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Creative Zen V plus 8GB OLED sells for ¬100

by on07 December 2007

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Review: Good, inexpensive Video and MP3 player


Zen is a very popular MP3 player and probably the only real alternative to the overhyped Ipod Nano, and we have to say that this small MP3 player does the job really well. It has its drawbacks, but the first thing you notice about this device is that it is incredibly small and that it has a beautiful display. That is not a surprising part, as this is one of the first devices to feature OLED display. We just hope that the screen will eventually get larger.

The player comes in a small mini casing and it looks much smaller than on the pictures. It will easily fit into even the smallest pockets. The retail box includes a set of rather large earphones that won't really fit in everyone's ears, a neck strap, drawstring pouch, USB cable, line in cable, a quick installation guide and an installation CD.

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It is 43.5 grams light and it measures a miniscule 43.5 x 67.5 x 15.9 mm. The Zen V plus player was first introduced in the 1GB, 2GB and 4GB variations last year and later Creative labs followed with the introduction of the 8GB version. The V plus indicates that the player can play both Video and MP3 320K / WMA up to 320K files and WMA with Digital rights management is also supported, as well as the big bad uncompressed WAV.   

The 8GB version is almost identical to the 4GB version but, as the name implies, it has twice as much memory. Just as is the case with the 4GB version, the buttons and the navigation joystick are blue. The display is 128 x 128 pixel OLED display (262K colours) and JPEG pictures or Supports transcoded video format look great on it. It is small but it’s cool to show someone a clip or two on it.  

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One of the main advantages of this player over the iPod is the crystal clear OLED display. It will offer a great picture with great contrast, beautiful colours and you will be able to read it even during the bright daylight. The display simply looks beautiful, but for the battery's sake it’s better to keep the contrast setting down to 60 percent rather than at 100 percent. At 60 percent the display still looks bright.

You can browse and transfer pictures and this small display will load them fast. The pictures and videos will look great on this small display, but the display is not really good for long movies and Creative knows that.

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This MP3 player can handle video files and photo just fine and you will be able to play FM radio on it, as well. It can also record audio and this can go on for hours. The small integrated microphone can really pick up audio, even at a conference.  

We adore the fact that we can use the USB mini connector. Even if you are at your friend’s computer, you will be able to plug your device in with a simple USB cable and record music or files on your MP3 player. There is no need for iTunes or any other special software but Creative has its media software that will let you organize your files a bit better. You can also synchronize music with Windows Media Player or Winamp, but this is clearly up to you.




The media software which is included in the retail box will really help you organize your music from folders to playlists and this will be very useful to make and organize your music. It will also transcode the video for you with just a click of a mouse. Depending on file size, the transcoding can take a long time. The bad thing about this small device is that it takes 10 seconds to boot while iPod Nano turns on almost instantly. I hope that Creative can fix this with the next generation of Zen players. The good thing is that it boots in a few seconds from a sleep mode.

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It can play music for about 15 hours and we are happy with the battery life, but again, iPod Nano can play significantly longer.

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We like the fact that Zen V Plus can play video and that the video really looks sweet. The screen is too small for watching a movie on it, but you can definitely watch some short videos and enjoy your underground or train ride and kill some time. The other nice feature is the FM radio, so that if you got bored with your music you will be able to enjoy the local radio stations. The reception is good, and depending on where you are the scanning time is acceptable. Of course, FM is something the iPod Nano lacks.

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It is really easy to use this device as a dictaphone and it will be enough to record hours of audio on it. You can start the audio recording with a touch of a button. It will be good for students who want to record a whole course and for journalists at a press conference or simply to spy on your friends and catch what they're talking about when you go to the bathroom. It is as easy as it can be: you just press the button, it starts recording, and it goes on until you run out of battery or space.

There is a small line in out so you can connect your MP3 player to another device and record the sound directly.

Conclusion

The Creative Zen V Pro will play video, MP3, WMA and radio for up to 15 hours, and the 8GB space will be enough for a lot of music and small video files. It can act as a USB storage device and it is small and nicely designed. With a price of around €100 it really looks attractive for just about anyone.

Thanks to its small size and super bright OLED display, this feature-packed player is definitely something that you should consider and if you thinkg you don’t need the whole 8GB you can simply go for the 4GB model and save some money. Even the 4GB ones one will be enough for most users.

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We would like to see it boot a bit faster and play even longer, but I guess that is what the next model Zen will be all about.

It is a tempting alternative to the iPod Nano and if you are not into Apple, you should really consider this one. Thanks to its affordable price we think it deserves our Top Value award.

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Last modified on 10 December 2007
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