Creative Technology has introduced the Zen Vision MP3 player with a 3.7-inch SharpPix high-resolution 640×480 262,144-color screen for photo viewing and digital video playback. Featuring a transflective screen that provides excellent image and video quality even in bright sunlit conditions, the 30GB Zen Vision carries up to 15,000 songs, tens of thousands of photos, or up to 120 hours of video. Available in either pearl white or black, the Zen Vision measures 4.9 by 2.9 by .8 inches and weighs only 8.4 ounces. It is available today for pre-order at us.creative.com for US $399.99.
“The Zen Vision is our most versatile and coolest-looking digital entertainment player ever,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “It supports download and subscription music services, photo transfer directly from a Compact Flash card or up to 17 variations of media through our optional Compact Flash Adapter. With the SharpPix technology, your digital photos can look even better than prints. Plus the Zen Vision supports video from TiVoToGo and popular Internet video formats including DivX, so it’s really easy and fun to enjoy your favorite music, photos and videos wherever you go.”
Music
With audio playback quality of up to 97dB SNR, the Zen Vision can carry up to 15,000 songs, and supports downloads from Internet music stores such as Napster, MSN Music and Music Now. The Zen Vision also supports music subscription services such as Yahoo! Music Unlimited and Napster to Go. The player also includes a built-in FM radio with 32 preset options, and FM recording.
Photos
The Zen Vision can carry tens of thousands of digital photos. For sharing pictures with family and friends, a convenient composite video out connector enables stunning full-color image output on any size TV screen. Users can watch slide shows set to favorite music played through headphones, the built-in speaker on the face of the player, or by connecting speakers such as a Creative I-Trigue® 2.1 system.
The convenient Plug&View slot on the side of the player supports both Compact Flash Type I and Type II media. An optional Compact Flash Adapter plugs directly into the Compact Flash slot to accept the most popular memory card types including SmartMedia, MultiMedia Card and Secure Digital, 17 variations in all.
Video
The Zen Vision supports a wide selection of video formats for enjoyment of movies downloaded from the Internet, including MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Simple Profile formats such as DivX and Xvid, WMV, and MJPEG. The Zen Vision also supports TiVoToGo, for viewing of TV content recorded on a TiVo personal video recorder, and digitized home movies transferred from the PC. Easy alphabetical scrolling enables quick access to movies and video files. The removable rechargeable battery provides up to 4.5 hours of video playback, and up to 120 hours of video can be stored on the player.
Additional Features
The large, bright screen of the Zen Vision displays a full menu to access music, pictures and video. In addition the intuitive menu accesses the following features:
- Built-in microphone – shows volume levels on screen for optimum voice recording quality
- Organizer – Provides calendar, tasks and contact lists, and syncs with Microsoft Outlook
- Extras – Enables setting of Date & Time, plus allocation of Removable Disk space for dedicated storage
- A clock with wake-to-any-music alarm, color themes and different languages for further customization
The Zen Vision connects to the PC via USB 2.0 for fast, easy transfer of content, and can also connect to an optional docking station for elegant freestanding display.
Pricing and Availability
The new Creative Zen Vision, available today for pre-order at http://www.us.creative.com for only US$399.99, comes with a rechargeable, removable Li-ion battery, an AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable, high-quality earphones, an AV cable, and a protective pouch. Optional accessories, including a docking station, Compact Flash Adapter, screen protector, spare extended-life battery, wired remote, and IR remote, will all be available for purchase separately at http://www.us.creative.com.
