NEW Reviews Beta Feedback

Creative Zen V Plus

80

Very Good

Avg User Rating
16 User Reviews | add yours »

Pros
High audio quality
Mini-USB instead of proprietary port
Cons
Bundled accessories are few

$45.00 - $82.45
From 6 Merchants

Pricing: Very Inexpensive: $90 (9/9/2008)
Performance: Very Good: 80
Features: Fair: 67
Design: Very Good: 83

Find out how these four scores, and their relative weights, combine to produce the PC World Rating.

Pricing

Very Inexpensive: $90

Performance

Very Good: 80

PC World Tests
Maximum Usable Output Level, Average (dBV)	-6.9
Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise, Average (%)	0.02
Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Average (dB)	73
Crosstalk, Average (dB)	-62
Frequency Response Deviation, Average (dB)	5.5

Features

Fair: 67

Capacity
Built-in Capacity	4GB
SD card	No
mini SD	No
micro SD	No
Memory Stick Micro	No
Compact Flash	No
Smart Media	No
xD Picture Card	No
Memory Stick	No

Battery
Replaceable Battery	No
Hours of Play (Per vendor)	15

Screen
Screen Size (inches)	1.5
Screen Resolution	128 by 128
ScreenType	Color

Size
Dimensions (inches)	2.7 by 1.7 by 0.6
Weight (oz.)	1.55

Connections
Line Out	No
Firewire	No
Headphone output	Yes
Microphone input	No
USB	Yes
Video Output	No
USB Host Adapter	No

Playback
Signal to Noise Ratio (dB)	92

Audio Formats
AAC	No
AIFF	No
Apple Lossless	No
ASF	No
Audible	Yes
FLAC	No
MP3	Yes
MPEG4	No
OGG	No
WAV	Yes
WMA	Yes
WMA Lossless	No
Equalizer Settings	8
Voice Recording	Voice Recorder:Yes

Radio
FM tuner	Yes
FM Recording	No
Presets	32

Online Music Compatibility
Itunes	No
Rhapsody	Yes
Napster	Yes
Sony	No
Yahoo	Yes
Other	Urge, emusic, AOL Music Now, MSN

Online Subscription Compatibility
Plays For Sure	Yes
Other	Urge, Napster to Go, Yahoo! Music Unlimed, Rhapsod

Video Formats
Video Support	Video:Yes
H 264	No
MPEG4	No
MPEG2	No
MPEG1	No
DivX4	No
DivX5	No
WMV	No
Motion JPEG	No
XviD	No

Photo Formats
Photo Support	Photo:Yes
JPG	Yes
BMP	No
PNG	No
GIF	No

Hardware List
USB cable	Yes
Firewire cable	No
Dock	No
AC Adapter	No
Case	No
Remote Control	No

Other
Included Hardware	Earphones, lanyard line-in cable
Included Software	Creative Media Explorer, Creative MediaSource

Warranty & Support
Labor Warranty (years)	90-day
Parts Warranty (years)	One
Weekday Support (hours)	9
Saturday Support (hours)	0
Sunday Support (hours)	0
Other Service	Free e-mail support for the duration of the warranty
Toll-Free Support	No

Reliability & Service
Summary of results for all of brand's products in this category	A veteran of the MP3 wars, Creative received average grades everywhere except on ease of use, where readers rated it below average. Note, though, that seven other MP3 vendors also received subpar scores on ease of use.

Reliability of brand's products in this category
Reports of product arriving with problems	Average
Reports of products with any significant problems	Average
Reports of problems that render a product unusable	Average
Buyers' rating of product's	Worse than Average
Overall satisfaction with reliability of brand's products in category	Average

Design

Very Good: 83

Creative Zen V Plus Review

by Eric Dahl

- Say what you will about the patent dispute between Creative and Apple, both companies make some darned good MP3 players. Creative's latest effort--the Zen V line of flash-based player--is aimed right at Apple's popular iPod Nano line. And judging by the 2GB, $170 Zen V Plus I tested, it offers some serious competition to the Nano.

Read Complete Review »

User Reviews for Creative Zen V Plus

Reviewed by: fishhead01035

Duration of ownership: 5 Months

Strengths: ZERO!!!

Weaknesses: BEWARE The LCD went black after about three weeks. Cons: Only three month ""warranty"" on parts. I purchased it in October as a Christmas gift for my daughter. By the time the LCD went black, it was already out of warranty and Creative wants thirty bucks PLUS SHIPPING just for the PRIVILEGE OF SENDING IT BACK!

Overall Evaluation: I will never purchase another Creative product again. Lesson learned: Always read the warranty before spending your hard earned bucks. Creative sucks.
Reviewed by: rustynail

Duration of ownership: 7 Months

Strengths: FM tuner, very good quality sound

Weaknesses: screen fades out in any sunlight

Overall Evaluation: I like my zen its easy to sync the files to it, also i like the fm tuner. I did replace the in the ear speakers with a pair that went over the ears, much more comfortable. I have noticed that any sunlight will wash out the screen making it impossible to read, but i can shield it from the sunlight to prevent this when i am making changes. I like the usb cable arrangement to charge the battery, but i noticed i can not play music while it is docked, as i do not know much about other players, maybe they are all this way. I do not like the tiny control button the black part that sticks out, is so tiny i have to move it with a fingernail i would like to see a change here. Overall i would buy another one and with the few exceptions i am well pleased with this one.

See all user reviews

More Creative Zen V Plus reviews from around the web
presented by retrevo.com

News, Reviews, How-To's about Creative Zen V Plus

Put the You in YouTube We test five kinds of video-capture devices to find out which ones are best for posting online.
Small, Powerful Audio Players With video features, new ways to connect to music services, and more, the latest audio players do a lot more than just play MP3s. Our lab tests of 21 models reveal today's best buys.
First Look: Creative's Impressive Zen V Plus Latest flash-based player is a strong rival to Apple's iPod Nano.