I am one of the weird people who have never liked I-pods at all, so I just had to find an alternative Mp3 player to an I-pod. I was just browsing the net and BINGO I came across this Creative Zen MP3/Mp4 player. The pictures of it looked tremendous and smart.
The 2.5" screen was so attractive and I knew from then this was my mp3 player, my prayer had been answered
I had never really been a fan of Creative products till I saw this mp3 player. I usually used to buy Sony or Samsung mp3 player. But I guess it's true what they say, 'there is a first time for everything'.
Since I got this Creative Zen mp3 player, I have always been hooked up to my music, I even listen to the music I hardly like just because the sound quality produced is just amazing, you can hear every texture of the sound and all the counter melodies etc.
The main things I like about the mp3 player is its looks, it just gets me going.

<<<<<<Memory>>>>> ;>
This Mp3 player has an 8GB internal memory. Therefore it can keep up to 4000 songs. However you have to note that it will only keep 4000 songs if you use the WMA or WAV format on music, otherwise if you use the mp3 music format it will only keep approx 2000 songs.
The big advantage to the memory is that you can upgrade it to 16GB if you use an 8GB SD or SDHC memory card, which you can easily eject whenever you don't want to use it. Of course you can use other memory types e.g. 1GB, 2GB 4GB etc.
I really like the memory features, as I never got depressed when transferring my music or videos as I knew that ii got sufficient memory to hold all my documents etc.

<<<<<<<Price and Packaging>>>>>>
I bought this mp3 player about 2weeks after the New Year. I bought it from Amazon for £69.99!! How did I get it that cheap? Well thanks to the January sale Amazon has got the mp3 player from £129 to £99.99 which is £29 off. I also redeemed some of my dooyoo miles for £30 Amazon vouchers which I used on the purchase of this mp3 player. Therefore it cost me £69.99 to buy the mp3 player. I have always wanted to buy it since the day it came out (around August 2007) but it was rather expensive then at £129.
Before I bought it from Amazon I checked in other shops like PC World, Currys etc and they are selling it at £119 which is rather a lot still but worth it really.
It comes in a small black box and you can see the mp3 player via the plastic coated front.
In the package you will have an installation CD, the smart looking headphones, the USB 2.0 connection cable, the manual and of course the mp3 player.

<<<<<<More Features>>>>>
---This Mp3 player does have an alarm and a clock, didn't even know that till I started taking a tour around the mp3 player.
However for the alarm to work, the mp3 player has to be connected to speakers/hi-fi system. I have used the alarm system before and never had problem with it, it was a great experience and the music was very loud.
---The mp3 player has an organiser where you can view the calendar and set appointment reminders or just anniversary reminders.
---Just like an I-pod, you also get the Zen Cast which is software you download to your computer (like I-tunes) and you will get free videos which you can upload to the creative Zen instantly. Transferring the files does not take long at all and the video quality is way beyond excellent.
---Whilst playing you music it will show you the picture of the album.
---The mp3 player has a DJ feature which I find very useful as it will play you it's album of the day (it will chose a random album to play from the music that's on the mp3 player. The DJ function also let you see the music you listen to a lot, the music you hardly listen to and the music you have not rated (you can rate your music via the mp3 player).

<<<<<Accessories>>>>&g t;>
---You can buy a cover for this mp3 player, they normally come in a pack of 3 but you can always buy individual covers to protect the mp3 player from scratches.
---Speakers, you can buy external speakers for the Mp3 player so that you can enjoy the music on the mp3 player whilst cleaning the house or just chilling in your room.
---Just like the I-Pod you can also buy an armband for the Creative Zen Mp3 player, possibly for those who are into running; this could be useful to you.
---Of course you can charge the Mp3 player using your PC or laptop but you can always buy the mains adaptor if you want, in case if you have to travel somewhere were you don't want to carry your laptop with you.

<<<<<<10 Quick Advantages>>>>>>
--- You can upgrade the Memory by using a memory card. U can also use the memory cards like a CD whereby you eject a memory card and insert another one. Creative Zen or other shops like Amazon do sell the pouches were you can put your Creative Zen and the Extra memory cards.

---You can store any Documents into the Creative Zen mp3 player.

---The mp3 player is easy to navigate around, if you don't like the lay out of the mp3 player you can always go to the system settings and change it or if you can't find the file you are looking for in the mp3 player you can just type in the keyword of the file and off you go. I actually find it helpful as I got more than a thousand songs in the mp3 player already.

---You can use your personal picture as a background through out the whole mp3 player and you can use the sounds you recorded via the microphone as your alarm signal.

---The mp3 player is small and can fit in your pocket with no problems.

---You can view videos, if you are watching a movie and you want to go and do something else e.g. listen to music or go to the toilet you can pause it and switch the mp3 player off, when you turn it on the video will continue. Or if you want to listen to music you just pause the video and go to the music file and start listening to your music, and when you go back to the video files it will continue or you can just watch another video whilst the other one is still on pause.

---The mp3 player has a good multi-function system. Basically you can do many things whilst listening to the music, e.g. view your pictures, change the mp3 player system, browse your music and sorting them out etc.

---You can view the time on the mp3 player by just turning it on in the system settings and it will be viewed next to the battery power icon.

---If your movies or music video etc are not compatible with the Creative Zen you can always convert them using the Creative Zen converter that comes on the installation CD or you can get it from their website.

---I disconnected the mp3 player whilst it was transferring music, by mistake and it crushed. I therefore had to do nothing but to reset the mp3 player thinking that it was going to delete everything as I already had more than a thousand songs transferred. To my astonishment after pressing the reset button nothing got lost in the mp3 player, it just restarted its self that's all. This very much impressed me.

<<<<<<10 Quick Disadvantages>>>>>>

--- You can't use the mp3 player in the dark because the buttons don't glow and you can't see the writings on them.


---The mp3 player only comes in black, so this could be a disadvantage to those who don't like black. However, you can change the colour by buying a different colour cover for the creative Zen.

---Transferring a full movie does take quiet sometime, I was transferring Ice age2 and it took me just above 30mins to transfer the whole movie.

---The headphones that come with the Mp3 player are not that stylish and they are quiet fat to fit in your ears, therefore you might need to buy new quality headphones.

---The written manual doesn't tell you much about the player, just the main basics.

---The buttons don't show you which one is the volume as some of the buttons are not written on, so you will have to get used in knowing which button directs you were.

---The mp3 player is quiet expensive.

---The USB cable is very short.

---The mp3 player does not come with the mains charger (another extra cost)

---The mp3 player does not have any games, possibly the only things it does not have that the I-pod have.


___Recommendation___
I definitely recommend this mp3 player. It's very stylish, got extra feature that you wouldn't find on other popular mp3 player such as the I-pod e.g. increasing the memory.
The mp3 player has a better picture quality (16MP) than the 8 GB I-pod. The buttons are soft and don't give you any hassle. I have not yet any problems with the mp3 player, its quiet durable comparing to the I-pod (the I-pod scratches fast, I know through experience). This mp3 player is very secure as you can pass code protect the content you don't want anyone viewing, I find this function very useful and easy to use as I don't have to worry bout losing my mp3 player, as all my important documents on the mp3 player are pass code protect.
If you transfer your music it will sort it out for you, in putting the music in the right albums and grouping the same artist songs which makes the mp3 player easy to navigate around.
I recommend this mp3 player to those who want to try out new technology with style, those who like watching movies on the go, and those who like music.
Some people might not want to hear this, but this 8gb mp3 player is better than the 8gb I-pod 3rd generation.



<<<<<Note>>>>>
---The mp3 player does not come with a mains charger, therefore you have to buy one or just charge the mp3 player via USB connection.

---It takes only an hour to charge the battery full, though you have to charge it for four hours the first time you use the mp3 player...

---You can get this mp3 player in different memory but the same function (2GB, 4GB, 16GB or 32GB)

---This mp3 player is not touch screen.

---For more information about the mp3 player just have a click around the manufactures website: www.creative.co.uk on the site you can also find the software to upgrade the firmware and other extra goodies.