MP3 Players Item ID: #586Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black)Product Information:
Item DescriptionThis credit card-sized ZEN has a stunning 2.5″ color screen and is perfect for music, videos and photos. Enjoy up to 4,000 MP31, WMA or AAC songs, watch up to 60 hours2 of videos and share hundreds of photos with your friends. Even expand your portable music, video or photo collection by adding additional content through the convenient SD memory slot. Related posts:
Item Reviews5 Responses to “Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black)”Leave a Reply |
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I bough the Creative Zen 8GB in February of 2008 and was really happy with the product when it arrived. I had read that many people had problems after they upgraded the firmware, so I avoided doing that. It was easy to use, load songs on, great looking video, sound, portability and decent battery life…at first. Within a few months it started to do strange things. My library of music disappeared right before I was leaving on a trip. It wound up that I needed to reset it and reloaded the music and it was pretty annoying. The battery life began to diminish and then I got the first sign of doom. A screen came up telling me to reload the firmware. I wound up reloading the firmware and it worked fine for a couple of months. Then it started dying randomly. Resetting itself, then working for a couple weeks, then dying again. Finally, it met its end. The screen went black and a blue light flashed at the side on and off switch. Then the screen went white and it went completely dead. I tried troubleshooting online to no avail. I wrote to Creative Zen support and they were typically annoying. Not addressing the problem and telling you to charge the unit, press reset button and reload firmware. All of which I had told them I had done. After two more emails they finally understood the unit was completely DEAD. I asked them if they sold replacement batteries and this was their response:
“With regards to your enquiry, I am sorry for the previous solution. Please be informed that, the Creative ZEN player has a non-removable battery…If the warranty of your Creative ZEN player had expired, I would not advice you to service this unit as it is out of the warranty period. It is more economical to purchase a new product than getting this unit repaired. In addition, the new purchase unit will come with a full 12 month warranty coverage. ”
Wow, not a great solution.
My warranty expired and I have no intention of buying a new unit for $140. It’s up to you if you want to buy an mp3 player that works sporadically and dies within 2 years. Maybe, I just got a lemon, but honestly, I think the internal battery’s life was up and there’s no replacing it. I am afraid I can’t recommend this product, though it was neat while it lasted.
I also was under the impression that the sd-slot would give me more memory. I have a 2G and purchased a PNY 4G thinking I could add memory on top of the 2G. But, the 4G works and adds more memory but I can only play single tracks from the card and not continuosly from the library. I use the player on my motorcycle and the bigger screen is why I use the creative products. Overall, their pretty good for the money. I now have an 8G on the way.
I love everything about this unit except that it crashes all the time! I’ve done all the software patches and it’s still touchy. It’s great not to be chained to ITunes. Give me reliable software, and I’m sold!
First of all, I’d like to say that I’ve been using a Creative Zen 8GB for almost 2 and a half years. I have found this shiny piece of gadgetry to be one of the most reliable players in the market.
I will point out the features that I have enjoyed the most during this span of time:
* Sound Quality: If you have bought a nice set of headphones, you’re going to enjoy this media player a lot! I personally recommend Sennheiser earphones, which also go well with the overall black design.
* Menu / Navigation: Quite easy to use and enjoyable after you get the hang of it. The clicky sounds that the buttons make are not for the touch screen hardcore crowd though.
* Radio: It works well and I’m happy it’s included.
* Battery: Even though I have gone through hundreds and hundreds of charge cycles, the battery easily stays long enough for 10 hours of use.
* Reliability: This device has only crashed on me twice in the past 30 months!
* Design: I still enjoy its design aesthetics. Two and a half is a lot of time in the realm of Multimedia players. Zen on the other hand, still looks fresh and current.
* Accessories: If you like to keep the MP3 player protected and also keep your headphones nicely wrapped around it, be sure to check out the Silicone Skin Case for Creative Zen Black. When I bought it, it cost around $12. Now it is dirt cheap and very handy for storing inside pockets.
Below I will list any lack of features / negative stuff that I found:
* I’ve been a Mac user since mid-2008, and since I migrated, I had problems with the lack of software support for the Zen. Creative does not officially cater to Mac owners. Essentially, you lose any syncing functionality you normally get from the applications originally included, such as the video converter. I’ve got to say that even though iTunes support is available, syncing files is only possible with iTunes-bought music. If you do not wish to use iTunes, I suggest you download XNJB, a free Mac alternative for syncing your music.
* I wish Creative wouldn’t use the rocker switch that sits on the side for turning the device on/off. It is not as intuitive as it could have been.
* I had an issue with a firmware update once and had to re-sync my files. When you decide to upgrade it, be sure to follow the instructions that Creative has on their support page line by line!
* The player comes with a very short mini USB cable. Early on you may feel the need to replace it with an AC power cable or invest in a longer USB cable. This is not 2007 though, and most families now own at least a couple of devices that come with mini USB cables, so I guess it’s not a big issue anymore.
This is the third 8gb Zen I bought in the last 1 1/2 years. I bought one and then bought one for my brother. This one was purchased for my wife and we all love it. All the features work very good, my only wish would be that the memory card would be integrated with the player which they did with the new model (MX) but I here the software included with that model is not as good.