software on the computer - since the device won't work via win explorer for music and photo upload/download purposes.

11) The device appears quite sturdy, but the port at the bottom which you have to use all the time for charging - is fragile.

Other comments -

1) The touch pad works quite well - and its sensitivity can be set. I wonder why people complain about it being "too sensitive" when one can adjust it perfectly.

2) The device otherwise is well designed and I do like it. However, the clunky cable arrangement for charging, fragile port, and software problems lead me to take 2 stars away from something that would otherwise deserve all 5.

Update - I returned this and got the Toshiba Gigabeat F40 (40 GB version). See the Gigabeat review for a comparison..

This is an amazing Mp3 player in everyway possible with a few minor drawbacks, but of course, every Mp3 player has their drawbacks, and this one less than all the others.

it is a bit heavy, having a nice solid feel to it. the design is pure and sleek, with easy navigation controls if you are used to the touchpad. the surface is mettalic, so its really hard to scratch, and in my opinion, it looks waaaay better than those weird looking ipods.

all the control buttons light up beautifully, and clicks easily. the touch pad can be set to low, medium, or high sensitivity. the screen is just pure amazing, the photos look better on the sleek than it does on my computer. i jumped from a 1g no-brand name mp3 player with flash memory to this one and im astonished by the difference, and regret not getting it sooner. all the functions work, including radio, microphone, calender, time, etc. you can even manually set the items on the main menu.

when you are tired of the microphone in your ear, then you can connect the player to the speakers, and let music fill the whole room.

the sound quality is great! you really feel as if the band is right besides you performing.

the software is not at all hard to use. you just open it and put songs into your sleek, then after that you can organize them into playlists.

the only thing i dont like are the wires. they are quite the opposite of the sleek, being big and stupid. there are two wires the usb and the charger and when you want to charge, you have to connect the usb cable as well.... well its worth it.

i dont think theres another 20g player with photos for under 200 bucks....... its a great deal.

i bought mine on buydig.com for 147 bucks and am very happy with it so far. i hope this review helped you decide on the perfect Mp3 player for you. (although i suggest the creative zen sleek photo)

NOTE TO EVERYONE WHOSE SCREEN HAS GONE "DEAD"!!!!!

Stick a pin in the little reset hole on the bottom of the player to reset it, no damage done! There. I'm sick of seeing reviews complaining that their player has gone dead. The player isn't dead. The instruction book tells you about the reset button; read it!

There, now for the review.

This is my first MP3 player I've owned, but my friend owns an IPod Nano that I've used from time to time in his car. Basically, there's no significant dropoff from the Nano to the Zen Sleek Photo. The click wheel on the Nano is better than the Zen's vertical touchpad, but once you get used to the pad, it works like a gem. It's a little sensitive at first, but the sensitivity can be reduced in the menu.

The battery life is outstanding. I've used it for 8 hours straignt (I've had it for 2 months now), and it's never run out on me. It doesn't even show any signs of losing power. This is likely because the screen shuts off after a few seconds of not pressing buttons, unlike the IPod, which just dims. After all the complaints I'd heard about the IPod's battery life, this helped sell me on the Zen, and the claims aren't lies.

The computer program is a bit slow, and that can get a little annoying, but it transfers flawlessly, and I don't use it as my default computer media player. I've got iTunes for that.

There are a few problems I've encountered with the player, and they're mostly minor. The first is the dust under the screen. Mine didn't come with dust under the screen, but in time, you'll find that a pretty significant amount of dust will accumulate under the screen. It's an annoyance at worst, and it doesn't really get in the way of your seeing the screen.

A second problem is occasional freezing of the device, usually, I've found, when it's disconnected from a computer or power source. This is easily fixed, however, by sticking a pin in the reset slot on the bottom of the device, and everything is as it was when you left it. I suppose there's a chance that you could lose data this way, but it's frozen on me about four times since I got it and nothing's gone.

The final issue is a few software quirks on the player. First of all, you can't add songs to a playlist without connecting to a computer and doing it yourself. Why not? Secondly, you can't select an artist and view all the songs by that artist; you have to select an album under the artist. You could always make a playlist for each artist, but that's a hassle, especially given how slow the computer software works. A final problem I've encountered is the propensity of the player to select certain songs with great regularity when on shuffle. There are songs that have been played nearly 20 times on my main playlist and others that have never been played. This might be nitpicking, and it might be all in my head, but it does bug me a little.

Bottom line, however, is that this player, for under 200 bucks, is an INCREDIBLE deal. The player works fast, is fairly easy to navigate, is durable, and has long battery life. As long as you aren't transferring songs every day, the slowness of the computer program shouldn't be too much of a problem, either. If you're looking for a player for not too much money, lots of space, and much longer battery life than the iPod, the Zen Sleek Photo is the way to go.

I started out in the MP3 world with a Rio Cali. It was ok. It was easy to use and did what it was designed to do. My husband took a new job that required a lot of flight travel so he asked is he could "borrow" my MP3 for the flights. I let him and never got it back. He offered to buy me an iPOd to replace it and I refused. I told him I wanted the Creative instead.

I was able to get this one installed on my computer easily and quickly. I love that it has a rechargable battery (my Rio went through AAA's like mad) THe color screen is awesome. I like that I can use it t transfer files from computer to computer much like a jump drive. It's just over a very versitle item.

My only negative is it's a bit heavier than I would like, but that's not really an issue. I understand that you have to have the weight to get the battery life, etc.