The Zen sports a 2.5-inch TFT color display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution and support for up to 16.7 million colors. This razor sharp display is packaged in a device that weighs just 2.1 ounces and measures 3.26 x 2.16 x .44 inches (W x H x D). The internal battery powers the Creative Zen for up to 25 hours of continuous audio playback and up to five hours of continuous video playback. Use the Zen’s SD slot to expand your portable media library with music, photos and videos stored on your SD card. There’s also a handy built-in microphone for capturing notes on the go.

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Offering a maximum of 16GB, the Creative Zen is a smaller beast than the largest of Zen Vision:M – 44GB smaller to be exact. This means storage will quickly be a concern in the former where video files are concerned, not forgetting the time consuming video conversion process. In spite of the shortcomings, we think the Creative Zen is going to be a hit. Yes, loading video files may not be as straightforward as we liked it to be, but we cannot deny that it has one of the best screens around for a portable multimedia player of its size. Consider that and its impressive audio quality that’s business as usual from Creative and you’ll find the Creative Zen a very worthwhile purchase indeed.

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Technical Details

*  Enjoy all your media on a device that’s about the width of a credit card
* Watch 64 hours of videos, enjoy up to 4,000 of your favorite songs or share hundreds of photos with your friends
* 2.5-inch TFT color display with 320 x 240-pixel resolution and support for up to 16.7 million colors
* Clock and alarm function, volume restriction, eight equalizer settings, and a USB hard drive mode, SDHC support
* Weighs 2.1 ounces and measures 3.26 x 2.16 x .44 inches (W x H x D)
 The good:
* Sounds fantastic
* Brilliant colour screen capable of displaying photos and video
* Smorgasbord of desirable extras such as an SD card expansion slot, an FM radio, a voice recorder, and a user-definable EQ
* Slim, pocket-friendly design
* Very user-friendly
* Reasonable price tag

The bad:
* Only comes in black
* Doesn’t come close to matching the max 60GB offered by the player it’s replacing

The bottomline:
We’re hard-pressed to find anything not to like about the Creative Zen. It’s a great option for anyone looking for a great-sounding, pocketable MP3 player with an excellent, video-capable screen and plenty of extra features.

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