ZEN V explained

The ZEN V and the ZEN V Plus are portable media players manufactured by Creative Technology. The user interface on this player, the same as the one on Creative's, was patented by Creative on January 9, 2005.^[1] Creative sued Apple over the use of this user interface; Apple later settled for $100 million.^[2]

They are very small sized and feature an OLED screen measuring 1.5 inches. It is controlled using a 5-way mini joystick.^[3] The ZEN V Plus has accumulated many awards, including CNET Editor's Choice for June 2006.^[4] The players are nearly identical save for video playback and FM radio, which the ZEN V Plus supports but the regular ZEN V does not.

In August 2007, Creative introduced a 16 GB version of the ZEN V Plus, making it the first flash-based player with that capacity.^[5]

Specifications

Both players

• Dimensions: 2.7" x 1.7x x 15.9 mm)
• Weight: 1.55oz
• Display: 1.5inches OLED display
• Resolution: 128x128 pixels
• Battery Type: Built-in Lithium Ion
• Music Formats Supported: MP3, WMA, WAV, Audible, and Podcasts (via ZENCast Organizer)
• PlaysForSure (Windows Media Audio 9 DRM) Compatible: Subscription and Download
• Photo Formats Supported: JPEG
• Custom Wallpapers: JPEG
• USB

High-Speed 2.0, 1.1

• Organizer: Calendar, Contact, Task list
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Up to 92 dB
• Harmonic Distortion Output: <0.05%
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
• Voice Recording: Yes
• Line In recording: Yes
• Power Charging: Charges via power adapter or PC through USB
• Album art

Supported

• System Requirements: Windows Vista and Windows XP out of box. Works with Windows 2000 through Windows 98SE after a Legacy OS Driver update available here. Linux compatibility is possible, but unsupported.
  • Compatible with Windows Media Player
  • Bundled Software: MediaSource, Media Explorer
  • Unsupported Third-Party Software:
    • Macintosh

XNJB available here.

• • • Linux:
      • Amarok, compiled with libMTP support, available here.
      • KZenExplorer, available here.
      • Gnomad, available here.

ZEN V

• 1, 2, 4 and 8GB

Colors

• 1GB: Black/Orange, White/Orange, White/Red (Target Exclusive)
• 2GB: White/Green, Black/Green
• 4GB: Black/Blue
• 8GB: Black/Blue, Black/Orange,

ZEN V Plus

• 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16GB
• Video formats supported: Uncompressed AVI: Native; Most other major formats through conversion.
• FM Tuner: Yes

Colors

• 1GB: Black/Orange, White/Orange, White/Red (Target Exclusive)
• 2GB: Black/Green, White/Green, Pink/White
• 4GB: Black/Blue
• 8GB: Black/Blue, Black/Red Black/orange
• 16GB Black/White

See also

• Creative ZEN
• Creative Technology
• Comparison of portable media players

Notes and References

1. Web site: Creative ZEN Patent: Creative Worldwide . 2007-02-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070210072934/http://www.creative.com/zenpatent/ . 2007-02-10 . dead .
2. https://archive.today/20120525171345/http://news.com.com/Apple+settles+with+Creative+for+100+million/2100-1047_3-6108901.html Tom Krazit (August 23, 2006). Apple settles with Creative for $100 million: CNET News.com
3. Web site: Review : Creative Zen V Plus Media player .
4. http://reviews.cnet.com/Creative_Zen_V_Plus_4GB_black/4505-6490_7-31960038.html ZEN V Plus Product Review: CNET
5. Creative Introduces the Widely Popular ZEN V Plus MP3 Player in 16GB Capacity. Creative. August 2, 2007. April 9, 2008.