My new toy - Creative Zen

I just bought an 8 GB Creative Zen MP3 player 2 days ago. This is my first MP3 player that comes with a colour screen. I also bought a clear case for the player. :)


The brown box (as shown in the above picture) contains the power adapter that came free with the player.

From the above picture, you can see the player playing a video while inside the case. The picture didn't do the player justice as the video quality is really good. You can also see the free power adapter on the right. On the top is the shortest usb charging/transfer cable I ever seen (came with the player). I doubt I will be using this cable. As this is a standard cable similar for other usb devices, I will use another usb transfer cable instead.

The package doesn't come with a hardcopy manual, only a Quick Start Guide. There's a user guide in the CD that came with the player. Creative calls it a manual but it's more like a guide to me. I prefer it to be in pdf format instead of this:

The earphone (shown in the picture below) bundled with the player looks pretty cheap. The sound quality was just ok and I will be using another earphone instead.

The picture below shows a closeup of the player. You can see there's a slider to power on/off and lock the player. When the player is locked while playing a song, the screen will turn off to save some power. Pretty neat feature. However, the thick plastic clear case makes the sliding difficult, especially for people with short fingernails. It is easier to slide with fingernail than finger as the case makes it more difficult to reach.

The thick case is also making the front right buttons slight difficut to press. To take the player out of the case, you have to slide the case open from the back. That's pretty tough to do too. To slide the case close is even tougher. I probably won't be opening or closing the case often. If you do not like the carabiner-style key ring that came with the clear case, it actually can be removed and replaced. Even though my review may not sound favourable for the clear case, I did not regret getting a clear case. It protects my player and I do not need to worry about scratching my display screen. The screen protector pack (comes with 3 pieces) that creative is selling costs the same as the clear case. I find the clear case a better deal and it did not affect my viewing pleasure.

The front buttons on the player do not have backlight so if you are using the player in the dark, you have to use your instincts to navigate the buttons. This may take some time to get used to as the buttons are small and close together.

Those are my first impressions of this player. You may like to check out this player's video review by CNET on the top right of this page.