Customer Reviews
Sa-Weet 
2008-05-13
This is the second Creative MP3 player I've bought. Both are excellent. I was looking for a player that was user friendly as well as compact. I got that with the Creative Zen. Its very easy to use as, I'm not very tech savy. The picture quality is awesome, as well as the sound. There are so many great features, built in mic, radio, etc. The one thing I love is the SD card option. The only problem is that the screen scratches easily so I'd suggest getting a screen protector. Word.
DPM Images 2008-05-11
I really like the convenience of the Zen. I downloaded a couple of books and some TV shows (Red Skelton Specials) and was pleased with the sound and picture quality of both. As a grandmother I can't wait to carry around family pictures.
The only problem I am having is getting the bookmarks to function. So far I have to note where I am stopping and finding it when I start again.
Great player for the money. 
2008-05-09
I have only had it for 2 days so I am not sure about the long term durability. Great player. I have a Zen W 60 GB and have always liked Creative. It has a larger screen than with most small MP3 players. The controls and software are very similar to the Zen M and W but it does not have video out. The conrols are a little hard to use through a silicon case when working out. When initially loading the software and connecting Zen I chose to upgrade the firmware. That put the Zen into recovery mode due to a firmware issue. None of the recover options on the Zen worked. Creatative has an MP3 recovery utility on their website but most of the links to it are bad. I finally found a link that was valid and downloaded the utility. It fixed the firmware issue. I have owned a RioSport, Ipod Nano, Sansa E250, E260 and E280. I passed my MP3 players on to my wife and kids when I get a new one. I think a Zen player using a Rhapsody To Go account is the combination for features and functionality. If you want to use video on the Zen, check out SnapStream Beyond TV.
Great MP3 player junk headphones 2008-05-07
I did a lot of research before buying this player. The features of the player are awsome. The video playback is impressive the conversion is not too bad. It worked flawless out of the box, I believe if you get a good product you will love, but I ordered a refurbished product from creative labs prior to purchasing a new one from amazon. The refurb was dead out of the box so I sent it back and decided on a new one. The head phones are junk and very uncomfrontable so I purchased another set. Amazon shipped order fast and in execellent condition. Would have been Five Stars if the headphones were better.
Love it 2008-05-04
I have no idea why the iPod has such a stranglehold on the digital audio player market when there are far superior products out there - one of which is the Creative Zen. I love this thing and take it everywhere. The music sounds great, videos look sharp and it's really easy to use. I highly, highly recommend the Creative Zen!
Creative Zen 8 Gb MP3 player 2008-04-30
built-in FM tuner with 32 station presets * built-in voice recording microphone * high-speed USB interface (cable included) * SD/SDHC card slot (SD card not included) * 8GB music and video player *
fairly good player with some problems 
2008-04-29
Creative Zen 8gb
I ordered this player from Amazon, charged it, turned it on and got the white screen problem other people have mentioned having. I tried various things to make it work. Pressing the reset button, updating firmware, turning it on and off. It seems this is not an uncommon problem with the Zen. There is a very long thread on the Creative forum about this problem, and several reviewers on Amazon mention having the same problem. I thought about whether I should return it for a refund, or try another one. I decided all the positive reviews on Amazon can't be wrong, so I exchanged it. Amazon was awesome and I had a new one 2 days after contacting them about exchanging it.
I have had it almost a month now. The new one is working ok, except I had to press the reset button a couple times after disconnecting it from my computer which makes me worry a little bit. After my experience with the first player, and reading about people who had the white screen problem develop months after getting it, I am a little worried about the quality of it. I like things that last. I don't want to be replacing this any time soon.
The player charges through a USB cable. Its short. Really short. Like 4". I like it cause I already have several long cables from my digital cameras, and the short cable lets the player sit right next to my laptop. But I think if you had a desktop computer the player would probably have to hang from the USB port. I am kind of mad that it doesn't come with a wall charger. That means that if I want to charge the player in my car while I am driving I would need to have my laptop out and plugged into my power inverter, rather than just plugging in the player to the power inverter. But really that doesn't matter since you can't play anything on it while its charging. One of the main reasons for getting this player is for road trips, and those two complaints make this player not the best choice for me.
Pros:
- Looks really cool. That was what made me exchange the first player instead of asking for a refund.
- Menus are easy to navigate.
- Accepts SD cards.
Cons:
- First hand experience with the white screen problem so many people seem to be having.
- Feels a little too light and plasticy.
- Doesn't come with a wall charger. You have to charge it with a usb cable unless you buy the wall charger, which is something like $30 I think.
- The included earbuds don't fit my ears very well. I am not a fan of earbuds, but these seem especially bad.
- Won't play while charging.
- Does not pick up where it left off when you turn the player off and then back on.
ZEN 8GB 2008-04-26
I'm most happy with my ZEN 8GB. I purchased it because it is one of the few MP3's that has bookmark capabilities. It is as easy to use as my IPod Nano, but it has larger screen. Like the Nano, it shows what is playing and has good sound quaility-especially with my new Bose ear buds my grandson gave me as a gift! It is so easy to plug into my computer with a regular USB, no proprietary cord, and look at and or rearrange my files with either the software provided from Creative or Windows Media. My order was recieved even sooner than promised. A good buying experience! I've since purchased a leather case to protect it and so I would not have to hold it while I listened. I couldn't find a lanyard for the case, so I purchased some cord, sewed the ends and made one. All is well.
Creative Zen 8GB Review 2008-04-25
I've had this MP3 player now for about 3 months and use it primarily for long haul overseas air travel. Its a good MP3 player but I only get around 10 hours of audio play time vs. the stated 30 hours. Also, the player occasionlly locks up but I'm hoping the latest firmare update fixes that. Overall I would recommend this MP3 player and I'm happy with the purchase.
Deeply Flawed Software 
2008-04-21
If you're like me and have thousands of mp3's that are not classified by album, then don't go near this player with a ten foot pole. The reason I say this is that when you attempt to browse songs by a particular artist or band, you can only view the songs by album - any song that does not have it's album tag filled in won't show up under that artist. Basically, if any track has no album info, it becomes invisible. Older Zen mp3 players had a "List all Tracks by Artist" option when you browsed a particular artist or band - selecting this option would show all the tracks by that artist in alphabetical order regardless of whether the album info was filled in for a track or not. The new Zen players do not have this option. I went to one artist on my player that I had 60 songs for, except none of the tracks had album info, and when I selected that artist the player told me their were no tracks by that artist on the player - totally and completely ridiculous.
Worse yet, all those tracks that have no album associated with them will not play in shuffle mode. I loaded the player with 1000 songs that had no album info and 10 songs that did have their album info, and put the player into shuffle mode. Shuffle mode then told me their were only 10 songs on the player, and proceeded to play those 10 songs (the ones with album info) over and over, while completely ignoring the other 1000 songs (the ones without album info). This has to be about the dumbest thing I've seen in any consumer product in years. I've seen complaints about how lame the shuffle play feature is on these players and how they seem to play the same songs over and over in shuffle mode - well this is the reason why. A large percentage of these users tracks are not even being recognized in shuffle mode.
If you keep all your mp3's tagged by album then you will be fine. If not, then don't go near this player.
