9.0 out of 10

Creative ZEN X-Fi

First seen: 14 july 2008

Information found in:

from 138 sources in 29 countries.

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User Score (544)

8.1
Expert Score (31)

7.4
Design (58)

9.5
Value for money (5)

7.5
Features (13)

8.7
Ease of use (11)

7.3
Performance (3)

9.6
Sound quality (48)

9.0

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Pros & Cons

incredible speaker, detailed audio quality, nifty wi fi functionality, everyting about it, comfortable bundled earbuds

battery small, recessed off on switch, poor sd implementation, very shabby, underwhelming audio enhancement

Manufacturer's Description

The sound of perfection. The ZEN X-Fi in its 16GB & 32GB versions delivers the pleasure of pure music listening, with wireless support for extra versatility. The glossy case gives the player a distinctive look, and inside there’s Xtreme Fidelity technology, which restores crystal clarity to MP3s and takes all your music to a higher level. The top-quality in-ear earphones give you the best music playback, and Wireless LAN support lets you stream music and video from yo…

Specifications

Capacity:

16GB
Size WxHxD:

3.3" x 2.2" x 0.5"
Weight:

2.4 ounces
LCD:

2.5" TFT 16.7 million color LCD 320 x 240 pixels
Storage Capacity 1 :

16GB (4,000 songs or 60 hours of video)
Battery Life 2 :

Up to 36 hours of continuous audio playback Up to 13 hours of continuous audio playback with speaker Up to 20 hours of continuous FM radio playback Up to 5 hours of continuous video playback Up to 4 hours of continuous video playback with speaker

Release Date

First seen

14 July 2008

WikiFreak Description

Creative ZEN X-Fi

Creative ZEN X-Fi is a portable media player by Creative. It lets user to listen to music and watch video while on-the-go as well as connect to the internet. Among of its main features include true mobility, premium high quality earphones included, 2.5" TFT screen, radio and wide audio support.

Features

The ZEN X-Fi enhances MP3 sound reproduction as it restores the quality of compressed music with its award-winning X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio technology. Besides that, it deliv…

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Creative ZEN X-Fi

Features

The ZEN X-Fi enhances MP3 sound reproduction as it restores the quality of compressed music with its award-winning X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio technology. Besides that, it delivers crystal clear clarity. Moreover, it lets user to stream music and photos wirelessly from PC with home network. Also, user can access files from PC and save it on the tablet media player. User can also set up own ZEN X-Fi account that lets user to connect with friends and family via Yahoo Messenger or Windows Live Messenger. In addition, it comes with earphones which is comfortable for the ears and features noise-isolation capability. It is pocket-sized and weighs about 2½ ounces. It is featured with attractive curves with a graceful finish. It does not require external speakers as it is built with integrated speaker. It also allows user to increase its storage capability with an SD or SDHC card. User enables to transfer files easily to enjoy more videos, music and photo with the media card connectivity. It offers 2.5" TFT screen with 16.7 million colors for better movies enjoyment. User can also tune in to radio as it features integrated FM radio and allows user to save up to 32 stations. It supports wide type of audio including P3, WMA and AAC, including non-protected .m4a files from iTunes® Plus. User can download Creative Centrale to rip, transfer and manage media content easily. Additionally, user can enjoy free video and audio podcast channels from Zen Cast website (www.zencast.com) as well as manage favorite subscriptions with ZENcast Organizer. It also functions as a voice recorder. User can set audio effects to enhance overall music listening experience and it offers 8 EQ presets or user can opt to customize own EQ as well. User can enhance the sound via bass boost and smart volume controls. It also features alarm clock, which user can customize note and alarm tone for each alarm for any day of the week. It offers integrated storage of either 16GB or 32GB. It measures 3.3" x 2.2" x 0.5" in dimension and weighs 2.4 ounces.

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Reviews of Creative ZEN X-Fi

Expert Reviews

Creative Zen X-Fi Review

Reviewer: Anything but iPod
19 July 2008
Compared to the Zen, the build quality is improved, upgraded headphones are included, and the wireless feature works pretty well even though it really puts a drain on your battery. But that is as far as I will go as calling the new features improvements. X-Fi sound enhancement is not an improvement. Chat and Friends list is not an improvement and has hindered the button UI. These features are just flat-out poorly implemented. The failure here was Creative tried to jam... Read more
Creative Zen X-Fi en España

Reviewer: Tecnoka
27 November 2009
A pesar de los peros que hemos podido ver en las primeras revisiones , el precio, que venga con unos auriculares de buena calidad y su elevada autonomía, lo sitúan como un reproductor más que interesante si estamos planteándonos cambiar el nuestro. Nos quedamos, por eso, con la duda de la compatibilidad con MSN Messenger y Yahoo! Messenger, que según información de Creative es totalmente compatible mientars que en la revisión nos dicen que no. Tendremos que... Read more
Creative Zen X-Fi (8GB)

Reviewer: CNET
8 August 2008

Overall 7

Design 6

Features 9

Performance 8

The bottom line: The Creative Zen X-Fi's plastic design leaves a little to be desired, but that doesn't detract from the fact that the player is an incredible value overall: for an extremely competitive price you get a boatload of features and great sound quality. Read more
CREATIVE ZEN X-FI WITH WIRELESS LAN

Reviewer: Gadgetnutz
5 January 2010
« Touch Me Touch Me sings Palm Pre Increased battery life on the Asus EEE: Mugen Power Battery » Creative has a killer music and video player called the ZEN X-Fi with Wireless LAN. Not only can you play music and videos loaded on the device but it also allows you to stream and download music, video and photos from your PC over your Wireless Home Network But the market seems to be absolutely flooded with music players. Has Creative put something special into this player... Read more
Creative ZEN X-Fi with Wireless LAN

Reviewer: PC Magazine
8 August 2008

Overall 6

Armed with wireless streaming features, but hindered by an irksome user interface, the affordable ZEN X-Fi is a solid player, but lacks the graceful navigation of devices from Apple or Samsung. Read more

Read More Creative ZEN X-Fi Expert Reviews and Problems

User Reviews

Creative Zen Z-Fi 16GB

Reviewer: J. R. Gruen, Amazon
24 October 2008

Overall 8

Small, Light & goes a long time on a charge. The Software is a little hard to figure out, not as intuitive as the Vision M software I used previously. I don't try & store every song that has ever been recorded so the 16 GB is more than sufficient. A little trick for you guitar freaks: I have a headphone amp that plugs directly into my guitar that has an aux port. I can put mp3 backing tracks on the Zen, plug it into the headphone amp and jam along with the music. Great... Read more
Creative Zen X-Fi 32GB

Reviewer: Bloodfire, Overclock
3 December 2008

Overall 10

I initially had my review put in as the product, but I fixed that now. Here's the review: This intense sound-quality machine gives you the option of really good sound quality, hardcore soundquality, or 1337 sound quality. The X-Fi crystallizer may not sound nice with the supplied earbuds, but those earbuds aren't exactly doing the Zen X-Fi any justice. If you want to maximize your listening experience while you go for a job, workout, or you just need some serious sound,... Read more
Disappointing small size and performance

Reviewer: redwoodbob, J&R
24 July 2009

Overall 6

The ZEN capacity is outstanding. Except for video conversion, Software is unnecessary as copy/cut and paste from computer files is easier. Unmarked identical function buttons are ridiculous and not intuitive. Screen and overall unit size is unnecessary, could have been average pocket size for better use. Slight digital bleedover can be heard on many frequencies. High frequency reproduction is much less than the recorded music sources. A full size 3 by 5 inch unit with... Read more
"My player had issues!!!"

Reviewer: CNET
1 September 2009

Overall 4

Although it has lots of features, the button design leaves a lot to be desired, for example, the corner buttons on the 9 button grid array do virtually nothing and the other 4 outer buttons have hard to read icons, perhaps backlighting of these buttons may help because it can be a little hard to use at night. My player recently wouldn't go past the opening screen which has now rendered it useless after one year of operation. This is my 3rd Creative mp3 player to bite the... Read more
Cheap alternative to iPod and pretty solid performer

Reviewer: Gray J Collins, Amazon
2 weeks ago

Overall 8

First, an introduction: Some other reviewer touted his expertise, and I think I need to do the same to lend some credibility to my review. I've owned and used MP3 players since the very FIRST year they came out. And I've paid enormous prices for the initial Creative Labs players too. To that, I've owned every single iPod and apple TV that has come out (I buy and sell them). I am a SUPREME power user with a music library of 162GB, and a 9 terabyte video library. I know... Read more