[ # ] Hardware Review: Creative ZEN Stone Plus 2GB

/* Posted June 4th, 2008 at 10:33am */
/* Filed under Audio, Cuong, Gadgets, Hardware */

Although released about a year ago, I was given a Creative ZEN Stone Plus to review last week. At first glance, I likened the device to a very large Shuffle, since I could not see a display on it.

Zen Stone Plus

Imagine my surprise when I turned the little bugger on, and the display lit up!

Zen Stone Plus lit up

The unit fits all your MP3 needs in a very small package. Like those little river stones we used to skip across the lake, the Zen Stone Plus feels like a smooth rock in your hand. Fortunately for the Stone Plus, I did not try to skip it across the office to see how many bounces I could get out of it.

The package from Creative contains the ZEN Stone Plus player, earphones, a short USB 2.0 cable and the quick start guide which basically points you to the Creative website to download the latest version of their software.

Do not use their software! It will only rip audio at 128kbps, and that setting cannot be changed. You are better off not using any software at all, since the ZEN Stone Plus is a Mass Storage Class (MSC) device and will show up in Windows XP/Vista, Linux and Mac like a flash drive. Drag and drop your mp3 files into the music folder, and you’re ready to go!

Sound on the device was pretty good, but ditch the included headphones for a better pair as soon as possible. For the ballers out there you can go with the $100+ headphones from Shure or Etymotic, I like the $30 offering from Sony’s Fontopia line. The ZEN Stone Plus comes with a custom 5-band equalizer so you can tailor the sound, and it actually works.

Battery life on the ZEN Stone Plus is a measly 9.5 hours, but unless you are running 2 marathons in a row that should be good enough between charges. Its rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery can charge from the USB port, or an optional USB/AC adapter charger. Recharges were fast, and I never ran out of juice from the little Stone Plus.

All in all, it is a worthy device to add to your gym bag. In terms of whether or not to purchase, I would give this product a 7 out of 10 rating in terms of value for the money.

There are also a bunch of other features that some of you might find useful included in the ZEN Stone Plus, like an FM Radio with 32 presets, a stopwatch and clock function, and it even records voice via a built-in microphone. It is currently on sale for as low as $31.99 from the Creative store (but only in red or green colors), so the street price should be considerably less.