Miliptas, Calif. – Creative Technology is out to
boost its portable media player (PMP) market share with the launch of its first
touchscreen model, the Zen X-Fi2.
The model features a 3-inch screen in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB versions at suggested retails of $129, $179 and $229,
respectively.
Compared with its
predecessors, the new model has a larger screen, slimmer size with overall
dimensions at 4-inches by 2.25-inches by 0.46-inches, MicroSD slot replacing
the SD slot, a TV output to view videos and photos on a connected TV, and
playback of more A/V codecs in native form.
The devices are available for
pre-order at Amazon.com, Creative.com and Frys.com.
Supported audio codecs are
MP3, WMA (DRM9), Audible4, AAC and
FLAC. Supported video codecs are WMV9, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4/5, and XviD. Photo
formats are JPEG and BMP. Other
features include X-Fi Crystalizer
processing to restore lost detail in compressed music and X-Fi Expand for more
natural sound staging from headphones. It also features FM tuner, built-in speaker, microphone for voice recording, alarm clock functions
and ability to display RSS feeds offline.
The devices come preloaded
with music from eMusic and, from Audible.com, the first book in James
Patterson’s Maximum Ride series.
