Stone me its an MP3 player! (Creative Zen Stone 1 GB)

Name: madmum71

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Creative Zen Stone 1 GB
Date:	29/10/07 (184 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks great and easy to use

Disadvantages: Charging only from the computer

My eldest monster was 11 in September and decided that he would like his own MP3 player, well it was a joint decision really because I had threatened him with beheading if he used mine again! We do have similar taste in music but it came to a head when he downloaded the killers onto my MP3 and deleted Guns N Roses!

So as I am not the technical one in the family it was down to the other half to find one for him, so as this was obviously a very important task and like most men would take hours of trawling different sites to find the perfect one I left him to it. To my surprise this little box turned up a week later with this product inside, so had the other half found the perfect one?
SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

For me this is the most important bit! Not being into all the technical jargon if it looks good and not too many buttons then it's all right with me! I was actually quite shocked at how tiny it is I mean really tiny compared to mine. It actually looks like a black polished stone, hence the name so the other half explained to me with that look of "does she ever listen to a word I say?" The size to me was a bit of an issue and I was proved right as it took us 3 days to find it this week because eldest monster had put it down and then complained he couldn't find it (it was under the couch!)
I must admit it does look stylish as I have said it is pure black, it has the Zen name in white on the front and a circle with the play, pause button in the middle and the volume control and forward and back buttons on the outer circle. On the top is a tiny slide bar that you can use to shuffle, repeat all tracks or skip folder. There is also a little light bit that lights up green when the player is on. The only problem I can see with the buttons are they are quite close together so you could if your fingers are a bit shall we say chubby then there might be a tendency to press 2 at once.

IS IT EASY ENOUGH FOR ME TO USE?
Ok it took me a while to get used to using my own MP3 player so how would I get on with this one? Well surprisingly easy enough! The controls are simple and basic you just hold the play button to switch it on and the green light tells you if there is enough charge if not it starts blinking orange and then red.

The other buttons are also easy to use and basically do what they say, as for the computer bit well that's just as easy and basic. You use the USB 2.0 cable supplied to connect to the computer and download the software, I found this a bit unusual as I had a disc with mine but it was all very easy even for me! The instructions do state that you should avoid using a USB hub so we plug the cable direct into the computer, you then use the drag and drop to transfer you music from your files to the little MP3.
You also charge the player up using the cable and this gives it enough charge for up to 10 hours, this to me is a bit of a drawback and I can see problems arising when we go on holiday as we will not have a computer with us but like always I will worry about that when it happens. You can buy Zen USB power adapter, which I am sure the other half will look into!

The other thing I did like about this is there is a volume control that can be set using the software, as this is for my son we have used this to set the volume so it doesn't damage his delicate little ears and he can't blame the MP3 player when he gets his selective hearing and tells me he didn't hear me telling him to do his homework or clean his room!
The quality of the music once on the player is also very good and very clear.

I suppose i had better mention that eldest monster also finds this easy to use (easier than me!).

OTHER BITS
I did wonder how big monster would get on not having a screen as he is used to using mine that does have one, at first he wouldn't put to many songs on as he didn't want to keep flicking through songs until he found the one he wanted but then the other half showed him how to set up artist folders and to use the slider thingy on the top and he is a lot happier and its now packed with all his music (I didn't think an 11 year old could like that much music!).

As stated it has 1GB and can hold up to 250 MP3 tracks or 500 WMA tracks, the player is only compatible with Windows XP or Vista, it measures 2.1 by 1.4 by 0.5 inches (told you it was tiny!)
It comes with decent enough headphones that have little sponge bits to protect my little monster from getting earache!

You can get this player in 6 different colours, white, blue, yellow, black, red and a lovely pink (wish I had bought that one!) it also comes with a 1-year warranty.

We bought this on E-bay for £22, which I thought, was quite good.
MY UN-TECHNICAL OPINION

This is actually a really good little player, I as you have by now worked out do not understand all this technical stuff but for me it is easy to use, it is also very durable especially for the battering a 11 year old can give it. I must admit I have taken this out with me when I couldn't find any batteries for mine and it is very lightweight, fits in your pocket perfectly and doesn't jump when you walk or run for the bus!
All in all I am very happy with this little player and so is the eldest monster and for now the threat of beheading has been lifted and peace has been restored to our house until the next time he decides to borrow something of mine!

Property of madmum71 & lisa8871

Summary: A great cheap MP3 player

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features:
Sound quality:
Download speed: