Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Stone Plus 2 GB MP3 Player (Pink)

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

 

 

I bought this shockingly-colored MP3 player as a gift for my wife, along with the armband holder. She uses it while working and at the gym.

As far as accessories are concerned, it came with a USB cord and earbuds, period.

The player is extraordinarily small and light. The body is made of shiny plastic that scratches easily, so you'll want to get some protection for it. The 2GB capacity is enough to hold roughly 40 full albums encoded at 128kbps.

Not having listened to many other brands of MP3 players, I have no basis for comparison as to the sound quality of this unit. I personally find the sound quality to be very good, limited perhaps by the type of headphones that you choose.

As with most other Creative MP3 players, it requires no special software to hook up to your computer. Just plug it in using the included USB cable, and you can start copying files and folders almost instantly. File transfer times are neither remarkably fast nor overly slow. The most efficient way of filling the player is to collect all the files and folders you want to copy, drag the whole mess to the player via Windows Explorer, and go get yourself something to eat while it labors away.

Creative claims that you can charge the player via your USB port, but this doesn't seem to work properly. After we opened the box, I charged the player up for close to 8 hours, and it only had enough juice to last for approximately 1 hour, even though it claimed it was done charging. In the end, we had to purchase an AC charger (got an opened-box iPod charger, which works fine) to fully charge the battery.

Even with a full charge, you won't get anywhere close to Creative's claims of 8 hours' listening time - more like 5 hours, tops.

It's obvious that Creative's business model requires customers to purchase pretty much everything separately - from the case you'll need to keep your delicate player from getting scratched up, to the AC charger needed to actually charge the battery. Be sure to factor that into the price, if you want to get the most out of your player.

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 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!!!

Santa brought this little MP3 player to my 10 year old daughter. I thought she was going to be disappointed because she specifically requested an IPOD. However, she is VERY pleased beacause it also has a FM radio and a voice recorder. I am surprised how much she listens to the radio. The downside is that Itunes is NOT compatible with the Zen. Yes, of course there is a website where we can download songs for the Zen, but since we already have an existing Itunes account I was hoping that it would work. Had I known prior to purchasing a Zen that I would have to "buy" all new songs, I probably would not have purchased it.

I ordered three of these (in green) and NONE of them worked. They performed when plugged into the computer, but failed to hold a charge once disconnected from the PC. This was after the tech-support recommended "all night" charging.
By way of background, I'm fairly computer savvy, have a new PC based system, and spent hours on the phone with Creative tech support trying to fix the problems. Ultimately, I had to return the units.
Stay away.

They're refurbished, so you get what you pay for. I bought one for me and one for my boyfriend, mine will hold a charge for 3 gym trips if I'm consistent, but if you let this sit for any amount of time, it will lose it's charge. Also, the little thing doesn't always charge when you plug it in. I've had this thing sitting on the charger for hours with nothing going on. I usually plug it and unplug it several times and push a bunch of buttons just to make sure it's charging. I don't know if that does anything but I've found if I just plug it in, it doesn't always charge. My boyfriends player lasts even less time than mine (1-2 days) so your experience could be hit or miss.

Dear Sirs,
This is the real first product that I am not pleased with. It was to have been a Christmas gift but it only brought saddness. We have tried everthing to bring it to life but nothing works. This product must have pass un-notice. The touch pad/swtich to turn on the divice is lose. We were able to down load some music but it will not turn on or display much. It shows some sign of live for about 5 seconds and then shuts off.
How can I return this product and have my funds returned?
Thank you for ur time.
Sam

Its a cute little MP3 player, but it doesnt really work. The battery is supose to last three hours, but it loses power while off, so once you turn it on it has already died. Also it claims it plays m4a's but it doesn't. Another problem is that there is no menu, so you just skip songs untill you find the one you want, which kind of makes it a cuter (and more expensive) version of an ipod shuffle. Afew nice thing are that there is a radio, it can record, and you can flip the screen around, not to mention it looks pretty cool. I wouldn't suggest it though, spend the extra money to get a nicer Mp3 player.

This is a great MP3 player! It is just what the description said it would be! It is easy to load with songs and work the menu... Just love it!!

I bought it today, have had it charging for hours. It blinked like it was suppose to. I downloaded 127 C-tunes, formatted, recharged, went out and got an AC charger. Repeated everything all day. I can play it plugged into the AC charger, which could come in handy, or I could play it from the computer, which is redundant. It would not play on its own. It would not take a charge at all. I no longer crave a Creative Zen. Oh, if I-River would be more available. This item is cute in red, but it stinks. And I found out later Target gagged me at $54.99. Take it back.

This was exactly what I hoped it would be. It's really small, I can completely cover it with both thumbs, and it's also really thin. I like the playful pink color. The sound quality is very good. It's volume goes from 1-25 or 26, but it is loud enough to exercise with at 7-9. If you are a parent and this is for your child, I think you are definitely going to want to use the parental controls that limit how loud the player will go. I haven't tried that out so I don't know how it works. I really like the display screen, which the zen stone without the plus doesn't have, so I am glad I bought the one I did. It holds lots of songs. There is software you can download to manage your downloads, but I did just fine without it. I put on music from my CDs and downloaded songs from Amazon.com without any problems. It also has a flash drive, which eliminates skipping. All in all, a great little player.