Typical price: £350
What is it: A portable media centre with 30GB hard drive
What we think: The Creative Zen Vision is the easiest device on the market to use -- shame about the price, 4:3 screen and lack of TV recording
What you need to know
Reviewed on: 15 December 2005
Tags: Creative, Creative Zen Vision, radio, DVD movies, FM radio
We like:
Detailed screen; easy to use; perfect Windows Media Player integration
We don't like:
Highly reflective screen; no recording options; limited hard drive
You might also need:
DivX/XviD movie collection or Dr. DivX software
CNET UK judgement:
Against the Archos AV500, the Zen Vision just loses out thanks to a lack of TV recording and a 4:3 screen. However, it is much easier to use and offers a pleasant picture quality, even if the screen is far too reflective. It also looks like a premium device, with a sleek chassis. It's just a little too expensive, but it will appeal to novices who hate Archos' horrible interfaces
Full review:
Creative has long played second fiddle to Apple in the MP3 player market, but competition in portable video is not quite so fierce. Archos is the only player of note -- even efforts from a major manufacturer like Samsung have largely gone unnoticed. Despite Archos' popularity, the company produces media centres that are pretty difficult to use and, AV500 excepted, pretty darn ugly. Continue Reading...
Creative Zen Vision History
5 Dec 2005 in Crave
Creative Zen Vision: Buddha's media centre
The Creative Zen Vision -- black as the night, sleek as the iPod and as easy to use as a pencil. But with Archos finally getting it right with the AV500, is there any need for Creative to be muscling in on the portable media player market?
26 Aug 2005 in Crave
Archos AV700: muggings guaranteed
The follow-up to the Archos AV400 is here -- DivX fans rejoice! The upgrade sees a massive jump in screen size and an even slinkier chassis. You certainly won't fit it in your pocket, but it's set to be one of the year's hot gadgets
1 Aug 2005 in Crave
We try out DivX 6.0 -- a video compression package that lets you fit a DVD movie onto one single CD. The latest version also has built-in menu support, allowing you to create a DVD-style front end for your videos
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