ZEN (portable media player)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Manufacturer | Creative Technology |
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| Type | Portable media player |
| Retail availability | 2007–present |
| Operating system | ZEN UI 1.21.01 |
| Storage capacity | Available in 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 GB flash memory |
| Display | 2.5" backlit TFT LCD Screen 320 × 240 resolution 24-bit color depth (16.7 million colors) |
| Input | 4-way directional pad, 9 buttons, Power/Hold slider |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0 |
The ZEN is a portable media player designed and manufactured by Creative Technology. The flash memory-based player is the de facto successor[1] of the ZEN Vision:M and was announced on August 29, 2007, to be available in capacities of 4, 8, and 16 GB, as of September 14.[2] A 32 GB model was announced on December 4, 2007, setting a record for storage capacity among flash players.[3]
The player has a width of 3.26 inches, a height of 2.16 inches and is 0.44 inches thick - making it the slimmest ZEN player and the second slimmest Creative player (other than the MuVo Slim[4]) so far. Because of its dimensions, the ZEN is advertised to be the "size of a credit card".[5] This is the first Creative player to have an SD card slot (enabling the support of SD and SDHC cards - an optional adapter is needed for microSD and miniSD cards), support for unprotected AAC (in a ".m4a" extension), as well as a truecolor TFT LCD display.
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[edit] Specifications
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 2 / 4 / 8 / 16 / 32 GB |
| Memory type | Flash-based |
| Dimensions | 8.2 × 5.4 × 1.1 cm / 3.26 × 2.16 × 0.44 in. |
| Weight | 65 g / 2.3 oz. |
| Screen | 2.5" TFT LCD |
| Screen resolution | 320 × 240 pixels (QVGA) |
| Color depth | 24-bit (16.7 million colors) |
| Battery life | Audio playback > 25hrs Video playback > 5hrs |
| Video formats | MJPEG, WMV, and AVI (MPEG-4 SP, DivX, Xvid), while MPEG-1, and MPEG-2 are supported, but must be transcoded with the included software |
| Audio formats | MP3, AAC (unprotected ".m4a"), WMA (including protected and lossless), WAV, and Audible 2, 3, and 4 formats |
| Photo formats | JPEG (Other formats would be transcoded) |
| Battery | Non-removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery |
| Signal-to-noise ratio | Up to 97 dB |
| EQ types | Pop, Jazz, Rock, Disco, Vocal, New Age, Classical, Acoustic & 5-band custom setting |
| Album art source | ID3 tag / jpeg file in Album folder |
| Microphone input quota | 10hrs |
| FM radio presets | 32 |
| Connection type | USB1.1 / 2.0, SD Memory Card |
| PIM | Syncs with Microsoft Outlook Contacts, Calendar & Tasks |
| System requirements | Windows Vista or XP. For Linux, see libmtp. Third Party programs such as XNJB add transfer-only Mac OS X compatibility. |
[edit] Firmware releases
Numerous firmware updates were released very soon after the player's launch, fixing a variety of bugs. However many have criticised Creative for not fixing the poorly integrated SD Card functionality. In a heated forum discussion of over 500 posts[6], Creative have declined to find it an issue. Many customers have found this unacceptable due to the advertising of the ZEN suggesting SD cards added to the capacity of your library, but to their contempt Creative has yet to release an update.
The earlier ones have reportedly caused players to occasionally result in a white screen of death.[7][8]
Version 1.10.05 was released on October 23, 2007. Thai language support was added, while video playback was improved. Adapter charging and startup time were quickened.[9]
The prior version,[10] 1.20.02, was released on December 19, 2007. Transferring content via the SD card slot is enabled, though only image files are viewable.[8]
The latest version, 1.21.01, was released on February 28, 2008. It improves the player's playback performance of WMA (.wma) files.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official product page (Singapore)
- Official product page (US)
- Official specifications (Singapore)
- Official specifications (US)
[edit] References
- ^ France, Jasmine (2007-08-28). "Sweet new Creative Zen coming soon". CNET.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- ^ "Creative ZEN Reviews and Specs". MP3.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ Creative (2007-12-03). "Creative Introduces the World's First 32GB Flash Memory-based Portable Media Player with the Latest Credit-Card sized ZEN". Press release. Retrieved on 4 December 2007.
- ^ "MuVo Slim Product Page". Creative. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
- ^ Creative Technology (2007-08-29). "Creative Introduces the Credit Card-sized ZEN with a Stunning 2.5-inch Colour Screen for Music, Video and Photos". Press release. Retrieved on 4 December 2007.
- ^ Various (2007-09-16). "New Zen and SD card integration - firmware upgrade?". Creative Labs Forums. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
- ^ Lemon (2007-12-14). "ZEN owners experiencing the White Screen of Death, Here's how to Fix it.". epiZENter. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
- ^ a b dreimanis (2007-12-22). "New ZEN Firmware (1.20.02) adds limited SD-card Importing", epiZENter. Retrieved on 13 January 2008.
- ^ RJZen; ramakandra (2007-10-23). "Creative ZEN Firmware 1.10.05 Now Available", epiZENter. Retrieved on 13 January 2008.
- ^ "ZEN Firmware download". Creative. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
- ^ "ZEN Firmware 1.21.01 download and info.". Creative. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
