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Creative Zen Mozaic 8GB MP3 Player - Black | 
 enlarge | Brand: Creative Labs
Category: CE
Buy New: £61.00
New (8) from £61.00
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 809
Media: Electronics
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 19.7 x 19.7 x 19.7
MPN: 70PF240200115
Model: 70PF240200115
EAN: 5390660158308
ASIN: B001CTGQEW
Release Date: August 15, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Very Good Condition 8GB MP3 Player, Does Not come with original box but is in great condition
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| Features:
| • | Unique design | | • | Built-in speaker | | • | Bright 1.8" colour screen | | • | With FM radio & voice recorder | | • | Distinctive 'tiled' keypad |
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| Accessories:
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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Zen Mozaic, 8GB, Black
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| Customer Reviews:
 A refreshing approach October 9, 2008
Fred (Gloucestershire, UK)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I rather like this interesting player, it is a very nice break from all the generic mp3 players on the market, while it doesn't have Ipod looks it is certainly very attractive. It is very plasticy but it does feel sturdy, and I have already managed to drop it a couple of times and no harm done. On the hardware side the sound quality produced when plugged into my sennheiser cx400s is very pleasing, don't however use the included earphones, they are terrible, but this is the case with pretty much every mp3 player so I am not going to take a star off for it. I am a great fan of the screen which has been criticised in many reviews. Yes it is low resolution and video's look awful on it, but its very bright, even viewable in direct sunlight and makes browsing the interface a joy. the integrated speaker is surprisingly loud for such a little thing but is very very tiny, wouldn't listen to music with it but for pod casts its quite useful. The UI is quite simply the best on any mp3 player of this price range, yes a little cluttered but it is very intuitive and I always know where to find what I am looking for. I can't comment however on the creative cenral software that has been touched upon by other reviews as I have simply been dragging and dropping my music onto the player.
I would defiantly buy this player again, its an extremely appealing product for almost half the price of an Ipod nano. If you are unsure buy it, you won't be dissapointed
 Don't waste your money, buy an iPod September 30, 2008
Mr. S. Hudson (Leeds, UK)
5 out of 19 found this review helpful
Having owned 3 iPods (all of which are still working perfectly) I was looking to buy my wife an MP3 player for her birthday. I'd spoken to a number of people, all of whom use different players, and the general opinion was that iPods are over-rated and over priced. The overall advice was that the Creative Zen range was far better and, indeed, looking at the list of features that would seem to be the case: voice recording, FM radio, built in speaker and, from what I'd heard, far easier to use than having to sync with iTunes, so I ordered a Zen Mosaic.
Oh dear.
What a piece of crap. For a start it looks rubbish, obviously this is a minor point but, when combined with everything else, it serves as the icing on the cake. It also feels cheap, like something that fell out of a christmas cracker. The screen resolution is poor and the user interface unnecessarily complicated making navigating very slow. It took 3 attempts to set up the "Creative Centrale" software and get it to sync with the player and, even having done so, I was still browsing the internet looking for a way to sync the device with the vastly superior iTunes. Creative Centrale looks like something I wrote for my A Level computer studies and is about as reliable.
Having finally set up the software and managed to sync the playlists with the Zen player I decided to have a play with some of the features, so I selected the radio....and the whole thing locked up, even the off button didn't work, I had to use the emergency reset button. Then sync it again. And then the same thing happened, in fact every time you try to use the radio it locks the whole unit up.
On top of all this there are no peripherals (i.e. docking stations) available in the general market which are compatible with the device and the sound quality was tinny. This thing was nothing but a disappointment and the only reason I gave it one star is that Amazon won't let you give zero! Fotunately I bought the player from Amazon who, as always, have been very helpful, I have therefore returned the Zen Mosaic and ordered an iPod Nano.
Really, if you're thinking of ordering one of these - DON'T! Spend a couple of extra quid and get the market leading product, you'll be much happier!
 Good performance but some software glitches September 21, 2008
P. Embleton (UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Mosaic looks good, is certainly smaller than the proverbial credit card and very light. It has plenty of extras on it that will be of use in the future. I am a little concerned about some durability aspects. The on/off/lock switch is fiddly and doesn't feel very robust. My old Zen Micro apeared more robust. The screen is quite large but I suspect could get scratched easily unless it is protected. Visually photos are nice and clear. I haven't bothered with any videos yet.
The radio would only pull in BBC stations on auto scan when tried in my house but when I went outside and retried tuning whilst on top of a local hill I managed to find a number of local stations using manual tune.
My Mosaic came with two software updates missing and I couldn't download them with Vista. On another laptop with XP I managed to download them manually as auto download didn't appear to work properly.
The Creative Centrale software has also given me trouble. I can download up to 6 CD's then the software locks up and I have to reboot the programme. Reloading the software doesn't help. I tried the software on two laptops that use two different broadbands (I know it shouldn't make a difference but I had to try) but the same problem persists. Also for some reason the software add on doesn't recognise all CD info and some data needs to be put in manually. I have found that in general Windows Media is better for finding CD track and artist info.
The software can also lock up when transfering playlists and the programme needs rebooting then all is fine for a while. I doesn't appear to want to drag and drop either but that could mean I was doing something wrong. Overall I think that Centrale software is marginally more user friendly than the old Creative software at the expense of more glitches.
When playing music the Mosaic is really good and very easy to operate. It's sound performance is good with the standard earphones but I substituted them with Creative EP-630A bud style phones and they give me outstanding music performance on my lousy taste in music. Buy them from Amazon as they are cheap on cost but not in performance.
From new I can get around 26 hours of life on each battery charge and it may well improve as the battery ages.
I will be talking to Creative on the software problems I am having but if you overlook those hassles then the performance of the actual player is very good and overall I am pleased with it.
For gym and running use I would still go with my ultra light weight Sansa Clip but for all other use the the Mosaic is the toy to use.
Zen Mozaic - a really good player September 18, 2008
Carl Hall (Hampshire, England)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
The player 4/5. I ordered the 8gb Zen Mozaic as I wanted an upgrade to my old player. I have only had it a few days, but first impressions are really good. I had done some research on the player and the feedback was good and I have to say I agree. The player is an all plastic design but feels really robust and would hopefully survive the everyday use that it will get. Display is clearer than I expected (from some of the reviews I have read) and is good enough for viewing the menu's etc. but if you are looking to play lots of video's or photo's then best look elsewhere.
Features 5/5. The features are what drew me to the player and they did not disappoint. I gather that this is an area that Creative excel anyway, you have the FM radio, calendar, clock, alarm etc. There are many different ways to listen to your music, you can create playlists on the fly whilst using the player (which I really like) and there are the usual array of random play, by artist, album. Another feature I have not come across before is the `DJ' feature, which plays a random selection such as `album of the day', `least heard', `most played'.
Sound 3.5/5 The bundled earphones are acceptable, I did not buy the player for audiophile levels of sound quality but the sound is bright and clear, probably not enough bass for some with the standard `phones but good enough for me. I saw another review that suggested it was definitely worth upgrading the earphones as better sound is available, but I think this is a common recommendation.
Software 4/5. The player comes with `Creative Centrale' which is Creative's take on some sync-ing software for their players. Although I loaded it just to see what it looks like, I have continued to use it. It picked up all the music from my existing library and gave me options to edit MP3 tags etc. However for simplicity this is also a "drag and drop" player. I did have some problem sync-ing some tracks for some reason but only about a dozen. It also wouldn't sync some Podcasts that I obtained via Zencast (another useful download), I had to use drag and drop to get it on the player - not a big issue for some anyway because most people will probably stick with what they are used to.
Overall 4/5. I am glad I went for this player, especially as Amazon is 20 cheaper than most places - I think it will be my companion for some time.
Mozaic 8gb review September 15, 2008
Snoopy (West Mids, UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Had this MP3 player for a week now and am pretty pleased with it. All-in-all good value for money - 60 for an 8gb mp3 with FM Radio, calendar/contacts options, video, photos - what more could you want? I haven't fully explored all the options yet, as my main reason for buying the Mozaic was to have a decent sized mp3 player with FM radio for when I'm out cycling. To this extent it's been brilliant. Here's some feedback:-
Looks: small; well built; screen looks like it won't scratch too easily; handy having the small in-built speaker, although sound quality isn't great, but then you're not going to use it all the time.
Screen: have read reviews saying it's not as good quality as some. I haven't looked at any photos yet, so can't comment, but I think for the price, it's pretty good.
Usability: easy to navigate menus - my one niggle would be that when you're listening to music you have to navigate back out to the 'systems' menu to change EQ presets.
Battery: says 32hrs, but not yet put this to the test.
FM Radio: no problems with reception - very easy to use. Need to have the headphones attached as they act as the aerial.
Sound quality: EQ presets seem to offer reasonable options, although they do sound a bit samey. Haven't used the bundled headphones as I prefer in-ears & already have some Creative EP30s, which sound fine.
Software: installed & been using the Creative Centrale software to download music and organise playlists. A couple of niggles; 1) I can't figure out how to add to current playlists using the Zen itself. Am organising playlists using the software when the Zen is connected to the PC. 2) The software has crashed a couple of times when I've been downloading a lot of music or organising playlists. However, on the whole it seems to transfer music pretty quickly.
So, in summary, if you're looking for a decently priced 8gb mp3 with FM Radio, photos, video, & a few other extras, then I would recommend the Mozaic.
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