CREDIT CARD-SIZE CREATIVE ZEN WITH STUNNING 2.5 INCH COLOUR SCREEN

INTRODUCING THE AMAZING, CREDIT CARD-SIZE CREATIVE ZEN™ MUSIC, VIDEO AND PHOTO PLAYER WITH STUNNING 2.5 INCH COLOUR SCREEN

Tiny player includes SD memory slot for additional storage and easy transfer of content. The Creative ZEN will be showcased at IFA, Berlin, August 31 – 5 September.

Creative, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, announces the Creative ZEN™ – the credit card-sized music, video and photo player with a stunning 2.5-inch colour screen. The first Creative player to support music in AAC format, the Creative ZEN enables users to listen to up to 4,000 tracks ripped from CDs using the iTunes player.1 It also supports unprotected iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store, in addition to MP3 and WMA music tracks. Designed to carry many hours of video or thousands of photos, the Creative ZEN is available in models with 4, 8 or 16GB storage. It also features an SD memory slot which enables people to add virtually unlimited storage capacity and easily bring new music, video or photos to their players.

“The Creative ZEN immediately gets attention because it has the same size screen as our award-winning ZEN Vision:M, but is so much smaller, lighter and thinner,” says Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “Now people can have a great video watching experience with a very compact player.”

The Creative ZEN supports a wide selection of video formats, including MPEG-4, DivX, XviD and WMV. One charge of the built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 5 hours of video playback or up to 25 hours for music. Users can purchase tracks from popular download sites and choose from music subscription services.

The Creative ZEN’s 2.5-inch TFT colour display supports up to 16.7 million colours. The patented ZEN user interface has been given a fresh new look for a more stunning visual experience, enabling more information to be viewed on the screen. The player also includes a built-in FM radio with 32 station presets, a voice recorder, and a personal organiser which can synchronise contacts, ‘to do’ lists, and calendars with Microsoft Outlook.

ZEN at-a-glance guide.

· Incredibly small – 55 x 83 x 12mm. The credit card-sized Creative ZEN can be taken everywhere for total enjoyment!

· Audio quality is an outstanding 97dB SNR, so the Creative ZEN sounds as good as or better than many home music systems.

· Available with 4, 8 or 16GB of memory. SD/SDHC card slot supports extra plug-in storage.

· 16GB model can store up to 8000 songs. 8GB model can store up to 4000 songs. 4GB model can store up to 2000 songs.2

· Support for MP3 and AAC enables users to play all their ripped music! Access the widest choice of music downloads from the web, thanks to support for WMA.

· Enjoy video in WMV or DivX/XviD at 320x240 resolution. Automatically convert from other formats using the supplied software.

· View photos on the brilliant 2.5-inch screen in up to 16.7 million colours. Import them from PC or digital camera via SD card.

· Built-in FM radio and microphone.

The Creative ZEN is being launched with a broad ecosystem of accessories, including:

· ZEN Leather Case – With integrated stand and SD Card holders.

· ZEN Clear Case – Hard clear case with stand.

· ZEN Armband – Soft fabric with player enclosure.

· ZEN Skin Pack – Pack of three (red, blue, black).

· ZEN Skin with Wire Management – Black Skin with earphone wire holder.

· ZEN Universal Power Adapter – Worldwide plugs supplied.

· ZEN Power Adapter – UK and European plugs supplied.

· ZEN Screen Protector – Keeps the screen looking clean and colourful.


(1)Based on 16GB player with AAC format encoded at 128kbps or MP3 format encoded at 128kbps. iTunes is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

(2)Based on four-minute tracks in WMA at 64kbps.

FORMAT SUPPORT:

* Creative's new ZEN is a revolutionary step for the company. For the first time ever, a Creative MP3 player is supporting music in AAC format. On top of traditional Microsoft formats, the Creative ZEN will play CDs ripped in iTunes and support non-DRM downloads from the iTunes store"Music Support: MP3, WMA, M4A (non-DRM AAC)
o Video Support: WMV, DivX/XviD; other formats will be converted using bundled software

CAPACITY & SD EXPANSION:

* Creative's new ZEN MP3 video player comes in a range of storage capacities. The 4GB model will hold 2000 tracks, the 6GB version with take 4000 tracks while the 16GB version holds 8000 of your favourite tunes.
o Available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, with an SD slot for memory expansion
o Priced at 4GB £99.99; 8GB £139.99; 16GB pricing TBC

SCREEN:

* Creative's new ZEN player has a 2.5 inch, 16.7 million colour screen, making films and photos look stunning whilst on the move
o 2.5 inch screen with up to 16.7 million colours

BATTERY:

* Creative's new ZEN player has a built-in rechargeable battery, providing 25 hours of music or 5 hours of video playback, meaning you will run out of steam long before your ZEN does.
o Built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery, 5 hour video playback or 25 hour music

About Creative Labs

Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet. Famous for its Sound Blaster and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like the award-winning Zen and MuVo Personal Audio Players. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

Founded in 1981, Creative Technology's corporate headquarters are in Singapore. Creative Labs Europe was established in 1993 to capture a bigger share of the growing European market. Its Headquarters and Operations/Technical Centre (EOTC) facility are based in Dublin, Ireland, and provide an efficient, localised and customised product supply service to the European market. They also provide strategic customer support functions to Creative's sales offices in Benelux, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The European operation currently employs around 400 people.

 

Sounds pretty bomb, but I'm sticking with my Zen Vision. Any word on the resolution of the screen? I've been searching but no actual numbers, just the size and number of colours.

 

I've got an original Zen Micro, and its now not got enough space for my needs. Might be worth a look.

 

Wow! Nice spec, nice size, good features.

Wonder what Apple will bring to the table? The new Nano is set for release in a couple of days...

 

++

It says "Enjoy video in WMV or DivX/XviD at 320x240 resolution" so that's probably the screen resolution

Sounds like an interesting player, with good battery life. Be interesting to see what the street price is

 

My Zen Vision's screen is 640x480, yet the included Creative Video Converter only lets me pick varying qualities of 320x240 to convert my video to.

 

Probably because it can't cope with a higher res. to decode with DivX/XviD

 

The program or the device?

The software shouldn't have a problem as far as I can see. The movie was actually already in DivX but when I copied it to the device it errored "non-compatible format" so I loaded the video into the converter and the converter informed me "video is already in playable format, proceed anyway?" so I did, and even after re-encoding it to 320x240 it would only play the audio track and no video on the Zen. Last time I'll use that converter software.

 

*wonders what the 16GB version will cost*

if it wont end up too expensive i'll definitely get one..... (bye bye creative zen v plus 4 gb)

 

I'll email back and ask for some pics and further details.

 

I saw the announcements for the ZEN yesterday and it sounds totally awesome.

I currently own a 30GB Zen Vision:M, and it's never been more than half full. I am also an iTunes Music Store user. I hate transcoding iTunes AAC files to MP3 to play on my Vision:M, but I don't want an iPod, so this looks perfect!

If the price on the 16GB version is reasonable (£150?), I may be selling my Vision:M and replacing it with a shiny new ZEN. The fact it takes SD cards is also a bonus.

 

id be tempted by the 16gb one too if it isnt going to be silly money.

 

no mass-storage compliant = no purchase. i don't want to have to use windows media player to transfer. it is a sexy little player though, and divx/xvid support is nice.

 

So it is only 320x240 pixels. Same as the iPod, but super expensive because of all the flash. Other than the smallness I don't think theres really that much going for this device.

 

Right, I got some more info for you:

Images added to the first post. Any specific questions you want to know I can ask Creative, they're quite happy there's some interest so quickly.

 

Sounds good but your pictures on the first post aren't coming up yet. Be good if they undercut the ipod, sell alot then I would think

There they are

 

If it works the same way as the Vision:M, then although it doesn't bring up a drive letter as a USB Storage Device would, you can still use Explorer to drag/drop files onto it.

 

I just read on the link below that the expected UK price for the 16Gig version is £200. Would be nice if Creative could confirm that
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=42000

 

If that's the case then I may just get an 8GB version. I already paid through the nose for my Vision:M and probably won't get much of a return on it second-hand if/when I sell it.

 

yes, that's microsoft's proprietary "media transfer protocol" and it only works on XP. no thanks.

edit: engadget says $229USD for the 16gb. that's getting mighty tempting. http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/28/slim-new-creative-zen-shows-up-on-amazon/