If Microsoft are a shower of corporate gibbons intent on stealing your cyber-soul through their large monopoly of bug-filled operating systems (not to mention the comedy sidekick of the three red rings of doom on the X-Box), then that should make Apple the caring, sensitive, consumer-minded alternative. However, unless your name is Linus Torvalds or Tim Berners-Lee, such sentiment is, quite frankly, bollocks. Once a blood-sucking corporate oligarchy, always a blood-sucking corporate oligarchy! Take the I-pod for instance. Marketed to create a belief it's the only MP3 player in existence; heavily patented to prevent competition from borrowing its exquisite control pad ...  Read the complete review

CREATIVE ZEN X-FI Storage Size - 8GB Release Date - June 2008 RRP - 129.99 GBP ---------------------------- Creative comment added below ====================== I don't know about you but the apps are certainly growing and it isn't through me working out. There has been an explosion of apps on new titled mobile technology handsets that stimulate the interface savvy users into pure a seduction heaven. The geeks among you know who you are. Creative have now also been exploring the many apps that seemingly dream of world domination and winning. The Creative X-Fi that was released mid June last year (2008) was one of the first Portable ...  Read the complete review

The Zen series of MP3 players are easy to use and reliable as well as being absolutely gorgeous. I don't know what it is about them but they always seem so slick and sexy. The Zen X-Fi is no exception to this rule - it's a beautiful machine with amazing sound quality - The X-Fi feature makes the sound even crisper than in their other players. I was also impressed at the battery power of this machine - it managed to last me a twelve hour train journey easily. It also allows you to play music from your SD card if you wish to use one as well as having functions which allow you to store photos and movies and watch them back with a great quality you would not expect from a ...  Read the complete review

I had a creative touch..a long time ago it is the size and weight of a brick and left much to be desired but it was reliable and was 20gig so i could put my entire music collection and more onto it. Just a few years ago the hype of mp3 players restarted big style and this year my partner bought an ipod. not wanting to sem as if i had copied i decided to buy from a different brand and seeing as creative had impressed me in the past i decided this was the mp3 player for me. It is well designed however the buttons on the front can be a little difficult to locate if you are not looking at the player,say its in your pocket. It took a while for me to get used to the ...  Read the complete review

The creative Zen is sleek, stylish, practical and versatile. What more could anyone need from an mp3 player? The graphics are stunning, with the ability to both play video and display photos. Zen do a number of 'cases' that can be bought for a small extra price, which increase the versatility greatly. The sound quality also served to impress me, and with the right headphones, nigh-on lives up to the tag line 'the sound of perfection'. This is enhanced no-end by its 'X-Fi' feature, which sets it apart from many other MP3 players. Whilst this device only plugs into the computer for charging (which can be somewhat restrictive when travelling etc), it uses a standard ...  Read the complete review