Creative MuVo S200 (1GB)

By Edvarcl Heng, CNET Asia
Jun 5, 2006

We love just how the latest Creative flash-based MP3 player looks. It may seem simple, but for iPod-weaned consumers, simplicity is just what they crave for. Top it off with Creative's usual expertise for making good basic MP3 players and the S200 is a worthy music mate for all your portable moves.

Design
The shiny blue exterior of our review unit feels as good as it looks. The matt coating gives the little S200 a classy feel and differentiates it from other MP3 players at its price range. Unlike previous Creative MuVos, the S200 has abandoned the legacy scroll wheel inherited from early generations of the Nomad Jukebox in favor of a quad-directional joystick to minimize the number of keys used.

In fact, physical keys run up to a total of only three: The joystick, a play and a record button. That's in keeping with Creative's new Zen design philosophy. But tactile feedback turned out to be mixed. Though the buttons felt solid when pressed, we could hear the buttons rattling when we gave the unit a slight shake.

We were also a little disappointed when we turned on the S200. The PLED (Polymer Light Emitting Diode) display was blinding; it's so small, it's enough to rob us of our eyesight. The bright orange display can be both charming and off-putting depending on how close you are to the retro crowd.

Navigation was surprisingly painless. One click of the joystick and the main menu showed up. Options were neatly categorized in a linear side-by-side manner which, given the limited number of options, was a neat way of keeping things simple when there's minimum display estate.

Back to form factor. The S200 was as light as a feather and probably just as flimsy. It felt plasticky all around and the battery compartment lid could be unyielding at times, to the point that it sometimes opened with a screech.

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