Creative Zen (32GB)

The good: The Creative Zen sounds fantastic and features a brilliant color screen capable of displaying photos and video. The player offers a smorgasbord of desirable extras such as an SD card expansion slot, an FM radio, a voice recorder, and a user-definable EQ. It has a slim, pocket-friendly design; is very user-friendly; supports subscription music; and sports a reasonable price tag.

The bad: The Creative Zen only comes in black, the control pad feels cheap, and it doesn't come close to matching the max 60GB offered by the player it's replacing.

The bottom line: We're hard-pressed to find anything not to like about the Creative Zen. It's a great option for anyone looking for a great-sounding, pocketable MP3 player with an excellent, video-capable screen and plenty of extra features.

Read full review

Description: The Creative Zen is a 32 MB, basic player. Compared to other basic MP3 players on the market, it is relatively inexpensive at around $265.

Pros: Has a 97 dB signal-to-noise ratio. This is more favorable than the average MP3 player on the market today, but is to be expected for a MP3 player of this price. (Signal-to-noise ratio is a measure of the strength of the audio signal in comparison to that of the background noise. A lower signal-to-noise ratio means that the device produces more hiss and static, while a higher number (closer to 100) means clear-sounding audio.) This unit comes with a radio tuner.

Cons: Comes with 32 MB storage, which is considerably smaller than some similarly priced MP3 players. For example, the Apple iPod Classic Personalized , an 80 GB MP3 player at around $275, comes with 80 GB storage.

Suitability: A basic MP3 player, suited for bringing your music with you. Listen to your favorite local stations on this radio equipped player. Comes with equalizer presets to easily maximize your listening experience. Comes with a 1 year warranty, which is standard in the industry.

Value: In general, this MP3 player's features seem a bit weak, even for its relatively inexpensive price.

Suggestions: Audiophiles may wish to buy aftermarket headphones for better sound reproduction.