Creative Zen X-Fi MP3 Player
Performance and functionality, the Creative Zen X-Fi Media player boasts of both. With the performance of a state of the art media player plus X-Fi technology, first in Creative’s line of media players and the functionality of a hand held audio device, the X-Fi series produces crystal clear audio and sharp images. Hear your music the way it was always meant to be heard. Included are EP-830 earphones which provide optimum comfort with excellent noise-isolation capability. Be the life of the party, as you share your music out loud with the powerful built-in speaker. A player that promises you pure unrivalled delights.
With its networking capabilities, the X- Fi allows you to chat using your Yahoo Messenger or Windows Live Messenger accounts. The alphanumeric keypad is frustrating to use for extended chatting--in much the same way that using the nine buttons on a cell phone for texting is. Expect to put your patience to the test, with lots of repeated button pushing. Ultimately the chat feature is no reason to buy this player, though it's a nice extra to have (when it works). Although minor issues like the chat malfunctions can't take the shine off of the Creative X-Fi. It's an outstanding digital music player that rises to the top with ease. The masses may continue to think iPod first when they need a new MP3 player--but the X-Fi is an innovative, feature-packed player, and it's an absolute steal for the price.
The Creative Zen X-Fi supports in multiple supported formats, such as MP3, WMA, and (non-protected) AAC (m4a) from iTunes Plus. Download Creative Centrale to rip, transfer, and manage your media content easily. Enjoy the ultimate collection of free video and audio podcast channels on www.zencast.com. Manage all of your favorite subscriptions with Zencast Organizer. Set audio effects to enhance your overall music listening experience. Choose from 8 EQ presets or customize your own EQ, and enhance it all with bass boost and smart volume effects. Experience the best of the free-to-share formats available. Switch to the FM radio. The 32 station presets let you switch stations with ease. Increase the size of your portable media library with an SD or SDHC card. Transfer your files easily to enjoy more videos, music, and photos in your player.
The X-Fi unit seems a bit small (3.3 inches by 2.2 inches by 0.5 inches) next to the iPod Touch and its generous screen.The X-Fi does have its limitations when matched head-to-head against the iPod Touch. It doesn't work with Mac OS X (only with XP and Vista);the online chat application doesn't work well; and you won't find the same degree of integration with third-party speaker systems, car stereos, and accessories that you'll find with the near-ubiquitous iPod. Though the Creative Zen X-Fi supports video playback, watching video on the smallish 2.5-inch-diagonal, 16.7-million color screen falls far short of an IMAX experience. The vibrant 320-by-240 pixel screen provides a sharp, crisp display, and the player supports DivX, MJPEG, MPEG-4, WMV, and XviD movies, all of which must be encoded by the included Creative Centrale desktop software before being loaded onto the player.