The Creative Zen X-Fi2 PMP is getting a lot of attention these days, yet there are a lot of gadget dudes out there posting comments about the Creative Zen X-Fi2. The majority of them are reasonable, stating correctly and justly that the X-Fi2 doesn’t have Wi-Fi or a web browser. Others are posting and complaining that Creative has lost its originality and have designed an iPhone clone, though its size is in the iPod touch realm, measuring in at 4” x 2.2” x 0.4” and 2.6 ounces (the touch is 4.3” x 2.4” x 0.33” and 4.05 ounces). Those who are defending Creative’s originality are pointing out such things as its chrome trim and saying Apple would never do that – ah, excuse me, I’m gonna let you finish, but I have the best nano G3 with a backing that’s all chrome.
Despite the naysayers, the Zen X-Fi2 looks sharp and it’s loaded with enough features to make you drool – though there is no video capture.
Let’s take a look at what’s under the hood.
Undressing the Zen X-Fi2
With the Zen X-Fi2, Creative has taken a major step into the touchscreen world. The screen itself is a 3-inch TFT LCD with support for 262,000 colors and a pixel resolution of 400 x 240. It’s responsive, if a little slow. The PMP has audio support for MP3, secure WMA, Audible, AAC, video support for WMV9, MPEG4-SP, DivX4/5, and XviD, and displays JPEG and BMP images. Along with the built-in FM radio with autoscan and 32 presets, Creative has also included some free preloaded music (something that I find more annoying than anything) and a preloaded audio book (James Patterson’s Maximum Ride).
One of the cooler features on the Zen X-Fi2 is the TV-out capability, but you’ll have to purchase the cable. If you don’t ever get to see your content on the big screen, you can always rely on the external speaker or use the 3.5 mm headphone jack like most people with PMPs do. Oh, there’s also a built-in mic should you ever need to record an interview, a lecture, or some gossip for future blackmailing. The Zen X-Fi2 also displays RSS content. What? With no Wi-Fi? True, so you’ll have to sync to a computer with internet.
Besides that, there are a number of pedestrian features like an alarm clock, a calendar, and contact information.
As stated, the Zen X-Fi2 will drop in October and will come with capacity choices of 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB, and will be priced at $129.99, $179.99, and $229.99 respectively. If that’s not enough memory for you, there is a microSD card expansion slot, which seems to only partially integrate with the device.
