Creative Zen Stone 2GB in Media Players

As MP3 players go, shuffle devices are among the cheapest and most convenient options around. Perfect for exercise, they're smaller than a box of matches, they keep your playlists fresh and unexpected, and they're light enough to strap to an arm for the ultimate in portability.

Creative's decision to fit a speaker onto its Zen Stone range is therefore baffling at best, and downright irritating at worst.

The speaker itself is mono, weak and barely up to the task of filling a tiny hotel room, but it will be loud enough to "entertain" on public transport, which is pretty much the only place we can see it ever being used.

Social comment aside, the Zen Stone remains a great little player, with the 2GB version costing just £26. You can store your songs across different folders, with a slider to easily switch between them on the fly; and you have the choice of playing tracks in order or shuffled.

The headphones offer a well-rounded sound, if lacking a little on the bass front, but they're certainly better than those bundled with an iPod.

It charges over a standard mini-USB to USB connection, and the battery gives "up to 20 hours" of playback; we imagine using the speaker will cut that considerably.

We don't envisage too many PC Pro readers needing the supplied Creative Media Lite transfer utility - Windows Media Player will do the job just fine.

There's also a Zen Stone Plus model for £31, with a built-in FM radio, an awkward little screen and now also with speaker, but to be honest we prefer the simplicity of the basic Stone.

It's a fine player at a very enticing price, and for runners or gym-goers it remains a great alternative to the dearer iPod Shuffle, but don't buy it for the speaker ... please.

Author: David Bayon