Creative Zen Stone Information

Measuring 2.1 inches by 1.3 inches by 0.4 inch, the Creative Zen Stone is quite a lot bigger than the iPod Shuffle, and there is no handy little clip to attach to something like the iPod Shuffle has. There is a little loop at the left edge and you are given in the box a bit of synthetic cable. The Creative Zen Stone links to the computer via a mini USB cable. On the top of the player there is a 3.5mm Headphone-jack and a little slide button which allows you to select between repeat and shuffle and Folder skip.

The Creative Zen Stone has a black glossy finish just like the Creative Zen V, and is smooth and rounded and is just like a smooth stone or pebble. Just like the iPod shuffle the MP3 player has no screen, and the controls consist of a volume control play slash pause button and next and previous buttons. When you pay $40 (£20) for a MP3 player you don’t expect much I the way of sound quality but the audio expertise of Creative live up to their name. The sound quality was excellent but you may wish to go for a better set of Headphones, I suggest Shure SE310 earphones. The say that you can have ten hours of music but I doubt that is true I managed to get nine hours out o a brand new Creative Zen Stone. You also get a choice of colours: black, white, blue, pink, red, or yellow.

The similarities pretty much end there, though. As for other features, the Zen Stone is predictably light on those; it's hard to offer many extras when there's no screen. The player supports MP3, WMA, and Audible files, and it can be synced via drag-and-drop in Windows Explorer or through Windows Media Player. In the case of the Stone, I, because of the Folder Skip function, prefer to use drag-and-drop syncing. This handy feature lets you shuttle between folders, which can be useful for getting to the artist or play list that you want, depending how you organize things. The skipping goes in alphabetical order, so as long you know the names of all the artists and play lists on the Zen Stone or Zen Stone Plus, you won’t have a problem finding he one you want.

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