Creative Zen

A display model of the new Zen Micro Photo

The Creative Zen is a line of digital audio players produced by Creative Labs and a branch off the earlier Creative Nomad brand (the other branch being the Creative MuVo series). Some models feature a touch-pad interface similar to the Apple iPod, but using a vertical strip rather than a circle. They are capable of playing WMA, MP3 and WAV audio files, and the players are based on miniature hard disk drives rather than flash memory.

The Zen range is very popular in Asia, particularly in Creative's home nation of Singapore. Microsoft supports Zen players by including built-in compatibility with Windows Media Player 10 and giving it the Microsoft PlaysForSure certification.

1 Players
2 Marketing campaign
3 Other Related Software
4 See also
5 External link

Players

Currently, there are five main models of Zen: the Nomad Jukebox Zen, Nomad Jukebox Zen NX, Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra, Zen Touch and Zen Micro. A sixth player, the Zen Micro Photo, will be released in in 2005.

Creative also makes a portable video-playing device named the Zen Portable Mediacenter.

Nomad Jukebox Zen

Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen

The Nomad Jukebox Zen, introduced in 2002, was the first generation of Zen MP3 players. The Zen has an anodized aluminum case and a backlit LCD for file navigation. Early models had a 10 GB hard drive and used USB 1.1 or Firewire for file transfers. Later models, called the Zen USB 2.0, feature a 60 GB hard disk and USB 2.0 connectivity. The Zen and Zen USB 2.0 feature up to 12 and 14 hours of continuous playback, respectively, with an unremovable, rechargeable battery. An optional wired remote adds FM radio and recording functions.

Nomad Jukebox Zen NX

The Nomad Jukebox Zen NX, or simply the Zen NX, released in 2003 is the second generation of Zen MP3 players. It features a 30 GB hard disk and new music management software called Creative Mediasource. The Zen NX also has slightly smaller dimensions than its predecessor. In addition, the rechargeable battery was removable.

Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra

Also released in 2003, The Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra, or Zen Xtra, is the third generation of Zen range MP3 players. The most notable change from the previous edition was a larger screen.

Zen Touch

The Zen Touch (2004)

The Zen Touch was released in the summer of 2004 and is the fourth generation of Zen MP3 players. The device underwent a radical change in design and functionality to compete with the Apple iPod.

The Zen Touch has a smaller form factor and larger backlit blue display. The device uses a pressure-sensitive vertical strip on the front of the unit for file navigation and is available with a 20 or 40 GB hard drive.

Unlike the previous two generations, the Zen Touch does not have a removable battery. However, its battery provides up to 24 hours of MP3 playback at 128 kbit/s encoding.

Zen Portable Media Center

This player, which was introduced in 2004, is a media player which supports Windows Media Video, WMA and MP3, and can display JPEG images. Other video formats are supported through converting the source file to WMV. This device was the first to exclusively support the Microsoft Media Transfer Protocol.

Zen Micro

The Zen Micro, available in 10 colours

The Zen Micro was released in November 2004 and is a micro hard drive music player. This segment of the MP3 player market includes products like the Apple iPod mini and Rio Carbon. It is available in 10 colours.

The Zen Micro is much smaller than its Touch counterpart and shares a similar pressure-sensitive interface for file navigation. The Micro has a removable battery rated to last for up to 12 hours of continuous playback. In addition, the player has a 5 GB hard disk and a LED-backlit LCD.

The Micro also features a built-in FM tuner/recorder, voice recorder and microphone, partitioning for data storage, and the ability to synchronize contacts, tasks and calendars with Microsoft Outlook.

Accessories for the Zen Micro include matching color speakers, wireless headsets and a wired remote control.

The first 35,000 units shipped worldwide were packaged as a Limited Edition package that came with an additional rechargeable battery. Asian models of the Limited Edition included the extra battery and a wired remote control.

At CES 2005, it was announced that the Zen Micro line would be expanded to include 1, 4 and 6 GB models.

The Zen Micro optionally supports the Microsoft Media Transfer Protocol and the PlaysForSure certification with updated firmware.

On March 1 2005, Creative reduced the price of the Zen Micro range to compete with the recent iPod mini price Cuts. The 4GB version is $180, 5GB $230 AND 6GB $250.

Zen Micro Photo

The Zen Micro Photo is the one of the newest members of the Zen family of MP3 players. It shares the same features of the Zen Micro, and adds an upgraded 260,000 colour OLED screen for displaying photos. The device is available in 5 or 6 GB capacities; the latter can can store 7,500 JPEGs or 3,000 songs (according to Creative estimates).

First introduced at CES 2005, the Zen Micro Photo won the coveted 'Best of CES' award. The player should be available to the public by the spring of 2005.

Zen

The other new member to the Zen family is simply called the Creative Zen. A 20 GB player that copies the Zen Micro's successful aesthetics. Unlike the Micro Photo, this player was not announced at CES. A few design points that set it apart from the Micro line is that the casing is made of Magnesium, and a larger screen. It is not known whether it's battery is removable or not. It should be noted, however, that this player only has a 11 hour battery life, less than half that of the Zen Touch, and that it has the lowest SNR of any Zen. Though this is mostly inconsequential, as iRiver's H120 had better overall audio quality than a Zen Xtra, but a lower SNR.

Zen Neeon

Another rumored addition to the Zen line is the Zen Neeon. Targeted at those who feel the Zen Micro may be too "gauche", this Zen appears to follow the Zen Xtra in overall design. The unit is a micro drive player, however, comes with a "Piano black" finish, 7 possible backlight colours, is thinner than the micro, does not use a touchpad (thus far), it can also record using line in as well as a microphone. The battery is said to be non user replaceable.

This has appeared to be a little more than a rumor, as creative has copyrighted the name "Neeon". Not much else is known.

Marketing campaign

In November 2004, Creative Labs announced a $100 million marketing campaign to promote their digital audio products, including the Zen range of MP3 players. In particular, the newer Zen Touch and Zen Micro are being heavily publicized by the company. These two products have been featured in an increasing number of television commercials, print ads and urban billboards.

In March 2005, Paris Hilton became a spokesperson for the Creative Zen Micro. [1]

Other Related Software

Beside Creative Labs' packaged Creative Playcenter and Nomad Explorer software, there are other transfer and track/file management programs:

Free software:
- Gnomad, a Jukebox manager for Linux (homepage)
- Neutrino, a Jukebox manager for Linux (homepage)
- XNJB, a Jukebox manager for Mac OS X (homepage)
- Nomadsync is a Jukebox synchronization tool for Microsoft Windows and Linux (homepage)
- Creative Nomad Jukebox KIO::Slave is an integration driver for KDE (homepage)
- JBHTTP is a Jukebox Internet file server and music streamer (homepage)
Proprietary software:
- Notmad Explorer by Red Chair Software (homepage) is a transfer program for Microsoft Windows. This program includes a file streamer and can convert your MP3 player into a file server that you can access over the internet. Red Chair offers Notmad Explorer in several versions for specific Nomad-family players at several prices; the universally-compatible version costs $35.

External link

Categories: Consumer electronics | Digital audio