by Craig Buck

Created on: March 23, 2010

Introduction

As I was buying my wife a new car with an auxiliary connection, she decided that in order to make full use of this, I could also buy her an MP3 player to connect to it.  Ever eager to please, I did my homework online to find a suitable player.  She wasn’t interested in the iPod range as they were too feature rich and quite pricey for her needs.  All she wanted was a bog standard MP3 player which would sit alongside her in the car and just play music.  Whilst browsing Amazon, I came across the Creative Zen MX, it offered more than a bog standard MP3 player but without the cost of an iPod.  I quickly ordered the device and waited patiently for it to arrive.

In the box

When the Zen arrived, I was surprised at how small it was.  Measuring 83mm wide by 55mm tall by 12 mm deep, this really is a nice compact player.  As well as the device, you get a set of headphones, a USB cable and a quick installation guide.  The Zen doesn’t ship with a mains cable but this can be bought separately meaning that unless you buy this, you will always need to charge it up via your PC which could prove problematic if you want to take it on holiday with you.

Installing the software

In order to synch the Zen with your PC, you must install the Creative Centrale application which manages communications between the 2 devices.  This software is actually shipped on the Zen itself which I thought was quite clever as it means there is no need for a CD in the box, nor the need to download the application.

On running the Centrale Installation, you are required to register your Zen for future upgrades and additional warranty support.  Once the upgrade has been completed, you are now able to start copying content onto the Zen.

Tour of the Zen MX

There isn’t actually a great deal to discover about the Zen MX.  Approximately three quarters of the device is taken up with its 2.5 inch screen which has a 320 x 240 resolution.  This screen is extremely clear and can display upto 16.7 million colours.  To the right of the screen are the navigation buttons in the form of an outer square (with directions of left, right , up and down) with an inner square as the accept button.  Below the navigation buttons are the play/pause button and the power/standby button.  These buttons are self explanatory so I wont go into detail about them.

If we twist the Zen to the left so that the right hand edge is facing

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