Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This is an awesome MP3 player and really cheap for 20 gigs and a color screen! One drawback: can't view photos at the same time as listening to music. I personally use Windows Media Player to sync all my music but other programs like Rhapsody will do the job. Don't install any of the Creative software that comes with it because it sucks. This player is very easy to use and sync. I plug it in, Windows Media Player syncs it with my licenses and music from my CD collection and my subscription at the Urge music store (get Windows Media Player 11 for this).
Simple. Reliable. What's not to like?
PS: You MUST have Windows XP to use this.

I bought this player because it was a great deal and you should too because Apple is going to give you way fewer GB's for the same price. Now, the Zen Sleek Photo may be last generation devoid of any video capabilities, but, seriously, can you justify spending $100 more on an Ipod to watch videos on an itsy-bitsy screen? This is an excellent bargain, plain and simple.

But don't get me wrong, this player is by no means a slouch. It has a smooth interface that takes all of 5 minutes to get used to. The included software is simple and I had no problems with it on my laptop. The player may be a bit on the chunky side, but it is by no means awkward. The charging/transfer cables are poorly designed when compared to other players, but they still work fine. However, ound quality on the included headphones is noticeably good, though.

I've had my Zen for several weeks now and have been toting it around campus without any problems. So fragile, this player is not. Overall, what you get here is a quality player from a quality company other than Apple at a great price. If you're in the market for a cheap player and are not concerned about having the latest and greatest, by all means, pick this one up.

The big question that everyone asks when shopping for MP3 players is "Is it as good as an iPod?". Since I wasn't about to buy an iPod, this comparison is moot. After lengthy research, I settled on the Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player and I can't imagine the iPod being a better player. The Zen Sleek is a fantastic player.

** Hardware **
Without giving a laundry list of features, I'll touch on the basics. The Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player is a hard-drive based MP3 player that sports a large 20GB drive. This is a large amount of space especially if you use the more compressed WMA format. Depending on many factors, you can expect to fit about 10,000 songs in 64kbs WMA format or half that in 128 kbs MP3 format. Additionally, the player has an FM tuner with 32 presets.

The voice recorder is a fringe feature and I don't anticipate using it much. The microphone is tiny and doesn't record sound very well, so don't expect to use it for more than voice memos.


The headphones that ship with the unit are your basic cheap ear buds. They are satisfactory in terms of sound and comfort, but not great. My ears got a little sore from using them after a few hours, but this is often the case with ear buds that are less than ergonomic. As well, the sound was mostly mid tones with no bass and the highs when present were tinny. You're better off buying a good pair of headphones or ear buds. Note that this lack of quality was from the ear buds, not the unit itself. More details on the quality of the unit with good headphones are below.


For those who care about the aesthetics, the Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player is an attractive player about the size of a smartphone or PDA. It is solid in hand, but not really heavy. The brushed metal case is very nice and the buttons layout borrows from the iPods minimalist approach. At first blush, some users might balk at the black and white screen. But the trade off is a whopping 20 hour battery. I don't need the color screen and if that gives me an extra 6 hours of battery, I'm all for it. Plus the bright blue backlight gives me just enough of a splash of color.


The controls on the front are simple including play, pause, etc. But most noticeably is the strip down the center. This scroll pad is used to navigate up and down in the menus similar to the iPod's scroll wheel. It works very well and the sensitivity is adjustable in the UI. This feature can take some getting used to, but once you do, it is a very effective navigation tool.


The Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player is the next in the line of Zen players. The previous players had a detachable battery. Curiously, the Zen Sleek departs from this and has an internal Lithium-ion rechargeable battery. This could be a bad thing if the battery gives out. You'll need to have the whole unit serviced. Luckily, Lithium-ion batteries as a whole are rather reliable.


** Sound quality **
As noted above, the included ear buds are not very good. That said, I plugged in a pair of Sony studio monitors and the sound was amazing. the Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player boasts a 97dB signal-to-noise ratio. For non-audiophiles, this is the relationship between desirable sound (music) and noise (electric hum, static) and the bigger the number, the cleaner the sound. To test this out, I tried the player using headphones, a Denon home theater receiver and even a tape adapter for my car. All of them sounded as good as my regular CD player, even at the "inferior" 64 kbs WMA bitrate. And with 192kbs MP3s, the sound is truly amazing.


The Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player supports all flavors of MP3 and WMA including protected DRM protected WMAs. I tested the unit with various bitrate and they all sounded as expected.


Additonally, the Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player boasts multiple EQ presets so you can tailor your music sound the way you like it. I tend to leave mine on custom, and your settings will vary depending ,mostly on your headphones. But they're there if you need them.


** Software **
The Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player comes with the Creative Mediasource software. I installed and used the software for the purposes of this review, but I tend to use Windows media Player since I already have my music catalogued in it. The shipped software works well for ripping and burning. It doesn't have the same pretty interface as iTunes, but seems just as functional. But if you're a windows user, this is a certified Plays For Sure device which means that is should work flawlessly with Windows Media Player.


The internal software of the unit is easy to navigate and understand. I've seen the UI for the iPod and the Rio Carbon and the iriver IMP-350 and so far I like the Zen's better. The playlists work flawlessly and it has little features such as being able to find a song by typing in the first letter. It also has a sleep function that shuts off the player after a user-defined interval. Especially helpful when I fall asleep during a particularly boring audiobook. In theory I won't be driving at the time, but I digress....


The Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player has a fast USB 2.0 connection used for syncing and charging (with the help of an AC Adapter) and transferring files was speedy using both the Creative software and Windows Media Player.


Another fringe feature is the ability to sync up tasks and notes from Outlook. This is a little difficult to get setup, band many won't find it worth the time. I use it simply for my calendar items so I know if I should be at a work meeting or on the treadmill. Most won't use the feature and if you have any other email program than Outlook, you're out of luck. I wouldn't cry over the inability to use this feature.


Finally, the Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player can be used as a storage device. A 20 GB removable dive. With the latest firmware update, it is drag and drop capable with no extra drivers needed. This is a very handy feature and I've used it many times to transfer files to and from work.


If there was anything to improve on, I would add a better case instead of the silly little bag that comes with the unit. Along those lines, there are practically no accessories available except a docking station. I'm sure that will change.

** Conclusion **
I love my Creative Labs Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 Player. With specs that can't be beat and sound quality on par with high end systems, this could be the iPod killer many have been waiting for. Of course, to beat Apple, they would need to actually advertise and perhaps set up mall stores, but that's a different story.

I've been looking for an decent mp3 player for awhile but never wanted to dish out the 300 clams for an Ipod video. I just bought this player from walmart for 166.00 and the extended warrenty is only 22.00 for three more years!! This this is simple to use and simple to load up with tons of music. I've recorded music off the radio and I share all my pics with my friends who are super impressed with the bright clear screen. The sound is awsome!!! The only down side so far is the touch pad is sensative even on low. I recommend this 100% I couldn't figure out something and I called customer service and the lady was nice and solved my problem for me. NO waiting for 20 minutes. Go buy one, atleast for a present, I would have been stoked to get one.

I was in the market for a hard drive-based music player and didn't want to go the normal iPxx route, so I began checking into different brands. I had a list of criteria that the player had to meet:

-EXCELLENT SOUND. This is critical. A SnR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of 95db or better
-Excellent battery life. At least 15 hours
-At least 20 GB
-A color screen
-Sturdy build
-As little touch-sensitive controlling as possible. Click wheels are inaccurate and bothersome.
-Ease of use. Drag and drop is preferred.
-AC adapter for charging on the road or from an AC converter in a car


This player meets all of those needs. The SnR is 97db, I've gotten 18 hours out of the battery (remember that increased settings like equalizers and higher bitrates mean lower battery life for ALL players), the case is solid and brushed aluminum, the screen is pretty and quite sharp, only one touch-sensitive control is present, the player CAN drag and drop through Win XP, and it comes with a wall adapter.

I love the powerful sound this puts out and it can drive my big headphones with no problem. It can, like most HDD players, set aside a partition for storage. It has a good FM tuner, recording of FM and a little mic for voice notes. It can even sync with Outlook for contacts and other info. The hard disk seems fast and

Now for the drawbacks:

-You can't watch 15fps video on a tiny screen and reduce your battery life by 67%
-The USB cable is proprietary...no mini USB!
-The wall charger cable plugs into the USB cable...this means two cables for recharging from the wall
-Looking at photos and playing music at the same time is not possible
-Creative software is always iffy. Thankfully, in Win XP, you can open the player from My Computer and access its contents directly with non-DRM music and photos.
-Battery is NON-USER REPLACEABLE. This is odd for Creative.
-No mention of this on the Creative website. Thankfully, updated drivers ARE available from support.


This player would have been state-of-the-art about a year ago, but has been eclipsed by its bigger brother the Zen Vision with 30 and 60GB drives and video...however, if you're not buying into the "kill your eyes with tiny video on tiny screens" and just want a SOLID and RELIABLE player with booming sound, this is it!!! You can tell it's custom-made for Windows (it's MTP, not UMS for any computer), but if you're running XP, then it's a solid choice because you can skip the Creative software and just load music on it.

If you can get it on sale like I did, snatch it up. This is a little gem of a player!

This Mp3 Player is great. I did a lot of research before I bought it, and read a lot of reviews. It basically came down to the Zen Sleek or the IPOD 20gb. I looked at both of them hard and decided to go for the Zen Sleek and it was a great decision. I have owned it for 3 months already and have had no problems.
I have never owned an IPOD before but I have owned several other Mp3 Players. After havingg it for 3 months I will comment on my experience thus far with the Zen Sleek.

1. Easy user interface...just plug in to a computer (XP or higher required) with Windows media Player and Start downloading music to your Zen Sleek W/O having to add any programs to you computer. Very Easy.

2. Battery life works 15+ hrs plus; I didnt take it to its maximum limits though.

3. Ability to create your own playlist right on the player no need to do it on the computer. Can do it on windows media player as well.

4. 20 GB of memory for an affordable price.

5. After running with it for about 30 minutes it started reacting slower to my key commands. I dont recommend running with this device.

6. It plays WMA, WMV, WAV, and MP3 files.

7. Has FM Tuner (works well) and a voice Recorder.

8. Very crisp LCD

Overall I give it five stars... It has met all my expectations. I didnt need the video option bc I know I dont want to watch a movie in a 1.7 inch screen. The head phone that came in the package are above average. Certainly recommend to purchase a case or rubber protective cover.

The Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 gb player is the perfect choice for serious electronic and audio junkies, such as myself.

The thing I noticed first about it is that it has some real aesthetic appeal, with a good sized view screen that supports vivid and varied colors (great for viewing photos), and it combines the touch pad with buttons. The touch pad took a little getting used to, but I consider that something minor. Besides, its sensitivity can be adjusted to your preference.

Yet beyond just the aesthetic appeal, there are some major pros for this player. First is the battery life. I can get roughly 20 hours of play time with it (compare that with the iPod's 12 hours for their 20gb model), and the player is fully charged in roughly 2 hours.

The second is the way it feels as I carry it. It seems a little bit on the heavier side, however that lends to a very solid feel. I have already accidentally once onto a tiled floor, and with no interruption or even structural damage (not even a scratch) it kept right on playing as though nothing had happened to it.

The third is all the nice little bonus features that come with it. It comes with an FM tuner, plus the ability to record live broadcasts over the FM band. 32 presets ensure that you can quickly find your favorite stations. There is also a voice recorder built right into the player (as a college student this appeals to me), and then it also syncs with Outlook, so your schedule can go right onto your player.

And finally I had absolutely no problems transferring files from my computer onto the player. It was recognized by both Windows Media Player and Real Player. Plus, the software that comes with it is simple to use.

This is a very good, all-inclusive player. And at a price that is lower than what Apple can boast on their comprable players, it is a steal. This SHOULD be the standard by what other players are judged.

I really like this mp3 player, the only problems I have with it is that sometimes when you turn it on it will take about 10 seconds to start up. The software that comes with it is not that great, but it will work for basic use and you can use others if you really want. The bottom line is that it sounds great, can hold lots of songs, has a really nice color screan, and is a lot cheaper than an iPod or other mp3 players.

So, this particular mp3 player is a little hard to figure out at first, but after a little bit of trial-and-error, I got it to work just find. The main thing with transfering files is that you'll need internet access to get the album info so that it'll take the least amount of time. Suprisingly, I found out that this mp3 player does not require only windows media player. I tried it on Dell Jukebox Musicmatch, and the files transfer over perfectly, so I'm assuming that it's not just limited to Microsoft software.

Now, as for the mp3 player itself: I'm extremely pleased to have purchased this product. The player has an amazingly detailed color screen that displays pictures that look as realistic as when you first took them. The sound quality is impeccable and the file management system in it is extremely fast and convenient.

Bottom line: uploading music on to the Zen is a little tricky at first, but, if you can get past that, it's a wonderful investment.

If you don't want to bow down to the restrictions of I-Tunes, then this is the MP3 player for you. Creative includes a small program that easily allows you to add new songs to your Zen or modify playlists. You can even synchronize with Windows Media Player. My only complaints are that you can't swap battery packs like the Zen Micro Photo and that the battery life is less than advertised. The Zen Sleek Photo advertises 19 hours of battery life while i've only observed around 10 hours. Final Verdict = This is an excellent product that i would recommend to anyone. -SDG