Remember Creative? I don't blame you if you don't. The Singapore-based company has been pretty quiet on the DAP front for a few months now. A few days ago I had the privilege of breaking that silence by revealing their upcoming player at our Creative webring, epiZENter.net. It's called the "ZEN X-Fi", and as the name implies it's main feature is the implementation of Creative's popular (yet controversial) X-Fi technology.



Additionally, the player will have WiFi built-in. Want to take a guess at what it's used for? Music subscriptions? Nope. Zen to Zen Sharing? Sorry. Web Browsing? Hah, you wish. It's going to be used for instant messaging. A feature that's clearly at the top of everyone's wish list. The ZEN X-Fi will allow you to chat with your friends from Yahoo! and Windows Live! (aka MSN) messenger. You'll be doing so using a 9 button control scheme, which will allow you to input text the same way you would using most cell phones. WiFi will also be used to stream content from your home server directly to the player.

The rest of the features haven't changed much from the original ZEN. There appears to be a 2.5" screen, support for MP3, WMA, and AAC, and video support for WMV, Xvid, and Divx (at QVGA resolutions). Here's the features we have so far:

Features

• Capacity: 8, 16, and 32GB and SD-Card expansion (rumored capacities)
• Display: 2.5" (unconfirmed)
• Audio: MP3, WMA, AAC (unprotected), WAV, and Audible
• Video: WMV, MPEG4-SP, Divx 4/5, Xvid, and MJPEG
• Built-in X-Fi technology with two effects (Crystallizer and Expand)
• Built-in Wi-Fi for instant messaging (Yahoo! and Windows Live!) and wireless streaming
• FM Tuner and Voice Recorder
• Built-in Speaker
• Premium quality earphones included (ep-830)
• Battery Life: 36 hours for Audio, 5 hours for Video

I've read a few sites comparing this player to the iPod touch. I'd say that's definitely a stretch, considering the only thing the two have in common is the built-in WiFi. So what does this new player tell us? It proves that Creative still has a pulse, but it also shows that they simply don't have what it takes to compete with other DAP companies. Many consumers want larger displays, with a touchscreen interface, and web browsing capabilities (or basically the iTouch). Whether it's due to the lack of financial resources, poor R&D, or sub-par engineering (or all three), Creative just can't seem to get back on track and make something reflective of their company name.

via epiZENter

Click the link below for another pic