To begin with it’s tiny not so heavy and it has no screen. It is mp3 player that has 1 GB memory. So having said this new Zen has the same performance as iPod shuffle which is 20 pounds more expensive. Creative has certainly designed a lush mp3. There efforts will not go down the drain. Having a size of 53.7 by 35.3 by 12.8 mm the stone has an approximate weight of 18.5 Grams. The plastic veneer has really made the mp3 look more classic and glossy. It does not stop here, creative fashioned the new stone in different attractive colors and all with shine of course. More over the plastic is resistant to scratches and stuff. So the user won’t be disappointed to see this.
Beside quality colors stone is attractive and elegant as well. On top side there is 3.5mm jack for headphones. At same time there is USB on the bottom side. The headphone jack is not quietly positioned well and when it is connected, it will rather look odd instead of looking stylish. Hanging ropes but still the stone is fancy to allure public. Critically looking stone do not 100 % matches with iPod shuffle. There is no integrated clip. It means the user won’t be able to attach it with their shirt or belt. But you can buy these accessories at normal price of 6.79 pounds.
Along with the parcel Zen throws a set of head phones, a USB cable and instruction manual. There is no software cd in the package but if the users are interested they can find it available on internet on creative’s website. The soft ware allows the user to drop and drag the items of interest. Unfortunately there is no smart fill function so the user cannot stuff1GB from there library. But instead they can utilize WMP 10 shuffle to get the result. Earphones are not good as expected from any mp3 player. Sounds are compressed, high goes little bit dim, normal more dimmer and don’t even think about low ones. It does not mean that the stone has bad quality earphone the fact is just that they are bit low. If high are 14 on stone it will be about 12. As already mentioned stone is a drop plus drag device so stuffing songs is not in issue. In fact the user would be glad to know that they will not waste their time on conversions. Also the transfer rates are impressive.
A So what is the end result? Well the device is cheap and if you are in a mood to save some money go for stone. With attractive design and no conversion issue the device is ready in market. Well 1GB is not enough space you can hardly put 250 songs in mp3. But there are no conversions on this apparatus. Stone is capable to support most of the formats we see today like MP3, Audio and WMV. So considering stone as your mp3 player is a decent choice indeed.