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Electronics : Creative Zen Stone Plus 2GB MP3 Player - White
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Rating: 
- Great player - plus/minus review
Here's my review of plus/minus points on a scale:
+3: The sound quality. Cannot be bettered, so superior to the iPod Nano in this regard that it's laughable.
+2: It charges to full very quickly, even though it's a USB charge. Seems to charge from flat to full in less than an hour which is pretty quick compared to other players.
+1: The FM radio is actually useful, much better than a lot of radios on larger players like the Zen Micro, which I struggled with.
0: Doesn't come with a mains charger. Not necessary though, as it charges from USB, but USB mains chargers are available separately.
-1: Slightly concerned about the flimsy feel of the buttons. Only a minor point, but would've been nice to have a more solid feel.
-2: Display is either LED or some kind of coloured LCD. It is near impossible to see in bright daylight.
-3: Worst thing for me is that the controls are not very responsive. When cycling through the menus, it can take half a second for something to happen, by which time you've pressed the button too many times. We've come to expect instant response from a lot of players and the sluggishness of the stone can be frustrating.
This has to be one of the best players around at the moment despite the small niggles. It's certainly far superior to its main rival, the iPod Nano.
Rating:
- Cheap, Small, Easy to Use - Perfect!
I was after something small, relatively cheap with a drag and drop feature to use in the gym. This fits the bill perfectly, and I like the simple menu set-up. The sound is clear and there is a equilizer so you can change the sound set-up. It's extremely easy to just drag and drop music onto the Zen Stone and you don't even need to install the software that comes with it. That was a huge plus over the iPod and Sony alternatives. The player also has the option to remove volume restriction, which is a big bonus for me. The only tiny downside I've found is that the body is quite prone to scratching. However, I bought a skin for mine at the same time as buying the Zen Stone and it's very well protected. They also have a little clip on the back which means you can clip them to your top etc. when you're in the gym.
Highly recommended for a cheap, small, easy to use MP3 player.
Rating: - Fine little MP3 Player
The Creative Zen Stone Plus is a fine little MP3 player.
It is very lightweight and a bit plasticky but this actually hides what is a very competent player for a good price.
Storage is fine: not enough for an entire music collection but easily enough for well over 400 high bitrate tracks I own with a little space left over for podcasts.
Even with the standard earbuds supplied, sound quality is good (it is churlish to expect concert hall performance from a tiny MP3 player) with very clear vocals, bass boost and, most impressive to me, perfect silences where appropriate. There is even a customisable graphic equaliser, which is a nice touch.
Navigating around the menus is fairly straightforward, although not all of the possibilities are explained in the somewhat disappointingly brief quick start guide so just experiment and see where you get! I particularly like the full range of shuffle options provided, for instance.
The FM radio is a welcome bonus (but I have, so far, not bothered with the stop watch which others may find useful).
Like all MP3 players, the Stone Plus has its quirks. The power button needs to be depressed for some time before the player springs into life, a quick press won't do. Worse, when docked into the Travelsound mini speakers (sold separately), this button, which also doubles as the pause button, cannot be accessed at all, which I find strange. Also, the menu screen will only display folders containing tracks so, although the player supports up to three levels of subfolders, these will not all be visible on the little LED screen.
It is possible to download software (Media Lite) from the Creative site but there is no real need to. Tracks can be transferred from PC to player (using the supplied USB cable) using drag and drop in Windows.
Finally, take note of the compatability offered by the player. It plays MP3s and WMAs (and Audible - voice - files) and also DRM9 protected WMAs. This means it should be fine for tracks purchased outright and downloaded from online music stores but it will not play DRM10 which is what you are likely to have if you have paid for a subscription service to a store.
All in all, odd quirks aside and bearing in mind that I cannot comment on the longevity of the player, I am, so far, delighted with what is a neat and competent MP3 player.
Rating: - Does the job
I like this thing because:
i) it plays mp3 very well.
ii) sound quality is decent
iii) the battery last for ages
iv) small, light and remains unnoticeable
v) excellent software programme easily downloadable from the net
vi) cute and adorable and come in lots of colours!
vii) lots of different accesories you can choose from
viii) very user friendly including an easy to use interface
ix) there's a radio setting which is nice when you get fed up with the music - tried it in the Netherlands and worked a treat too!
x) there's sound booster and equalizer
xi) the music can be categorized and you can choose and play which ones without too much hassle
xii) powermode - pretty energy efficient
the downside (which is very minor)
i) doesn't come with a charger but instead a USB connector which act as a charger which is a tad bit annoying if you go travelling and have no access to a computer or USB connected thing but you can opt to buy one for less than tenner. I suppose it does encourage energy efficiency in one way!
ii) the earphones that comes with it is not the best - I used my own other which sounds better
For less than £40, 2 GB mp3 player with addition microphone, radio and all the extra bits - it is a gem. I got it for about 2 weeks now and loving every minute of it. Just don't expect too much if you are spending this amount of money!
Rating:
- great mp3 player....but it broke within 2 days!!
i eagerly awaited the delivery of my new zen stone plus mp3 player.
and when it arrived i was really happy! it was compact easy to use good sound quality and well...just great!
but unfortunately it broke within 2 days, so the reason i have given this mp3 player 1 star is that when i tried(and i mean TRIED) to contact creative the mp3 player maker i left my details on the site so i could send it away to be fixed or replaced they said they would send me a number that i must put on the envelope. weeks later and i still have not received any email or any contact from creative of where to send the product or the number i need, i am very disappointed indeed! because that is £50 down the drain...so i went and bought a cheap and cheerful logik mp3 player from a retail outlet for £19.99 which works just as well and has not broken yet.
in future i will be very wary of buying electronical equipment online as i have had a nightmare trying to solve the problem...and the problem is still as yet unsolved!
- Great player - plus/minus reviewHere's my review of plus/minus points on a scale:
+3: The sound quality. Cannot be bettered, so superior to the iPod Nano in this regard that it's laughable.
+2: It charges to full very quickly, even though it's a USB charge. Seems to charge from flat to full in less than an hour which is pretty quick compared to other players.
+1: The FM radio is actually useful, much better than a lot of radios on larger players like the Zen Micro, which I struggled with.
0: Doesn't come with a mains charger. Not necessary though, as it charges from USB, but USB mains chargers are available separately.
-1: Slightly concerned about the flimsy feel of the buttons. Only a minor point, but would've been nice to have a more solid feel.
-2: Display is either LED or some kind of coloured LCD. It is near impossible to see in bright daylight.
-3: Worst thing for me is that the controls are not very responsive. When cycling through the menus, it can take half a second for something to happen, by which time you've pressed the button too many times. We've come to expect instant response from a lot of players and the sluggishness of the stone can be frustrating.
This has to be one of the best players around at the moment despite the small niggles. It's certainly far superior to its main rival, the iPod Nano.
Rating:
- Cheap, Small, Easy to Use - Perfect!I was after something small, relatively cheap with a drag and drop feature to use in the gym. This fits the bill perfectly, and I like the simple menu set-up. The sound is clear and there is a equilizer so you can change the sound set-up. It's extremely easy to just drag and drop music onto the Zen Stone and you don't even need to install the software that comes with it. That was a huge plus over the iPod and Sony alternatives. The player also has the option to remove volume restriction, which is a big bonus for me. The only tiny downside I've found is that the body is quite prone to scratching. However, I bought a skin for mine at the same time as buying the Zen Stone and it's very well protected. They also have a little clip on the back which means you can clip them to your top etc. when you're in the gym.
Highly recommended for a cheap, small, easy to use MP3 player.
Rating:
- Fine little MP3 PlayerThe Creative Zen Stone Plus is a fine little MP3 player.
It is very lightweight and a bit plasticky but this actually hides what is a very competent player for a good price.
Storage is fine: not enough for an entire music collection but easily enough for well over 400 high bitrate tracks I own with a little space left over for podcasts.
Even with the standard earbuds supplied, sound quality is good (it is churlish to expect concert hall performance from a tiny MP3 player) with very clear vocals, bass boost and, most impressive to me, perfect silences where appropriate. There is even a customisable graphic equaliser, which is a nice touch.
Navigating around the menus is fairly straightforward, although not all of the possibilities are explained in the somewhat disappointingly brief quick start guide so just experiment and see where you get! I particularly like the full range of shuffle options provided, for instance.
The FM radio is a welcome bonus (but I have, so far, not bothered with the stop watch which others may find useful).
Like all MP3 players, the Stone Plus has its quirks. The power button needs to be depressed for some time before the player springs into life, a quick press won't do. Worse, when docked into the Travelsound mini speakers (sold separately), this button, which also doubles as the pause button, cannot be accessed at all, which I find strange. Also, the menu screen will only display folders containing tracks so, although the player supports up to three levels of subfolders, these will not all be visible on the little LED screen.
It is possible to download software (Media Lite) from the Creative site but there is no real need to. Tracks can be transferred from PC to player (using the supplied USB cable) using drag and drop in Windows.
Finally, take note of the compatability offered by the player. It plays MP3s and WMAs (and Audible - voice - files) and also DRM9 protected WMAs. This means it should be fine for tracks purchased outright and downloaded from online music stores but it will not play DRM10 which is what you are likely to have if you have paid for a subscription service to a store.
All in all, odd quirks aside and bearing in mind that I cannot comment on the longevity of the player, I am, so far, delighted with what is a neat and competent MP3 player.
Rating:
- Does the jobI like this thing because:
i) it plays mp3 very well.
ii) sound quality is decent
iii) the battery last for ages
iv) small, light and remains unnoticeable
v) excellent software programme easily downloadable from the net
vi) cute and adorable and come in lots of colours!
vii) lots of different accesories you can choose from
viii) very user friendly including an easy to use interface
ix) there's a radio setting which is nice when you get fed up with the music - tried it in the Netherlands and worked a treat too!
x) there's sound booster and equalizer
xi) the music can be categorized and you can choose and play which ones without too much hassle
xii) powermode - pretty energy efficient
the downside (which is very minor)
i) doesn't come with a charger but instead a USB connector which act as a charger which is a tad bit annoying if you go travelling and have no access to a computer or USB connected thing but you can opt to buy one for less than tenner. I suppose it does encourage energy efficiency in one way!
ii) the earphones that comes with it is not the best - I used my own other which sounds better
For less than £40, 2 GB mp3 player with addition microphone, radio and all the extra bits - it is a gem. I got it for about 2 weeks now and loving every minute of it. Just don't expect too much if you are spending this amount of money!
Rating:
- great mp3 player....but it broke within 2 days!!i eagerly awaited the delivery of my new zen stone plus mp3 player.
and when it arrived i was really happy! it was compact easy to use good sound quality and well...just great!
but unfortunately it broke within 2 days, so the reason i have given this mp3 player 1 star is that when i tried(and i mean TRIED) to contact creative the mp3 player maker i left my details on the site so i could send it away to be fixed or replaced they said they would send me a number that i must put on the envelope. weeks later and i still have not received any email or any contact from creative of where to send the product or the number i need, i am very disappointed indeed! because that is £50 down the drain...so i went and bought a cheap and cheerful logik mp3 player from a retail outlet for £19.99 which works just as well and has not broken yet.
in future i will be very wary of buying electronical equipment online as i have had a nightmare trying to solve the problem...and the problem is still as yet unsolved!