Creative Technology announced today the Zen Vision MP3 player which comes with a 3.7-inch SharpPix high-resolution 640x480 262,144-color screen for music video playback, as well as photo viewing.
The announcement comes immediately after yesterday's
news reporting that the company was awarded a U.S. patent applied to rival player iPod. Creative introduces the Zen Vision player as a major competitor to the well-known Apple's iPod.
The Zen Vision supports the Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) standard and Creative will be working with various partners to provide music video download services for users in the near future.
The 30GB Zen Vision carries up to 15,000 songs, tens of thousands of photos, or up to 120 hours of video, offering playback support of most popular formats. Available in either Pearl White or Black, the Zen Vision measures 124.2 by 74.4 by 20.1 mm and weighs only 239g. It will be available in Singapore for the first time at COMEX 2005 for only S$799.
Video
The Zen Vision supports a wide selection of video formats for enjoyment of movies and music videos downloaded from the Internet, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Simple Profile formats such as DivX and Xvid, plus WMV and MJPEG. The removable rechargeable Li-ion battery provides up to 4.5 hours of video playback, and up to 120 hours of video can be stored on the player.
Music
With high audio playback quality of up to 97dB SNR, the Zen Vision can carry up to 15,000 songs. The player also includes a built-in FM radio with 32 preset options, and FM recording, as well as 8 EQ presets (Acoustic, Classical, Pop, Rock, Jazz, New Age, Vocal, Disco) plus 1 custom EQ, for enhancement of audio playback.
Photos
The Zen Vision can carry tens of thousands of digital photos. For sharing pictures with family and friends, a composite video out connector enables full-color image output on any TV screen size. 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 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, Secure Digital, Memory Stick and many more.
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 transfer of content.
Pricing and Availability
The new Creative Zen Vision will be available in Singapore for the very first time at COMEX 2005 at a suggested retail price of S$799. The standard package 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.