The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet-
"Don't fall for Apple's hype" on by irfan_bugmenot
Pros: PRICE! sleek, stylish, user friendly, 6 colors to choose from
Cons: No clip, not very inventive
Summary: Apple has done an amazing job convincing the world that the Ipod and anything associated is the greatest mp3 player ever made. If you're new to the mp3 market, it is essential that you realize that the only thing Apple does better is market. In terms of the actual products, I believe quite a few companies trump Apple, and Creative does it once again with the Zen Stone.
When compared to the shuffle, you're not going to notice alot of differences. Bottom line, when looking at these devices there are 5 factors that most of us care about; sound quality, user friendliness/compatibility, price, capacity and look.
In terms of sound, the Zen wins by far. It has a much more rich sound, with much better bass. The headphones that come with this device are relatively comparable to the Ipod. They fit well and quality wise is really up to you. Most people are fine with the given ones(I'd say the Stone's are better), but some audiophiles won't be happy with either.
If you're an avid ITunes user, you may have no problem with either device. Personally, I have always been a fan of drag and drop, which is something you can't do on the Apple products. This is the Zen Stone's best aspect in my opinion. The Stone connects to the PC thru a universal usb cord that can easily be replaced by those provided with other electronics (such as cameras and some PDAs). This allows for you to not have to depend on the one cord provided, unlike the Shuffle. You can't get any friendlier than that. The biggest flaw with this product however is the lack of a clip. You can pocket it if you want, but not having a clip could be inconvenient at times (such as workouts)
Price wise, it's HALF the price of a Shuffle with equivalent capacity. There is no significant difference between the products to warrant such a ridiculous gap in price, other than the label "Apple" and the previously mentioned clip.
Capacity wise, 1 GB is never enough honestly. However, if you're looking for a second, smaller device for workouts or want to get something for the kids, spending $40 for this seems far more reasonable than $100(the cost of the Shuffle).
Visually the Zen Stone isn't the greatest thing in the world, but neither is the Shuffle. What you see is whatcha get.
Bottom line, if you aren't hooked by the Apple marketing scheme, you can't go wrong with the Stone. If you can sacrifice the lack of a clip, you pay get a good looking, better sounding device for half the price. -
"Perfect for what it is...a no frills MP3 player" on by polaris13
Pros: sound is great, ease of use, size and look
Cons: no clip included
Summary: I purchased one a few weeks ago specifically for my workouts. My full sized Zen (microphoto)was too heavy & bulky for the gym.
My Stone has exceeded my expectations. It looks great and sounds even better. Drag and dropping files is a breeze. I loaded it up with over 200 songs. Do you really need more than that for the gym? I think not. I set it to shuffle through my song list and its workout heaven.
Battery life is pretty good and the unit charges in no time. In two hours it was fully charged via USB or with an optional charger which I purchased for my full sized Zen.
I traded the included earbuds for a decent pair of Sony buds and the sound is amazing. You'll need a "skin" which runs about $10. The skin not only protects the shiny surface from scratches but included a clip. I can't even feel the unit clipped to my shorts since it weighs next to nothing. For the gym there is no better device.
Unit was so good I had to get my wife one since I could never get her to return mine.
In a world of "pod" people there are better alternatives. Creative is the way to go as far as I'm concerned. -
"i love it!" on by bleu_tropix
Pros: simplicity, awesome sound quality, priced perfectly
Cons: not subscription capable, no included clip
Summary: For $40, you can't go wrong...even if something were to go wrong you won't feel like you were ripped off =) So far so good, I picked up my Zen Stone from CompUSA earlier today and after playing around with it for a bit, I can say that I'm indeed happy with my purchase. The Zen Stone is a lot smaller in person than from what you see in the pics and unlike what some people are saying, it is NOT twice the size of the iPod shuffle. This will be great for most but not all--I can see how some may easily misplace it.
I bought the Zen Stone for workouts, I was getting tired of holding my Zen Vision:M while jogging. This is perfect for working out, using in the car, and just as an overall secondary player. I wouldn't recommend this as a primary device.
The build quality seems fairly decent, it's made of shiny hard plastic. Too early to tell how durabe this will be. The sound quality is excellent, even without EQ settings, this is up to par with my Zen Vision:M. To truly appreciate the Stone's sound you MUST use other headphones. The out-of-the-box earbuds are absolutely horrible (much worse than the supplied white earbuds for the higher Zen players).
Drag and drop loading is a cinch. You don't even have to use WMP or Creative Media Lite, wherever you have music files, just right-click and use the "send to" option...works just like a flash drive.
It's too bad they don't supply a separate AC charger (I suppose if they did, it would cost more). Luckily, my RAZR's mini-USB charger works with this. I got a full charge in less than an hour out of the box using my RAZR's charger.
All in all, a great device...perfect for what it's advertised to be: a simple, functional, base player.
If you're thinking about getting one, don't hesitate! Everywhere I went was sold out. Unfortunately, most stores won't carry all the colors...mine is black, although I would've loved to get the blue or lime one! -
"amazing player at a unbelievable price 9.5/10" on by demon-strative
Pros: very small, light. comfortable. stylish. great sound quality. cheap.
Cons: unimpressive ear piece. no screen, no recording and radio
Summary: it is so light when i first held it up, i even wondered that is it because i havent inserted the battery pack. the shine from polish surface gives it an extraordinary look. the range of colours offered are excellent. first impression of player 10/10
while charging the player through a usb port, transfering of songs is relatively simple, just drag and drop. the 1 gb of memory was then took up by my 200 songs. though 1 gb might be rather small, but i personally feel 200 songs is more than enough. 9/10
plugged in the included earpiece, music wasnt as excellent. i then used my soundproof earpiece, great sound quality from tiny player. included earpiece 4/10. player's sound quality 8/10
i then fell asleep while listening to music. when i woke up, 8-9 hours has passed, the player is still running.
in addition, the protruding play/pause button makes easy for control in the dark. 9/10.
overall, i feel its an excellent player for such a stunning price. buying 2 zen stone is equivilant to 1 shuffle who has similar function. the fact that it doesnt have a screen doesnt seem to be affecting me the slightest bit. 9.5/10 -
"Sounds good, but..." on by scooter329
Pros: sound quality, price
Cons: lack of screen
Summary: I'm just commenting on the review.
So, someone spends 40 bucks on an mp3 player and your recommending that they should spend 6 times as much for headphones. If somebody is buying an inexpensive mp3 player maybe you could recommend inexpensive headphones too.
Creative Zen Stone user reviews (1GB, black)
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