Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 GB Multimedia Player (Aluminum/White) Review
I first purchased this product on eBay for roughly seven months ago and, in that time, it has become one of my best friends. As a big music lover, I was getting tired of constantly changing CDs in my car to listen to music, so I decided to purchase an MP3 player for usage with my cassette adapter.
Of course, the most obvious choice would have been an iPod, but I really hate the way it works (especially how Apple forces you to use iTunes). I looked at Microsoft Zune too, but it was a bit too expensive for my taste. Then I stumbled upon the Creative Zen Sleek Photo: A 20GB MP3 player at an amazingly low price. I did not even expect to get more than 4-8GB, so this was a great deal to me.
Well, it has been close to a year now, and I am ready to give my review. I can summarized everything in this sentence: Amazing MP3 player, but not without its flaws.
Lets discuss the positives about this player first. To begin, as it is created by one of the top sound companies in the PC industry (Creative), you would think that audio quality is a big thing with this player, and it does not disappoint. Aside from good general quality, the Zen Sleek comes with an audio equalizer, and quality options like bass boost and smart volume.
The screen itself is large and easy to see with readable text. Albums are sorted by Artists, Album, and so on (or alternatively, you can choose all music). Now most people choose an iPod because it is very small, but to be honest, I find that highly uncomfortable. The iPod doesn't fit well in my hand whereas the Zen Sleek does and it feels much better to me. I also like the fact that the Zen Sleek has hard buttons (i.e. a Play/Stop, Fast Forward, Fast Rewind, etc) as opposed to making a single, awkward control similar to the iPod. Of course, the Zen Sleek does have a smooth slider that is used to control volume, but while its awkward at first, you get used to it, and it really is more useful than hard volume buttons.
Concerning all the extra details, the Zen Sleek definitely does itself well. It has an exceedingly long battery life and I find that I am able to leave it without charging for weeks, yet still turn it on with good battery life. Furthermore, it comes with an FM tuner for those who likes radio, and the Zen Sleek players the two most common MP3 formats (MP3 and WMA); if you have songs in other formats, the Creative software will convert it for you. Lastly, the software for it (Zen Media Explorer) is light weight, and very easy to use. You can use Windows Media Player, but I really do recommend the Zen Media Player.
Now then, what about the flaws? To be truthful, I can really only think of three flaws with the player, and only the first two are major. The first and the biggest flaw is that the company, Creative, does not offer the Zen Sleek software on its website. Since I purchased this player used, it did not come with the CD software, so I needed it. Because Creative failed to offer it (despite offering the software for some of their other players), I ended up having to search for days online in order to get it. This was tremendously exhausting and it counts as a major point against Creative for failing to include the software (which isn't even all that large at 300MB). Fortunately, some other enterprising souls have realized this problem, and are now hosting the Creative software themselves on their website, so there's no longer any need to search a long time to find it.
Secondly, the Creative Zen Sleek Photo offers lots of way to sort music, but what annoys me is that it doesn't offer the most obvious sorting method of all: by filename. Instead, almost all of the sorting is done through the entries in the IDv2/IDv3 tags. Now, most people who have MP3 files largely just bother with the filenames and ignore the IDv2/IDv3 tags, so the fact that Creative did not allow sorting by this method is a huge oversight on their part. I had to download software which allowed me to batch change multiple IDv2/IDv3 tags at once (because I couldn't do it myself since there were hundreds of files) so that the files sorted the way I wanted it to in the Zen Sleek.
Lastly, the other flaw I want to talk about is really minor. It is that the reset hole (located under the player) was made too tiny. Most other electronics makes the reset button easy to use or, in some cases, makes it so that a common household item, such as a paperclip, can reach it. The Zen Sleek has a reset hole so tiny, however, that the only thing that can reach it is a needle pin. Honestly, was that really needed? The few times that I needed to reset the player, I was not able to do so easily. The first time; I had to ask someone to loan me a needle pin they had. The second time; I simply allowed it to run out of battery (which is not easy considering its long battery life), then I turned it on through recharge after it shut off itself.
Other than these flaws I mentioned, the Zen Sleek Photo really is an awesome player, though. Overall, I would give it these ratings:
1) Sound Quality - 5/5; Great sound quality
2) Functionality - 5/5; Great options to improve sound, many extra features
3) Design - 4/5; Player fits well in hand, resetting could be easier
4) Ease of Use - 3/5; Software/Player is very easy to use, but software should be available on website, sorting by filename should also be available
5) Overall - 4/5; A great MP3 player to own
Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 GB Multimedia Player (Aluminum/White) Feature
- 20 GB audio/photo jukebox capable of playing image slideshows with music
- Compatible with MP3, WMA, and secure WMA-DRM PlaysForSure music files
- FM tuner with recording capability and voice recorder; syncs with Outlook for transfers
- 1.7-inch OLED screen with 262,144 colors; up to 19 hours playback per battery charge
- Measures 2.3 by 3.9 by 0.63 inches (W x H x D); 1-year parts warranty (90 days labor)
Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 GB Multimedia Player (Aluminum/White) Overview
The elegant way to enjoy share music and photos! Creative's Zen Sleek Photo with bright color OLED display is the stylish way to share images and enjoy audio. Its slender profile, in aluminum and white, is easy to hold and the advanced touchpad control places all functions a fingertip away. Much more than just an MP3 player, it can store and display thousands of photos as well as up to 10, 000 songs and gives playtimes up to 19 hours. The advanced color OLED screen displays photos with extra brightness and a wide angle of vision. With built-in FM radio and microphone as well, the Zen Sleek Photo is the personal fun center for people who like to share!
Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 GB Multimedia Player (Aluminum/White) Specifications
Amazon.com Product Description Living up to its name, the svelte and elegantly designed Creative Zen Sleek Photo Multimedia Player can carry thousands of MP3 and WMA music files as well as your favorite snapshots. It is compatible with secure PlaysForSure WMA files downloaded from online music stores and subscription services (like MTV's Urge, Napster, and Rhapsody).
 View the stunning, high-intensity 1.7-inch OLED screen from any angle. |
 The Sleek Photo 20 GB player holds up to 10,000 WMA or 5,000 MP3 songs. View larger. |
Tune in to the built-in FM radio (which features 32 station presets) and listen live or record programming for listening when you're ready. Use the built-in microphone to record your voice--dictate memos, record meetings, hours of notes, lectures and reminders. Sync with Microsoft Outlook to transfer your calendar, contacts and task list so you'll never forget important anniversaries and appointments. You can also use the Zen Sleek Photo as an external hard drive for saving and transferring your most important files.
The equalization feature offers nine acoustic environments, such as "rock" and "jazz," enabling you to customize your listening environment. Other features include a 5-band graphic equalizer, easy-to-use touch pad control buttons, and upgradeable firmware. It connects to PCs via a USB 2.0 connection (cable included)--which features download speeds of up to one second per song--and it's compatible with Windows XP SP1/SP2 systems with Windows Media Player 10 software.
The Zen Sleek Photo Multimedia Player uses PlaysForSure technology. Look for the PlaysForSure logo if you're shopping for a portable music or video device and you want to make sure the digital music and video you purchase will play back on it every time. Match the PlaysForSure logo on a large selection of leading devices and online music stores. If you see the logo, you'll know your digital music will play for sure. Choose from a large number of digital music and video stores, including MTV's Urge, Rhapsody, Yahoo!, MSN Music, MusicMatch, MusicNow, Napster, Wal-Mart Music Downloads, and many more.
What's in the Box
Zen Sleek Photo digital audio player, earphones, power adapter, USB cable, pouch, CD-ROM with software and user guide, and printed Quick Start guide.
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Dec 04, 2009 18:45:05
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