Creative Zen Stone

Creative Zen Stone

The Creative Zen Stone is an MP3 player that is shaped like a colourful tiny rectangular pebble and is themed “Rock in Colour”. It has a glossy finish and comes in six bright colours; blue, red, pink, green, black and white. Its dimension measures 2.1 inch x 1.4 inch x 0.5 inch (W x H x D), carrying a weight of approximately 18.5 g.

Features

The Creative Zen Stone has a 1 GB capacity that allows it to store up to 500 WMAs or 250 MP3s. It runs on an embedded rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery which offers a battery life of up to 10 hours for continuous audio playback. Supported audio playback formats include MP3, WMA and Audible as well as supported music services of Audible in format 2 and 3. Besides that, the Creative Zen Stone can also be used as a mass storage device. It supports connectivity via USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. The Creative Zen Stone package contents include Creative Zen Stone, earphones, quick start leaflet and USB 2.0 cable. PC requirements for compatibility include Microsoft Windows XP of Service Pack 1 or higher, Intel Pentium III 1 GHz, AMD Duron 1 GHz or better processor, 128 MB RAM although 256 MB is recommended and 170 MB of free hard drive space. The Creative Zen Stone features ergonomically designed controls which allows for one touch quick navigation and smooth motion. Besides that, the Creative Zen Stone does not require drivers for quick and easy transfer of music files from PCs. It also has a multi-colour LED screen which shows you the MP3 player’s charging status and playback status clearly.

Review Summary

According to Pcadvisor.co.uk, it looks as though Creative is taking another go, this time breaking the market with its Zen Stone. Creative’s Zen Stone is a featherweight, pebble-shaped player that mimics precisely those non-attributes of Apple’s Shuffle that Creative mocked. The shiny black plastic Stone is also available in juicy lime green as well as pink, red, white and bright blue that suits different consumer taste. There is no Equalizer, but the output is extremely good, even through the standard earphones Creative supplied. Users also said that this mini minor also has Album skip feature and comes with a USB connection. Usually users might get maximum 10 hours of continuous playback. Some suggest that the Stone is especially suitable for use during vigorous activities like running and skating. The Zen Stone managed to receive some critics nevertheless. In a year dominated by shiny surfaces and touch screens, the Zen Stone seems to be a little outdated. Unfortunately, users also could not select songs and enjoy screen display of what was currently playing. Users will appreciate more if Creative would include clip or armband as attachment accessories in future. Based on reviews from Itreviews.co.uk and Pocket-lint.co.uk, this is a great little player for users longing for experience and music in a small package and not fussed about the screen.