"Creative Zen V"

Creative Zen V

Zen V is one of Creative’s high capacity flash-based MP3 players. Its upgraded version, the Zen V Plus, has almost the same features, only that the latter has an additional FM radio, video playback and can hold up a capacity of 16GB, unlike the former has its denomination of 1GB, 2GB or 4GB. Zen V can handle MP3 and WMA files. It has a voice recorder, a line-in jack and a 1.5-inch organic light-emitting diode screen (OLED).

Comparing Zen V to iPod Shuffle is always a given factor. Both have impressive sound quality as well as features that are commendable as well. It’s interesting to note that a Zen V, priced at $85 has twice the capacity of a 1GB iPod Shuffle, with their price nearly identical.

The Zen V is one of the smallest portable media player that supports video playback. The tiny screen is measured at 128×128 pixels, and it maintains a good viewing angle. The use of OLED instead of LCD could be a better choice, to take full advantage of the cost and its battery life. However, this OLED, despite its ability to display photos with perfect clarity indoors doesn’t offer the best outdoor visibility, in direct sunlight.

Zen V Models are about twice as thick as the iPod Nano and are shorter and just as light. Users reaction on the controls may vary, depending on how large your hands are. While some may find the controls very comfortable to use, others will find it not be the easiest thing to manipulate.

Learning the user interface is a breeze. It lets user quickly move through tracks and photos. Customizing menus, building and saving playlists as well as choosing from among several built-in color schemes and setting a stored photo for background image.

You don’t need to install any programs to put data files in Zen V, even though it has an accompaniment software. You can just drag and drop data files in Windows explorer. Here is the downside of this gadget: Mac users won’t buy this item because it can only work with Microsoft Windows. Creative Zen V is still a superb choice for anyone who dreams of a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with excellent sound quality.