Creative Zen X-Fi: MP3 player with wireless streaming

By Nate Lanxon on 11 July 2008, 10:43am

If you've finished watching people cheat at Wii Fit, play with Microsoft Car Simulator* and get massacred by mobile phones, you're probably thinking, "I'd rather spend a night sleeping among the entrails of a whale carcass than watch Kung Fu Panda." And you'd be more than justified.

Before heading to the beach, you should check out Creative's new Wi-Fi enabled media player -- the Zen X-Fi, so-called because it incorporates Creative's X-Fi audio technology, which helps 128Kbps MP3s sound less like the howling death growl of a half-electrocuted occupant of Death Row. We can't promise it'll do the same for Duffy.

What it will do is stream music wirelessly over your home network -- not half bad for a little MP3 player, huh? It's got a keypad for having IM conversations with your mates and, best of all, it'll play a heap of media formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-4 and WMV.

It comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities, rocks a 64mm (2.5-inch) screen, an FM radio and 36 hours of battery life for music, five for video.

As for UK availability and pricing, we're waiting on word from Creative. We're guessing within the next couple of months at the latest and for around the £250 mark for 32GB, but we'll keep you posted.

Update: The Zen X-Fi will be available in the UK in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities, though the 8GB version will only ship without the wireless LAN connectivity. These models will cost £109, £139 and £199 respectively when they're available within the next couple of months. -Nate Lanxon

*Not even remotely a simulator -- it's a real car.