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Electronics
Creative Labs
Publisher: Creative Labs
Product Type - MP3 Player
Connectivity - USB 2.0
Memory - 2GB
Dimensions WxDxH - 2.19" x 1.39" x 0.5"
-- Clock
Dimensions - Width 2.19 x Height 1.39 x Depth 0.5 inch Weight - 0.74 ounces
The ZEN Stone Plus is a tiny 2GB MP3 player available in six fun colors. It may fit in your pocket, but it's packed with features: built-in FM radio with 32 presets, stopwatch, countdown timer, clock, and even a voice recorder. All this and 500 of your favorite songs for you to take anywhere.  Fill this tiny, action-packed 2GB MP3 Player with up to 500 of your favorite songs and take it with you everywhere.
View 360 demo |  Six hot colors! | Ultra-Portable MP3 Player
The ZEN Stone Plus weights less than an ounce, which means you can truly take it anywhere, in any pocket. It features 2 GB of flash memory, so you can put up to 500 of your favorite songs on the device. The Stone Plus supports MP3, WMA and Audible file formats, and its rechargeable Li-ion Polymer battery will give you up to 9.5 hours of playback. In a hurry? A 15-minute quick charge will give you 2 hours. Songs Your Way
Pull out your CD collection and rip your albums. You can download Creative Media Lite to rip CDs, manage folders, transfer files and access other essential functions. The Stone Plus is compatible with most online music stores. Log onto the Internet and browse different music services for the songs you don't have. Download your favorite songs without paying for the whole album. Built-In FM Radio
When in the mood for something different, simply use the built-in FM radio. Set up to 32 station presets so you can catch up on the latest sports results or listen to your favorite talk show. Keep Track of Time
The built-in stopwatch, countdown timer and clock give you everything you need for your workout. Voice Recorder
Capture that thought when it hits you, or record lectures or meetings with the built-in microphone and voice recorder. Protect Your Investment
Every Zen MP3 player includes a 1-year parts / 90-day labor warranty and 60 days of complimentary telephone support. By purchasing a Creative Care Protection Plan within the first 90 days of ownership, you can protect your investment by extending the hardware coverage and telephone support of your product to 2 years from your original purchase date. What's in the Box?
ZEN Stone Plus, Earphones, USB 2.0 cable, Quick Start guide.
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| Decent, but old |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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This is a decent product, and does what it is supposed to. You get a 2 GB (nominal) mp3 player, with a built-in FM tuner. Works great at the gym or while running, if you buy the arm band as well.
Current pricing seems a little high, as I have seen it at least half of it's normal retail price lately, as the new models are rolling out. (By the way, the current list price of over $100 is way too much-- regular MSRP through Creative is at least 40% less.)
It does tend to have issues with varying the playlist when you choose shuffle, and you may need to shuffle it a different number of times every time you go to use it. It doesn't resume the shuffled list after turning it off then back on; instead, it finishes playing the last song you listened to and returns back to playing the files in whatever order it uses by default.
The only other problem with this player is that the battery dies pretty fast. On a full charge after around 30 uses, the battery will only last a few visits to the gym (i.e., two days, which was a maximum of 3 hours). This short life span is a problem when the player sits dormant, as well. Unlike a cell phone, the battery seems to drain just as fast during use as it does when the player is NOT in use.
However, for the price, I get all I need out of it.
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| DON'T BUY CREATIVE! |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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The first mp3 player I bought was by Sony and it has worked pretty well, but since I didn't care for the design or the menu, I thought I'd buy a different brand this time around. The Stone really appealed because of its price, looks, and features. So I spent a lot of time reading reviews and despite the number of people that said theirs randomly stopped working, I still ending up ordering a Stone because of the price.
WHAT A MISTAKE! I started using the Stone right away and everything was going well. I laughed at myself for worrying. THE VERY NEXT DAY, my FULLY CHARGED Stone WOULD NOT TURN ON! I couldn't use the recovery tool that I downloaded from Creative either because when I connected the Stone, it wouldn't show up on the computer. MY STONE WAS DEAD WITHIN TWO DAYS OF USE!
So, there goes fifty bucks. (I bought the 2GB plus with speaker.)
Other reasons not to buy the Stone:
It is ridiculously hard to turn on and off and you have to press for way too long. The middle button isn't big enough or something. Whenever I try to turn it off, I end up turning up the volume super loud instead.
When you reach the end of a list, it doesn't go back up to the first one.
You can't choose individual songs in a folder.
Changing the mode it's playing (in one folder, on repeat, shuffle, etc.) takes way too long. I have to press the middle button, right towards options, down to play mode, and then up and down.
You can't browse music and listen to music at the same time. So let's say I want to go from my Carnival Ride folder to my Some Hearts folder. Well, as soon as I switch over to Some Hearts, Flat On the Floor is cut off because Wasted interrupts it and starts playing.
The clock doesn't work. When you connect the stone to your computer, it asks if you want to sync the time to your computer time and I said yes. Like an hour later, I checked the clock on the Stone and it reset. O_o Before my Stone died, I had synced it twice and both times this happened.
I think I've made my point. THE STONE IS A BAD BUY! So don't buy it.
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| Zen Stone Plus |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This Zen is pleasingly small, the sound is excellent and it's easy to use. I'm very pleased with it.
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| Great for audio books |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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This tiny MP3 player is perfect for audio books. I get one at a time from library, load it to player through computer, and am good to go. It starts where left off last time, and volume buttons easy to work. Battery lasts for hours, and is rechargeable on my computer.
Works well in car, too, through FM transmitter. I use Monster Radioplay FM Transmitter, bought through Amazon for about $15.
The FM radio works well, too, for strong local stations anyway.
That said, I find the screen hard to read in daylight-and impossible in sunlight. And if I wanted it for playing music, in anything other than random order, I imagine I would be disappointed, because the display is limited and the directional buttons are hard to manipulate. But it's so tiny that it's very handy to tuck into a pocket and listen to while exercising, commuting, or whatever.
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| Why buy an iPod Shuffle when you can get this instead, for less $? |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I had an iPod Shuffle almost 2 years ago, until it got stolen. I can't complain about that gadget, but I recently bought this cute player for much less money and I'm very glad with my purchase.
Where I live, the Shuffle (1GB) costs around US$100 (not kidding), and I could get this one at half the price. The zen stone does the same stuff but cheaper, really. It plays around 200 songs, it has the option of changing folder (something Shuffle does not offer), and I can hear better sound quality (and a little bit louder). By the way, the battery really lasts around 10 hours or more!
For what I use it for (listening to my music randomly at work and at home), this is a great buy, though you can get the new version with 2GB and fm tuner for like US$15 more I think. Highly recommended.
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