BIOS: Technology Means Business

Mini MP3 players are all the rage, especially those of the credit card-sized, touch-sensitive, funky-coloured variety. Creative's Zen Micro is right up there with the cream of the competition, and actually offers more features and comes in even more colours than Apple's popular iPod mini. The Touch Pad isn't quite the marvel Creative makes it out to be, there's no line-in recording, it doesn't support Apple's excellent iTunes software, and it's only available with a 5GB hard disk, but the Zen Micro packs a big punch for such a small contender.

Pros: Sounds great; removable battery; FM recording; PIM software
Cons: Mono LCD; no line-in jack; not compatible with Apple's iTunes

With a storage capacity of 5GB (based on a Seagate 1in. hard disk) and a compact size (51x19x84mm, 108g), Creative's Zen Micro digital audio player is worthy of your consideration. In fact, it's got a lot more going for it than Apple's iPod mini (from (from £118.30 ex. VAT, 4GB model), albeit lacking the 'cool' factor of the iconic iPod series. Gadget aficionados will also love the way the player adds a blue glow around its face whenever it's powered or touched, and the way the 160x104-pixel LCD is lit by a blue backlight.

Where the Zen Micro really excels over its competitors is with its features, most noticeably the inclusion of a removable 680mAh Lithium-ion battery that gives up to around 12 hours' playtime, built-in FM tuner with 32 presets, voice recording capabilities, and software which synchronises Outlook contacts, calendars and to-do lists. Its available in a choice of 10 colours (silver, black, red, orange, green, pink, purple, white, light blue and dark blue) too, so it may take you just as long to pick a favourite as it did to shortlist the player from the masses of other models available.

The benefit of a a rechargeable, removable battery is that you can add a spare when one runs out of juice (handy on long flights) and you don't have to send the whole product back if it becomes damaged or stops charging. A built-in FM tuner speaks for itself, allowing you to enjoy analogue broadcasts in-between listening to stored audio files. Unfortunately, the Zen Micro doesn't support the playback of digital images on its LCD, which is where Apple's iPod photo (from £211 ex. VAT) has the upperhand.

Controlling the player is a little tricky thanks to the touch-sensitive Touch Pad. Navigated using one hand, the five 'buttons' on the front of the Zen Micro are activated by lightly pressing. The volume/scroll controller in the centre of the player is used in a similar way, although volume levels and menus are altered/navigated by sliding your finder upwards or downwards. Holding the top or bottom portion of the Touch Pad scrolls through menus more quickly, which is handy when wading through packed folders.

Whilst the menu system is relatively intuitive and quick to navigate, sometimes it's unclear which button you're meant to press in order to activate an option. For instance, the menu, back, and scroll control can all be clicked, which can quickly lead to confusion. Sometimes you have to press quite firmly too, which incorrectly suggests that you're pressing the wrong button. Thankfully there's a dedicated hold switch which prevents you from accidentally activating the controls or deafening yourself.

In terms of specifications, the Zen Micro handles itself amicably. It supports MP3, WMA (even those with Digital Rights Management) and WAV files up to 320Kbit/s, mono voice recording at 16kHz, stereo FM recording up to 22kHz, has a Signal-to-Noise Ratio up to 98dB, channel separation up to -70dB, frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz, and a harmonic distortion output of less than 0.1 per cent.

What this means in real life is that stored music sounds great and FM radio broadcasts playback well, too. Sounds can even be further tweaked using the 10 different equaliser settings. Connectivity options are basic however, comprising a 3.5mm headphone jack and USB 2.0 port. There's no line-in jack, so you can't record from external A/V sources.

The device can also be operated as a USB Mass Storage device, allowing you to store other files on its non-removable hard disk. It also boasts a 2.5in. 160x104-pixel blue LED backlit LCD, FM radio with 32 presets and the ability to capture 10 hours of voice recordings. Creative claims an operating time of around 12 hours from the removable Lithium-ion battery, which is longer than the iPod mini's battery life of 8 hours. Creative bundles a belt clip that doubles as a stand, in-ear dynamic bass response earphones, a protective carrying case, USB 2.0 cable, and a universal AC adapter.

The Zen Micro is not all about music, though. It provides a built-in Address Book, Calendar, and To-Do List which synchronise with Outlook, an alarm, sleep timer that will wake you up to the song of your choice, and a built-in microphone that allows you to make mono voice notes. It can be used a USB Mass Storage device too, so you can use it to store and transfer large files.

Creative also bundles a belt clip that doubles as a stand, matching stereo earbuds, hard and software protective carrying cases, USB 2.0 cable, universal AC adapter, and Creative's so-so MediaSource software. Optional accessories are also available, including a wired remote control and a spare battery.