Review: Creative Zen: Good things in a (very) small MP3 package

Computerworld - Once, Apple Inc.'s iPod had no serious competitors. Now, the iPod Nano faces serious competition from a handful of devices, most notably Creative Technology Ltd.'s new Zen media player.

This little flash-based device is the width of a standard credit card and about a half-inch shorter. It sports an attractive and simple, if somewhat retro, interface, excellent display and sound quality and some nice-to-have extras that are missing in the Nano. And it's tiny, fitting comfortably both in the hand and in jeans pockets.

Other Nano competitors, including SanDisk Corp.'s Sansa View and Microsoft Corp.'s flash-based Zune, are expected soon, and we'll review them when they are available. In the meantime, if you're not tied down to the iTunes store, Creative's Zen line of players is worth your serious consideration.

The first thing I noticed after unpacking the Zen is its diminutive size. Yes, there are smaller media players -- the new Nano is a bit shorter and thinner -- but none with as big a display and as much storage capacity as the

The Creative Zen series of media players are no bigger than a credit card. (Photo courtesy of Creative)

Perhaps because the credit card size and shape of the device is so familiar, the Zen fits comfortably in the hand. The 2.5-in. display (compared to the Nano's 2-in. display) uses most of the front of the device, with controls to the right of the display.

If you're looking for cutting-edge media player controls, you'll be disappointed with the Zen. It has rocker-type buttons at the top and bottom right side of the device that control functions like playback and going back to previous screens. Between them is a four-way rocker for browsing through menus with a selection button in the middle.

If you can get past the relatively old-fashioned controls, you'll find an intuitive, attractive and surprisingly customizable user interface. Creative's screens use large, bright and intuitive 3-D icons. The interface also uses the large screen well -- information about, for instance, the music track that's playing is easy to read.

Usefully, you can customize the top-level menus. For example, submenus to the main Music menu include Artists, Albums and Genres. You can easily add any of those options to the top-level menu. You also can easily change the order of items that appear on the top-level menu. This customization is available via a menu option.