Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Stone Plus 2 GB MP3 Player (Lime Green)

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

 

 

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
+ Nice extras like stopwatch function

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 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 While I didn't mind the toggle wheel, it has been replaced by intuitive buttons for the standard functions (select, up, down, play, pause, forward or reverse).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)

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!!!

This is my fifth or sixth mp3 player, I've owned it for nearly two months, and I plan to buy another one already... First and foremost, this little energy sucker needs to be recharged at least daily. I listened to it on my way to work this morning (25 minutes), turned it off before I went to work, and, by the time I was ready to go home for the day, it was already dead. I charged it overnight, never turned it on, and woke up the following morning to go run... dead again. Never had transfer issues and sound quality is great, but what's the point if it only works for an hour before dying? Has no way to attach to a carry sling, so you have to buy the Zen Stone arm or wrist band or you're stuck carrying it in your pocket. (Did I mention the armband snapped as I was putting the Zen Stone in it for the first time?) This is my third "charge by PC" mp3 player, and my very last. I'm going back to SanDisk with a AAA battery, despite its size. (At least it actually works!)

I was looking for an MP3 player I didn't have to fiddle around with and this one really fits with my tech skills, which are low. The sound quality is very good too. The only thing that didn't last were the earphones - one of the pads came off the 2nd time I used it, but it's no big deal as I had another set. Overall, I'm very happy with the product.

This was a Christmas gift for my 8 year old daughter. She wanted an MP3 player like her 13 year old brother, but I wanted to make sure it was something easy to use. At the same time, I didn't want to make a big investment until I was sure she could be responsible with it. Well this little player does everything she needs it to do. The day she opened it, with some help from dad, the Zen Stone Plus was charged and was loaded with music. She likes the screen that tells her what song is playing, and she likes the option of listening to the radio. The lime green color also makes it very "cool".

I am prompted to write this because I've found the the iPod shuffle (3rd gen) to be such an grossly inferior product. In 2007, I'd put the Creative Zen Stone on my wishlist and received it as a Christmas gift-I was, needless to say, thrilled.

The Creative Zen Stone was such a well designed, easy to use, intuitive to program little product it's a crying shame that it didn't enjoy more success. I've been poking around the creative labs website and it doesn't look like this item is currently in production anymore.

This was a lovely full featured product, really perfect for the gym, when you're looking to clip something light to the sleeve of your tshirt--it included a stopwatch, even fm radio! with presets!!, equalizer presets, as well as voice recording (really?? really!!).

I wish they'd continued to evolve this product because it was simple, no frills, and still (IMHO) a better product than either the apple's shuffle or sandisk's sansa clip.

Creative Labs, please update this bit of loveliness and revive this product line...sad to see it go.

Alas Apple wins with its ability to spin crap into good PR.

I bought this for use in my car only, but it's not useful. I drive 1 hour to work and 1 hour back and it's dead by the time I get home. Downsides: the screen is too small to be useful, the item needs to be charged daily and for long periods of time, there is no battery-low indicator so the item just stops, very hard to turn on/off (must hold switch for a long time), has 'frozen' twice and needed to be reset. Upside: Very compact, lightweight, sound is good, the headphones are nice and the color (red) is nice. I've been looking at newer mp3 models and c'mon.. there is much better to choose from! Give this one a pass.

While it would be nice to be able to browse individual tracks, I knew I wasn't getting that when I bought this. I listen mostly to books, and it works very well for that. I just put all the MP3 files for each book in a single folder. The player remembers where I stopped, so it just picks back up when I turn it on.

More remarkable though is that I dropped this in the hot tub today, and it never skipped a beat. Still going strong!!

Nice player. I have nothing to compare it with, as it is my first MP3 player, but I really like it.

I got this product to listen to books on tape from the library system in my state. I can download them in minutes and currently have 5 full length novels on the 2G Zen Stone Plus unit. It's so tiny an dlight you hardly know that you are wearing it.

Get the protection Plan!!! I bought this for my 8 year old because all her old MP3 players just stopped working. It is working well so far and the price was unbeatable!! I paid $[...] and I cannot find a deal like that now anywhere else.

Excellent MP3 player. Tiny and efficient. Good sound. My only complaint was that it did not come with a software CD. Had to download operating software from the internets.