We’re withholding judgment on the Zii platform until somebody really gets a chance to use it in a final form (you can see video of it running Android here), but little did we know that Creative has more planned for the vaguely-defined media platform than PMPs. They’ve just announced that we can expect a sort of media player/e-book reader with the Zii branding sometime… sometime in the next couple years I’d say. They actually showed a unit, boasting about its color touchscreen, but apparently nobody thought to take pictures. So we’re all left wondering — but whatever you’re picturing in your head right now is probably about right.
Except you there, with the freckles. What you’re thinking is wrong. So, so wrong.
Creative is back with another PMP. The ZEN X-Fi2 is rocking everything we like to see in a player too: 3-inch touchscreen, built-in mic, TV-out, FM radio, RSS reader, and a microSD card slot for further storage above the 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB SSD options. Plus, at $130, $180, and $230, they aren’t priced too bad either. We just wish that Android was loaded onto this player like in the Creative Zii to present a better fight against the iPod touch. Read More
This could be the most important week in the history of Creation. Blizzcon starts on Friday—once again Blizzard reminded me in an e-mail that I can purchase the Web stream or DirecTV pay-per-view for $40—and we’re sure to be hanging on the company’s every word re: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Today’s hot news is that Creative will release a World of Warcraft-branded headset in November. Look for it around $100-$150.
Creative’s uber-device, the Zii, is looking to be a firecracker. With dual cameras, lots of space inside, and Android compatibility as well as Creative’s Plaszma OS, it looks like it may out-Touch the Touch.
Not only this, but it’s been revealed that the Zii also will be the first to run a specialized version of Opera. I trust Opera to go all in with a mobile browser like this; I have fond memories of the Ocean’s Opera Mini browser, and this should be ten times better.
Creative made a small splash the other day when the Zii project broke cover. It very well could be the first, real iPod touch competitor thanks to Android and impressive hardware. Here’s two more videos showing off the Zii. The one above is an impressive game demo that demos the accelerometer and the one after the break gets into the nitty-gritty about the hardware. Read More
Creative makes MP3 players. They do a good job. I like Creative. Good people over there. A good company.
But I got this email today describing Creative’s plans with the new Zii handheld and I was immediately struck by a question: What the hell is this Plaszma Zii StemCell garbage?
Ah, there we go — a little more info about Creative’s mysterious “Zii” project. It now appears to be an iPod touch-like device, called the Zii EGG, running Android. Interesting… I’m listening.
Some FCC documents have been filed by Creative which clearly outline (so to speak) a media player with a nice, big touch screen and an “HD” camera, which bespeaks 720p or better. The “Egg” version apparently is for developers, although I’d like to have “developer edition on mine anyway.
Beyond that everything is pretty much speculation, so we’ll just let you look at the picture for a while.
Creative Japan today announced the ZEN MX [JP], a portable media player that will be available in Nippon starting at the beginning of next month. The company plans to offer an 8GB (ZN-ZMX8G-BK) and 16GB (ZN-ZMX16G-BK) model, both featuring a 2.5-inch LCD screen with 320×240 resolution.
It’s about time; we’ve had Creative sound cards in our PCs for decades. It was only natural they should move to cars. JC Hyun Systems has developed the RUNZ CI-700, the first automobile infotainment system to use Creative’s X-Fi technology. The RUNZ CI-7100 features a MMSP2 MPEG video hardware engine, SiRF III GPS chipset, and Creative’s X-Fi audio processor, all which are operated by an Intel Dual-core 360/300 MHz processor.
“Fire the Zii device!”
“But my lord! We still have men on the ground!”
“Silence, fool! Move the X-Fi gunships out of the area and prepare the Audigy for a ground assault. And fire the thing.”
“We don’t even know what its effect is, my lord!”
“Lieutenant, everything you know is about to change.”
I’m not sure what to make of this, but if you go to Creative.com – say, looking for an MP3 player – you’ll find a teaser link to Zii.com that says “Everything you know is about to change…”
Creative introduced today the Vado HD, the successor to the Vado released back in May. It captures video in 720p and is the only pocket video cam to feature HDMI connectivity and an included HDMI cable that provides 1080i output to an HDTV. It also comes with 8GB of built-in memory that can hold up to two hours of HD video. The Vado HD also features a 2-inch LCD screen and a built-in USB connector so you can quickly connect to your PC and share your videos using YouTube or Box.net.
Grab this thin, lightweight cam on sale in carbon black at Amazon.com and Creative’s website for $199 with free shipping from both stores.
Fans of Creative should get themselves ready for an exciting September 17. Why’s that? Well, that picture certainly alludes to something.
Creative has been sending out special media invites for an event on September 17. The above picture clearly features an X-Fi logo. Whether that means Creative will unveil a new line of PMPs, or, who knows, an iPod dock (oh God, not another one!), we’ll have to wait and see.
Hopefully it’s something more interesting than last week’s “Meet the new iPods, pretty much the same as the old iPods” song and dance Apple subjected us to. Call me a cynic, but there’s only so many ways you can dress up a nano befor
Students! You’re going to be spending a lot of time, on and off the quad, listening to music. I made it through college with an MP3-CD player, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Click through for our list of best MP3 players for a college student. Read More
As of Monday, T10 speakers and EP610 headphones now come in Jet Black, Plum Purple, Tangerine Orange, Flamingo Pink, Midnight Blue, Ruby Red and Spring Green. The T10 speakers will set you back $40, and the headphones are $24.
It appears that Creative has released a new MP3 player in the ZEN Krystal. Unfortunately, it seems that it’s only available in Hong Kong at the moment but perhaps it’ll eventually make its way stateside.
The Krystal runs for about $90 and features 4GB of storage, OLED display, simple drag and drop file management (no drivers required), FM radio, voice recorder, three games, and – get this – a built-in pedometer, calorie counter, and stopwatch. Not bad for under $100, huh?
Still, if you’re a workout nut who happens to use Windows (it’s Windows-only), you could do much worse. We’ll keep an eye on whether or not this thing’s coming to our neck of the woods any time soon.
We eagerly await to hear what “perfection” sounds like. That is to say, we eagerly await to try out the Creative Zen X-Fi, a series of portable media players with built-in Wi-Fi. Aside from the usual set of features from every PMP ever, the Wi-Fi is used to instant message your dumb friends, presumably about what music you’re listening to or what video you’re watching right now. So far, it’s only compatible with Yahoo! and MSN Chat; they should probably add AIM for the American version. That, and you’ll be able to wirelessly stream media to and from the device.
No release date or price or anything particularly useful right now. That would be expecting far too much.
Here’s the Vado from Creative. It’s basically a clone of the Flip but it looks less chintzy. Creative even goes as far as saying that the Vado is “dramatically thinner and lighter than competing video cameras.” I actually wouldn’t mind trying one of these. It records up to two hours of video and has 2GB of built-in memory. It’s only $99 so I wouldn’t be wasting too much money on it. Extra rechargeable batteries only cost $15, but the charging station costs $30.
Gadget Lab seems to think so based on the product page of the Vado listed on JR.com. The specs and description do reveal striking similarities to the popular Flip. A 2-inch screen is an improvement over the Flip’s 1.5-inch screen, but VGA quality, one-touch recording and up to 2-hours of recording per charge are carbon copies of what the Flip can do. Is there really a need for two so-so video cameras?
Creative Vado is a slim, lightweight pocket Video CAM that makes it easy to capture and share everyday life as it happens. Simply connect Vado to your PC with the flexible USB plug and the built-in Software lets you save videos to your Computer or post them directly to YouTube or Photobucket. Since Vado is thinner that a deck of cards and as light as a cell phone, it fits into your pocket or purse and never weighs you down. Free yourself from the hassle of the bulky camcorder bag. You’ll never miss a moment with two hours of video capacity and one-button Recording that makes capturing life on video effortless. With a 2x Zoom and excellent low-light performance, you’ll get great video quality every time you press record. Just connect Vado to your computer with the flexible USB plug and the built-in software takes over. You can transfer your videos to your computer or post them directly to YouTube or Photobucket, all at the click of a button. The rechargeable Battery is removable so you can change out for a fresh one.
We’re withholding judgment on the Zii platform until somebody really gets a chance to use it in a final form (you can see video of it running Android here), but little did we know that Creative has more planned for the vaguely-defined media platform than PMPs. They’ve just announced that we can expect a sort of media player/e-book reader with the Zii branding sometime… sometime in the next couple years I’d say. They actually showed a unit, boasting about its color touchscreen, but apparently nobody thought to take pictures. So we’re all left wondering — but whatever you’re picturing in your head right now is probably about right.
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