[Review] Creative Zen Microphoto


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Ok I got hands on one today. So far the performance of the player is excellent. The reason that it has a longer battery than the normal Zen Micro is because of its larger battery. The Zen MicroPhoto has a 830mAh battery while the normal Zen Micros comes with a 680mAh. The batteries are the same size, and also interchangeable between the players. There are many features on this player that's not included on the Zen Micro. Bass boost is definitely a nice feature. The Zen Micro did lack in terms of bass, the Zen Microphoto does sound better than the Zen Micro -- however, with bass boost, you cannot turn up your EQ all the way on the left. I do hear the hissing when the OLED display is on -- just like the Muvo N200/Zen Nano.

The included pouch is also of much higher quality than the Zen Micro's -- while the Zen Micro includes a cheap nylon pouch, the Zen Microphoto comes with a (synthetic) leather pouch that has quality 10 times better, my Zen Micro nylon pouch is already all ripped up from the inside. This however, did not come with the wall charger, the stand and belt clip. Included accesories are the earbuds, USB cable, CD and manual. That's it.

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Hmmmm..... So I'm not alone here - there's some hissing issue when the OLED is on.... I'm wondering what can be done about this, if anything. Are there just some Microphoto's out there that do this, or is it happening to everyone? I'm not picky, but considering the OLED has to be on to do everything from changing a song to adjusting the volume, the possibility of constant hissing is a turn-off. The sound quality is fantastic otherwise, much better than other players I've listened to.

Anyone else?

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Ok I got hands on one today. So far the performance of the player is excellent. The reason that it has a longer battery than the normal Zen Micro is because of its larger battery. The Zen MicroPhoto has a 830mAh battery while the normal Zen Micros comes with a 680mAh. The batteries are the same size, and also interchangeable between the players. There are many features on this player that's not included on the Zen Micro. Bass boost is definitely a nice feature. The Zen Micro did lack in terms of bass, the Zen Microphoto does sound better than the Zen Micro -- however, with bass boost, you cannot turn up your EQ all the way on the left. I do hear the hissing when the OLED display is on -- just like the Muvo N200/Zen Nano.

The included pouch is also of much higher quality than the Zen Micro's -- while the Zen Micro includes a cheap nylon pouch, the Zen Microphoto comes with a (synthetic) leather pouch that has quality 10 times better, my Zen Micro nylon pouch is already all ripped up from the inside. This however, did not come with the wall charger, the stand and belt clip. Included accesories are the earbuds, USB cable, CD and manual. That's it.

hey, good update on this... you covered some cross over stuff comparing the regular zen... i manged to play with a regular zen micro on Christmas and i was surprised to find that the regular Micro is made from plastic while the Microphoto was made of metal... significant difference. i did not know about the battery difference though... nice find (Y)

as for the hissing... as i typed earlier, i do not get hissing from listening to mp3s with the screen on... i only get hissing when the screen is on with the FM tuner on.

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I just got this this afternoon, and its replacing my 2 year old 3g iPod.

I love the FM radio, ability to record radio or your voice, and the photo viewing ability is just a nice touch to show off to my sister (who has the video iPod).

Before I bought this player, I was an iPod fanboy, always praising its products and whatnot, but when I tried to compare the photos on the microphoto to my sister's video iPod, I took about a few seconds to load the photos onto my player, while I had to spend a minute trying to navigate iTunes to load it on my sister's player. I thought that nothing could be easier than an iPod, but since I can add more photos, then the microphoto is the winner in this race.

The only flaw, is that I need my computer on to recharge it (but hopefully it'll change when I get a seperate charger.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

oh, i apologize, i meant that i could watch them on my computer/monitor straight from the player... not actually on the player.

I puchased this player about three weeks ago and I just noticed a couple days ago the buzzing sound your speaking of. I was going to take this one back and exchange it for another one because I didn't think this was normal but apparently it is. I am currently in contact with creative labs support team about another problem I am having with it freezing up when I power on. This has happened only a few times but it is annoying. They have told me some things to try and I have so we'll see how it goes. I also mentioned the buzzing sound in the latest e-mail to them and have not yet got a reply on that.......

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I think all players have the buzzing noise. Its apparent that its a problem with the OLED screen/backlight as the same with the Zen Nano.

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  • 1 year later...

Because I knew alot of people would be on this one subscribed and I though I would respond to this one... I have been on creative website already and they say that it is supported natively...

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