Dell is now selling two Creative products as part of Dell’s “Designed for Dell” initiative - the Creative Labs EP-610 headphones and the Creative Labs Inspire T10 speakers. These products colorfully match many of Dell’s recent product offerings - especially their new Studio computer systems.

The Creative EP-610 headphones has the following specs:

• Gold-plated plug
• In-ear ear bud
• Response frequency of 6 to 23000Hz
• 106dB sensitivity
• 16 Ohm impedence
• Neodymium magnet

The Creative Inspire T10 speakers has the following specs:

• Measures 3.5 x 5.4 x 7.6 inches
• 2 speaker system
• 10 watt nominal output power
• Response frequency of 80 to 20000 Hz
• 80dB signal to noise ratio
• Integrated audio amp
• Power on/off, volume, bass controls

The EP-610 is currently available for $23.99 while the Inspire T10 is going for $39.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Designed for Dell, Creative Labs, EP-610 Headphones, Inspire T10 speakers

Creative Japan has a new portable media player out called the Creative ZEN Mosaic. One half of the ZEN Mosaic is covered by the 1.8 inch LCD display while the other half is covered by a patchwork of square and rectangular patterns (which also double as control and navigational buttons).  Spec wise, this is a flash based media player with storage options ranging from 2GB,4GB, and 8GB. Other specs include:

• Measures 79.5 x 40 x 12.8mm
• Weighs 43 grams
• Supports MP3, WMA, WAV, JPG
• Built-in speakers
• FM tuner

The ZEN Mosaic will be due out in August.

[Check it out via Akihabara News]

Technorati Tags: Creative ZEN Mosaic, Portable Media Player

Prices are set for the new Creative Technology ZEN X-Fi media player here in the U.S. The 32GB model has an MSRP of $279.99, the 16GB an MSRP of $199.99, and the 8GB goes for $149.99. Not familiar with the new ZEN X-Fi? It’s the first Creative media player to feature their X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio technology designed to help restore the quality of compressed music. There are basically two models - one with wireless LAN and one without. The 16GB and 32GB models feature Wi-Fi while the 8GB lacks it. Here are the major specs to the player:

• Measures 3.3. x 2.2 x 0.5 inches and weighs 2.4 oz
• 2.5 inch TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 240
• Video support includes MJPEG, WMV, MPEG-4, DivX, and XviD
• Audio support includes MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, Audible 2,3,4
• Picture support includes JPEG support
• 802.11 b/g for 16GB and 32GB models
• FM radio with 32 preset stations
• Equalizer with 8 presets and 5 band custom EQ
• Calendar, Contact, Task List
• USB 2.0

[Check out the ZEN X-Fi with wireless LAN]

[Check out the ZEN Xi-Fi]

via SlashGear

Technorati Tags: Creative ZEN X-Fi, Prices

Dell is taking a page out of Apple’s business model by introducing a new line of bags and accessories dubbed “Designed for Dell”. These are products designed by third party manufacturers that complement the latest Dell PCs such as the Studio laptops that were recently introduced. This is Dell’s attempt to create an industry similar to what we’ve seen with Apple’s iPod/iPhone product line - third party products that accentuate the capabilities of the main product. In this case, we’ve got the new Dell Studio notebook which is just begging for matching case designs, cool looking speakers, hard drives for more storage space, and funky mice. Current manufacturers participating in the Designed for Dell program include:

• Belkin: Backpacks and messenger cases
• Built: Computer sleeves, cargo bags and portfolios
• Creative Labs: Headphones and speakers
• Iomega: Portable hard drives
• Logitech: Mice
• Swiss Gear: Backpacks
• Targus: Messenger cases and accessories bundles

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Designed for Dell, Belkin, Built, Creative Labs, Iomega, Logitech, Swiss Gear, Targus

Could wireless sharing be on the horizons for the next Creative media player offering? According to the folks at Sky News, that’s indeed very possible as rumors are circulating that a new Creative device will soon be released called the “Zen Share”. The “Share” moniker implies that the new media player will allow users to share content between devices although it’s not clear how this sharing will be implemented at this time. The new player is rumored to be targeting the May/June timeframe with a possible announcement in March at the German CeBIT show.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Creative, Creative Share

You have to love competition folks. Last week, Apple introduced the new 32GB version of the iPod touch and priced the device near the stratosphere at around $499. In response to this, Creative has lowered their already low-priced 32GB version of the Creative Zen media player to $299 which amounts to a $30 dollar price cut. Now granted, the Creative Zen isn’t as “cool” as the iPod touch and it certainly lacks the touch-screen user interface and various other PDA-like applications. However if you simply want a portable media player, the 32GB Zen is certainly hard to beat from a price-perspective. I saw the Zen back at CES 2008 and was very impressed with the color display on the media player. While nowhere near as sexy at the more expensive iPod touch, the Zen is certainly worth a look over.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Creative Zen, 32GB, 9

Having talked about the new Creative inPerson video conferencing product this morning, I thought I’d continue the Creative Technology coverage. The truth is - I didn’t really come across anything that truly stood out at Creative this year. Yes, they had some headphones, media players, and sound cards out but let’s face it - it was a rather boring booth altogether. Most of the ruckus was around two things - Creative Booth Babes and the fragging that Fatal1ty was performing on various gamers in the crowd. So without further ado, here are some pictures that I snapped at the booth. Enjoy!

You can barely see them in the above picture but the Creative Aurvana Live! Headphones are truly on display above. There are actually two of them - one on the left and one on the right (and it doesn’t help that the headphones are rather pitch black to begin with!). Here’s what you basically need to know about the Aurvana Live! headphones:

• Lightweight and ergonomically designed
• Soft leatherette earpads and adjustable padded headband
• 40 mm neodymium magnet driver with ultra-thin bio-cellulose diaphragm
• Optimally contoured earcups minimize internal sound distortion (and have high gloss finish)
• Comes with microfiber travel pouch
• Frequency Response: 10Hz - 30kHz
• Cord length: 1.2 m - oxygen free copper cable
• 210 gram weight
• MSRP of $149.99

Next to this lovely Creative Booth Babe is the Aurvana X-Fi Headphone. Features and specs to the Aurvana X-Fi include the following:

• Employs X-Fi technology
• X-Fi Crystalizer technology restores details and vibrancy to compressed music and movies - highs and lows are enhanced
• X-Fi CMSS-3D technology expands stereo MP3s and digital movies into virtual surround sound over the headphones. Voices are centered and ambient sounds are moved all around you
• Noise cancellation technology reduces background and environment noise by up to 90 percent. Use these headphones to block out noise when you sleep!
• 40 mm neodymium drivers
• Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz
• Noise reduction level: 20dB
• Weighs 245 grams
• Includes travel case
• MSRP of $299.99.

Above is a picture of the Creative ZEN Stone MP3 player and I have to admit - these pictures really do no justice to the ZEN Stone (and the ZEN Stone Plus). Seriously now - if you want a tiny MP3 player, the ZEN Stone is pretty hard to beat in terms of size. But perhaps what I’m most impressed with is the suggested retail price of the ZEN Stone. At $50 bucks, the 2GB ZEN Stone seems like a bargain to me. Features include the following:

• Built-in speaker
• Available in four contemporary colors
• Plug and play capabilities
• 20 hours of continuous audio playback
• Ergonomically designed controls
• Dedicated random button for shuffle playback
• Drag and drop features when connected to your PC
• Available in 1GB / 2GB sizes
• Supports MP3, WMA, Audible 2 and 3
• Rechargeable Li-Ion Polymer battery
• Measures 53.7 x 35.6 x 16 mm
• MSRP of $49.99 for 2GB

Now if you like the look of the ZEN Stone AND you’re willing to spend a little bit more, then you should definitely give the ZEN Stone Plus a look over. For five bucks more (at the time of this writing), you get a 2GB player that adds an FM tuner, a display, a built-in stopwatch, countdown timer, clock, and voice recorder. That’s right - all that for $54.99! Here’s the full feature list:

• Available in 2GB or 4GB models
• 32 FM station presets
• Built-in stopwatch, countdown timer, and clock
• Available in five colors
• Measures 2.19″ x 1.39″ x 0.5″ and weighs 0.74 oz
• 9.5 hour battery life for 2GB and 12 hour battery life for 4GB
• Rechargeable Li-ion Polymer battery
• Supports MP3, WMA, and Audible
• Single color OLED display (64 x 64 resolution)
• FM Radio
• Voice recorder

Moving up the food chain, we’ve got the Creative ZEN Portable Media Player. The big news here - the ZEN is now available in 16GB and 32 GB storage capacities yet still retains the near credit card size form factor. This means you can now choose storage sizes from 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB.

Features include:

• 2.5 color screen with support for 16.7 million colors (320 x 2240 resolution)
• Supports unprotected AAC format, MP3, WMA
• Compatible with music subscription services such as Napster and Rhapsody
• Supports audio books
• Supports JPEG
• Supports MJPEG, WMV9, and (with transcoding - MPEG1 and 2, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4 and 5 and XviD)
• Built in SD slot
• FM Radio
• 30 hours of music playback
• 5 hours of video playback
• Syncs with and views Microsoft Outlook® Contacts, Calendar & Tasks
• Album art support
• Voice recorder
• Clock and alarm function
• Customizable main menu
• Works as external hard drive
• 8 EQ settings
• Measures 3.26″ x 2.16″ x 0.44″ and weighs 2.1 oz

So how much will the 32GB set you back? How about $349.99? The low end 2GB model goes for $79.99.

I’ll end things with pictures of some of the lovely Creative ladies as well as some pictures of the frag fest at the Creative booth.

Technorati Tags: Creative, Zen Stone, Zen Stone Plus, Aurvana Live!, Aurvana X-Fi, CES 2008

Creative used CES 2008 as their venue to introduce their latest entry into the video conferencing market - the Creative inPerson device. According to the company, inPerson is ideal for one to one and small group meetings - allowing users to communicate with one another without actually having to be there “in person” (and hence.. the name of course!).

The key to all of this is the inPerson device which looks like a small portable DVD player. Since the unit is portable, you can literally bring the inPerson device wherever you go and use it wherever there is a wireless or wired Internet connection. You will need to subscribe to a low cost monthly plan in order to fully utilize the inPerson device although other users can contact you via a PC webcam.

Here are the specs to the inPerson device:

• 7 inch widescreen LCD display
• 640 x 480 resolution video
• Supports up to a bit rate of 2 Mbps
• 76 degree wide angle lens
• High quality sensor for low light performance
• Supports composite NTSC and PAL formats
• Built in acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) feature
• High sensitivity dual microphones for longer range pick up
• Built-in speaker
• Connects to 10/100 Base-T port
• Connects to wireless networks (802.11b/g)
• Removable Li-Ion battery
• Rotating camera lens
• Wireless remote control
• Supports call history, auto answer, contact lists, speed dial, and auto-login

Here is a picture of two inPerson devices in communication with one another. I played around with the inPerson device for a short amount of time and was impressed with the overall quality of the audio/video. Creative even allowed us to contact another Creative employee in Northern California via inPerson and I have to admit - it was pretty neat to see the whole thing in action.

Right now, inPerson is geared towards businesses who want a cheaper alternative to common video conferencing solutions out there. Each inPerson device can be purchased for $519.99 at Creative’s website (which includes one year of free service by Broadxent). I don’t see this as a consumer ready device quite yet - especially since you have to pay subscription fees to actually use the device with other inPerson users. However, it’s still nice to see Creative come out with innovative new products that take a new spin on existing markets.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Creative, inPerson, video conferencing, CES 2008

It looks like the 32GB version of the Creative Zen will be coming out a bit sooner than expected - at least in Japan! Akihabara News is reporting that Creative Japan will begin selling the 32GB Creative Zen (model ZN-Z32G-BK) by the middle of December. Price? How about 250 Eur. Spec wise, the Zen is basically still the same except for the memory boost to 32GB. Features include:

• 2.5 inch QVGA (320 x 240) LCD display
• Audio support for MP3/WMA/AAC/WAV file formats
• Video support for WMV/MPEG-SP/DivX/XviD/Motion-JPEG file formats
• SD card slot with support for SDHC cards
• FM tuner built-in
• Measures 83 x 55 x 11.3 mm and weighs 65 grams
• Signal to Noise Ratio of 97dB
• Frequency Response of 20Hz - 20kHz
• USB 2.0 support

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Creative, Creative Zen, 32GB

It’s official. Creative will be releasing a 32GB version of the Zen media player sometime in 2008 (yeah.. too bad it’s not coming out this year but it’s a bit late for the holiday shopping season if you ask me). No word on any other feature enhancements but 32GB flash sounds mighty nice to me.

[Check it out via Ubergizmo]

Technorati Tags: Creative, Zen, 32GB