Android-based Creative Zii Egg gets official
The Creative Zii EGG in all its Android-loving glory.
(Credit: Zii.com)We knew Creative was up to something when that Zii Egg FCC application flew past us earlier this month, but we had no idea it would be this awesome, or this confusing. Turns out the Zii Egg (what an unfortunate name) is a multitouch-wielding, HD video-playing, dual-camera-having (front and back) rival to the iPhone and iPod Touch, running on Google's Android OS (see all the official specs over at Zii.net).
You can grab a 32GB model now for $400, but don't expect it to be fully baked. Creative is announcing this as a "developer edition" in the hopes that the Android community will pick up the platform and run with it. I guess it takes a village to beat an iPhone.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that we may never actually see the Zii Egg released to consumers as an official Creative product. The company is looking to sell rebranded Zii Eggs directly to other manufacturers as an OEM product.
For a company that's been trickling out half-hearted products all year, it seems odd that Creative would make something with such unprecedented appeal, only to lob it to open-source developers and slap someone else's name on it. Then again, maybe it's smart enough to know it has made a product that's potential is beyond Creative's capabilities to execute. If this thing ultimately becomes a phone (all the ingredients are there) Creative is likely just being cautious about entering the mobile phone market as a newcomer.
(Via DAP Review)
Donald Bell is CNET Reviews' senior editor for MP3 players and portable audio, and one half of the MP3 Insider blog and weekly podcast. He also likes getting his hands dirty with digital audio tools for musicians and DJs.
Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
This actually looks really awesome. If I had the money to get internet serves on my phone I would consider getting this phone. But for now I have to stick to my $20 flip phone. Creative is one of my favorite companies and I think they did a really good job with this one.
at best you could voip with it if you happened to be on wifi, but you're not going to be able to get a mobile carrier for it.
and i doubt it does 1080. i'm going to assume 720 until they verify specs. people love to say HD when their product is only doing 720
fail
apple fanboy
Also, can you actually discern the difference between 720 and 1080 on a 4 inch display? I didn;t think so.....
I could definitely see this platform good for hobby-level hackers, small-company development teams wanting to get a product quickly to market (or at least to demonstration phase), and mid-to-large companies whether developing media players or phones. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. And by "this" I mean the platform; this specific unit is cooler than most comparable products even at this stage, but even better will come from it.
Also didn't he say 380x480 resolution screen, that's not HD.
i love my zune but i still miss my creative sometimes, it'd be great if they came out with something this cool (and keep it at $400 for 32gb) so i could switch back, now i wonder if they'll go all the way and turn this into a phone
If this comes out I WANT ONE!!!! If I can watch video, listen to music without being tied into software, a music store, or limited to how many computers I can put the music on, I definitely want one!!!
Ok, BIG plus if I can swap out batteries when I WANT TO!! Month long camping trips with an iPhone or iPod dont work if there's no electricity within 100 miles. ;)
I call bs if you do, I've got sharp eyes (20/15) and 720p vs 1080p is only slightly noticeable (quality being equal) on a giant screen. Any difference at that size would be negligible.
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by shawn1313
July 28, 2009 4:32 PM PDT
- I'm cheering for you, creative. And add a flash for the HD camera!
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