Most people who have ever had a MP3 player have come across the 1000 vs 1024 problem. Basically, manufacturers of MP3 players, hard drives etc tend to use 1000 byte as the standard for 1 KB, 1000 KB per MB etc. The computer uses 1024, and so you get less capacity than you actually thought because 1000x1000x1000/1024/1024/1024 = 0.93. That means 1 GB on a MP3 player using the 1000 system is really only 0.93 GB. It's the use of the 1000 system to "fool" consumers that is now coming back to haunt Creative.

If the settlement becomes reality, anyone who bought a Creative mp3 player after May 5 2001 may be entitled to a payback bonus from Creative. Update: For some reason this only applies to HDD players while as far as I know the same thing applies for flash memory. Anyone who apply for the payback will get either a 50% discount on a 1GB MP3 player or 20% discount on any Creative product from their online store - if court rule against Creative. Not too bad and most people have owned a Creative player at least once, so the potential economic consequences for Creative aren't small. It can still go both ways, but personally I hope Creative do lose so there will be better info about what they mean by a gigabyte in the future. With capacities getting as high as they are you will definitely notice that you're getting 7% less storage capacity than you bargained for. On a 32GB Zen, 7% is more than 2GB.

[Creative HDD settlement via Engadget]

The Zen Stone and Stone Plus was successful when first released in terms of price and features- giving them an edge over the iPod Shuffle. Since then the Sansa Clip and the price cut of the Shuffle have given the Stones more noticeable competition, so it was a pretty good move by Creative when they recently upgraded both Stones to new versions with better battery and an integrated speaker.

The upgrade is noticeable, but not all of the previous model's flaws have been fixed. The menus are still slow, and the music browsing hasn't been improved. Read on to see if the new features make up for the bad.

If your Zen is in need of repair or you just feel like looking at its guts, take a look at this simple guide. The method of opening the Zen is non destructive and can be opened with a few simple tools. You will need a #0 Phillips head screw driver, a slim pocket knife and/or a set of plastic pry tools. A credit card or driver’s license will work in place of the plastic tools.

The difficulty of this disassembly is moderate with nothing overly difficult, but it’s more getting the guts to dig into your fully functional Zen.

Back in Q4 or 2007 Creative players diminished from Best Buy’s store shelves and finally disappeared. It was left to mere speculations of low profit margins, the need to push their in-house brand, and Creative’s own lack of enthusiasm. None are the case.

Best Buy launched its digital music store powered by Rhapsody not too long ago. They asked manufactures to be Rhapsody certified, similar to being PlaysForSure certified, so that all players will fall into one of three music services: Best Buy Music Store (Rhapsody), Zune Marketplace, or iTunes. Creative failed to comply with the request and was thus dropped from Best Buy retailers.

So who is to blame? Do you point the finger at Creative for non compliance or do you point the finger at Best Buy for forcing this compliance. That is up to you do decide by voting accordingly with your purchasing power.

The Sansa Clip recently proved that it's a better player than the iPod Shuffle in a faceoff here on abi>>. We won't let it rest however, as it's time for it to take on a stronger opponent, feature wise - the Creative Zen Stone Plus.

With both players being available up to 4GB (once the silver clip is released), and both of them featuring pretty much the same features from a technical point of view, this is set to be a much closer competition. Read on to see the face-off.

While at CES I prodded some of the representatives for some info on the new Zen. When I asked them for info on the new hard drive wireless player they gave off tell tale signs there was something to hide. While I'm not so sure about the hard drive part of it now since a reader got an interesting response from Creative tech supports stating that hard drives are on their way out. We do know now that it is indeed wireless thanks to some inside info Epizenter picked up stating that it will be released in March.

I have my fingers crossed for the following: native support for divx and h.264 over 320x240 resolutions, no touch screen, uninhibited sharing, and 80GB 160GB hard drives. That's my short wish list.

What is on your Zen Share wish list?

Creative never ceases to amaze me on the crazy stuff they jam into their already confusing product line. So here we go with another such product. Creative has managed to cram a speaker into both the Zen Stone and the Zen Stone Plus, keeping the same product name, and merely added a caveat to them- “with built in speaker”. If someone emailed me a leaked photo of this I probably would not have posted because it’s almost not believable.

So how does it sound? It was actually surprisingly loud. Clear? Yes, but I could see the lack of full range becoming rather fatiguing on your ears for extended periods of time- much like the Zen WAV’s tinny sounding speaker. I can see some applications for the Zen Stone Plus (with built in speaker) since it has an FM radio. It might come in handy at the gym. However, the Zen Stone (with built in speaker), I’m going to go ahead and skip this one across the pond of wtf.

The 2GB Stone Plus retails for $60 and the 2GB screenless Stone retails for $50. Available for preorder on Creative’s site now. There are a few photos below comparing the Stone (with built in speaker) to the Stone Plus.

While at the Creative booth I asked a few of the reps if there were any plans for a successor to the Zen Vision:M, but they were tight lipped. One after another they brushed me off and gave me no information. I then changed gears telling them I knew about the new hard drive based Zen and instead asked when they would be announcing it. The first rep was obviously coy and said I know more than he does. Another one of the other reps smiled and became a bit uncomfortable. You could see how bad he wanted to talk about it. The body language was there indicating that Creative has something up their sleeve. Take it for what it is but I am fairly certain they are hiding something. But then again it could have been that I was bluffed right back.

Update:Not only did Europe get the 32GB versions, so did the US. Priced at $330 at the creative store. Not bad at all.

Come Monday creative will be selling a 32GB version of the Creative Zen (Nothing). It will retail for €400 and be limited to 500 units. There may not be too many people interested in a 32GB flash player at that price, but I think it’s a great accomplishment of Creative in that they are the first to maket with a 32GB player. Now just add an 32GB SDHC card and you have 64GB of solid state bliss. Now only if they can sort out that wretched SD card library integration problem (read the review). In related news they will also be selling a 2GB version for €100, but no word on when the US will see them hit the states.

[GenMP3]

Creative's has just released the Muvo T100 screenless MP3 player. The button layout resembles their other screenless player the Zen Stone and carries an almost identical feature set. The only difference appears to be the form factor and the built in USB plug. The player resembles a standard USB flash drive and also acts as one using a standard MSC (UMS) transfer protocol. The T100 handles the standard MP3 and WMA audio formats in addition to Audible audio book formats. With a 10 hour battery life the player will come in 6 different colors (just like the Zen Stone).

Currently the player is only available in Singapore and will sell for 90 SGD and 150 SGD ($60/$100) for 2GB and 4GB capacities. That's actually not that bad considering you would only spend a little less on a standard flash drive. This would without a doubt be a great flash drive substitute for school or work use.

[Product Page]

Creative's new player, simply named Zen, adds another powerful player to the Zen family of MP3 and PMPs. With a really nice form factor, this Zen has a 16.7 million-color screen making a noticeable difference to video playback and photo viewing. I had my fingers crossed for a Zen Vision:M flash-based replacement, but to my disappointment transcoding is required for video playback.

Although the Zen is not a ZVM replacement, there is the same great interface with much more to like. Read on, and let me take you though a journey of Zen and let's discover if the Zen is right for your next portable media experience.

Whether you've been scrutinizing the price tag of the ZEN and how it compares to contending players and need some further enticement before buying, or simply waiting for it to hit brick and mortar stores, you may be glad to hear that Creative's latest player has already experienced a price reduction within one month of being announced.

The 4GB version is now going for $130 ($20 less than the original price) and $50 has been removed from the price of the 16GB ZEN, which is now $250. No movement at this time for the 8GB model which remains positioned at $200.

[Creative via Engadget]

Creative have a new player in store which has been given the concise name, the Creative ZEN. According to the earliest information to appear on this flash based PMP, its screen will be 2.5-inches and display 16.7 million colors. Storage will be offered in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB of flash memory and be priced at $150, $200, and $300 respectively, while the potential for additional storage is provided through an SD expansion slot.

Further details are not yet known, but Creative will exhibit the ZEN at IFA before it is released this September.

Update: The amazon page has been removed, but the official page on creative is now up.

[Creative via epiZENter]

One of our forum moderators, Captain Ødegård, is quite crafty when it comes to woodworking. He claims he has more wood tools than I have MP3 players, but one of these days we will have to settle the score.

Honed out of pine and burned with a hot knife-- his latest creation is a giant Creative Zen Stone measures 8.25 x 5.5 x 2 inches. The internal components aren’t the real Zen components since the Stone is relatively expensive in Norway. However, this wooded Stone still does pack in 4 times the memory with 4GB of memory stored on an SD memory card.

Photos and video of the wooded Stone in action below…

Creative has added a new flash player to their already crowded Zen family of flash players-- further cannibalizing their own product line. The Zen WAV is their first MP3 player to feature built-in speakers, anteing up to players like the Samsung K5 and the Sansa Connect. The WAV is a niche product that will really only appeal to someone wanting built in speakers and perhaps MSC support, since it is nearly the same player as the Zen V Plus, minus the speakers at the same price.

Still, the slight variations between the Zen V and WAV may be enough for consideration. Read on for a closer look at the Creative Zen WAV.