Portable Media Player Review: Creative Zen Touch 2

A phone-free Android


Portable Media Player Review: Creative Zen Touch 2

by Hazwan Norly

Updated 12:10 PM Mar 11, 2011

APPS are all the rage and are showing up not only on phones but on tablets and other devices too. So it goes for the Zen Touch 2 (picture).

This wireless entertainment device looks like a phone but ... isn't.

Creative's Zen Touch 2 (retailing from S$279) is a portable media player that runs on the Android 2.1 platform, which allows you to download apps for added fun. You can do this by connecting to the Internet (yes, it comes with Wi-Fi - in fact, one of the three versions even comes with GPS) and downloading the apps via Creative's preinstalled ZiiO Space app.

The player also comes with Bluetooth and when activated, you can connect to Bluetooth headsets like Creative's ZiiSound D5 (sold separately) and listen to your music without the hassle of untangling your earphones. If you want to share your music with everyone within earshot, the Zen Touch 2 also sports a speaker.

The gadget has a built-in 2-megapixel camera. You can toggle between taking pictures and videos with a swipe of your finger. The pictures I took were a little blurry and grainy though, especially after transferring them into my desktop.

The microSD card slot will come in handy for those of you who think you'll need more than the maximum built-in memory of 16GB.

Despite being one of Creative's better recent offerings, there is room for improvement. If you've used and touched a Creative before, you should be familiar with its not-so-durable plastic body. Its 3.2-inch touch screen is not as responsive as I would prefer. Also, the applications are prone to crashing.

And, weirdly, while you can rotate the display between landscape and portrait views, the off-screen buttons read sideways when you hold the phone vertically - probably implying the gadget is meant primarily for use in landscape view.

Maybe a Zen Touch 3 will address these issues. Until then, you can get your hands on the three versions of the Zen Touch 2 (8GB and 16GB without GPS or 8GB with GPS). Hazwan Norly

Source: www.todayonline.com