Home > Consumer Reviews > Creative Zen Micro Photo 8 GB MP3 Player Titanium Grey

If you are an audio book listener, this player will do nicely. I am a first time MP3 buyer and tried to do extensive research on the best player for audio books. There is not much written, so I decided to get my feet wet with the Creative Zen Micro Photo 8g. For the most part, it was a good decision. Volume is excellent (although it takes a while to get used to accessing it) and this can be gotten around by attaching a wired remote. There is bookmarking, which allows you to hold the place on several books if you want to listen to music or look at photos. And, the unit holds your place when you turn it off. I have downloaded audio books from the library and transferred them from my collection - the unit handles it all. It took a while to figure out how to and where to transfer the books, and understand the genres. So far, the unit has resisted my creating a new folder, which just holds audio books - I must put everything into the music library. For genres, I cannot create a new genre and call it "book" - I must use "speech", "science fiction", etc. and it will be mixed in with all of the music genres. So, searching for books becomes tedious if a lot of music has been transferred to the unit.

Much has been written about the "intuitive menus" on the Creative Zen Micro Photo 8g. I am 50+ and know my way around computers. This MP3 Player has multiple levels of menus and I would not call them "intuitive". There is a snooze timer mode (a great feature if you want to listen to a book at night and fall asleep), which is buried deep in the "Player" settings. I have started to reconfigure the menu settings to what I use most, but it is going to take a long time before I get the knack of getting to a menu and finding what I want. Also, which software on my computer to use for downloading and configuring.

The on/off switch - actually a slide -- for the Creative Zen Micro Photo 8g is not easy to use. It is on top of the unit, next to the headphone plug. As an adult, just using my finger pads will not create enough friction to move it; I have to use my nails a lot. And just as the on/off slide resists sliding, the touch pad controls are exactly the opposite. The default setting is "medium", and the sensitivity of the controls seems off the charts. Any neophyte to MP3 players should turn the sensitivity to "slow" and learn about sliding the power switch to "lock" in order to disable the player's controls. Again, the wired remote control is a wonderful accessory in controlling the most used functions.

The battery for the Creative Zen Micro Photo 8g is charged thru the USB Port on your computer. Not only does it take a long time to charge (up to 5 hours), but also the unit is unusable during the charge. I guarantee that you will become dissatisfied with this quickly and will order an AC and/or Car Charger. I have ordered another battery, but it can only be charged in the unit (annoying).

Very little is out there in the way of accessories for the Creative Zen Micro Photo 8g. It comes with a drawstring pouch - I guess we are meant to carry it around in a pocket.

The Creative Zen Micro Photo 8g is packed with features. Besides audio books and music, I have only used the photos feature and am very disappointed - and what should I expect on the tiny screen? Use your photos as wallpaper to personalize your player and forget the rest. This MP3 Player will deliver on audio book and music playing.

I just bought this Creative Zen Micro Photo 8GB a week ago and my observations are as follows:

1) The unit is much smaller than I expected. I thought it was the size of an iPod, but it is only about 2" x 3".
2) The sound clarity and volume is very good. I use this while riding a motorcycle and I need to be able to hear over the traffic noise, which is not a problem. I can listen at a comfortable level that also drowns out wind noise.
3) The slideshow is nice, but I haven't figured out how, if possible, to watch the slideshow while listening to the MP3 player as well.
4) The colors are very sharp, but unfortunately for such a small unit, the display is also tiny.
5) The controls are not very good. Although there are three sensitivity settings, it is very easy to scroll past your selection and accidentally click on an option you didn't want.
6) The controls are very intuitive. You don't really need to read the owner's manual to figure out how to use it.
7) I only paid $60 for this, so in spite of the few drawbacks, I definitely got my money's worth.

Bottom line: This is a very good unit, especially for the price. I just recently paid $60 just to replace a battery in my kid's iPod! This is the second Creative product I have owned and so far, I'm happy with it. I had my first Zen for over two years and I have never had a problem with it, unlike my experience with several different iPods, which breaks down every six months or so.

Haved owned this product (8 Gig) for about two years with NO problems. This is used weekly and during the summer is used in a hot, humid, and sandy conditions on weekends with no flaws.The only problem is that the screen is hard to view in bright conditions. The replaceable battery is an excellent feature. Just keep a spare for non stop music. There was a couple of times that I had to re-boot the libary with The customer service at Creative. Took all of a couple of minutes. Loading files is a breeze. I have read reviews where people have a problem with the hard drive crashing. Not sure why but I have yet to experence this problem. I do know that you might would have problems, since this is a hard drive MP3, should you drop it a few times. Would be like droping your laptop. I am planning on purchasing a refurbished player for my wife. The refurbished work just like new. I have purchased several for friends over the last year and these too are perfect!! Also love the fact that this model has the FM receiver. You can't go wrong with Creative!!

We all want an iPod, basically due to the accessory market. It seems that everything is geared toward that blasted thing. I personally have never been a fan of engineered product life cycles. It comes down to the part that is going to be replaced first, which is the battery. Especially on a daily user as I. I don't want to have to spend anywhere from $200 - $500 on a new product every year. Or pay to have my unit shipped to apple and have them replace the battery. I like the freedom if I am traveling and my battery dies on me i just pop in a new one and pick up where i left off. Anyone who has an iPod and uses it on a daily basis can attest to the fact that after about 7-8 months the battery is pretty much shot.

- The software is very well designed. However large music libraries (> 15,000 files) tend to really slow it down.

- Replaceable battery

- Easy to use menus (Not the best in direct sunlight though)


Overall my experience with the Zen line has been very positive. I don't need the newest and shiniest player, and this is the second Zen micro that i've bought. I have the Original Zen Micro 5GB, which the headphone jack after 2.5 years finally crapped out on me. So hence my purchase of this unit. I expect to be able to get the same life expectancy out of this product.

I am very pleased with my Zen. It is the second one I have purchased.