Digital Trends

Creative Labs Zen Nano Plus (1GB) October 18th, 2005 | by Brandon King

Features and Design

There's a different flash-based MP3 player for every day of the week now. Very little separates the options, so MP3 player reviews have begun to fall into one of two categories: a comparison to the competing iPod product and to the number of possible features that appear on any known MP3 player. We will take a look at both of these measures, even though we generally review products on a standalone (i.e., versus the general market) basis.

First: the basics. The Creative Nano's size is on the order of a pack of gum. The plastics used are glossy, but tough and resist scratches well. All controls are located on a single edge, which can add to some confusion (more on this later), with the power/play/pause button placed on the front surface. There are a total of three buttons and one toggle control. The top surface sports the headphone port, with the mini-USB and line-in located on the opposite edge. The Nano sports a two line, blue backlit LCD that displays basic information, like EQ setting, play mode, time, battery status, and of course title information.

We were disappointed by two design faux pas. First, a mini-USB cord is required to sync the player with the computer. Creative should know better, having introduced other flash-based MP3 players with built-in USB connectors. This also limits the device's ability to be used as a mass storage device, since few people are going to have easy access to a mini-USB cord whereever they go. The second design flaw is the lack of a rechargeable battery, or the ability to recharge over USB. While this is easily remedied by an external charger, the absence of this option leaves us shaking our heads. It should be noted that the player uses a single AAA battery, and lasts close to 14 hours on a single charge of a 750mAh rechargeable, at full volume.

The Creative Nano is jam-packed with features, including MP3/WMA/WMA (protected) playback, MP3 encoding up to 160kbps from the line-in, on-the-fly playlist creation, five graphic equalizer settings (one custom), as well as automatic synchronization software. As mentioned earlier, the Nano is recognized as a USB 2.0 Mass Storage device, which means you can store documents on it; the transfer rates are snappy. The built-in microphone can pick up sounds across the room fairly well, which makes this an ideal school gadget for recording lectures. It should be noted that the Nano in this review is the “Plus” version, which is different from the nearly impossible to find regular version in the inclusion of the FM tuner. Also on the list of nearly impossible to find Nano options are the nine colors available (other than black). Still, they're out there, but it takes some searching. Both versions are available in 512MB and 1GB capacities. Packaged with the Nano are earbuds, an armband, a neck strap, mini-USB cord, line-in cord, non-rechargeable AAA battery, and organization software.

Image Courtesy of Creative Labs