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Pros: Great sound (which is subjective)Excellent included headphonesX-FI CrystalizerEasy Sync using WMP 11Excellent screenOnline functions work flawlesslyLight-weight and compactCons: This is more of a preference than a con, but I just have no use for the chat function and it is too much of a pain to type a message unless maybe they upgrade the typing platform with new firmware. Also I bought this for music not so much video, but when I do add video I make use of an SD card to save space on my player and it works very well with a nice picture. The buttons are small, but nothing a little getting used to won't fix.
This is the closest thing to listening to a CD that I have heard since I bought my first MP3 player (but sound is subjective and this is just my opinion). I don't nitpick about button placement and plastic casing because I don't buy things for their look, but for the sound and enjoyment I get out of it. And the onling streaming either from the media box or my home computer will not get much use (HOWEVER I REPEAT THEY DO WORK FLAWLESSLY)Other Thoughts: There are allready very detailed very high tech sounding reviews on here, so I'll be a little more simple.
I used WMP 11 and it worked well with this player. I feel the crystalizer brings life back to compressed music. I listened to the same songs on my Sony NWZ-E438F and X-Fi with the crystalizer on and I heard a good deal of difference ( I used the included heaphones with the X-FI for both).
And I'm proud to show off this player.
(-).what was Creative thinking about when it designed the controls for the unit; not just to say they are invisible in the dark, it is hard to operate them in general - why are they so small. (-)The WiFi function is not that important - I would not even offer one and keep the price lower, or instead invest in supporting DivX playback(-)limitted or No DivX playback.(-)The screen cannot be turned off completely during blayback - wasting the battery resources(-)Bookmarks do not recall the position of the track in the album - making audio books listening difficult.(+)X-Fi does work(+)32 GB
AND ALSO HAVE A PROBLEM OF FREEZING UP, THEN YOU HAVE TO RESET IT. I OWN TWO OF THESE PLAYERS AND THEY BOTH HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. THEY DON'T SHUT OFF WHEN YOU WANT THEM TO. I UPGRATED THE FIRM WARE FOR THEM TO NO AVAIL. PROBLEMS PERSIST.THEY DO HAVE A GOOD SOUND TO THEM, TOO BAD THEY PERFORM SO POORLY.I ALSO OWN A CREATIVE VISION M MUTCH BETTER PERFORMER.CREATIVE SHOULD OF NOT HAVE PUT THIS PLAYER OUT ON THE MARKET UNTIL THEY HAD FIXED ALL THE PROBLEMS THIS PLAYER HAS.THE BUILT IN SPEAKER AMAZINGLY SOUNDS GOOD.
I'll try to draw comparisons for you where I can.1. It was a huge let down because I was always fond of Creative Labs products and expected at least a stable, flexible device.I've got a bad taste in my mouth now and probably won't bother trying them out later when they've worked out some of the bugs - if they ever care to get around to it.For all the cool things this the Zen Xi-Fi potentially could be, at the price point it's offered, it's just a huge disappointment.There is a LOT of potential in this device, but potential is worthless if the company doesn't make it a priority to tap that potential. This is the BIGGEST problem because if it's not 100% stable, it's worthless.2. The unit would crash and need to be reset. One of the coolest things about my Sony Walkman is that I could directly copy folders to my device, then I could browse those folders from the device.
It lets you add source folders, but it will not see the contents. Unfortunately, they pretty much block out all sound so if you're jogging and a car is honking at you, you're pretty much mashed potatoes.Sound quality is extremely important in an audio device like this, so I would say it's a pretty big deal.4. It doesn't work properly, hard to manage and impossible to organize in some key ways, and lacks some basic necessary features.3. I would prefer the old Zen style navigation pad.8. One of them was even accidentally washed in the laundry but still worked perfectly fine years after that.Unfortunately for this unit, I'm not nearly as impressed.
I used to have a couple of creative MUVO players from years ago. I was looking to buy the new model but it starts at $300 and stil won't come out for another couple of months. That was extremely cool and much easier than fooling with playlists, albums, etc.You can copy folders to the Zen Xi-Fi, however, you cannot browse them from the device. They should have simply added a slider for the presence.The headphones seem to be pretty good and stick in your ears very well, unlike the headphones that came equipped with my IPod. The first problem I ran into was trying to put songs into albums. I don't know if it uses more battery power for sound enhancement but it seemed to zap some of the battery life when I left it on.Basically all it does is increase the presence and bass.
For some reason, it can see a few songs or maybe 1 or 2 albums, but just can't seem to see the other 10gb of stuff in that folder.The software is a real hassle. The software does not function well and lacks a lot of necessary features. It promises a lot and sounds incredibly cool, but there are too many points where it fails to deliver.I've used a Sony Walkman 8GB player for a couple of years and it has been fantastic. It lets you create a playlist on the fly, but adds all the songs from an album.6. Worthless feature.5. In fact, it either sticks them in messed up "unknown" albums or ignores them all together. This was much easier and more flexible with the IPod software. I would prefer a better equalizer than the Xi-Fi feature.
I didn't have a chance to really play with the wireless feature much because the unit crashed so often and I sent it back after just a few days. They were great and worked extremely well as USB drive/MP3 Players. You can create "On The Go" playlists on an IPod, but on this device you cannot. You cannot really create a playlist from the device. However, the EQ is hard to dial in. What I did get to use of it was rather disappointing. You can assign shortcuts, however, it's useless for what it does.There are a few other things that vexed me about this product. I've never been much of an IPod fan, however, I bought one after this unit failed me and I've been extremely happy with the IPod and IPod software.So anyway, I'm no stranger to MP3 players.
The little buttons are annoying, and for the most part, only 5 of the 9 even serve any function. The sound is not bad but not crystal clear. The equalizer can be customized which is something my IPod doesn't allow. It's really not nearly as cool as they make it sound.7. So far, Creative doesn't seem to be responding or offering any upgrades to the software or device to fix the problems.
Great product was originaly concerned with fm and older os but comes with latest update installed. although yet to test wi fi connection hope to soon.
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