Creative's 32GB (and 2GB) Zen, again
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 30th 2007 4:06AM
posted Nov 30th 2007 4:06AM
Update: A €99 2GB version too? So says Creative's site in Ireland. Picture after the break.
[Via epiZENter, thanks Cody and Stu W.]
Read -- features page
Read -- spec page
According to employees at Norway's biggest specialized hardware/electronics retailer, the 32GB version is due any minute, they're expecting it to ship quite soon.
who cares. inferior product.
...trying...to...resist...calling...you...a...moron...
Damn, just did. Form factor wise it might not be as sexy as "the mp3 player we shall not mention", but spec wise it trumps it hands down, and I can finally get my entire mp3 collection onto a fab small media/mp3/radio/recording/zencast-ing device. ..oh and it plays divx
Moron. There.
I played with this recently. Quick and easy to use (mastered in 5 minutes) with a large (for its size) screen and fantastic UI.
Inferior? Well, let's see what it's up against:
iPod Nano / Creative Zen:
Size: 69,8x52,3x6.5mm / 55x83x12 (ZEN's twice the thickness, and is about 1/3 larger, but has a much larger screen)
Memory: 4, 8GB / 4, 8, 16, soon 32GB
Screen: 2" / 2.5", 16m colours (2" is virtually useless for video, 2.5" is fine, and Creative's screens are exsquisite)
Battery life: 24h audio, 5h video / 25h audio, 5h video (with a screen that much bigger, that's _good_)
Audio formats: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, Audible 2, 3, and 4, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV / MP3, WMA, non-protected AAC, WAV and Audible 2,3 and 4
Video Formats: H.264, MPEG4 / MJPEG, WMV9, MPEG1 and 2, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4, 5, XviD
If you add the notoriously bad audio quality of iPods and the notoriously good audio quality of Creative's Zen line, it's a pretty clear win.
As i tried to load a Xvid video file into my ipod today using conversion software all seemed ok until it wouldn't appear in iTunes - what a pain in the ass. This isn't the future, I thought. This really isn't the future.
Ok Apple stuff looks nice and all that but they lock you into the same format crap as microsoft. Any alternative products with greater spec and options and choice is always a good thing in my mind.
@Trond
You missed the nano killer: the SD slot :D
You have no idea what PMPs are, eh? Or are you just an iPod fanboy?
My last comment was a reply to Rob Fleming, who obviously have only seen the iPod in its physical form, and nothing else.
Bring on a 32G touch!
32GB is due to be socially acceptable in Q3 '08.
Damn... when it's released I'm buying it no questions asked.
This is exactly what I've been waiting for.
I for one need divx support and superior sound quality.
It should at least have a TV Out.
Which is 1 of the 3 reasons or so I'm going for the D2 or Pilot
All i have to say....
is that Ipods are gay.
Well, since they charge $249 for the 16Gb model, I would guess the 32Gb model is somewhere around $300. At this price point, while I'm no Apple maniac, it's still tough to decide between the Zen and the Touch. Ok, the Zen gives me four times the storage, wider format support, and better audio quality, but on the other hand, the Touch gives me a far superior screen, some wifi goodies, a decent range of usable softwares, and of course, the "status" that always comes with a new Apple product (not to mention a better UI, but it's rather a matter of perspective). So i don't think at $300, the 32Gb Zen would be that good of a deal, at least for me.
"...the 'status' that always comes with a new Apple product"
You lost all your credibility right there.
What status? Whenever someone fidgets with their Ipods rather than actually listening to music (of which there are plenty on the London Underground), what I see are tossers rather someone highly regarded.
Linh, what you're basically saying is you'd rather have something pretty than something that does the job better...and I wouldn't even say the Touch has a better screen. A bigger one, sure, but not better.
Status? why should you care about that? I'm all about form over function, as long as its not too ugly but this Zen is pretty good looking!
All in all, i've nothing against ipod,zune,zen etc... i will pick whichever fits my need (not status but things that does effect my decisions are supports for as many media supports as possible, storage, good ui, sturdy..etc, but never status!)
I remember when the iPhone came out, some idiot in a store was talking to an employee, then out of nowhere said "you know what, let me check something on my iPhone first." Then started playing with it, trying to impress the girl.
I just looked at him, and as my English friend said it best, thought he was a tosser. There is no "status," most non iMac people despise the whole iMac "culture."
It's still there. Which is surprising.
The 16gb to 32gb jump is probably the point that most people can fit all their music on the player. If you want more storage the 16gb SD cards aren't massively expensive any more. 48gb of solid state storage on a credit card sized player with a 2.5" screen would be impressive.
on cnet.co.uk's crave blog they say they have spoken to creative and the word is the 32GB isn't shipping till next year
The 2GB is also listed on the UK Creative site
I'm currently an owner of an 8GB Zen, and a 30GB Zune. The Zen is primarily my bring-to-the-gym media source, while the Zune (combined with its Belkin TunePower for an extra 9 or 10 hours of battery life) is for more longterm, video watching purposes. And I must say I love them both.
I have NEVER been a fan of iPod. I loathed having to go through all this extra software and additional conversion process just to receive and use my player. Both the Zen and the Zune are super quick and easy to load up. Oh, and not to mention how overpriced the iPods are. I got my Zen for under 200 dollars when it was brand new, and the Zune for 85 just a month or so ago. I've seen the 4GB iPod sell for more than my 30GB Zune! Ridiculous.
Creative FTW!
but is the crippled sdcard slot fixed yet?
...is the media on the sd card in the main library I mean?
Based on their lack of response to forum inquiries I don't think creative is ever going to fix that problem with SD card integration to the main library. Sucks, but it's not a problem for me since I put my audio on the on-board mem and save the SD card for movies. The processor on the player isn't anything to write home about, so reading the SD card for library integration at bootup could be what is keeping creative from doing this.
I don't remember the details, but I read somewhere that the "crippled" SD card use is a funciton of the SD card standard and isn't really Creative's fault. Is this ringing a bell for anyone? In any case, I don't see that as a deal-breaker. I just would put a few large video files on the SD and keep all my music on the built-in 32 GB. Video and pictures don't really need to be in the same library as my music.
I have an iPod Touch. It looks nice and the wifi and browser are cool when I'm somewhere with coverage, but I've been trying to convince my girlfriend that she wants it so I can try a Zen.
I'm wanting to know where the 160gb zen is!?! To replace my hacked together 160 zen Xtra....
Do you need to install software / drivers into your XP or vista computer in order to fill those player with music/video ?
thats the thing i cant stand with ipods...
No, you don't. It uses the MTP protocol which MS is trying to get standardized. The drivers are included in SP2 and Vista by default.
I was happy to learn that I could use my ZEN with Winamp, not some crappy, hacked together media program.
So, you have to install WMP 12 on XP to use it!
i dont understand why they dont simply use usual file system drivers...
coz its so usefull to use mp3 player as usb key for data on EVERY computer...
No, you dont need the newest WMP. I have 10 and am fine. It appears as a "media device" in my computer, and you can drag-drop into the file system. So, technically, you don't need a media library program.
You don't need WMP. You can drag and drop.
I would love a 32GB Zen, but I highly doubt it will be cheap. I'd say at least $350... wait isn't that STILL cheaper than the 16GB iPod touch?
One of the biggest disappointments with the Zen with Creative fans was that the smaller-capacity player was designed to replace the Vision: M. But, when this 32GB version comes out, the Zen will have matched the 30GB Vision, making it a proper successor.
And I can't resist 32GB of FLASH!!! I wanted a new HDD player because my library has recently started to exceed the capacities of current players. Even 16GB is becoming too small for me. But every since the hard drive failures of my past HDD players, I resolved to go flash only. Now, I won't have to, although the Zune 80 and Vision M are enticing.
If they had the 32GB out when I bought the 80GB Zune, I might have gone with it. But at least the Zune has a larger screen to watch widescreen shows on. Although the resolution on the Zune isn't that of a true widescreen screen, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And before y'all start yelling about whether or not the resolution is a problem, remember how many of you wanted a widescreen plasma TV when they first came out with their (what was it?) 1024x768 resolution. That's not true HD! I forgot what my point was. I think it's time for bed.
That's not what I call foreshadowing. A bit pathetic.