My first MP3 player was the 2nd generation iPod (20 gb). Later I upgraded to the 5th generation iPod (60 gb). Each time I bought them, I bought the biggest capacity that was available at the time - because I tend to hoard music. I love having all my music in the palm of my hand. With 10,000+ songs, I feel like there's always something new to discover in my own music collection. To me, that's the fun of having an MP3 player.

I decided to get a little MP3 player after almost having a treadmill accident due to paying too much attention to my iPod. Bah, so stupid. Anyway, that was totally my fault, but I did realize that a 60 gb iPod is probably a little too much for the gym. So I thought I'd treat myself to a new compact MP3 player.

My criteria for shopping was to find one with a screen, and that I would prefer more than 1 gb. I once borrowed a iPod shuffle for a couple of weeks to listen to some lectures. I liked it fine, but I decided that I prefer having at least a small screen.

The Creative Zen Stone Plus

The Creative Zen Stone Plus is a more advanced version of the Zen Stone, which has 1 gb of space, and no screen. I picked it because it was so cute with a simple design - it looks like a big Chiclet. Also reminds me of a Tamagotchi. It comes in six colors, and the teensy-weensy little screen is a surprisingly vivid monochrome. And the buttons are well laid-out and easy to use.

Using the Zen Stone Plus

I was initially very impressed with the Zen Stone Plus. First of all, it sounds quite good. And I was able to figure out all the menu functions pretty easily. I did need to refer to the manual a couple of times to figure out a few other things - such as what the tiny glowing blue light on top of the device means. (It glows steadily when charging, blinks when fully charged, etc.)

Loading up the songs is a cinch. I just plugged the Zen Stone Plus into my USB port using the standard mini-USB cable, and I was able to drag-and-drop my MP3 files right away. It can be used as a storage device, if you needed to transfer files.

The Zen Stone Plus even has a FM receiver, with 32 presets. The reception is so-so, but it still gets most of the stations I usually listen to, so I think it's useful.

The battery life is supposed to be 9.5 hours. This isn't that great for MP3 players of this type and cost, since most of them claim 13-15 hours of battery life.

The Zen Stone Plus comes with a USB cable and a set of headphones. You could buy an additional AC charger. However, the Zen Stone Plus has a standard mini USB port, so it can be charged with a compatible AC charger if you happen to have one for another device.

You could also buy skins made by Creative Labs that fits the device perfectly. You could also buy a key chain case, or a wrist/arm band. Since the Zen Stone Plus has a function that lets you display the time constantly, you could even wear it around your wrist like a chunky watch.

Features Lacking in the Zen Stone Plus

- The Zen Stone Plus has the ability to navigate to a specific folder, so you may want to organize your music into folders. Unfortunately, it does not have the ability to navigate to a specific song, or sort them in any other way (e.g., by Artist, Albums, Genre, etc.) When playing back the music, it shows the Title of the song from the ID3 v2 tag, but no Artist.

I didn't really mind not being able to navigate to a specific track. All these compact MP3 players are basically competing with the iPod Shuffle, so the fact that I could navigate to a specific folder felt like it's enough. However, the other MP3 players I tried were able to navigate to a specific track.

Problems I Had With the Zen Stone Plus

- The Zen Stone Plus just doesn't charge very well when it's connected to my computer with the enclosed USB cable. There is a tiny blue light on top of the unit, and the manual says that the light glows steadily as it's charging, then blinks when it's done. I've left it plugged into my computer all night once - over 9 hours - and the light still didn't blink! (I certainly wouldn't want to leave my computer on all night on a regular basis just to charge up my MP3 player, but I wanted to see if it would charge this way at least once.) I finally just plugged it into an AC charger, and eventually the light did start blinking.

I'm not sure what the problem is. I had plugged the Zen Stone Plus into a desktop, and I haven't activated any Power Saving features except for the monitor, so there shouldn't have been a problem. But it just doesn't seem to charge well this way. So it looks like you need to use a separate AC charger to charge it completely.

- Another problem is that the menu is kind of slow. It's fine most of the time, but it becomes especially slow if I turn on the Equalizer. And because of the lag, it froze on me once.

Conclusion

I liked the Zen Stone Plus. I'll definitely give it extra points for being really cute.

If you happen to have an AC charger, or don't mind buying one, then I think the Zen Stone Plus is not a bad MP3 player. I'm not crazy about the lag time in the menu, though, or the fact that it got stuck because of the lag. And for $5 more, I could get a player that has more functions and a better battery life. (I paid $54.99 for mine.)

So the Zen Stone Plus wasn't a keeper for me. But it was still a pretty good MP3 player that i enjoyed using for a little while. I might buy this again if I could get it really cheap somewhere.

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FYI - The Zen Stone Plus is currently $41 on Amazon.com (but only for the green and white).

Also, Creative Technology has come out with a new line of Zen Stone players. This series has some new colors (champagne, soft pink, etc.) with a pearly sheen. They also have speakers, and the basic Zen Stone (without a screen) now has 2 gbs.

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Check out my other MP3 Player Reviews:

MP3 Player Review #2: Samsung YP-U3 - A Very Cool MP3 Player

MP3 Player Review #3: Sansa Clip - Not As Cute, Not as Cool, but Awesome

MP3 Player Review #4: Latte Communications M1 (2 GB)

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 54.99
Recommended for: Athletes - Lightweight and Portable, Perfect for the Gym

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