2. High Resolution

As soon as you turn the player on you're struck by the sharpness of the display. Creative has fitted the Zen Vision with a 3.7" diagonal, high-resolution 640x480 display. It's the player's main technological attraction. But is it really justified, especially given the added cost?

For photos, at least, there's no question about it. With the possible exception of portraits and close-ups, there's just no comparison. Finally you can see all the details. Its display makes the Vision a peerless portable photo album.

With video, the difference is less flagrant. The sharpness is still excellent, but since the image is moving and the display is so small, it doesn't change the video experience fundamentally. And anyway, a screen this size is just too small for watching a movie. And for animation, the high resolution doesn't really change things. So the high definition will only make a difference for documentaries or sports programs.

While the screen's definition is excellent, the color temperature is a little cold, and no adjustment is possible. The colors tend slightly towards blue. It's not exactly flattering, especially with skin tones. Still that's not a major drawback, and it's more a matter of taste than a real problem. But the viewing angle from the left, for some reason, is also very poor - a few degrees to the side and the image goes into negative. And there's no effective antireflective coating.

As for audio quality, this is a Creative product, after all, and earphone listening is excellent. And the pair that comes with the player is quite adequate. The little built-in speaker does what it can - in other words, not much -but at low volume it's listenable and at least as good as the competition.