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Creative Announces the Zen Stone
comment: 96 | Thursday, May 03 (2007) 07:43AM | Posted by Michael
Well this was unexpected! Creative has just announced the Zen Stone, after stating the new player wouldn't come for a few weeks in their conference call two days ago. As we predicted earlier (at epiZENter.net), The Zen Stone is indeed made to compete with the iPod Shuffle. Like the shuffle, the Stone does not have a screen, and can play songs randomly (i.e. shuffle them). You can also play songs in order by skipping through various folders. The good news here is it's going to retail for $39.99 for 1GB; That's 40.00 cheaper than the iPod Shuffle! I really like the design of this player. It's very simple, but like previous Zen players, the glossy finish and curvaceous build are a nice touch.



  • 1GB Capacity
  • Supports MP3, WMA (DRM9) and Audible (Subscription content not supported).
  • Standard mini-USB connection for easy downloads from your PC.
  • Up to 10 hours playtime from built-in rechargeable battery.
  • Choose your color - black, white, green, blue, red, pink
  • Dimensions: 53.7 x 35.3 x 12.8mm
  • Price: $39.99




The battery life is a bit lower than the Shuffle at 10 hours (compared to 12). The player is a UMS device, meaning it will show up as a standard flash drive, allowing you to drag and drop files on any OS. I'm not sure how successful the player will be, but the value is incredible. I'm sure a lot of people would opt for the Stone over the Shuffle considering it's half the price. Sim Wong Hoo, CEO of Creative agrees as well:

“This is an incredible price for everyone to get a high-quality MP3 player capable of holding up to 500 songs. Whether it's your only player or a second one to take with you anywhere, this price lets you think of MP3 players in a whole new way.”



The player is available right now in black (other colors coming by May 14th) at Creative's US store, and is accompanied by a number of accessories including a silicone skin with a built-in clip, an armband, and a keychain case. There's even plans to release a docking station specifically for the Zen Stone. The TravelSound Zen Stone as it's called will dock the player and will run on two AA batteries good for 20 hours of playback. The mini speaker dock will retail for $39.99 in July.

via, epiZENter.net

Sources:

Product Page
Press Release
Gizmodo

Thanks, the_sidewinder

Click the link below for a Zen Stone commercial, and more pics, including comparison shots with the iPod Shuffle.

[ Read the rest ... ]
Comments

Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 03 (2007) 08:03AM  

well, the fact that Creative actually releases the player ahead of the announced schedule, and not follow their practice of announcing it, then waiting months to get them into the stores, is a good change for the better, IMO.

It definitely does have the family resemblance of the Zen V and ZVM. 10 hours battery life is not good, though, when the Stone is a direct competitor to the Shuffle, which has 25 hours life. That's an automatic plus for the shuffle over the Stone, that's not largely subjective.

and how does the Stone rate a speaker dock at birth, when the ZVM needed about a year to get one from Creative??? That hurts........

hmmmm, does not support subscription-based wma's, but does support DRM'd wma's........that's a new one......


[ edited May 03 (2007) 08:07AM ]



HipHopScribe

Comments: 126
 		May 03 (2007) 08:09AM  

10 hours battery life is not good, though, when the Stone is a direct competitor to the Shuffle, which has 25 hours life. That's an automatic plus for the shuffle over the Stone, that's not largely subjective.


12 hours for the Shuffle, not 25.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 08:13AM  

Yeah the shuffle gets 12 hours Lacene. I even wrote it in the newspost. I got the subscription info from Gizmodo. Creative told them:

Subscription support would have required much more processing power, which would have increased the cost and price of the player. We felt that the vast majority of folks would have 1GB of non-protected content and so it would be best to go with the great price of $39.99 instead of trying to support everything and offer a more expensive player.

[ edited May 03 (2007) 08:13AM ]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 03 (2007) 08:14AM  

hunh....I wonder why I was thinking 25 all this time. Guess I confused it with the Nano. OK, it's not so bad, then....



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 08:17AM  

The battery life is also based on "four-minute tracks at 64kbps in WMA" A lot of times, Creative's players play for longer than their rated battery life. 10 hours is around the cutoff for me. Anything lower would be poor. This is fairly average for these small types of players (Shuffle, S10, etc..)
[ edited May 03 (2007) 08:17AM ]



Deano

Comments: 123
 		May 03 (2007) 08:53AM  

It's a shuffle clone? *sigh* I was hoping for something more exciting (well, exciting for my personal taste I mean). Admittently, it is far cheaper than Apple's offering, but is this it Creative? I wonder why it took them to come up with this. :/



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 08:58AM  

Creative is losing money every quarter, so they released this because it's low on cost, and thus is an attempt to increase profit margins. They do have plans tor a two other players later this year which will be more attractive to this crowd.

If the Shuffle has an audience, then certainly the Stone will find one too. If it's seated next to the iPod player at Best Buy, I really believe some will be drawn to this one instead. Apple is typically the company to shake up the retail standard for mainstream players, but Creative just did that with this player in my opinion.

I don't fully support this player, since I like players with screens. Over the last few months I've gained an understanding for why some go for such players though. It's simple, great for workouts, and some people out there simply have no need for a screen. I'll be providing a review of it at epiZENter in the near future. I'll compare it to the shuffle and everything. Stay tuned
[ edited May 03 (2007) 09:05AM ]



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 03 (2007) 09:13AM  

Ok,

I really like this thing, and even though I do have a SHUFFLE 2, I will be getting this for three reasons:

1. I really like CREATIVE product's sound quality.

2. I'm really digging the looks

3. The price point is ideal for this type of player.

Looks like the iPod SHUFFLE 2 now represents the worst DAP value on the planet!
[ edited May 03 (2007) 09:14AM ]



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 09:29AM  

I'd love to see your paint job on it DaHarder



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		May 03 (2007) 09:48AM  

wrote ...
So I think the whole industry will just laugh at it, because the flash people — it's worse than the cheapest Chinese player. Even the cheap, cheap Chinese brand today has display and has FM. They don't have this kind of thing, and they expect to come out with a fight; I think it's a non-starter to begin with.


;)

the shuffle got 15.8 hours in cnet's test. i'm curious to see how this will do. congrats on the UMS. this is like the shuffle's voluptuous sister. AMAZING price.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 09:51AM  

I was waiting for that quote!. It's the first thing I thought of when I heard about this player a few weeks ago. I was like how can they make an iPod shuffle competitor when they pretty much bashed it when it was originally released? I was going to save that rant of mine for my review, but oh how times have changed for Creative.

[ edited May 03 (2007) 09:53AM ]



Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		May 03 (2007) 10:22AM  

so, this is the new X-Fi player ? 2007 and no screen ?
Forget about shuffle and this stone that will fall to the bottom of the (i)river.
The best buy mp3s (insignia brand) are better than this!



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 10:26AM  

No this isn't the X-Fi player. Please read our news more often Ricardo. If you did, you'd know the X-Fi won't be here for a while. i've told you this multiple times before, but unfortunately it seems you've forgotten once again.

I've added some more content in the extended newspost, including a comparison shot with the Shuffle, and a Stone commercial:



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		May 03 (2007) 10:27AM  

Ricard wrote ...
so, this is the new X-Fi player ?

no.

insignia players start out at $70. thats a lot more than $40. i would hope they would be better.



Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		May 03 (2007) 10:35AM  

the shuffle color combination looks better than this...too.



Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		May 03 (2007) 10:43AM  

is this the first flash player w/o FM tuner from Creative ?
the iriver thingy w/o screen got FM. why are they copying apple ? are they losing their mind ?

I paid 40 USD for my 2GB insignia player on ebay. open box mind you but working. By the same token, I'll pay at most 20 USD for this on ebay.



pecker

Comments: 501
 		May 03 (2007) 10:59AM  

thanks for the laughs ricardo


TheCrunge

Comments: 2
 		May 03 (2007) 11:09AM  

Glad I held off on getting a used first gen shuffle. This is cheaper and nicer. Can't wait to hear how the SQ is when it comes out. If its good I will get at least one of these beauties



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 03 (2007) 11:09AM  

Geez!

If you don’t care for the player, then don’t buy it…

It’s pretty simple, No?

Personally, I’m really liking this player more and more, especially when I think of how ideal it might be for a preschooler who just has to have an MP3 player for their BARNEY Tunes.

Taken in that context, it really is perfect, as it’s colorful, playful looking, and has very safe rounded edges, unlike the more industrial/sharp edged SHUFFLE.

If SANDISK can market the ‘ultra-silly’ SHAKER, then CREATIVE can certainly find a nice ‘niche’ for this little cutie.


kadajawi

Comments: 51
 		May 03 (2007) 11:17AM  

I like Apples design, but... this is just beautiful (mostly the black version, but the white one is nice too. The other colors not so). The name really fits. Beautiful. Can't stop staring at this.

The price is a bit high though, and maybe they could also make an upgraded version with a small OLED screen...
[ edited May 03 (2007) 11:18AM ]



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 11:20AM  

The price is a bit high?



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 03 (2007) 11:24AM  

they already have an upgraded version with a small OLED screen




they call it........the Zen V



[ edited May 03 (2007) 11:41AM ]



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 03 (2007) 11:28AM  

If ANYONE currently logged onto this forum considers this DAP To Be Priced Too High, My ONLY Question Is…

How Can You Possibly Afford To Even Have A Computer or Internet Service?

IMO – This DAP (may well) Represent The Best Value In All Of Digital Audio!


DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 03 (2007) 11:35AM  

By The Way...

Here's 1st review: [Linky]



Donnie

Comments: 247
 		May 03 (2007) 11:48AM  

The price is attractive, and comparing to other DAPs in the same price tier, this Zen Stone definitely has some quality to it.

If only Creative didn't bungle the other models or dropped support on the older models like a disowned family member.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 03 (2007) 12:06PM  

the PC Mag review says the Stone supports AAC??????

PC Mag says the Stone is 0.33" thick? And not 12.8mm (0.5")????



there are a lot of folks out there who like to use a small, simple DAP to play their music, or their audio books, that just work and doesn't require a lot of downtime at the PC. Just plug it in, drag + drop, unplug and enjoy! That's what I like about the e200 Sansa.....

While I also prefer a LED screen of some sort on my DAP's, I certainly can see how many would want this, especially with the success of the Shuffle generations. The price is awesome. This is a great starter-DAP for kids or teens who just want their music and are not so caught up in peer-pressure (if that's possible).

Now all Creative needs to do somehow is advertise the Stone to the consumer so they know it exists as an option to the Shuffle.



[ edited May 03 (2007) 12:14PM ]



Anthony7

Comments: 98
 		May 03 (2007) 12:29PM  

Although as said, this wouldn't fit in for most dapreview users needs or tastes, I think Creative did a good job with the Zen Stone. It is 1Gb of storage for only $40 USD.
I don't like that it doesn't have a screen, but it is a great starter DAP, and IMO this is a much better design than the ipod shuffle.



Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		May 03 (2007) 12:33PM  

now, the Creative fanbase will lay waste on Creative's forums 'cause they remove the full FM tuner from the stone...LOL
so Creative, first x-Dock for iPod, now this. and when you will release your iphone, sorry I mean Meizu M8 derivative ?



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 12:37PM  

Can you please stop trolling Ricardo? This isn't the first player to lack an FM tuner. Please do some research before coming here with your poor comments.



Pondlife

Comments: 507
 		May 03 (2007) 01:00PM  

The cons in that review are slightly odd.

"Can't play while charging or loading."

Can many players play while loading, don't think I've had one that can.

"Lousy earbuds."

How unusual.


I could imagine having this as a standby, looks small enough to keep around in case main daps battery runs out unexpectedly.



Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		May 03 (2007) 01:07PM  

in other news, Slacker will be available at 400.00 for a mere 12GB meal or 150.00 if you are in a 2GB diet.
[ edited May 03 (2007) 01:09PM ]



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 03 (2007) 01:30PM  

Wow, looks nice , and its cheap....!!!!

This versus the S10 at the moment.

Ricardo, you are like a goat or something right? I dunno I have this gut feeling that you're simply not entirely with it?



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 01:43PM  

Ricardo, please check your PM's. Thank You.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 03 (2007) 01:57PM  

it 40 euro too..... i dunoo, should i feel happy or sad
[ edited May 03 (2007) 01:59PM ]



sdsdv10

Comments: 243
 		May 03 (2007) 02:39PM  

Dominic said...
it 40 euro too..... i dunoo, should i feel happy or sad


Sad, of course....
DAP owners on the other side of the Atlantic always get screwed on price. I feel for you guys/gals.



MusicLoverMike
Location: Cincinnati, Oh
Comments: 26
 		May 03 (2007) 02:41PM  

Very nice design, and excellent price point. I have a friend who will probably buy one of these for her sister. She wanted to spend no more than $40 on a DAP. I might get one just because it supports Audible.

I hope Creative does well with this product - we consumers benefit from the competition with Apple.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 03 (2007) 03:32PM  

sdsdv10 wrote ...
Sad, of course....
DAP owners on the other side of the Atlantic always get screwed on price. I feel for you guys/gals.


True that, but its all an issue of currency... and in some respects i'm happy because it is much cheaper than the s10....

but the s10 has a screen and an fm radio.....

As i need an exercise dap at the moment, i am torn between the cheapness of this versus the practicality in the s10... that radio would come in handy given the limited available music capacity.
[ edited May 03 (2007) 03:35PM ]



dave95

Comments: 122
 		May 03 (2007) 04:21PM  

Sorry but didn't Creative CEO dissed the iPod Shuffle a few years ago for it's lack of Screen, FM etc.?
[Linky]


"We're expecting a good fight but they're coming out with something that's five generations older. It's our first generation MuVo One product feature, without display, just have a (shuffle feature). We had that — that's a four-year-old product. So I think the whole industry will just laugh at it, because the flash people — it's worse than the cheapest Chinese player. Even the cheap, cheap Chinese brand today has display and has FM. They don't have this kind of thing, and they expect to come out with a fight; I think it's a non-starter to begin with."



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 03 (2007) 04:34PM  

zip beat you to it dave.



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 03 (2007) 04:55PM  

Companies ‘Change Their Positions’ on these matters all the time…

Wasn’t it Steve Jobs who said,” We have a saying around here: It's the music, stupid," Jobs said in early 2004 when asked whether Apple's plans for its white-hot music player extended beyond the audio realm. "We have to stay focused on the fact that people are buying these devices because they want to listen to music."

He sure Changed That Tune!


[ edited May 03 (2007) 04:58PM ]



dave95

Comments: 122
 		May 03 (2007) 04:57PM  

Damn - That's what happens when you're at work trying to read and post in a hurry



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		May 03 (2007) 05:02PM  

i see the similarity DaHarder, but you must admit sim wong hoo really ripped into the shuffle with his quote. Job's said right now we're focusing on music. sim wong hoo said the shuffle sucks and is an old (bad) idea.

steve jobs changing his tune makes sense as the market evolves

sim wong hoo changing his tune is more than a bit ironic.
[ edited May 03 (2007) 05:03PM ]



Hari Iyer

Comments: 87
 		May 03 (2007) 05:04PM  

holy hell, only 40 bucks, thats the price of a videogame. Amazing work creative...AMAZING work!



dave95

Comments: 122
 		May 03 (2007) 05:07PM  

Beat me again, was going to say the same. Yes companies change possition, but it's just funny cause he publicly went after the shuffle because of the lack of screen and FM etc., now this player years later comes out with the same lack of screen, FM.



ruiner
Location: Rochester, NY
Comments: 23
 		May 03 (2007) 05:28PM  

Only $40? I might get this for situations where it's not practical to carry my Vision:M. Not bad Creative.



pecker

Comments: 501
 		May 03 (2007) 06:42PM  

Job's said right now we're focusing on music. sim wong hoo said the shuffle sucks and is an old (bad) idea.

steve jobs changing his tune makes sense as the market evolves

sim wong hoo changing his tune is more than a bit ironic.


Wong Hoo has done exactly the same as jobs zip..

he has seen he is wrong and that the market has evolved and there is a segment in the market for a player like it.

[ edited May 03 (2007) 06:44PM ]



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		May 03 (2007) 06:56PM  

you're a big fan of using 'exactly' when in fact the issue you are talking about is not exact. sim wong hoo said the shuffle was a non starter, old technology, and would be laughed at. jobs did not say those things about video. his comments leave plenty of room for expansion in the future. sim wong hoo's did not.
[ edited May 03 (2007) 06:57PM ]



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 03 (2007) 07:06PM  

Whoa!

I certainly didn't intend to open up this Can Of Worms!

Ok... Job's statement(s) certainly left room for a possible change of heart, whereas Hoo's really appeared to be 'bashing' the Shuffle.

There, Does that help?



PeterDLai
Location: San Diego/Los Angeles, California
Comments: 149
 		May 03 (2007) 08:27PM  

This thing is quite cute. I wish there was a more neutral green color though. That greenish-yellow model might attract fans of NVIDIA though.

In the end, I might still end up getting a black one. Maybe.



dap_pad

Comments: 519
 		May 03 (2007) 09:18PM  

Wow... actually i like the design... really simplistic and rounded...i don't quite like the "rigid-ness" of the shuffle. Really similar designs, but with screenless DAPs, it's kinda hard for them to not look the same.

I like the black the best... looks classy.



Thebassness
Location: In a crappy little place called duluth,ga
Comments: 168
 		May 03 (2007) 09:58PM  

The price is amazing on this, although i can't stand daps without screens, this should get alot of sales for creative i think.



rockinamigo14

Comments: 188
 		May 03 (2007) 10:11PM  

the keychain idea is actually a great idea, i think. if I had keys, I might seriously consider this. I can't count the number of times I've been in situations thinking "I wish I had some music."

headphones aren't a problem either. the zune standard buds sound surprisingly well.



Robert Sinke

Comments: 1221
 		May 03 (2007) 10:11PM  

No screen, no deal. Heh .

It's good to see some additional "A-class brand" action in this market segment, though. Who knows, if by sheer accident they offer me the chance between this and 40 bucks... a DAPophile just can't help himself.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 03 (2007) 11:15PM  

if i see it in my local currys/pcworld i may buy it, but it would need to be there before the end of the month



kadajawi

Comments: 51
 		May 04 (2007) 12:48AM  

I said the price is high because I think you can get cheap DAPs with displays for that price. For $10 more you get the Zen Nano Plus, which has a display, though it doesn't look good. I only considered it a bit expensive for what it is.

But yeah, it isn't that expensive... certainly not as overpriced as the iPod Shuffle.

The Zen V is by far bigger, uglier, and a lot more expensive. I thought of something the size of the Stone.
[ edited May 04 (2007) 12:49AM ]



pdream

Comments: 65
 		May 04 (2007) 06:41AM  

Surprised that nobody mentioned the controls yet, which some people would consider a rip-off from Apple, no doubt.

My mom's 8-year old Minidisc player has the same layout, iirc, so it's not a valid argument.

Meh, no screen, no deal. But, sexier than the Shuffle, and no propietary shit, and I wouldn't spend my money on supporting the devil.



nocomp

Comments: 78
 		May 04 (2007) 07:30AM  

IMHO it's a shame that the Zen Stone maxes out at 1GB.

Offering a 2GB-Version for the Price of the 1GB Shuffle would be awesome.

However, 1GB just doesn't cut it for me these days, so I would definately buy a 2GB-Stone.

EDIT:
I'm curious if the Zen Stone is scratch-resistant like it's bigger brother Zen V.
[ edited May 04 (2007) 07:32AM ]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 04 (2007) 11:25AM  

maybe Woo Hoo will demonstrate by throwing it against a wall......



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		May 04 (2007) 11:36AM  

lol I remember that, that was excellent to watch. I like the way this thinger looks, especially in "Nvidia" yellow as someone above mentioned :p



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 04 (2007) 12:36PM  

nocomp, I believe it is using the same coating as the Zen V so yeah it should be scratch resistant. I'll give it hell to find out though.

Don't quote me on this, but we may see larger capacities of the Stone later this year. A 2GB version may show up at a price close to the 1GB Shuffle. There is also a rumored screen version but I'm not so sure about that. It'd be great and all, but battery life would be very low.



dave95

Comments: 122
 		May 04 (2007) 12:48PM  

Maybe it will add the screen and features this [Linky] player already have.



pecker

Comments: 501
 		May 04 (2007) 01:04PM  

Ahh i see your point zip.

i wouldn't have one due to no screen but i do see a market for it seen as the shuffle has been a success but apple could release anything now and it wud sell.

I was just going to say about that aswell dave
[ edited May 04 (2007) 01:07PM ]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 04 (2007) 01:08PM  

that's kinda what I was thinking, dave95, when the rumours first came out. Sony has been using tiny 3-line LCD's with their USB-flash DAP's, which doesn't take up a lot of space. But there obviously is a market for these non-screened models...



Mikc

Comments: 43
 		May 04 (2007) 01:09PM  

This is exactly the type of DAP I want to be able to take everywhere where I'm gonna be busy and don't want to worry about breaking the little sucker.
If I somehow drop it, sit or step on it and break it. I'd just shrug and go get me a new one in another color.
I just hope it's a bit sturdy. Too bad no OGG again tho.

BTW, as for the comment that this might be good for kids to have to play Barney the purple dinosaur; I hope this thing comes with a parental volume control. Unless ofcourse you want your kids deaf *before* they reach the age of going out to the clubs.


[ edited May 04 (2007) 01:14PM ]



MusicLoverMike
Location: Cincinnati, Oh
Comments: 26
 		May 04 (2007) 03:06PM  

For some reason, this reminds me of the iLo sold by WalMart about 3 years ago. Anyone else remember it? It had 256MB of storage, but had an SD slot for expandability. It had a screen, ran on a single AAA battery, had FM and voice recording. I bought one and used it quite a bit. I believe I paid around $70 for it at the time. If they could sell it for $40 now...hmmm

mp3_freak posted a picture of it (his first DAP):

[Linky]

[ edited May 04 (2007) 03:15PM ]



MusicLoverMike
Location: Cincinnati, Oh
Comments: 26
 		May 04 (2007) 03:12PM  

Walmart is now selling the SanDisk Sansa Shaker for $36.88. I wonder if Creative is also trying to compete with it (although it seems to be more for younger kids).



Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		May 04 (2007) 03:15PM  

^^ GoVideo Rave MP flash version almost same shape and control system as this Creative Stone. The control are 90 degree rotated on the Stone...

[Linky]



Pondlife

Comments: 507
 		May 04 (2007) 03:25PM  

I said the price is high because I think you can get cheap DAPs with displays for that price. For $10 more you get the Zen Nano Plus, which has a display, though it doesn't look good. I only considered it a bit expensive for what it is.


The Zen Nano Plus isn't rechargeable though is it?



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		May 04 (2007) 03:38PM  

ricardo wrote ...
^^ GoVideo Rave MP flash version almost same shape and control system as this Creative Stone. The control are 90 degree rotated on the Stone...

no, they are different. pdream, which md player did your mom have?
[ edited May 04 (2007) 03:40PM ]



FordGT

Comments: 2
 		May 04 (2007) 04:11PM  

MusicLoverMike, I still have my little ILO 256MB player

I use it almost everyday and it still works as good as when I first bought it. I think I paid $69 for it at the time. Walmart never should have discontinued that player! It must be because Rave stopped making its sister product I guess. The SD slot is also very handy.



FatalAce

Comments: 33
 		May 04 (2007) 05:28PM  

it's a good move by creative. i think it looks much nicer than the shuffle. very sleek.



Breakdown

Comments: 228
 		May 04 (2007) 06:22PM  

I'd rather see Creative make the second generation of the Zen Vision: M player. This is uncreative.



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 04 (2007) 08:10PM  

The ZVM successor is definitely on the way...

In the meantime these will help CREATIVE recoup some of those losses from last quarter.

I really think this lil' guy's going to be a hit.


thundat00th
Location: Louisville
Comments: 73
 		May 05 (2007) 03:05PM  

(74 comments!?!)

Yes, this will be a hit at that price point...
but not for me

i would REALLY like to see the ZVM successor
(maybe with video recording?)

also
unCreative...
lawls



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 05 (2007) 03:21PM  

uncreative, over used term yar yar... ah no i'm just messin with ya, guess i've heard it so many times, its kinda clichéd.... but hey maybe its true
[ edited May 05 (2007) 03:55PM ]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 05 (2007) 03:59PM  

sometimes taking a step back is creative.......



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 05 (2007) 04:02PM  

well design wise it looks very nice, its skip folder option makes for a very useful feature IMO, then factor creatives ZVM too, I think they've still alot to offer and this will do them no more harm (unless they are selling below cost price)



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 05 (2007) 04:06PM  

Yeah the skip folder feature is as good as you can get without a screen in my opinion.



thundat00th
Location: Louisville
Comments: 73
 		May 05 (2007) 04:51PM  

with heavy emphasis on "without a screen"
and the price

those are really the only things that set this thing apart

although, it is a lot sleaker then the shuffle

the dock is....ok, i guess, although no better then ipod dock

although my standards for speakers are full floor models that i build myself



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 05 (2007) 06:59PM  

I don't really like the look of the speaker myself. I hope they do make them in matching colors to the players, as a black one would look better.

What's cool is you can buy both the speaker and the stone together for less than the Shuffle's retail price.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 05 (2007) 07:03PM  

thank god mike, I thought I had become un cool or something , but those speakers are a big no no in my book, quite, cheap (?) looking...



thundat00th
Location: Louisville
Comments: 73
 		May 05 (2007) 07:18PM  

their probably cheap sounding, feeling, maybe even smelling?

but buying them together is nice

of course they would look better in black, thats why they made them in white

comon, we should all know corporate logic



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		May 05 (2007) 08:00PM  

This player, and its Speaker set, are going to be Absolutely Perfect for a Kid with a very tight/non-existent allowance, who just wants to have a DAP like all of the cool kids.

CREATIVE's obviously on to something here as this topic has garnered more post/attention than any I've seen/read in quite a while... and we are 'allegedly' the DAP-Elite... LOL!

GO CREATIVE!



Saijin_Naib
Location: Warren, NJ
Comments: 893
 		May 05 (2007) 09:28PM  

Yeah, plus this is the first (?) thread above 70 posts to not degrade into some stupid fanboy flame war. People have actually had thoughful and insightful things to say about it for once. Anyway, How does one measure the sound quality of a speaker set like that? Is there a SNR rating or something similiar to give a good benchmark of what one should suspect?



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 05 (2007) 10:03PM  

If it's anything like the TravelDock 900 for the Zen V, you're looking at:

Power Output: 2 Watts RMS per channel (2 channels)

Frequency Response: 150Hz ~20kHz

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 80dB

as far as how will it sound, I've never experienced a TravelDock....anybody with a Zen V got a TravelDock??



nizzon

Comments: 41
 		May 07 (2007) 01:24PM  

So ugly.



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 07 (2007) 01:39PM  

yeah?



YpoCaramel

Comments: 169
 		May 07 (2007) 07:53PM  

Oh well, makes a decent emergency birthday gift for anyone who doesn't already have some form of modern mp3 player.



thundat00th
Location: Louisville
Comments: 73
 		May 07 (2007) 09:17PM  

he
i hear that

man. i wanna see this thing break 100 intelligent comments
[ edited May 07 (2007) 09:25PM ]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		May 07 (2007) 10:09PM  

well, we have about 73 more intelligent comments to go, then....


zip22

Comments: 1809
 		May 08 (2007) 04:28AM  

pre-order is up at walmart. says they ship on the 14th
$38.76

[Linky]



pecker

Comments: 501
 		May 08 (2007) 10:06AM  

lol is it me or does it look like a suit case on the wal-mart pic?



LaBreaDAP

Comments: 33
 		May 08 (2007) 08:07PM  

Wow -- it comes with the world's shortest USB cable (about 4 inches long, and that's including both plugs)... which is great, in this case. The short cable seems to be a *lot* more portable than a "regular" USB cable.

I'm charging my player now -- received it at the office today. It's certainly an unobtrusive little player. Should suit my needs for (yet) another highly portable player (no downloaded subscriptions or purchases, and I listen in random mode more than in any other way, anyway).



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		May 08 (2007) 08:22PM  

and in a worst case scenario you could always use one of these [Linky]



LaBreaDAP

Comments: 33
 		May 09 (2007) 02:50PM  

I've listened to my Stone only about 90 minutes, but I think it does what it does quite well, and it's very nice for the price.

I like the shape/form ... don't know whether I'll get a skin or case -- depends on how I'll be using it. The keychain case could be a possibility -- the Stone is virtually the same size as the keyless entry remote for my car.

Transfer time is a bit slow, but I like to take my time "hand picking" songs for my low-capacity flash players, anyway, so this is a non-issue for me. Drag and drop using Windows folders on my PC at work and the one at home is simple and self-explanatory.

When I press the "on" button, it takes what seems like 10 seconds to boot up (like my Rio Carbon, in that respect) ... not a big deal for me, but I thought I'd mention it (but what's the rush?). The sound is clean and neutral compared to my Samsung YP-U2, which has a "fun" full, bassy, somewhat "processed" sound. The Stone isn't thin-sounding, but it's certainly not a bass monster on older, less-bass-intensive recordings. It seems to handle more recent, relatively "hot" recordings pretty well, though.

The controls are dead simple, and seem fairly sturdy.

So far, I've had time to listen only through the Creative EP630's I have at work -- I'll try my others some other time.


Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		May 09 (2007) 03:59PM  

Very nice sum up there Labrea, thanks



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TheDarkSide
Personally, I didn't buy any of those clips, great deal nonetheless - enjoy!!!!

DaHarder
TDS...

I couldn't help myself - In for 3 of those WOOTs - LOL!

DaHarder
Yea! It's here Android 2.1 for the DROID

TheDarkSide
Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player for $32.99 on woot: [Linky]

Dominic
lol

Step666
[Linky]

TheDarkSide
Forgot the link: [Linky]

TheDarkSide
OMG!!!! I can't post the meaning of my name, but #2 & #3 is actually me. But, I did get a decent amount of action cause I'm great @#1,............

Dominic
That's great...my skills are average at best

Step666
Yeah but my one's true


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