Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Stone Plus 2 GB MP3 Player (Blue)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Creative Zen Stone Plus 2GB doubles the size of the iPod Shuffle and adds a monochrome screen for viewing track names and settings. Add in the functionality of a built-in FM tuner and voice recorder at $65 and you have a great value.

Pros -
+ good stereo sound
+ nice capacity for a decent price
+ light-weight
+ FM tuner with 32 presets ( though it's just average )
+ voice recording
+ simple design (no more click wheel!) with more color options
+ great navigation and sorting features
+ Nice format compatibility (MP3, WAV, WMA, Audible)
+ USB 1.1 and 2.0 connectivity
+ Can be used as a USB drive / mass storage
+ Can sync music with drag & drop or via Creative software

Cons
- average battery life of 10 hours (OLED screen sucks the battery)
- mediocre backlight ( but it can be disabled )
- some DRM song transfer issues with some firmware versions
- not expandable - few size options 1GB and 2GB
- Creative software is buggy
- larger than the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod shuffles

Creative's Zen Stone line was meant to be the upgrade to the Zen nano, aka Muvo mini. Unfortunately, the 1GB Zen Stone had some quality issues. With the new 2GB Zen Stone Plus, Creative has tried to improve on previous models and compete with the smaller Sandisk Sansas.

I love the new Sandisk Sansa's. The Sansa Express has the advantage that you can plug it directly into your USB port without a cable. SanDisk Sansa Express 2 GB MP3 Player (Black) Still, the Creative Zen Stone feels nicer in the hand. It's not as sleek as the Sansa Express and doesn't have all the cool cache' of an iPod shuffle or iPod nano. But it is priced very attractively and has some NICE features. It's good for a starter, workout unit, or gift for a kid.

The Creative Zen Stone Plus is lighter than the competition, but is still larger than the new iPod Shuffle 2nd and 3rd generations. Unlike the shuffle, you can actually see your track names! The OLED screen is perfect for a player this size but does suck more power and shorten the battery life.

The controls are an improvement from the Zen nano days. While I didn't mind the toggle wheel, it has been replaced by intuitive buttons for the standard functions (select, up, down, play, pause, forward or reverse). There's a headphone jack, microphone hole, and a USB port.

Another change from the Zen nano days is the Lithium Ion battery, which gives you about 10 hours if your lucky. This is less versatile than the old battery operated unit, but more convenient.

What about sound? The sound is great, and it comes through in pure stereo. As usual, you will hear complaints about the earbuds. Most people replace their standard earbuds so I won't hold that against Creative.

The Zen Stone doesn't have larger storage options. For those needing more space, you will have to explore the Creative Zen, Sandisk Sansa or new iPod Nano. All of those units have higher price tags.
Creative Zen 4 GB (Black)
Creative Zen 8 GB (Black)
Creative Zen 16 GB (Black)
Sandisk SDMX4-4096 Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with SD Expansion Slot
SanDisk SDMX4-8192 Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
Apple 4 GB iPod nano AAC/MP3 Player Silver (3rd Generation)
Apple 8 GB iPod nano AAC/MP3 Player Black (3rd Generation)

Similarly, the Zen V Plus models have a nicer screen. Somehow, I never was convinced of their durability.
Creative Zen V Plus 2 GB Portable Media Player (Black/Green)
Creative Zen V Plus 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black/Blue)

This unit is ideal as a player and not for those who primarily want to use it for recording. The built-in microphone is nice for short reminders.

The price isn't a give-away, and the plastic case could be more durable. Still, this is a nice starter unit that can last you a while. Check it out. Enjoy!!!

I just purchased this player and I already love it. I enjoy the stylish look and feel of the unit, but there's definitely more than meets the eye.

Sound: I recently sold my iPod Shuffle (2nd Gen) to buy this. Creative Labs seem to have figured out how to create better-sounding products. At any rate, I feel that this sounds richer and more clear.

Size/Storage: At 2 gb for $70, you can't go wrong. I have a running mix, and it fits easily on the Zen Stone Plus with plenty of room to spare. As for the size of the actual player, it's really tiny. I bought the keychain case for mine and just clip it through a belt loop or pocket. It's also extremely lightweight.

Durability: This is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. The iPod is a sturdier MP3 player. This is all plastic and feels somewhat cheaper. It can be easily scratched so spend the extra $12.99 to buy a case and you'll be alright.

Overall: All I can say is this is the perfect player for sports people. It gets about 9 hours of battery life, so 3 less than iPod shuffles, but it also has the OLED screen with stopwatch, radio, and voice recording features. The only one I really care about is the stopwatch, but they all work decently enough.

A great substitute for those looking for a little more for less money. Don't pay for some fancy name brand when you get just as good of quality at half the price. Not to mention you can simply use Windows Media Player, or drag-and-drop music into the folder without using any software. Creative makes it so simple!!!

This little unit is awesome. This is my third MP3 player and they keep getting smaller, cheaper and yet with more storage! This thing is so small and light I can slip it into my pocket and forget it's there. I use it primarily to listen to audio books as I work around the house and the battery charge lasts at least 5 hours (as much as I've listened to in one day.) Then I simply pause the story, plug it into my computer and it recharges in about an hour while I check email and such.

I highly recommend this player for audio books. I have not checked the sound quality for music files. The provided ear buds are suitable for my needs.

Don't really have much to say except that the Zen has worked exactly like it is supposed to. I've had no problems whatsoever and it is truly easy to use. I'm very content with this purchase. I only wish it came with a little clip-on. I know that you can purchase skins with clip-ons for it, but it would really have been nice if the item itself had it built in.

This was my first mp3, I bought it in white. For what you get for your money I think this is a good deal. Great size. Great deal for the money. But there is reason this is cheaper than the rest. I had trouble charging the zen-like many reveiwers do-but did eventually get it to charge so I was okay with it. In fact I loved this mp3 until I heard a friend's apple ipod- the sound quality was vastly superior to this! I do wish I had spent more to get and apple ipod just for the great difference in sound quality!

The Zen stone is a mice inexpensive choice to combat the iPod Shuffle. Initial setup of the software is very simple and how creative set this MP3 player to act like a USB flash drive makes adding and removing songs and albums quite simple.

The CD ripping software is quite nice and decently fast as well. I have yet to find a CD that it cannot find the Album info for - even my foreign music collection!

Impressive in size, it takes a bit to get used to the functions, but very limited batterywise. Nevertheles I purchased the other the 1 GB version as well.

I think the 1 gb Stones are actually easier to use, and you don't have to look at them. The display makes a big reduction in battery life.

I absolutely love this MP3 player. So much, in fact, that I've bought 3 more - one for my husband, mom, and dad. They all love theirs as well! I definitely recommend. It has a great sound, is easy to use, and can hold a lot of music and books. I used it for a 5K recently and the stopwatch worked wonderfully. It has everything that I was looking for in an MP3 player for a really great price.

Really quite a good product. I wanted a small mp3 player to run with, listen to between classes, etc, and this is great! It would probably be easier to use if I had read the instruction manual first, but really it's fairly simple to operate and load music onto! Plus, 2G holds a lot more songs than I had orginally thought. I also own a creative zen vision w, which has a fairly large screen (I use it to watch movies during long car and bus trips with my college marching band), and both products have been great!