Creative prepping 4GB Zen Stone Plus?

So it looks like Creative will be continuing to attack Apple on the features front, with Crave UK reporting that the Singaporean manufacturer is poised to release an updated version of its diminutive, Shuffle-esque Zen Stone Plus -- packing in a hefty 4GB of flash memory, no less. Besides the capacity bump, the unannounced upgrade is also said to boost battery life to a more respectable 12 hours and add support for unprotected AAC files, clearly a move designed to sway fans of the iTunes Plus DRM-free music selection. Being a rumor and all, we don't even have a clue as to when you can expect to see the latest Stone on store shelves, so keep your eyes peeled.

Update: Now Crave is reporting that an 8GB Stone Plus is also forthcoming. Stay tuned throughout the day as this supposed capacity continues to increase.

[Thanks, Daniel M.]

[Marcus Lyon @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:11AM]

calabanstis banacuz

[christina jane @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:12AM]

yay

[Diacronic @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:14AM]

Got my girlfriend one of these (1gb models) for her birthday a while ago to replace her worm out cd player, she loves it. Its so small and the easy drag and drop of using it to transfer music is a plus, just like using a thumb drive. Plan to get my mother one for x-mas this year too.

[James Hrisho @ Nov 23rd 2007 11:01AM]

I really have to say that my Zen vision M 30gb was probably one of the best mp3 purchases i've made. But this little guy couldn't hurt as a stocking stuffer for someone else

[simon @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:18AM]

I saw an ad for this yesterday at: http://www.komplett.no/k/k.asp?action=page&page=news&topic=cat-xmas07-no-p10
Not sure if they actually have any in stock though...

[Homeboy @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:23AM]

Yawn! Who knew scrolling and keeping track of 3 500 songs could be efficient on such a miniature screen using a D-pad.

[Alex Whiteside @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:28AM]

Ah, I see you're using audiophile-grade 0.1kbps MP3s there.

[Homeboy @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:33AM]

Alex Whiteside:

Sorry, I'm a bit hungry and fatigue. Made a mistake, 900-1000 songs should be the number. =P

[Miker @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:28AM]

If Creative really want to win market share from Apple then they need to be releasing things like this a couple of months ago (costs permitting). At the moment the market (for the most part) is always playing catchup with Apple, at least on player dimensions and capacity, if not actually features (except touch).

Where is the 32gb Zen (not the Zen Stone), if you want to beat Apple it should already be on the market.

[Miker @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:30AM]

Oh, and the 4GB Stone is already on their UK website http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/zenstoneplus/

[Paul @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:58AM]

oh

[Davedave @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:02AM]

the original stone was a great cheap, low capacity player, but if you want something higher capacity (and therefore in a higher price range) there are much better options. unless they're also upgrading the OS to be able to handle organizing and navigating 4 gigs of music, have fun taking ten minutes to slooooowly scroll through your list of folders and tracks anytime you want to find something specific.

[Sam Audi @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:05AM]

Yes indeed

[kuthippie @ Nov 23rd 2007 11:21AM]

@ davedave:
I had a 1gig muvo v200 a while ago...didn't that have the exact same uncrashable but a bit sluggish interface?

If it's the same UI, I would get the 8 gig one and just throw all my music in some folders...never got what the point of playlists was...I order my music on my computer using folders...so why not on my mp3 player?

and then I could finally trow out my zen micro (which I went back to, because of the storage capabilities), which oh so often likes to crash, or do other random weird shit because I dropped it a zillion times.

so anyone, same UI as the Muvo v200????????

[ark_v2 @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:16PM]

Lol, the tiny stone is reaching the nano in capacity; and "almost" in features. Isn't it great?!

[tfa @ Nov 23rd 2007 1:13PM]

I want one of these so I can engrave the back with my logo.

The BrickEngraver

[Galley @ Nov 23rd 2007 3:14PM]

Insert comment here

[Elkin @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:00PM]

love engadget!

[PenaltyKillah @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:47PM]

8GB Stone Plus... 16GB V Plus... 32GB ZEN...
Hmmm...

But 8GB for a Shuffle-esque? Now I know why Apple would strategically limit the capacities of their players... even if it is technically possible. For example, up to 8GB for iPod nano would make those who wanted a 16GB to buy the iPod touch.

[starry @ Nov 25th 2007 10:28PM]

Guys, it seems that the technical details for zen stone plus [such as line-in recording, joystick control, 1.5-inch OLED screen] posted at amazon was actually referring to the zen v plus. so I guess the availability of zen stone plus 8gb was meant for zen v plus 8gb