Creative Stone
Small, compact and screen-less, the 1GB and 2GB Creative Zen Stone portable MP3 player is virtually identical to the rival iPod Shuffle. In fact, both devices are practically identical in terms of specification though Creative has the edge on price.
Design
The sleek curves and shiny plastic casing is attractive and more durable than the iPod Shuffle and the scratch resistance surface ensures your MP3 Stone won’t resemble an actual stone in a short space of time. The simple keypad features a play/pause, forward shuffle, backward shuffle and volume control and is arranged in a neat circular design. A top-mounted slider allows users to search albums one at a time during playback. The Stone’s other functions are the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, indented reset button and mini-USB port used for recharging the battery and downloading MP3 and WMA music files from your PC, all of which can be found on the iPod Shuffle. In fact the only difference between the two rivals is Apple fitted a clip on the device whereas with the Zen Stone, Creative make you buy a skin accessory, though the additional £1.00 on top of Amazon’s random market price of £32.99 for the Stone is still a cheaper option the £55.00 it will set you back for a Shuffle.
Playback
On the whole the bundled earphones provided with the Zen Stone are dreadful – high sounds are compressed, lows are virtually non-existent and mid-range is stodgy. The player itself though does have an impressive sound quality and even at high volumes does not distort the sound. With a decent pair of headphones it is a pleasure to listen to. The keypad is self explanatory and simple to use. The volume control on the outside is also a more convenient option than other models in the Zen range. The Stone has continuous and random playback options and a skip folder which enables you to create a selected playlist.
The Zen Stone doesn’t come with a software CD, though the simple drag and drop feature is convenient. Should you want to rip a CD or download music from the internet you will firstly have to download the Creative Media Lite application directly from Creative’s website. Given that Creative has matched Apple on performance and style, the Zen Stone’s lower price tag makes it a more attractive purchase than the iPod Shuffle.
Memory
- Creative Zen Stone 1GB – 500 songs
- Creative Zen Stone 2GB – 1000 songs
- iPod Shuffle 1GB – 500 songs
- iPod Shuffle 2GB – 1000 songs
Battery Life
- Creative Zen Mosaic – 10 hours
- iPod Shuffle – 12 hours
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