Creative Labs Zen MicroPhoto 8GB Review

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Creative Labs Zen MicroPhoto 8GB
3.2 stars
Average rating for this product is: 3.2 out of 5

From 4 ratings and 5 reviews

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greendaze's Review of Creative Labs Zen MicroPhoto 8GB MP3 Player

23rd Oct 2006

Overall Rating

4 stars
  • Value for money
    4.5 stars
  • Sound Quality
    4 stars
  • Features
    4 stars
  • Time MP3 Player Owned
    1 - 6 Months
  • Battery Life
    2 stars
  • Memory
    8Gb
Good Points

Good sound quality
Lots of memory for the money
Very good colour screen
Easy to use touch controls
Clear sound, even at loud volumes
Good features
Good looking
Variety of different colours
Nice size
Good software


Bad Points

Disappointing battery life
Standard earphones are not very good
You have to charge via a USB port


General Comments

Overall, I am very pleased with the Creative Labs Zen MicroPhoto 8GB MP3 player. I bought it in the summer, thinking I may as well get an 8GB Zen instead of a 2 - 4GB iPod for the same price. It was very good value for money! It cost me £130 from Amazon.co.uk, but I think you can now pick one up for about £110. The touch pad is not over-sensitive, and you can change the sensitivity setting. It sounds nice, even at loud volumes. It looks very good too, with a 65k colour screen, variety of colours and 'Zen Blue Glow' - the controls and rim of the player give off blue light when charging or in use. The features like organiser, playlists, and the ability to sync with Microsoft Outlook are very useful. The software that comes with the player is top-notch.

The quoted battery life of 12 - 15 hours which is hugely optimistic, with mine putting in 5 - 6 hours at mid-volume before it conks. It is also inconvenient to charge it through the USB port of your computer, and it takes a long time to charge. For both these reasons I would highly recommend you buy a charging adaptor - you can charge from the mains and it apparently gives more battery life, but it is quite expensive, and only available from the Creative website.

The standard earbuds aren't up to much, and you will inevitably lose the little foam bits, so I would also recommend buying a decent pair of aftermarket in-ear earbuds. Because they go in your ear, you get more bass and better sound quality to bring out the potential of the player, and you can also have the volume lower to save battery life.

Overall, you should buy this player, but also consider buying a few extras.

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