Creative has had its signature X-Fi technology in the sound blaster series of speakers and sound cards. Now it has decided to move this to it’s range of PMPs, with the Creative Zen X-Fi being one of them. We received the and we see here if it lives up to its name.

The X-Fi has a silver faux metallic back plate. The from of this PMP is piano black with the 2.5 inch screen towards the left, while all other controls are on the right side of the device. The Power and the Lock sliders are located on the back, the top is where you find the microphone and the SD Card slot.

Creative Zen X-Fi

Many PMPs don’t come with the memory expansion slots; but, since this one has only 8GB capacity, the expansion slot is a good idea. One side has the microUSB port and 3.5mm jack and next to that is a small LED light which acts as a battery indicator and along the same side is a reset button. This PMP is also comes with an inbuilt speaker which is located at the bottom.

The button on this device are somewhat unusual and unlike other PMPs, the X-Fi comes with nine buttons, an Options button and a Shortcut button. The later can be customized to give you quick access to a particular menu of your choice. There are additional features and menus that have been added to this player.

The Creative EP-830 earphones are good to use as they fin in the ear, thereby reducing the the level of external noise that is heard. While listening to our test tracks, with the supplied earphone we found that this PMP will be enjoyed by bass lovers as its heavy on the lows; the mids are fine, but the highs need to be cleaner.

Movies need to be converted by the software provided. The viewing angles for the left, right, bottom are great, but the top angle is bad. If you tilt the player towards you, then the appearance of the screen washes out.

Overall, priced at $249, we feel the X-Fi is a good PMP for audio, although the screen is still too tiny to enjoy videos on it, it will do for occasional viewing.

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