Creative Zen Stone 1GB
Introduction
Digital audio players (DAPs) can be grouped into two general categories: flash-memory and hard disk-based players. Falling prices and increased capacities of flash memory have increased demand of flash-memory-based DAPs. At a time when DAPs with colour screens were gaining popularity, such as Apple's iPod nano and SanDisk's Sansa e200, the iPod Shuffle seemed to go against all logic. Shaped like a typical USB flash drive, the iPod Shuffle did not have a screen. If any company could get away with such a concept, it had to be Apple. In November 2006, Apple released the second generation (2G) iPod Shuffle, with an even smaller profile.
Creative's policy seems to be "better late than never", and in their usual game of catch-up, they recently launched a new DAP competing directly with the 2G iPod Shuffle. This new DAP is called the Zen Stone, with 1GB capacity and a range of bright colours. What gives the Zen Stone a big plus is the price - USD39.99. This is almost half that of the 2G iPod Shuffle.
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And instead of overpriced accessories, the Zen Stone accessories are attractively priced. The armband (left in the following picture) is retailing for USD14.99, the keychain for USD12.99, and the skin for USD9.99. In case you are not keeping count, that means you can buy the Zen Stone with all three accessories for the price of an iPod Shuffle.
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Package Contents
The Seagate-like circles from the Zen Vision:M and Zen V boxes are back.
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Inside, the box contains the bare minimum.
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Here's a shot of everything in the box, which, as you can see, is not a lot.
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On the left is a short USB cable, followed by a pair of cheap earphones, the Zen Stone itself, and a Quick Start guide. We were disappointed that Creative did not include the EP-480 earphones, which has been practically the standard bundled earphones since the Zen Micro. Of course, we understand that this was probably to keep the cost down, especially considering the EP-480 retails for around USD15.