Creative Technology Zen Sleek Photo White (20 GB) MP3 Player
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- Number of Songs: 5000
- Usage: Music Recording
- Interface: USB 2.0
- Screen Size: 1.7 inch
- Main Storage Type: Hard Drive
- Storage Capacity: 20 GB
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Zen Sleek: Death to the iPod!
Pros
Large storage capacity, stylish, good price.
Cons
Poor battery life.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Definitely yes. This player's got it all over the iPod!
When I finally decided to buy my first mp3 player, I was immediately overwhelmed. Anyone who's ever shopped for one will back me up on this; the sheer amount of brands and models can sometimes be dizzying. After months and months of comparison, I had finally decided to go with a Creative Labs; they were stylish looking and cheaper than iPods. I arrived at the Zen Sleek Photo almost by default: it was the only 20GB player of that brand at my local Wal-Mart, and I was too impatient to order one off the internet. Not the best way to make a decision, I know, but it's turned out to be a good one.
After about fifteen minutes of struggling with the box, I finally saw the player itself, and the initial impression was quite good. In an era where everyone seems to have a boring white iPod, it's nice to have shiny metal player that stands out. On that subject, it also has eight themes that change the colors of the background, another style advantage over iPod. I change mine all the time, and currently have it set on Cool, which is mostly pale blues, since it seemed an appropriate theme for winter.
The matter of battery life is open to debate. Charging time is two hours, which is perfectly reasonable. The info on the player claims it can have up to nineteen hours of battery life, but I've yet to get nearly that much out of it. That's probably my fault, since i have the screen on a lot when I use the menu, and this drains the battery life. Some tricks to help increase battery time are to set the timer for when the screen goes off to its lowest setting (five seconds), and to have the screen on as low a contrast as you can stand it, both if which I've done.
The earphones are all right, no better than the standard earphones should be. They're a little large for my ears, but I've mastered being able to keep them in.
Of course it has a huge storage capacity, which I'm nowhere near filling up. It has several music playing and storing devices unique to Creative Labs, but I personally prefer to use good old Windows Media Player, and have become very adapt at ripping music. It can buy from virtually any music site (but look for the PlaysForSure logo to be on the safe side), yet another advantage over iPod.
The photo quality is also very good. (I actually had no intent to store photos in my player; that came about because my non-tech savvy mother was fiddling around with my player on the computer, and accidentally transferred every music and photo file on there to my player! Thanks, ma.) But I digress. It might not be portrait quality, but its as good as one could expect on such a tiny screen.
It also has many other useful accessories, such as FM radio and a built - in microphone. Overall I'd say that compared to iPod, you get much more bang for your buck.
So, am I recommending it? Definitely.
After about fifteen minutes of struggling with the box, I finally saw the player itself, and the initial impression was quite good. In an era where everyone seems to have a boring white iPod, it's nice to have shiny metal player that stands out. On that subject, it also has eight themes that change the colors of the background, another style advantage over iPod. I change mine all the time, and currently have it set on Cool, which is mostly pale blues, since it seemed an appropriate theme for winter.
The matter of battery life is open to debate. Charging time is two hours, which is perfectly reasonable. The info on the player claims it can have up to nineteen hours of battery life, but I've yet to get nearly that much out of it. That's probably my fault, since i have the screen on a lot when I use the menu, and this drains the battery life. Some tricks to help increase battery time are to set the timer for when the screen goes off to its lowest setting (five seconds), and to have the screen on as low a contrast as you can stand it, both if which I've done.
The earphones are all right, no better than the standard earphones should be. They're a little large for my ears, but I've mastered being able to keep them in.
Of course it has a huge storage capacity, which I'm nowhere near filling up. It has several music playing and storing devices unique to Creative Labs, but I personally prefer to use good old Windows Media Player, and have become very adapt at ripping music. It can buy from virtually any music site (but look for the PlaysForSure logo to be on the safe side), yet another advantage over iPod.
The photo quality is also very good. (I actually had no intent to store photos in my player; that came about because my non-tech savvy mother was fiddling around with my player on the computer, and accidentally transferred every music and photo file on there to my player! Thanks, ma.) But I digress. It might not be portrait quality, but its as good as one could expect on such a tiny screen.
It also has many other useful accessories, such as FM radio and a built - in microphone. Overall I'd say that compared to iPod, you get much more bang for your buck.
So, am I recommending it? Definitely.
