Latest rumors about Creative's next big player


It's been a little while since I told you about the Zen Share and I know some of you are dying to hear more about it. Keep in mind that nothing that I write below has been confirmed by Creative and should be taken as just a rumor for now (i.e. don't get your hopes too high/low!). So here we go:

Zen Share is now ZEN X-Fi

First, the player that this site broke to everyone as the Zen Share will apparently go under a different name. I've been told that it will be called the ZEN X-Fi. The name should give you a hint about one of the players main capabilities, Creative's Xtreme Fidelity technology.

What does it look like?

If I'm to believe my source, the Zen X-Fi will look a lot like the Creative ZEN. It's said to come in different colors and have a "silver backing", My source only saw the player briefly but mentioned a button on the left side of the player that reminded him of the iPod touch (or iPhone for that matter). Whether the device is touchscreen is still unknown.

Will it still have Wi-Fi?

Yes! Wi-Fi is still onboard. The big question is what it will be used for. I was told of two functions, one that sounds realistic, the other not so much. It seems like Creative may be using the same sharing scheme as the Zune, allowing for a 3-day time limit for shared songs. The other use of Wi-Fi is for internet messaging through services like MSN messenger. Sounds a bit far-fetched to me, but I'm just the messenger here!

HD or Flash?

I know many here will be disappointed, but it seems it inevitable that Creative will stick with flash memory for the foreseeable future. Like the ZEN, the ZEN X-Fi will come in 8, 16, and 32GB models. With the arrival of this new player, the regular ZEN will only be offered in sizes of 4 and 8GB's. If it really is like the ZEN then we'll see an SD expansion slot too (hopefully with SD integration this time!).

I hope this info was worth the wait! Every word above might turn out to be completely inaccurate, but I'd like to hear your impressions on the rumored Zen X-Fi. Additionally, I was told that Creative is working on a Zen V replacement. I'm assuming something in the lower range, with a 2" screen or so. We'll try and keep everyone up to date on that player, and any other news from Creative.



comment: 116 | Wednesday, April 16 (2008) 02:59AM | Posted by: ssjmichael