The Creative ZEN Mozaic is the latest example of Creative’s long-standing tradition of developing good-looking budget portable media players. The Mozaic comes in 2GB ($59.99 direct), 4GB ($79.99), and 8GB ($119.99) capacities, and its control pad, as its name would suggest, looks a lot like a tile mosaic. It’s the kind of player that puts fashion before function, but that doesn’t mean the Mozaic is a clunker. The user interface isn’t going to win any awards for ease of use, but with an FM radio, voice recording, and a small screen for video and photo, it offers a lot more than the no-frills, screen-free iPod shuffle for about the same price.
The itty-bitty Mozaic measures 3.1 by 1.6 by 0.5 (HWD) and weighs 1.6 ounces. It comes in three colors—black (all capacities), silver (4GB only), and pink (2GB and 4GB only). The black and silver versions look cool, while the pink player is more cute than slick. (We looked at the 2GB version in black.) The 1.8-inch screen has a low 128-by-160-pixel resolution, but that’s to be expected for a device in this price range. The controls on the front face offer typical navigation: Up, Down, Previous Menu, Extra Features, and a user-assignable Shortcut button that comes in handy if, say, you want to be only a click away from your photo collection. The Mozaic is also outfitted with a Power/Hold switch, a built-in speaker, a microphone for voice recording, a mini-USB jack for PC syncing, and a lanyard loop. The included earbuds sound typically subpar. If you want to stay in the budget range but improve your audio experience, upgrade to the Radius Atomic Bass or the Ultimate Ears Loud Enough earphones; both pairs are in the $40 range.
Also included is software that is pretty much essential if you want to load your videos onto the device: It converts most popular codecs into AVI files that will play on the Mozaic. Don’t expect to be blown away by the video quality here, but it’s not horrible considering the price. The same goes for photos: If they’re not JPEGs, files need to be converted. Audio codec support is a bit more generous and includes MP3, WMA, WAV, and Audible 4 files.
Navigation of the user interface is nearly identical to that of the new Creative ZEN X-Fi I am not a huge fan of the clunky menu layout or the number of seemingly needless steps required to play a song or view a photo, for example. Both lack the grace of Samsung players, whose elegant UI and graphics can be found in the company’s YP-T10 (and virtually all of its devices). Things just don’t look as sharp or move quite as smoothly as they do on a Samsung, or on an iPod for that matter. But after all, this is a $60 player; the lackluster interface is more of an issue with the $200 ZEN X-Fi.
Once I upgraded to earphones from Ultimate Ears, my listening experience was enjoyable—but, whoa, those bundled earbuds are rough. Even with the improved earphones, things still sounded a bit flat, but this was easily fixed by fiddling with the custom EQ settings to fit my personal tastes. It’s unfair to expect much from the included speaker given the device’s size—needless to say, it doesn’t get very loud.
Video performance, considering the modest screen size and resolution, is decent. The Mozaic is certainly not a device for critical viewing, but converted videos are bright and clear enough to watch, and the screen switches to horizontal mode for video. Strangely, it doesn’t switch orientation for photo viewing, so you see only a very small version of your photo, with black bars above and below.
The FM radio stores 32 presets and easily fills them with your highest-reception stations using the auto-scan function. Reception was clear and pleasant to listen to. As long as Apple continues to omit FM tuners in its iPods, this feature will remain an asset. There’s no FM recording, but there is a mic for voice recording, and recorded files are tidily stored under the Music menu in a dedicated folder.
Creative rates the audio battery life for the Mozaic at 36 hours, and 5 hours for video playback. Check back shortly for our battery test results.
Clearly, the Mozaic outdoes its closest Apple competitor, the screen-less $69 2GB shuffle, in terms of price and features, but Samsung and SanDisk also make affordable players with displays that are just as good. Samsung’s YP-S3 is pricier at $100 for 4GB, but you get a much better user interface and graphics into the bargain. SanDisk’s Sansa Fuze will also cost you a little more, at $79.99 for 2GB, but it offers an SD slot for expandable memory. All are worth checking out, but let’s face it: None possess the flair of the Creative ZEN Mozaic. If looks matter, this player should turn some heads, and its price makes it even more attractive.
Although saddled with a clunky name, Creative’s ZEN X-Fi with Wireless LAN offers plenty of features including wireless capabilities at a great price. Sure, I was occasionally frustrated with the unpolished user interface and the overwhelming number of controls. Ultimately, however, I was impressed by what the player can do. Streaming and downloading music wirelessly is a blast, and the player even lets you create avatars and chat with friends in Yahoo Instant Messenger or Windows Live Messenger. Wireless functionality aside, the ZEN X-Fi is a solid PMP that comes with far-better-than-average earphones.
Full Specifications:
Price as Tested: $199.99 – $279.99 List
Player Type: Flash MP3 Player
Radio: Yes
Recording, Voice: Yes
Recording, Line In: No
Video Recording: No
Music Playback Formats: Audible, MP3, WAV, WMA
Photo formats: JPEG
Video Formats: MPEG4, WMV
Audio Battery Life: 35.37 Hr
Screen Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
Screen Size: 2.5 inches
Storage Capacity: 16 GB
Dimensions: 3.3 x 2.2 x 0.5 inches
Weight: 2.4 oz
Notes: Price: $199.99 (16 GB); $279.99 (32 GB)
The wireless version of the ZEN X-Fi comes in two capacities, 16GB ($199.99) and 32GB ($279.99). There’s also a $149.99 8GB version, which lacks wireless capabilities, but offers everything else that the 16GB and 32GB models do. We took a look at the 16GB player.
Some people will see the slick, glossy black credit card-size 2.4-ounce ZEN X-Fi and instantly fall in love, but the thirteen buttons on the front panel seem excessive to me, especially in this era of scroll wheels and touch screens. Regardless, the nine-button, phone-pad-like array works in the same basic directional way that a scroll wheel does—the top middle button navigates up and the lower middle is down. The four additional buttons on the front panel are for skipping forward and backward, playing, pausing, and displaying submenus.
The 2.4-inch, 320 by 240-pixel screen offers sharp video and photo playback, but the codec support leaves something to be desired (more on that in a second). You get an SD slot for playing files stored on external cards, a mini USB slot for syncing with a PC, and a built-in mic, and speaker. The player comes with Creative Centrale, an app that organizes your PC’s music and media, and can convert your video files that won’t play nice with the ZEN X-Fi.
Codec support for audio is generous: MP3, WMA, WAV, Audible, and AAC4. For videos and photos, it’s far more limited. While Creative claims the player natively supports MPEG-4, MJPEG, and WMV video, all of my test files had to be converted with the software in order to play. This doesn’t mean is the company is fibbing, it’s just that the ZEN X-Fi will only play certain types of MPEG-4s and WMVs, and if all the file’s parameters aren’t to its liking, conversion is required. This is a bit annoying, but plenty of players, like the Sansa Fuze for example, require similar video conversion. Photo support is limited to JPGs.
The Wireless LAN feature is the flashiest aspect of the ZEN X-Fi. Unfortunately, it isn’t a snap to set up because the user interface isn’t intuitively organized. You have to poke around in the menus to find what you’re looking for. Also, the Creative Centrale software on your PC doesn’t default to sharing mode, so you need to first enable the Centrale Media Server or your player won’t be able to find your PC’s music. Connecting to an 802.11B or G wireless network is fairly straightforward, though entering a password on the keypad is a bit of a pain.
While the wireless functions of the ZEN X-Fi are limited to streaming and downloading files from your local wireless network (whether it be home or office) the results are pleasing. Right now, for instance, my player is streaming Radiohead off of a computer at the other end of the Labs. If I hear a song I want to put on the device, I can simply download it; a typical track takes less than a minute, and it’s a fun way to load up your player. Archos players like the 605 WiFi have offered this functionality for a while now, so it’s not exactly innovative, but it’s a nice addition.
Instant messaging is a nice feature to have, and one you won’t find on many other PMPs. But it isn’t all that easy to set up or use. Creating an avatar, or entering your user name and password, for example, are somewhat cumbersome since the tiny keys don’t always respond in the way you’d like them to. Nonetheless, I managed to send a Yahoo! buddy a few messages. But with no predictive text input, sending anything other than one word messages takes more time and practice than I have the patience for.
It’s a shame that the user interface makes things complicated. It’s easy, for instance, to navigate backwards and –whoops!—lose your wireless connection. This is because every time you return to the main screen of the Online menu option, you’re automatically disconnected, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. This is not a graceful UI, and if that’s what you crave most, you’re better off with an iPod or a Samsung device, like the YP-T10.
The ZEN X-Fi offers enough positives to help balance its navigational negatives. There’s no urgent need to upgrade these earphones, since they fit well and deliver a respectable amount of low-end—this is rarely the case with other players. The EQ settings truly allow you to sculpt the audio experience to your personal listening preferences. The X-Fi Crystalizer and Expand options have never really floated my boat—I’m not a big believer in applying algorithms to perfectly good mixes in order to make them seem more multi-dimensional, mainly because it rarely sounds good. Regardless, if that’s your thing, the ZEN X-Fi also gives you that option. The FM radio comes with 32 presets, and an auto-scan function that will fill them in with your highest-reception stations, and the voice recorder works is easy to use.
Creative rates the battery life at 36 hours for audio playback and 5 hours for video, and both of those numbers will decrease if you choose to use the built-in speaker. Our audio rundown test yielded an unsurprising 35 hours and 22 minutes. Video tests are underway.
So, let’s recap. Setting up the wireless isn’t the easiest, but it’s lots of fun to play with once you get it configured properly. The earphones are that rare-breed of quality accessories that eliminate the need to upgrade—unless you are a complete sound snob. These two factors alone make the ZEN X-Fi an amazing value at $200. The Achilles heel here is the user interface, which won’t win any awards for its simplicity. The ZEN X-Fi almost reminds me of an Archos player with its excellent features, but not-so-great navigation. If you can’t get past the cumbersome user interface, the Zune 8GB has similar Wi-Fi features but is more gracefully executed, while Samsung and Apple players have the best-looking graphics and smoothest navigation out there.
In this review we will take a look at two of Creative’s high capacity flash-based MP3 players, the Zen V and the Zen V Plus. The Zen V Plus adds an FM radio, video playback, and capacities up to 8GB. Both versions of the Zen V also come in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities.
The Zen V players are priced to compete with other high capacity players like the Samsung Z5, SanDisk Sansa e200, iPod Nano, and Meizu miniPlayer, to name a few in this fast growing category. Fans of the Zen line will be pleased with this entrant for the familiar, easy-to-use interface and design found on the entire Creative Zen line of MP3 players with a few extras. Simply put, the Zen V and V Plus are smaller and slightly improved versions of the Zen Micro Photo.
Accessories
Inside the box you will find a typical set of accessories in addition to the player, including earbuds, line-in cable, standard USB cable, cloth lanyard, and a carrying pouch that will hold all of the accessories.
Currently, there are quite a few standard accessories from Creative and third party manufactures such as leather and silicon cases, armbands and chargers. The player will also fit in some of the upcoming TravelDock speaker docking stations.
Design
The Zen V Plus feels good in your hand – like a lightweight, polished river rock. It is one of those things you’d like to hold even if you were not using it. The player feels light and plastic-y, but it does have a sense of durability. The best way to describe the Zen V’s build quality is that it is like that of a very well-made toy.
One of the more frequent complaints Creative got about the Zen Vision:M was how easy it was to scratch. Even under normal and careful use, the Zen Vision:M develops scratches on its surface due to the soft plastic used for the entire face of the player.
The Zen V, however, has a very durable scratch-resistant coating covering the player. While I would not call it scratch proof, it does hold up very well under real world use. Over the month of using this player, I would purposely and carelessly toss it face down or face up on a desk or counter, put it in a bag for transport with other items without a case, and basically use it without care for its shiny finish. Also on multiple occasions I would try to scratch the player by rubbing it face down on my desk or lightly rubbing it with metal keys. Today, after a month of light abuse, the player only shows light scratches on the face that are difficult to see and are only noticeable when you look for them.
The bottom line is you can use the Zen V outside of a case without fear of scratching it if you are not abusive with your gadgets. To fully enjoy the design and size of this player, sans case is the best way to go.
Screen
The screen on the Zen V measures in at 1.5” sporting 128×128 OLED pixels. Creative decided to use an OLED screen instead of an LCD for two reasons: cost and battery life, the latter probably being more significant. OLED provides those benefits but usually falls a little bit short in the areas of color and clarity when compared to most LCD screens. OLED generally has a slower screen refresh rate than an LCD, so the screen has a flicker to it that can wear on your eyes if you are viewing it for extended periods of time. This is not to say that the screen is bad; it far exceeds the needs for browsing music, tweaking your settings, or displaying tiny album art. What I am pointing out is that the screen is not the best for displaying photos or watching video but will be sufficient for the average user.
User Interface
Navigation Controls
I have complained about players’ interfaces being too small for my larger than average hands, but the Zen V is surprisingly comfortable. I find it no more difficult to hold and use than players in the same class such as the Samsung Z5 or the SanDisk Sansa e200. Even though the Zen V is shorter than these players, the thickness provides more comfort when holding and operating the controls.
Creative has ditched the touch interface for this player and has gone with all tactile controls. I really appreciate this because I find that tactile controls are much more accurate than touch interfaces. The player does exactly what you want it to do when you press the buttons. Some early reviews have reported that the joystick felt cheap, but I don’t find this to be the case. Like the overall build quality of the player, it does feel like a toy and it does feel plastic-y, but the joystick does not feel like it would break under normal to heavy use.
The one thing I would change about the navigation controls is the location of the back and play/pause buttons. It would seem to favor left handers because it’s easier to extend your thumb to reach the buttons than it is to bring your thumb in to press these buttons. If you have larger hands and you reach in for these buttons, you lose some of your overall grip on the player when using it in your right hand. If you were to move these buttons to the left side of the player it would be more comfortable for right handers, but lefties would find it more cumbersome. Putting both buttons at the top, one on the left one on the right, would make it more comfortable for both parties.
Graphical User Interface
Across the board Creative has a very easy and intuitive interface, and this also holds true for the Zen V. If you have used any of the recent Zen models you are already familiar with the Zen V. Here is a quick video of the player in use. If you’ve not seen the Zen interface, it will give you a great over view. Please note that the quality of the actual video playback is much better in person. Refresh rates of the OLED screen and the frame rate of the camera do not match, causing an exaggerated flicker in the video.
User Interface
Navigation Controls
I have complained about players’ interfaces being too small for my larger than average hands, but the Zen V is surprisingly comfortable. I find it no more difficult to hold and use than players in the same class such as the Samsung Z5 or the SanDisk Sansa e200. Even though the Zen V is shorter than these players, the thickness provides more comfort when holding and operating the controls.
Creative has ditched the touch interface for this player and has gone with all tactile controls. I really appreciate this because I find that tactile controls are much more accurate than touch interfaces. The player does exactly what you want it to do when you press the buttons. Some early reviews have reported that the joystick felt cheap, but I don’t find this to be the case. Like the overall build quality of the player, it does feel like a toy and it does feel plastic-y, but the joystick does not feel like it would break under normal to heavy use.
The one thing I would change about the navigation controls is the location of the back and play/pause buttons. It would seem to favor left handers because it’s easier to extend your thumb to reach the buttons than it is to bring your thumb in to press these buttons. If you have larger hands and you reach in for these buttons, you lose some of your overall grip on the player when using it in your right hand. If you were to move these buttons to the left side of the player it would be more comfortable for right handers, but lefties would find it more cumbersome. Putting both buttons at the top, one on the left one on the right, would make it more comfortable for both parties.
Graphical User Interface
Across the board Creative has a very easy and intuitive interface, and this also holds true for the Zen V. If you have used any of the recent Zen models you are already familiar with the Zen V. Here is a quick video of the player in use. If you’ve not seen the Zen interface, it will give you a great over view. Please note that the quality of the actual video playback is much better in person. Refresh rates of the OLED screen and the frame rate of the camera do not match, causing an exaggerated flicker in the video.
Transferring Media
There are many different media players that will allow you to transfer your tunes to your Zen V, including Windows Media Player, Winamp, and Media Monkey to name a few. The player comes bundled with Creative MediaSource 5, which is Creative’s answer to a media player slash organizer. While it is just like any other media player, it is less bloated than Windows Media Player so it runs quite a bit faster. This version of Creative MediaSource is a nice improvement over recent versions, but could still be improved on consistency and user interface.
If you have Windows XP and the latest updates, you can drag and drop your music on to the V. It works just fine but it is not as seamless as a drag and drop UMS drive. I really would like to see Creative add UMS support for their players so transferring music is more transparent and can be used with operating systems other than Windows XP.
Battery
The battery is rated by Creative at 15 hours. I did a few drain tests and they actually went beyond the rated 15 hours, closer to 17 hours. However, under typical use I was getting closer to, and slightly less than, the rated 15 hours. This is probably more accurate and closer to what a typical user will get out of this player.
Features
FM Radio (Zen V Plus Only)
The radio reception is on par with any standard FM radio. Reception can vary, however, depending on the headphones, because the Zen V uses the headphone jack as an antennae. I found very slight variation among various headphones and earbuds, but it was inconsistent – meaning that there were no apparent characteristics that made one better than the other. Something missing from this model that has been on previous Zen products was FM recording. It may be for legal or licensing reasons since users have been reporting that new versions of firmwares for other Zen models have removed the FM recording feature.
Line-In Recording
Creative has added a line-in feature for direct encoding from any audio source in either 128 or 160kbps MP3. The line-in feature has a sync track option that will automatically break up tracks into individual files if you are recording directly from a CD. These track separations are cued by a few seconds of silence in between tracks. You could also plug a microphone directly into the line-in but, depending on the microphone, you may need a mic amp.
Voice Recording
Voice recording is very straightforward and the recordings sound as good as any other voice recording MP3 player. The recording screen shows the levels before and during recording. Recordings can be paused and resumed and still keep one continuous file. It would, however, have been nice to be able to choose the recording format rather than have only one option, the IMA ADPCM 16kHz mono WAV format.
Organizer
The Zen V has a built-in, read-only organizer that will display your contacts, calendar, and task list. You can edit this with the supplied software, or you can automatically sync the player with Outlook.
Removable Disk
Aside from media files, data files can be transferred to and from the Zen V in two different ways. The first way will only work if you have Windows XP with the latest version of Windows Media Player installed or Creative’s software that is bundled with the player. This works fine, but you are out of luck if you wish to take your data to a different operating system or a Windows XP machine without the above mentioned software installed.
The second option is to use the removable disk feature on this player. Under the menu item “extras” there is an option to partition the player’s memory to work for more or less any modern computer you may encounter. But the drawback to using this feature is the partitioned space. Even when empty, it takes away from the amount of music and media you can store.
Photos
As I discussed earlier, the OLED may not be the best for viewing photos but will be sufficient for the average user. Browsing photos on the Zen V is very easy and straightforward. Slideshows can be played at the same time music is played.
Video (Zen V Plus Only)
Video on the Zen V Plus is more of a bonus feature than a main feature. Video is very watchable even with a small screen and only 15 frames per second. But the converted files are very large, most of the time larger than the original file size. How can that be on a 128×128 pixel screen? The Zen V Plus uses a Motion JPEG Video Codec because it does not have the processing power to play back highly compressed video files such as DivX or XviD. Every hour of video will take up 1.2GB of space, so don’t expect to get too many movies on the smaller capacity Vs.
Audio
The audio quality playback is what you would expect from any Creative Zen player. While it may not be audiophile quality, it will not disappoint the casual-to-selective listener.
Playlists & Bookmarks
Creative does a really good job with bookmarking and playlist features on this player. Playlists are easily created by adding to and saving your “now playing” lists. Additionally, you can name these playlists, which is different from previous Zen players. For audio books, podcasts, and other long length files, you are able to add up to 10 bookmarks so that you do not have to scan through an hour or two of audio. But, if you do need to scan through long files, unlike with other MP3 players, it is not difficult to do since the scanning gets progressively faster as you hold down the button.
Album Art
Album art is displayed on the “now playing” screen and can be made full screen by pushing the center of the 5-way joystick. This player handles album art better than most other MP3 players by reading it directly from ID3 tags. Some other players require an actual JPEG file under a specific size and dimension in the album folder residing on the player. It works, but it can get messy and may take extra steps to get it to work properly. This problem does not exist with the Zen V. The Zen V will read the embedded album art and display it correctly without problems or additional steps. When you are not adding album art to your ripped CDs, the Zen V handles album art from pay downloads and subscriptions just as well.
Conclusion
The Zen V is not a leap in innovation; it is very similar to the rest of Creative’s Zen line of MP3 players with subtle and incremental improvements. Overall I am really happy with the Zen V / Zen V Plus. It will keep up with other flash players in its class like the Z5, Nano, e200, and many others entering this category. Comparatively, the Zen V has more of a “fun” feel to it. It may not be the most feature-filled player, but it’s straightforward, no nonsense, and feels great in your hand.
The Creative Zen V Plus offers a cute, pocket-friendly design without sacrificing screen real estate, and the vivid OLED display is viewable from any angle. The player is packed to the gills with features, including an FM radio, voice and line-in recording, photo and video playback, and compatibility with subscription WMA tracks. It’s the first flash player to be offered with up to 16GB of memory. Oh, and the sound quality and battery life are great too.
The Creative Zen V Plus’s joystick is really small and has a cheap feel to it, and we wish Creative had included all the buttons found on the Vision:M. The screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight, and there’s no UMS support.
The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you’re looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), look elsewhere.
Specifications:
Product type Digital player / radio
PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB
Digital player signal-to-noise ratio 92 dB
Digital Player total harmonic distortion 0.05 %
Flash memory installed 4 GB Integrated
Weight 1.6 oz
Dimensions (W x D x H) 1.7 in x 0.6 in x 2.7 in
Color Blue
Available body colors Black , White
Voice recording capable Yes
Included accessories Lanyard
Software type Creative MediaSource , Creative Media Explorer , Creative ZENcast Organizer
Digital player supported digital audio standards MP3 , WAV , WMA , ADPCM , Audible , Protected WMA (DRM 9)
AT&T have announced the availability beginning today of the new smartphone HTC FUZE, a rebrand version of HTC Touch Pro. The HTC FUZE provides users with a familiar QWERTY keyboard paired with HTC’s TouchFLO 3D touch-screen user interface for easy one-touch access to a range of fun and powerful features.
TouchFLO 3D is designed for one-hand operation using simple, gesture-based navigation, allowing customers to simply touch, hold and slide along the screen tabs. A quick slide on the home screen quickly activates the most used features such as e-mail, text messaging, music player and camera. This instinctive interface extends to the powerful Web browser. A useful “zoom in, zoom out” feature makes it especially fun and easy to access the Web via the included Opera browser, which provides for desktop-like Web page renderings and user interactions.
The HTC FUZE features a sharp, 262K color 2.8-inch (480 x 640) VGA touch screen for touch-sensitive navigation control, complete with three-dimensional animated transitions. For e-mail, messaging and other data input, the HTC FUZE also comes equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, which was designed specifically for AT&T and slides out from the smartphone’s side.
The HTC FUZE is available now for as low as $299.99. List of pricing options include:
No Commitment : $499.99
1 Year Contract w/o $50 MIR : $424.99
1 Year Contract w/ $50 MIR : $374.99
2 Year Contract w/o $50 MIR : $349.99
Key HTC Touch Pro Specifications
Size: 102 x 51 x 18.05mm
Weight: 165 g
Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA
Motorola has announced that its new MOTO VE240 cell phone will be available to Cricket Communications and Metro PCS customers. The phone should be available from Cricket Communications in Tulsa on November 15th, though there isn’t any word on pricing just yet. The VE240 will have features such as:
Motorola has quietly released 2 new Bluetooth headsets, the H270 and the H390. The H270 looks like your normal entry-level headset with a call/end button and volume control keys. It will be able to last about 6 hours of talk-time and 6 days of standby time. The H390 on the other hand, will have a longer lasting battery which should be good for up to 8 hours of talk-time and 8 days of standby time. Another feature of the H390 is the LED indicator which is capable of displaying 3 colors, green, yellow and red. It probably goes without saying that green indicates that it’s fully charged, yellow after some use, and red when it needs to be juiced up again.
Inkel of Korea has just released the WPI-8000, which is a VoIP phone that is rather slim and lightweight. If you’re fond of VoIP, then you’ll definitely find some of its features useful, such as:
