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Following the success of its Muvo and Jukebox models, the Zen Touch is Creative's latest flagship mp3 player. The designers are clearly gunning for the market-leading Ipod, and the unit operates in much the same way as Apple's offering.
The Zen features a six-line LCD with a blue backlight and adjustable contrast, though the screen brightness isn't as impressive as we'd hoped. The chassis is also quite bulky compared to many of its rivals.
Controlling the unit is simple thanks to a vertical touchpad with adjustable sensitivity but selecting a specific option isn't as simple as it is when using the Ipod's click wheel.
Creative appears to have sacrificed brightness in favour of extending battery life. The device has a claimed battery life of 24 hours, compared to just half that on the latest Ipod.
In our own tests the Zen played random tracks from its 20GB hard drive continuously for around 20 hours, though this figure will vary depending on your own usage patterns.
Where the Zen has a distinct advantage over its rivals is in its versatility. Songs can be organised and searched for according to genre or artist, for example, but individual tracks can be removed from a playlist without the need to use the Mediasource Organiser software. A great feature.
Sound quality is good and comparable to the 4GB Muvo 2, though overall we'd have to say the Ipod has the edge.
To its credit, the Zen Touch is one of the most inexpensive portable audio devices of this type. While it isn't as refined as the Ipod, if you're after a large-capacity mp3 player it's definitely worth considering.
Contact: Creative 0800 376 7954
uk.europe.creative.com
Specifications:
- 68 x 105 x 22mm
- 203g
- 20GB capacity
- Battery life: 24 hours
- USB2
- mp3, wma and wav
- Up to 97dB signal-to-noise-ratio
- 1 3.5mm stereo mini-jack
- 160 x 104pixel resolution
- Blue EL backlit LCD
See also:
All MP3 Players
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