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Creative gives up, introduces the Zen Moo
We've seen plenty of cheap plastic MP3 land-fillers in our day. But those usually originate from deep-down within the fetid bowels of some no-name manufacturing house in southeast Asia, not the once illustrious Creative. The Zen Moo (yes, Moo) appears to be be a Zen Stone with extra bits of plastic and paint added to achieve Cow. Like the Stone, you get a small OLED, 2GB of memory, 20 hours of playback, and FM tuner to the delight of kids across China (where the Zen Moo was announced) -- hey, it's never too early to destroy a child's hearing. Gift-wrapped product waifs holding the accompanying speaker accessory after the break. Update: Seems the Zen Moo is a tribute to the 2009 Chinese New Year, year of the plastic cow.[Via EpiZENTer, thanks Oscar M.]
Creative Vado HD pocket camcorder makes a few cameo appearances
Creative's Vado pocket cam hasn't been nearly as popular as the various Flips or the Kodak Zi6, but it looks like the company is taking another shot at it -- hot on the heels of the Flip Mino HD's introduction, we're seeing hints that a Vado HD is on the way as well. All we know so far is the S$299 (US$195) pricetag printed in Creative's Singapore holiday catalog, but the short HD videos posted by a user named "Vado" on Vimeo look nice enough. Check 'em after the break -- hopefully we'll find out more soon.
Creative announces more unimpressive X-Fi gear
It's hard to believe that something this banal could required a press event -- it's like the Apple Hi-Fi event all over again. Nevertheless, Creative duped a bunch of journalists into an in-person showing of their $90 Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook Sound Card and $270 Creative Wireless Receiver. Sure, the combo allows you to stream that premium X-Fi audio wirelessly from your laptop to any speaker in the house, but that's something we've been doing since, oh, 1999 for crissake. While you can argue the merits of X-Fi fidelity (which doesn't match the hype based on our own experience and that of others), we can't help but wonder if Creative has completely lost its way in the portable audio and video marketplace.[Via Nothing But Creative]
Creative hosting event on 17th, new X-Fi products expected
That's an honest to goodness media invite from Creative. The kind sent to tease us into attending product launches. So it's natural to expect something new from Creative when this thing kicks off on September 17th. Will we finally see the launch of Creative's long-rumored, and sorely-needed evolution to the Zen Vision or just more gear of notable sound quality but questionable build and interface design? We shall see.[Thanks, Brandon L.]
Creative patent reveals mysterious media player
Not much to go on with this one, but a patent issued to Creative at the start of this year and apparently just recently made public has revealed this rather curious looking media player, which doesn't quite match up with anything the company has released thus far. Of course, that could mean it's just an idea the company has since scrapped or, as Anything But iPod speculates, it could be an indication of a forthcoming Zen Vision media player -- or, less likely, an internet tablet of some sort. Hit up the link below to peruse the patent for yourself.[Via Anything But iPod, thanks Jamil]
Creative's Zen Mozaic, X-Fi players hands-on
We won't belabor these two: X-Fi has been spotted plenty of times before, and the Zen Mozaic "is a crap," as our friends at Engadget Spanish put it. There was no functioning WiFi to test out the X-Fi's networking features, but they looked pretty tedious on the surface, and the player is otherwise okay but unimpressive. Meanwhile, the Zen Mozaic is just another in a long line of shoddily built -- if interesting looking -- low-end DAPs from Creative. Next!%Gallery-30845%
Creative X-Fi Go! mobile sound card set to appear at IFA
Creative isn't showing off too much new stuff at IFA this week, but we should be hearing about the X-Fi Go! mobile sound card, which looks to be an update on the old Soundblaster Play!. The tiny USB 2.0 stick packs in quite of bit of audio-tweaking magic, with Crystallizer, CMSS-3D, EAX Advanced HD and OpenAL support, as well as 1GB of flash storage preloaded with Alchemy, WaveStudio, and other apps. Available now in Singapore for S$79 ($56), we'd guess it'll be similarly priced when it hits Stateside.[Via Electronista]
Get a Mac, get a job
As the economy makes with the poop, we can all use a little bit of extra help finding work. Whether it's side projects, or full-time employment, there are plenty of jobs available for system administrators, programmers, and creative people -- all who use a Mac. I've assembled a collection of sites and job boards that cater to those with a technical and creative skill set -- people who probably use a Mac. This is by no means a complete list, but should help anyone starting to look for work. Comments consisting of "how could you dare possibly omit [insert name of board here]" will be met with resigned sighs from me, but cheers from our readers. So feel free to point people in the direction of boards that you've used or trusted before in comments. Follow me across the jump for the list.
Creative's 2GB / 4GB ZEN Mozaic DAP now available
Creative got a bit more creative with the ZEN Mosaic's name since we spotted it in Singapore last month, but the freshly rechristened ZEN Mozaic is now available (and in stock, just to be exceptionally clear) in the US of A for your purchasing pleasure. For those seeking a brief refresher, here goes: there's a 1.8-inch display (160 x 128 resolution), up to 36 hours of audio playback / 5 hours of video playback, support for MP3 / WAV / WMA / JPEG / BMP files, a 5-band custom equalizer, calender / contacts / task list and USB 2.0 connectivity. The oddly designed DAP can be procured in both 2GB and 4GB flavors (but only in black, at least for now), with the former going for $59.99 and the latter $79.99.[Thanks, Oscar]
Creative rolls out (working) driver update for X-Fi cards
While at least one enterprising individual did his best to get Creative's X-Fi sound cards to play nice with Vista, Creative wasn't exactly keen on that idea and apparently decided to have a go at updating its drivers itself instead (go figure). Among other things, the new, long overdue drivers supposedly fix the problematic Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, and they add DVD Audio playback, which previously worked under Windows XP but not in Vista -- you know, the little things. Hit up the link below to find the link to the drivers themselves, which work with all X-Fi cards except the X-Fi Extreme Audio, which is clearly so "Extreme" it doesn't need driver updates.[Thanks, Bamboo]
Creative announces Zen Mosaic, looks like bad Mondrian
Creative's got yet another on the way: the Zen Mosaic, which will have a 1.8-inch display, 2, 4, or 8GB capacities, FM tuner, speakers, MP3 / WMA / WAV / Audible codec support, and 32 hours of battery life. They're apparently starting in Singapore and working their way over, but they shouldn't top $200 when they're eventually announced for the US.[Thanks, Rube]Read - Announced details on the player [Via EpiZenter]Read - First hands-on
Creative ZEN X-Fi reviewed, but mostly just taken apart
Not a ton's changed with Creative's ZEN X-Fi -- which we all well know at this point -- so for right now we're just paying closer attention to its innards all broken out like a science fair project. Careful, the teardown link below contains graphic representations of disrobed consumer electronics.[Thanks, Josh and Mindy]Read - Zen X-Fi teardownRead - Anything But iPod's reviewRead - Pocketables review
ZEN Krystal revealed on Creative's Hong Kong site
Apparently Creative is cooking up more than just the ZEN X-Fi as of late, according to a discovery made by anythingbutipod forum members. The crew stumbled onto the ZEN Krystal, a small MP3 player that features 4GB of storage, a blue OLED display, an FM tuner, and support for MP3 and WMA files. What really makes the device pique our curiosity, however, is the included built-in pedometer, which can track distance and speed à la Nike+, as well as the handful of games that come on-board the little guy. Right now the player is only up on Creative's Hong Kong site, and we've got no word on price or release date.[Via anythingbutipod]
Creative's 16GB / 32GB ZEN X-Fi PMPs now on sale in America
It's one thing to say "available now." It's another thing to give consumers a "Buy Now" button. For those of you anxious to plunk down a few bills and some spare change to bring home one of Creative's new WiFi-equipped ZEN X-Fi units, today's your lucky day. The 16GB edition is shipping now from Amazon for $199.99, while the 32GB sibling demands $279.99. Order away... or not, totally up to you.[Thanks, Mickey J.]Read - 16GB ZEN X-FiRead - 32GB ZEN X-Fi
Creative gets really official with ZEN X-Fi as it appears in the wild
Quite a bit went down before Creative decided to really fess up about its ZEN X-Fi (at least in the US), but if you've managed to resist the urge to believe this thing was real, here's the documentation you've been yearning for. The ZEN X-Fi (8GB; $149.99) and ZEN X-Fi with Wireless (16GB; $199.99 / 32GB; $299.99) are both being made official today, and while the latter is available now from an array of reputable e-tailers, the WiFi-less iteration won't hit stores until "later this month." You can also expect a ZEN X-Fi docking speaker station to emerge sometime this summer for $49.99. For those curious to see how this critter looks in the flesh (not to mention how it performs), head on down to the links below -- oh, and there's a video of the bugger waiting after the jump.[Via PMP Today]Read - Creative ZEN X-Fi press releaseRead - Creative ZEN X-Fi review / in the wild
Creative Zen X-Fi gets US pricing details
Creative's got a good thing going with the multifaceted Zen X-Fi -- at least on paper -- and we're quite thrilled to see it already hitting the websites of US e-tailers. Announced earlier this week in Singapore, the well-equipped PMP should be available soon (no specific ship date is mentioned) in 8GB ($149.99), 16GB ($199.99) and 32GB ($279.99) models. Interestingly, the 8GB iteration doesn't seem to include built-in WiFi based on the cryptic header over at Buy.com, but we suspect we'll have to wait things out a bit longer before jumping to too many conclusions.[Thanks, Dr. Slo]
Kodak's new Zi6 HD pocket video camera for the YouTube set
Sure, it might shoot 720p video, but you aren't gonna catch indie filmmakers capturing the next low-budget masterpiece on Kodak's new Zi6 HD pocket video camera. The camera is Kodak's response to Pure Digital's Flip and Creative's Vado, complete with upright form factor, YouTube friendliness, simple as could be interface, a flip-out USB plug (with some surprising spring action), and, of course, totally shoddy video quality. The camera is powered by a pair of AA batteries, sports a 2.4-inch LCD, and can switch between VGA video, 30fps HD and 60fps HD. It'll sell for $180 in September, in black or pink, but there's only 128MB of memory on board -- you'll have to spring for an SD card if you want to do any substantial shooting.
Creative makes the X-Fi official, drops it with Red Cliff special edition
So here we have it: The Creative Zen X-Fi. Officially announced by Creative in Singapore, the X-Fi is what we expected: a Wi-Fi-capable player with Yahoo and MSN instant-messaging clients, 2.5-inch LCD, onboard speaker, SD/SDHC expansion, FM radio, voice recorder, and 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB flavors for the taking. In surprise territory we have a bundled pair of nice EP-830 earbuds and Creative's X-Fi Crystalizer technology. If that weren't enough, Creative spiced up the X-Fi's launch with limited-edition Red Cliff editions (pictured above). Along with the player's launch, Creative announced several accessories, including the TravelSound Zen X-Fi Docking Speaker System, Armband, Silicone case, and leather case. Still no word when we'll get our hands on the X-Fi here, but Singapore prices come in at S$229 ($145US), S$329 ($209US), and S$399 ($254US) for the various models.[Thanks, yutaka]
Creative's Zen X-Fi player gets right with the FCC
Somebody call grandma, Creative's Zen X-Fi player just passed its FCC exam and is now ready to make a living on its own. While most of the information is locked down, it's pretty clear by that label that we can expect at least one version of the X-Fi to ship with 32GB of flash memory. Testing was done across a trio of 802.11b/g channels so that's a lock as well. While an appearance on the FCC site doesn't guarantee that the device will be sold in the US (we're looking at you, Japanese FOMA phones), we're guessing that a US launch announcement will come any day now. Although at this point, we'd settle for Creative just making the X-Fi series official so all this speculation can come to an end.[Via Pocketables]
ZEN X-Fi: more details with a touch of meh
In case you missed it over the weekend, that's Creative's new ZEN X-Fi player with WiFi, instant messaging client, and built-in media streaming. Or so says EpiZENter. Why limit the device to just these capabilities? We're not sure, though we don't have all the details yet. Besides the built-in speaker, SD slot, FM tuner and voice recorder features we're now hearing that the player pictured will include "premium quality headphones" in the box and a battery rated for 36 hours of audio and 5 hours of video -- although it's unclear if that's with WiFi on or off (likely off). It'll also support MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, and Audible audio as well as WMV, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4/5, Xvid, and MJPEG video formats. Otherwise, it's presumed to be sporting a 2.5-inch display like its existing Zens in 8, 16, and 32GB capacities whenever it might feel fit to pop for retail. Ok Creative, you've got our attention again; not so much for this device as to the mystery of what the "ZEN X-Fi series" might have to offer. Go ahead, impress us... this might be your last chance.