The latest portable music player with Apple on the mind is Creative’s new Zen Style M300. Clearly inspired by Apple’s iPod Nano, the Zen M300 is as compact as the device that preceded it - with a few more features.
Like many MP3 players, the Style M300 offers an FM radio, MP3 support, and, unlike the Nano, video playback. (We will for the moment ignore the inherent difficulty in watching video on a 1.45-inch screen, however.) Creative gauges battery life for MP3 playback at 20 hours
The Style M300 is also almost entirely cordless, and features support for bluetooth headphones and speakers. It’s too bad, then, that file synching doesn’t work wirelessly as well. Either way, welcome to the future.
The Style M300 also does without a touch screen, validating many of the complaints voiced by Nano owners know the frustration of interacting with a tiny touch screen. Instead, an array of buttons along the edges of its screen provide all of the necessary functionality.
Offered in black, white, red and yellow, the Zen Style M300 is priced from $40 to $90. Available in June.
Here are the specs:
- Capacity: 4GB / 8GB / 16GB
- LCD: 1.45″ TFT (128×128, 262K colours)
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 Wireless Technology (supports A2DP & AVRCP)
- Battery Life: Up to 20 hours (based on 128kpbs, 4mins/song, MP3 file)
- Power Charging: Yes (via USB)
- Memory Expansion: microSD, up to 32GB
- Video Playback Formats: Transcoded Video (SMV)
- Audio Playback Formats: MP3, WMA (DRM9), WAV (IMA-ADPCM), Audible Format 4, Audible AAX
- Photo Format Supported: JPEG
- Voice Recording: Yes FM Radio: 32 preset stations
- Colors: Black, White, Red and Yellow
- Connectivity: USB 2.0
