Creative Zen Vision W (30GB)

By Edvarcl Heng, CNET Asia
Sep 7, 2006

Look around. There're plenty of people who seem to be perfectly content with watching videos on their too-tiny screens. Mobile phones and miniature flash-based MP3 players are the general causes of squinty eyes. But take a look at dedicated video players like the monstrous Archos AV700 with the 7-inch screen and things assume a new perspective.

Design
Yet, with large screens, size would naturally weigh in. When the Zen Vision first burst onto the scene, there were several rave reviews with some thinking it was a good compromise between screen real estate and weight.

	The Zen Vision W: It's barely pocketable.

As it's an upgrade over the first Vision, it's natural to be drawn into making comparisons. At 134 x 75 x 22mm and 276g, the Vision W is decidedly clunkier than the older Vision (74.4 x 124.2 x 20.1mm and 232g). Though the Vision W feels more solid, it cannot be easily held in one hand while viewing videos. The lighter Zen Vision by virtue of its shorter length can be comfortably held and controlled using the right hand.

But the 4.3-inch screen of the Vision W pips the Vision by a long mile. It does not suffer from the poor viewing angle of the Vision and colors are undoubtedly richer (more in the Performance section). We like the fact that Creative has maximized the real estate on the player's front, leaving no awkward empty spaces as in the Zen Vision.

Physical controls on the Vision W differ little from the Vision. The five-way control pad and the Back, contextual menu and playback buttons are located on the right of the screen. The only difference is the placement of the power switch and the volume buttons; they have traded places on the Vision W. Button tactile feedback on the Vision W is excellent.

	Catching speed is a doozy.

A spring-loaded door protects the CompactFlash slot on the left side of the unit, while a rubberized tab hides the power and A/V-out ports on the right side. At the rear, there's a large battery that pulls double duty as the Zen's rear backing. But for something this size, there's no kickstand to prop up the Vision W at a decent viewing angle on the desk; that's something Archos remembers to include.

The aforementioned CompactFlash Type I/II slot would make the Vision W a good companion for shutterbugs. Most dSLRs these days still use CompactFlash as a storage media and, with its largish screen and memory, the Vision W will ensure there's always plenty of storage left.

The graphics user interface (GUI) is classic Zen fare. Menu items are well-organized and also customizable. Menu items can be hidden and, depending on your preferences, some sub-menu items can be placed directly on the main menu, possibly making it one of the more intuitive GUIs for most users since it would suit their purposes.

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