[real-eyes] FW: New Accessible Screenless MP3 Player for $40
- From: "Reginald George" <sgeorge@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 23:11:53 -0500
This player does remember where you are in files and has the unique ability
to get you easily to your folders. It also has a rechargeable battery and
the price is very right for a almost throw away player with a lot of neat
accessible features!
* Review of Screenless MP3 Player
Date: Mon, May 21 2007 6:04 pm
From: "Parker at Vip conduit"
Since we receive frequent requests for accessible MP3 Players we are passing
this on. This is all the information we currently have.
Subject: Creative Screenless Zen Stone MP3 player
Creative Zen Stone Review
By: Grahm Skee - Anything But iPod
Published on: 5/10/2007 11:13 PM
Creative Zen Stone 1GB MP3 Player- Black
Creative dropped the Zen Stone seemingly out of nowhere to
compete head-on with the iPod Shuffle,
doing so at half the price with more to offer. Creatives
screenless player is a very basic offering - only audio playback
and data storage. However, the
player does step out of the current Zen lineup feature
set by offering up true MSC drag and drop, catering to all
operating systems.
The Zen Stone makes a great secondary player to your audio
arsenal, handy for the gym or any
place you need a simple, truly portable music solution.
Read on for a look at all the features Creative has managed to
pack into this player, as well as
a peek at the Stones insides, disassembled for all to see.
Quick Specs
list of 8 items
. Size WxHxD: 2.1" x 1.4" x 0.5
. Weight: 0.88 oz
. Storage Capacity: 1GB (250 songs 4 minutes per song at 128
kbps mp3)
. Battery Life: Up to 10 hours continuous playback
. Battery Type: Rechargeable Li-ion Polymer
. Playback Formats: MP3, WMA, WAV and Audible
. Connect Type: UMS/MSC
. Available Colors: Black, White, Pink, Blue, Red, Green
list end
Accessories
Included in the package is the bare minimum: the Zen Stone
itself, a pair of earbuds, standard
USB cable, and a quick start guide. Creative is also rolling
out a few accessories to go along with the Stone, like an arm
band, neoprene keychain holder,
speaker dock, and silicone clip case. Third parties will
be releasing their own cases and accessories as well, so you
wont be short changed on available
accessories.
Design
The Zen Stone is coated in a hard, smooth plastic giving it the
feel of a nicely polished river
rock. The plastic is the same material found on the Zen
V Plus and is fairly scratch resistant; it will scratch but not
easily under typical use. It is
pleasant to hold in your hand and lends to a very useable
design - small but not too small to use for bigger hands.
A nice touch added to the left side of the player is a place to
connect a lanyard for wearing
around your neck. The standard USB plug is found on the bottom
with the headphone jack located on the top. On the left face of
the player is an LED that will
indicate the status of the player and the battery level
with various flashing sequences and LED colors.
Controls
Controls are very basic. The center play button operates as the
on button, as well as the off
with a long press. The directional up operates volume and
the directional left and right operate the skip/scan forward and
backward. On the top is a switch
that allows you to select either standard track-by-track
play or shuffle-all-music play. The switch also slides to the
right, which advances you to the
next file folder. This is a very nice touch for allowing
better control and organization on a screenless MP3 player.
(More on this below under Music
Playback.)
Transferring Music
The Zen Stone is MSC (UMS) meaning that it will work with any
modern operating system without
installing software, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Music
is as simple as dragging and dropping music files and/or entire
folder directories of music
files. I have zero complaints about this method; it is the
purest, easiest way to get music onto an MP3 player. If you are
interested, Windows Media Player
will also work with the Zen Stone, as it's compatible
with any type of removable media. This may be useful for using
features that will shuffle or
randomly select 1GB worth of music to the player. [Also note
that since the player is MSC, you are able to use the player as
a flash drive to store documents,
photos, and other file types.]
Creative Media Lite Software
Although not packaged with the Zen Stone, Creative Media Lite
software can be downloaded for free
on Creatives website. The lite version of their Creative
Media software is designed for the player to transfer music, rip
CDs, organize folders, and
manage some extra features you could only do on a player with
a screen. The main screen shows you the percentage of battery
left on the player as well as the
firmware version, which is also updated though the software.
There is also a volume limit feature that allows you to set the
maximum volume limit and
password-protects the ability to change it. This is useful for
protecting your childrens hearing.
Disassembly
Cracking into the Zen Stone without damaging it may be a bit
difficult. The face of the player is
snapped into four places near each of the corners. However,
all of the edges seem to be glued or fused together. I was not
able to get it apart without
causing serious cosmetic damage to the outside casing. There
is nothing user-serviceable, so breaking into the Zen Stone is
merely for the sport of it,
anyway.
Music Playback
There are two different play modes: repeat all and shuffle all.
Repeat all simply plays all the
files on the player in order. The order is alphabetical
by track title but also by folder title. For instance, if you
have a few folders and a few songs
in the root directory, the player will start with the
tracks in the files in the root directory (files not in a
folder) then move through the folders
alphabetically. The Zen Stone has no limit to the number
of folders but limits the depth of the folders to three. There
is also a file limit of 1000 total
files.
The player has a folder skip button that is activated by sliding
the switch to the left. This
will allow you to skip though one folder at a time. This is
nice for when you want to load entire albums onto the player
where the button will allow you to
flip though the 10-12 CDs you ripped to the player. It
could also be nice to make folders for different mixes. For
instance, you could make a folder
just for the gym or a folder for a party mix.
Sliding the switch to the right will put it in shuffle mode.
This will shuffle through all songs
and all file folders.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is pretty good and typical of Creatives line of
Zen players. I found that the
frequencies are well balanced, having a flat response. EQs are
always nice, but the Stone can get away without having one.
Conclusion
The Zen Stone is an extremely basic screenless 1GB MP3 player.
Without a screen, Creative added
some nice features that allow you to easily and blindly
navigate your tunes. The Zen Stone works with all modern
operating systems and doubles as a
standard data flash drive, making loading music and other files
as easy as it gets. I really have a hard time finding a
reasonable complaint for a screenless MP3
player priced at $40. If you need a simple music solution
or something to accompany your other player, pick one up. You
wont be disappointed.
----
Blind Bargains
http://www.blindbargains.com/
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