Creative is one company that is well known for manufacturing audio equipment of the highest quality possible. The entire Zen MP3 Players range is one that has a lot of fans, mostly people that do not like or can not afford the iPod. Now we see the new Creative Zen Mosaic, which is basically a replacement tot he previous Zen V Plus. There are 4 storage space variations of 16 GB, 8 GB, 4 GB and 2 GB. Design wise there are three color variations in pink, silver and black.
We do not really know why Creative has chosen this name for the MP3 player but this is not a topic that we should debate. What we can talk about is the fact that we are faced with a device that only weighs 43 grams and features button controls instead of the regular touch dial. Unfortunately you will have problems with using these buttons when in a low light surrounding.
We loved the addition of a bigger LCD color screen of 1.8 inches, which replaces the V Plus’s OLED screen of 1.5 inches. There is also one built in speaker that can be used instead of the regular headphones and you can also utilize the FM radio, which shows 32 possible station presets. During tests we noticed that the regular battery charge will allow you to listen to music for around 32 hours. The Creative Zen Mosaic also features a very discrete microphone that is linked to a voice recording feature.
You will surely want to know what audio file formats are supported. You will be happy to know that the Creative Zen Mosaic features support for WMA, MP3, WMA-DRM 10 and Format 4 Audible. Keep in mind that there is no quick access to volume and you will find yourself having to go through the meniu in order to do this. On the other hand, we are faced with very good audio quality and this is one fact that is highly important.
Creative Zen Mosaic – Verdict
On the whole we can say that the Creative Zen Mosaic is a very affordable, compact, good looking and smooth MP3 player. It offers great sound quality and you will enjoy using the built in speaker included. Unfortunately the problem stands in the control system as it is not that user friendly. If you can get over this fact you will surely enjoy using the Creative Zen Mosaic.
