Creative Zen V MP3 Player Review

The Zen MP3 player is the Creative’s version of Apple iPod Nano. But is its performance as impressive as that of Nano is the question that will be answered shortly.

Ergonomic and compact design:

Talking about the looks of the player, it is petite. Its comes in a glossy finish with subtle colour highlights and a you know, another feature that a “Glossy finish” product comes with is fingerprint magnet. It is cute looking and compact. Being compact, it does not compromise on the screen area. It has nice round edges which makes the device fit comfortably in your hands and hence, ergonomically perfect.

The OLED display:

Creative Zen V MP3 Player has an 1.5″ vivid OLED screen. This OLED screen is viewable from any angle. Menu options allow you to change the contrast levels of the display. The display could be used to watch photos and album arts but you will not be willing to watch anything for more than a couple of minutes because of its pitiful display quality. With the screen resolution being 128 x 128 pixels, no wonder you get this quality. One nice thing about the display is that, since it is bright, it is visible in any lighting conditions.

Capacities and colours:

With very few buttons, it is very easy to use and comes in three capacities such as, 4GB, 2GB and 1GB. The three models are differentiated by their colour. The 4GB model comes with a glossy black finish with blue accents, the 2GB model comes in glossy black finish with green accents and the 1GB model comes in glossy black finish with orange accents.

Interface:

The main navigation of the Creative Zen V Portable MP3 Player is done via its small and simple joystick. The joystick has a cheap feel to it. Towards the right of the joystick are the two buttons which are play/pause and back respectively. The other major controls such as the volume rocker, record button and lock button are in the sides of the device. They could also be kept in the facia of the unit itself as there is enough space left. On the top of the device are three ports, one for the USB connection, another has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and another in-line. The supplied audio input of the MP3 player is the mini 2.5mm stereo jack. The output power of the headphone per channel is 7mW. The supported sound output mode is stereo. The microphone that is integrated in the MP3 player has its operation mode as Mono.

Included music options and capacity:

An equalizer is attached with this 1gb, 2gb and 4gb Zen V MP3 player and its factory presets include Acoustical, Classic, Disco, Jazz, New Age, Pop, Rock and Vocal. The playback modes offered by Zen V are, Repeat shuffle, play list, random play / shuffle, all tracks repeat and one track repeat. Talking of the capacity, the 1GB model can hold up to 500 songs, the 2GB can store 1000 songs and the 4GB can store up to 2000 songs. The tracks are assumed to be 4 minute tracks at 64kbps in WMA.

Additional features:

Some of the other miscellaneous features that are available in Creative Zen V MP3 player are, calendar, voice recording, upgradeable firmware and built-in organizer and Microsoft Outlook synchronization. Hi-speed USB that is provided is used as the PC interface. Zen V has a built-in clock with timer and alarm features. The timer offers snooze and sleep functions too.

Support for music subscription WMA tracks services such as Napster To Go and audible audio books gives the Zen V an edge over Apple’s iPod Nano. The in-line port that we had mentioned earlier is also an added feature which allows direct recording from a CD player or any other audio device. The voice recorder for you to take notes on a go is an useful addition in the point of students.

A storage device too:

Creative Zen V MP3 Digital Media player can also be used as a storage device as the 4GB version allows to use up to 2GB of its memory to store other files than music. If you are looking for a good flash player then too, this is your choice.

Formats and platforms supported:

The supported music formats of the player are, MP3, WMA, WMA avec DRM and WAV file formats. The image format supported by this player is JPEG. The platforms supported by Zen V are, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows XP and latter.

Box contents and software package:

The box contents of the Creative Zen V portable MP3 player are, earphones, strap, case, USB cable, line-in cable and installation CD. The software bundle that is provided includes Creative Media Source and Creative ZEN cast Organizer.

Battery and warranty:

The Creative Zen V uses the lithium ion battery which is rechargeable and can support up to 15 hours of play time. Creative offers Zen V a warranty of one year.

Verdict:

Creative Zen V Compact MP3 Player has good features and is a nifty little player that offers you music on the go with a display, but we would recommend its successor Creative Zen V plus, its successor, which is same as the Zen V but has two additional features of video playback and FM radio. Costing lesser than the Nano and having some bonus features, it is a better choice when in side to side with the Apple’s Nano.

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Creative Zen V MP3 Player (1gb, 2gb, 4gb) - Technical Specifications, Features

Manufacturer	Creative
Model Name	Creative Zen V
Product Type	MP3 player
Display	OLED display
Display resolution	128 x 128 pixel
Display colours	262K colour
Dimensions(H x W x D)	67.5 x 43.5 x 15.9 mm
Weight	43.5g with battery
Memory capacities available	1GB, 2GB and 4GB
Supported audio formats	MP3 (Up to 320 kbps), WMA (Up to 320 kbps), WMA with Digital Rights Management (DRM) 9 or later, WAV (PCM and IMA ADPCM)
Supported picture formats	JPEG
Recording formats	Voice: IMA ADPCM (8 kHz, Mono) Line-in Recording: WMA (128 kbps and 160 kbps)
Available colours	Black with blue (4GB) Black with green (2GB) Black with orange (1GB)
Audio recording	Yes
OS compatibility	Windows XP/Vista
Interfaces	USB1.1 / 2.0, standard 3.5mm headphone jack in-line
FM Radio	No
Voice recording	Yes
Multi language	No
Music storage capacity	1GB: 500 songs 2GB: 1000 songs 4GB: 2000 songs
Random shuffle	Yes
Adjustable play speed	No
Album art	Yes
Battery type	Rechargeable Lithium Ion battery
Power source	USB bus powered
Warranty	1 year