Creative
Articles about Creative:
Creative has introduced the Xdock Wireless, which docks an iPod and plays music in “Xtreme Fidelity” — music beyond CD quality — via X-Fi Wireless Receivers in any room in the home. The Xdock Wireless also connects directly to a powered speaker system or home theater system to play video, photos and music in DTS surround-sound. The Xdock Wireless is designed to work seamlessly with the iPod and has been certified by Apple under the Made for iPod program.
“We designed the Xdock Wireless so an iPod can easily become the audio platform for your entire home,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “Your iPod goes in the Xdock Wireless to play music through X-Fi Wireless Receivers in as many rooms as you want — all upconverted to Xtreme Fidelity.”
Creative’sX-Fi Xtreme Fidelity is produced with X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D technology. The X-Fi Crystalizer makes MP3s sound better than CDs by analyzing and identifying which parts of the audio stream have been truncated or damaged during compression. It then intelligently and selectively restores the highs and lows from instruments and vocals that are damaged during the compression of MP3s. X-Fi CMSS-3D creates virtual surround sound through speakers or headphones. It expands audio for superior headphone listening so music completely surrounds the listener.
Creative Technology has introduced the Zen Vision:M, a 30GB video player, photo viewer and MP3 player. Designed with a 2.5-inch, high-resolution 262,144 color LCD screen, the Zen Vision:M displays rich, vibrant digital video, and photos, full-color menus and album art.
Creative is positioning the Vision:M as an alternative to the recently released video iPods.
“When people see the Zen Vision:M, they tell us it’s incredibly cool,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “We designed the Zen Vision:M with its mesmerizing 262,144 color screen to display four times the color of the 30GB iPod that plays video, and to provide twice the battery life for video playback. Plus, we offer people the freedom to choose their video in a variety of different formats, and to get subscription music or download tracks from a number of different sites to their player.” Read more…
Creative Technology has announced the Creative Prodikeys PC-MIDI dual-function keyboard for home users. The keyboard combines standard PC keyboard capabilities with a MIDI keyboard.
The Prodikeys PC-MIDI features multimedia keyboard functions such as customizable HotKeys, media playback control, and enhanced F-keys functions, which enable easy access to frequently used applications and tasks on the PC. The HotKeys are customizable with the included HotKeys Manager software. The integrated music keys are embedded and protected under the keyboard palm rest which supports the wrists for typing comfortably. The Snap-On color faceplate feature also allows users options to customize the keyboard color. Read more…
Creative Technology has introduced the Zen Vision MP3 player with a 3.7-inch SharpPix high-resolution 640×480 262,144-color screen for photo viewing and digital video playback. Featuring a transflective screen that provides excellent image and video quality even in bright sunlit conditions, the 30GB Zen Vision carries up to 15,000 songs, tens of thousands of photos, or up to 120 hours of video. Available in either pearl white or black, the Zen Vision measures 4.9 by 2.9 by .8 inches and weighs only 8.4 ounces. It is available today for pre-order at us.creative.com for US $399.99.
“The Zen Vision is our most versatile and coolest-looking digital entertainment player ever,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “It supports download and subscription music services, photo transfer directly from a Compact Flash card or up to 17 variations of media through our optional Compact Flash Adapter. With the SharpPix technology, your digital photos can look even better than prints. Plus the Zen Vision supports video from TiVoToGo and popular Internet video formats including DivX, so it’s really easy and fun to enjoy your favorite music, photos and videos wherever you go.”
Music
With audio playback quality of up to 97dB SNR, the Zen Vision can carry up to 15,000 songs, and supports downloads from Internet music stores such as Napster, MSN Music and Music Now. The Zen Vision also supports music subscription services such as Yahoo! Music Unlimited and Napster to Go. The player also includes a built-in FM radio with 32 preset options, and FM recording.
Photos
The Zen Vision can carry tens of thousands of digital photos. For sharing pictures with family and friends, a convenient composite video out connector enables stunning full-color image output on any size TV screen. Users can watch slide shows set to favorite music played through headphones, the built-in speaker on the face of the player, or by connecting speakers such as a Creative I-Trigue® 2.1 system.
The convenient Plug&View slot on the side of the player supports both Compact Flash Type I and Type II media. An optional Compact Flash Adapter plugs directly into the Compact Flash slot to accept the most popular memory card types including SmartMedia, MultiMedia Card and Secure Digital, 17 variations in all.
Video
The Zen Vision supports a wide selection of video formats for enjoyment of movies downloaded from the Internet, including MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Simple Profile formats such as DivX and Xvid, WMV, and MJPEG. The Zen Vision also supports TiVoToGo, for viewing of TV content recorded on a TiVo personal video recorder, and digitized home movies transferred from the PC. Easy alphabetical scrolling enables quick access to movies and video files. The removable rechargeable battery provides up to 4.5 hours of video playback, and up to 120 hours of video can be stored on the player.
Additional Features
The large, bright screen of the Zen Vision displays a full menu to access music, pictures and video. In addition the intuitive menu accesses the following features:
- Built-in microphone – shows volume levels on screen for optimum voice recording quality
- Organizer – Provides calendar, tasks and contact lists, and syncs with Microsoft Outlook
- Extras – Enables setting of Date & Time, plus allocation of Removable Disk space for dedicated storage
- A clock with wake-to-any-music alarm, color themes and different languages for further customization
The Zen Vision connects to the PC via USB 2.0 for fast, easy transfer of content, and can also connect to an optional docking station for elegant freestanding display.
Pricing and Availability
The new Creative Zen Vision, available today for pre-order at http://www.us.creative.com for only US$399.99, comes with a rechargeable, removable Li-ion battery, an AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable, high-quality earphones, an AV cable, and a protective pouch. Optional accessories, including a docking station, Compact Flash Adapter, screen protector, spare extended-life battery, wired remote, and IR remote, will all be available for purchase separately at http://www.us.creative.com.
