Today Creative Zii Labs released the first Android firmware for the Creative Zii EGG based on Android version 1.6. The firmware is very beta and really only for the developers to start working on the OS for the Zii EGG. The basic Android applications are there but some things like the camera are still not working. Also, some elements of a phone are present such as 2G options and signal strength icon are still present, so Android still needs to be cleaned up and targeted to the specificly to the Zii EGG. Android marketplace was not available but I was able to download and install AndAppstore and successfully install applications from that app library.

Even though it is still very rough around the edges and far from a consumer ready device it is exciting to see progress. Still no word on when this device will launch for the consumer market, but don’t hold your breath since I would guess that date to be well into 2010 considering the current state of firmwares.

Below is a video demo of the Zii EGG Android in action.

Creative started shipping the dev edition of the Zii EGG. From a few hours of browsing though the OS is feels like it is a long way from the consumer market. In fact recently the SDK roadmap outlining the various functionality of the Zii EGG appeared on Engadget showing a few months ahead.

Below is a few photos of the video preview of the hardware and a quick and dirty look at the Plaszma OS. I stress this several times in the video that this is a developer edition so you cannot judge the OS yet- it is very rough.

The hardware is what you would expect from Creative and the Zii EGG has a build quality similar to the Zen X-Fi or Zen (Newer version)- it feels plastiy and toy like but is still well made and rugged. The only thing that really bothers me and i hope that this gets changed is the screen material. I haven't dug too far into it but it appears to be a similar screen to the Zen plastic with a plastic film on top with a really bad glare- definitely low end materials. The screen is a glass composite. I was wrong in that the plastic film is removable unlike the Zen.

As I dig into it more I will share more thoughts and videos. In the mean time check out the video and pics below and stop in our Creative Zii EGG forum for discussion.

Creative has selected Opera as the default browser for their Plaszma OS powering the upcoming Zii EGG. One of the reasons they have chosen Opera was for its “Web application” platform to make it easier for developers to jump right in. This is what Archos did with their last generation of devices such as the Archos 5. Honestly, the web applications for Opera in the Archos 5 were far from impressive; however, it could have been from the lack of developer interest.

Keep in mind that they are only talking about the Plaszma OS and that the Zii EGG is wide open to other OSes such as Android. Partners can still select whatever browser or OS they want and brand it accordingly.

[ZiiLabs]

We saw the Zii Egg pass though the FCC a few weeks ago and today Creative has unveiled the Zii Egg development platform. While the Zii EGG is a finished product it is not quite ready for the consumer market. Creative is banking on developers to build applications and entire user experiences out of the Zii EGG hardware though Android and their own Linux based OS dubbed Plaszma. One of the big differences being that the Plaszma OS takes advantage of the Zii chips cell architecture.

It will be interesting to see how other mp3 player manufactures respond to this with similar “phone like” platforms. Archos has been moving in that direction and Samsung might be too with the M1 or a non 3G version of an Omnia. It will be interesting to see who is going to follow this path. Will we see SanDisk get into the fray? Sony? Cowon? How much of an OS will the Zune HD be? These are definitely some exciting times for the portable media industry.

The device is extremely well equipped with everything a high end smart phone has minus the cellular connection: 3.5” 320x480 16m color screen, 10 point multi touch capacitance, 1080p output, HD camera, front facing VGA camera, 3-axis accelerometer, wi-fi, GPS, light sensor, full size SDHC slot.

[Zii Egg via Engadget]

Creative has been quiet since the release of the less than well received Zen X-Fi. At CES 2009 Creative only showed signs of a new player in the form of a bunch of reference demos of their upcoming Zii chip. Here is a good overview of the Zii at CES 2009 if you missed it. This chip promises HD video playback at minimum power usage.

The Zii EGG (model NSC-FL02) looks like it will be the first player to use the Zii chip. Pulling the info from the FCC’s site and digging though the documents what we do know about this player so far is that it will have an “HD camera” (Thought we don’t know if this is 720 or 1080- likely the former), Bluetooth, touch screen, and Wi-Fi (802.11 B/g). Only speculating based on the FCC diagram, it looks like it could also have an SD card slot.

A few years ago Creative tried to pull something like this off after the launch of the Zen Vision:M but could not technically pull it off- technologies were just not mature enough. With the Zii coming to fruition it looks like they will be able to do some pretty cool things with the Zii EGG. Based on product cycles and a few surveys I have received from Creative recently I would guess that this device is right around the corner shipping before the holiday shopping season around the same time as the Zune HD.

[FCC via Engadget]

I have been skeptical about how revolutionary the Creative Zii platform actually is since Creative has a history or over hyping products. I also don’t hear anyone else talking about it other than Creative- more is being said about Nvidia’s Tegra chip within the circle of industry insiders and device manufactures. Perhaps the Zii has not been out long enough for it to sink in, but it the way Creative is talking about it seems like more people should care. While I still hold a healthy bit of skepticism, I have warmed up having seen the Zii chips in action at CES.