Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Mozaic 4 GB MP3 Player (Black)

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I've had the Zen Mozaic 4 GB for about a week now, and I love it! Here is just a short list of the pros and cons I have noticed.

Pros:

Price - It's very cost-effective for the tons of features included!

FM Radio - The radio signal strength is unimpressive, but a plus nonetheless, since many don't offer this feature. Note: the radio antenna is built into the headphones, so with just the built-in speaker, there is no radio reception at all. Headphones must be plugged in.

Alarm clock - I love being able to set the song that I wake up to, and with the built-in speaker it works much like a cell-phone alarm clock.

Built-in speaker - Now you can share a song with a friend without sharing your headphones. The speaker sounds better than I thought it would considering how small the device is. I wouldn't listen to it for hours, but it's a nice additional feature.

Battery Life - When they say 30+ hours, they're not joking. Very impressive battery life.

Cons:

Plastic - The whole thing is made of plastic and feels somewhat toylike. Although I hesitate to call this a "con" because it feels very sturdy and well-made. If you want a metallic feel, you'll have to fork out the extra money for a Zune or iPod (twice the price).

Headphones - The headphones are pretty cheap. The music sounds tinny when you use them, but if you use nicer headphones, sound quality is good! Once again, the radio antenna is in the headphones if you want to use this feature.

My overall impression is that I am very satisfied with the product. I don't use it much for videos, but the included software will convert videos to .avi format for viewing, which is nice but the screen is a bit small for using it as a video player very often. I use Media Monkey for syncing, but you can use Windows Media Player or simply Drag and Drop.

Audio quality is great with better headphones and the interface is simple to use. The design, I think, is very sleek and unique, but obviously not for everyone. If you're looking for a nice little player to give as a gift or just to stash in your pocket, this is a great choice!

I use this mostly for audio books which I download from my local library and it works great with the OverDrive Media console in use by many public libraries. I love the fact that when it times out, it remembers where it left off even if it is left in "pause". The Zen V Plus would always return to the beginning of the segment if it was paused, which was a real pain when listening to a 16 hour book. In addition to 6 audio books, I also have 8 hours of Christmas music organized into a playlist. The battery lasts way longer than the V Plus and I can still use the charger that I bought for the Zen V Plus. Took a while to figure out some of the differences between programming the Mozaic and the Zen V Plus including the new typewriting but now I've become familiar with it I have no difficulty getting it programmed the way I need it. Easy to bookmark and restore. 2 thumbs up!

I was immediately taken aback by this player. Its design took some time to get used to, but after seeing it up close and getting used to its controls, i feel like it is a good choice for any casual music listener.

The Good: 1. I like the design of it. Something new is always good for a market that has nothing different to give these days. 2. The sound quality is excellent. 3. The battery life is Amazing! I clocked in at 41.3 hours with all 128kbps songs and the screen off thanks to the lock. i havent done test with 192kbps songs yet, but i dont think it really matters too much. 4. Navigation is another plus. not just the default layout, but the customizability of it. you can move the menus around, add, delete, and set a certain item to the hotkey. this gave me the feeling that it was actually "My" mp3 player, unlike the Sansa, Ipod, and Zune mp3 players that do not allow any modification of the default layout.

The Bad: 1. Slow buttons. i noticed that when i scroll through the menus, sometimes i would have to push a button twice to get it to respond. i haven't had to push it three times yet, but if i do, i might have to start complaining about the lazy response times. 2. Creative Centrale. I dont like this program. i didnt have the install problems of the last reviewer, but the conversion times of videos, the hassle of trying to add albums to the program, and the lack of a good "find album art" utility make the software almost useless. so far, the freeware creative Vision:M video converter is doing a great job of fixing the vids, so i have absolutely no use for the bundled software.

All in all, i love this player. i get a couple random looks around town when i have it out, and the built-in speaker has quite a presence. $59.99US for 2gb and $79.99US for 4gb is crazy cheap for such a uniquely awesome little player. I highly recommend you go check one out for yourself.

Well, I received my 4gb pink Mozaic today, and I'm very happy with it :]
I once owned a Creative Zen Vision:M, 30gb, until I lost it in the gym... It was an excellent player with a few quirks (it was somewhat laggy) but quite a brick - I dropped it about 4-5x and yet it still survived.

Well, back to the Mozaic, to break it down,

Pros:
+ The player is small and unobtrusive if you want to put it in your pocket
+ The pink is a nice shade
+ Easy to navigate through the menus
+ I was able to drag and drop music directly into the player's "Music" folder on my computer and play it immediately
+ Although the shell is made of plastic, it is very, very sturdy. I feel that I could drop it several times with minimal damage (not that I'm going to test this out!)
+ The screen is bright and vivid
+ You can save up to 32 radio stations
+ Radio signal itself is alright; just make sure you have your headphones plugged in, as they act as the antenna.
+ The speaker is decent, but not up to audiophile standards (which I'm not). However, it's perfect in a pinch - if you forget your headphones, want to share music with a friend, etc.

Cons:
- I hesitate to call this a con, since the player in itself is quite small, but the buttons are tiny. Then again, we text on cell phone keys that about the same size, so it's easy to adapt to.
- Watching videos requires that you turn the player to the side. Not really a con, but just something to take note of.

I will update later after my player and I get more intimate ;p

It sounds very good has very good battery life. The built-in speaker is pretty handy. It does not have back-lit keys which makes it difficult to use in low light.

One caveat. I don't use or plan to use the video features.
I would buy it again.

Overall a nice MP3 player.

Plusses:
The Mozaic is easier to use than my Zen V Plus. I like the buttons better than the mini-joystick on the Zen V Plus. The screen is a bit bigger, and the built in speaker is nice too. It also comes in Pink - nice for the ladies.

Minuses:
1)Yet another Creative loader program installed on my PC. I wish that Creative would create a common version of the application.

2) Another thing about the loader is that you can't just add tracks and expect to play them. You need to add them and then add them to a playlist. It was very difficult to figure this out and the "documentation" is not written for the 50+ crowd. Once I figured it out it's fine, but NOT the same as the other Zen loader applications.

This mp3 player offers a lot of features in a very small and inexpensive package! My absolute favorite thing about the Zen Mozaic is the fact that it has a built-in audio speaker. I'm the mom of two young kids, so I don't want to spend extra money on docking equipment or try keeping track of my mp3 paraphernalia when I'm on the go. All I have to do is slip my Mozaic in my pocket, and I'm good to go! I can share my music with anyone, at any time! I also think the MOzaic is just plain cool looking! I love the monochromatic look that's so different from any other mp3 player out there. The price is fantastic, too! If you're looking for an easy-to-use mp3 player that's also very stylish and affordable, look no further!

I bought this item as a gift for my wife whose older model Zen was beginning to show signs of age. She uses it exclusively for audio books, and has found it smaller, lighter, and easier to use than the older model. For such applications the "bookmark" feature is indispensable -- and the Zen version works well. We are both quite pleased with this product.

Summary:
Great MP3 player with a built-in speaker, ability to lock the keys, and ability to create named playlists on the device itself. The one flaw is that I have to reset it from time to time because it won't turn itself on properly. No data lost or anything, just an inconvenience. I'll likely pick up another one soon.

Full Review:
We bought the Creative Zen Mozaic MP3 player for my 16-month-old daughter because she loves music and loves dancing to music. We picked this specific player for two big reasons:

1. Built-in speaker.
The built-in speaker works wonderfully for my daughter. There's little chance we'd get headphones in or on her ears, and even if we did, she wouldn't keep them there, that's for sure. So we had to have an external speaker, and it wouldn't make sense for her to march around dragging attached speakers behind her. So I specifically looked for one with a built-in speaker, and this is one of the few with that feature.

2. Key lock.
Little girl loves pushing buttons, so I needed to make sure that the player had a key lock. Strangely, few do. I know that I have to lock my cell phone, otherwise many a button will get mashed when I slip it into my pocket. I imagine the same to be true of MP3 players, so why so few with key locks? This one, though, allows you to push the power switch up (instead of the usual down to turn it on) and lock the keys. So, she can run around with this in her hand, mash the buttons as much as she pleases, and the music carries on as normal.

Upon using the device for a while, I've discovered some other features that are quite nice. One is the customizable button. There is one particular button that allows you to define its function. Handy! I've got it set to take me to a specific menu that I visit a lot. Another feature that is sadly lacking from even many of the most popular MP3 players on the market is the ability to create a NAMED playlist on the device. Most every MP3 player will let you create a playlist on the device, sure. But too few allow you to name the playlist, so you end up with a bunch of "playlist 1" and "playlist 2" kind of lists. Not terribly useful. The Zen Mozaic, though, lets you name them appropriately.

The only negative I've found with the player is that when the battery runs completely down (as we're wont to let it do), the darn thing has a heck of a time turning back on. It'll charge up, no problem, but something in the software gets stuck and I have to manually reset the thing (there's a troubleshooting note in the manual about this situation, and the solution is to press the reset button on the side of the device while holding the power switch). This is the only reason I didn't give the Mozaic 5 stars.

Chances are I'll get myself one of these little guys at some point in the future, or perhaps one of Creative's other MP3 players. They aren't overpriced like some MP3 players, and they're wonderfully designed. They're also incredibly rugged. I don't know how many times my daughter has just dropped the thing on our hard floors and/or stepped on it.

This Mp3 is quirky and jerky. Software is a bit unstable. The player has some negative points. Such as when you move backwards in a file it hangs up and and has to be reset. Or if you are in radio and try to use the back key it also hangs up. I can live with these minor problems.

Sound is not bad but cannot compare to higher end players. Nice feel and is small and convenient. Has a lot of features and is fairly easy to use. I like it but wish the above problems would be fixed. I did not download the upgrade to the software so will try that. I would not purchase this again as for a bit more I would buy a Samsung. A far superior brand of players.