Creative Zen Stone 1GB
Page 5
Comparisons
| Specifications | Creative Zen Stone 1GB | Apple 2G iPod Shuffle 1GB | Creative Zen V Series 2GB | m-cody M-20 2GB |
| Picture |  |
 |
 |
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| Dimensions (inches) (mm) |
1.4 x 2.1 x 0.5 35.3 x 53.7 x 12.8 |
1.1 x 1.6 x 0.41 27.3 x 41.2 x 1.05 |
1.7 x 2.7 x 0.63 43.5 x 67.5 x 15.9 |
1.3 x 3.2 x 0.30 33.5 x 80.7 x 7.5 |
| Weight | 18.5g/0.88oz | 15.5g/0.55oz | 43.5g/1.5oz | 31g/1.1oz |
| Capacity | 1GB | 1GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| Battery Life | 10hrs | 12hrs | 15hrs | 11hrs |
| Battery Type | Lithium Ion Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer |
| removable? | No | No | No | No |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz - 20KHz | 20Hz - 20KHz | 20Hz - 20KHz | 20Hz - 20kHz |
| Signal/Noise Ratio | up to 90dB | No info | up to 90dB | 65dB |
| FM Tuner | No | No | Yes (V Plus only) | Yes |
| Recording | No | No | Voice/Line-In | FM/Voice/Line-In |
| Realtime Encoding | No | No | Line-In (WMA) | No |
| Connectivity | USB1.1/2.0 | USB1.1/2.0 | USB1.1/2.0 | USB1.1 |
| LCD | None | None | 1.5" 128x128 262K colours |
128x64 White OLED |
| Specifications | Creative Zen Stone 1GB | Apple 2G iPod Shuffle 1GB | Creative Zen V Series 2GB | m-cody M-20 2GB |
| OS Support | Windows XP/Vista | Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP | Windows XP | Mac OS X, Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP |
| Formats | MP3, WMA (including DRM) | MP3, AAC (including Protected), Audible, WAV, AIFF | Audio:
MP3, WMA (including DRM), WAV Video: Yes, transcoded Picture: JPEG |
MP3, WMA (including DRM), OGG, WAV |
| Upgradeable firmware | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audio effects | None | None | 8 EQ presets 1 5-band Custom EQ Smart Volume Bass boost |
4 EQ presets 2 5-band Custom EQ SRS WOW SRS TruBass |
| USB Mass Storage Class Device | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price (USD) | $39.99 | $79 | $79.99 $89.95 (V Plus) |
$138 |
Summary
| What's good |
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| What's bad |
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Conclusion
Creative's offerings have generally been less than stellar. The DAPs lack the "Wow" factor, whether in terms of design, features or even price. This presents a problem, because an all-rounder DAP makes it hard to justify a purchase. Yes, we know the Zen Stone is not the smallest DAP around, and has an average-ish battery life. The Zen Stone does not have any amazing features - it is a DAP, and it does what a DAP should. But the Zen Stone is able to compete on price. It is really cheap - half the price of the competition, and costs around the same as a similarly sized China-made DAP. At $39.99, we can definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a small, affordable DAP.
7 out of 10
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