The Creative Zen MP3 Player - Any Good?

The Creative Zen is a highly acclaimed series of digital audio players and portable media players designed and manufactured by Creative Technology Limited, Singapore. It is an MP3 player that lets you derive pleasure from whatever you do.

The Creative Zen is the first Creative player to support AAC music and unprotected iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes store, in addition to MP3 and WMA formats. The biggest advantage of this credit card-sized little gem is that it is highly portable and has a large LCD screen, integrated FM radio and one can also expand the memory.

The vibrant screen is suited superbly for video playback while there is a nifty little Flash media player, with fantastic sound, and as said, an excellent screen for audio and video, and loads of neat extras and fine tuning. The overall construction of the Creative Zen is sturdy and also very light and durable. I have actually dropped mine several times and it is still in excellent condition.

But for those people who like to stay away from the iPod economy and go for something different, the Creative Zen is an excellent choice as you can purchase one with 4GB of memory for around £55 to £70. At a mere 65 grams, this is one of the lightest portable media players with a screen that I've seen. The Sigamatel processor will likely be featured in similar products released in the coming years. This new flash based device is available in capacities of 4GB, 8GB and 16GB, and comes right after the company announced the discontinuation of the Creative Zen Vision, a fully-fledged, hard drive multimedia player with up to 60GB of storage.

On the whole, the Creative Zen is a worthwhile purchase particularly if you don't want to pay prices of up to £200 or more, and your litte gem will surely stay intact even if you are a little accident prone.

John Milligan.

http://www.computer-games-store.co.uk

For your Creative Zen or any other Mp3 Player or gadget you may desire please visit the above site and scroll down to the superb Amazon Store and choose the Mp3 Players & Gadgets Category.

An excellent resource for all those consoles and games you've ever wanted, including the Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit, ps3, xbox 360 and iPod Nano 8GB and lots more. No searching all over the web for different bargains. There's loads of choice here with all the top sellers and best prices. You certainly will not be disappointed.

So, if you're hungry for that bargain console, game or accessory, then go to the website, have a good browse and enjoy your shopping experience.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Milligan

Star Trek IV the Voyage Home Movie Review

'Star Trek IV' can be described as the only true mainstream Star Trek film. There are many reasons for this; first of all, it's set for the most part in the 20th Century, secondly, it deals with an environmental issue pertaining to the killing of humpback whales, and thirdly, it doesn't get bogged down by the lore surrounding Star Trek (ie you don't need to have watched any Star Trek to 100% understand/appreciate what's going on in this film - in fact, it might spark your interest to see more!). The film also changes tone from its predecessors by removing the central villain character and replacing it with a sense of lightness and the idea that they're fighting the situation rather than a person. A lot of the best Star Trek episodes followed this formula which is why this film works so well. At the end of the day, 'Star Trek IV' is an enjoyable romp with a strong message for our culture and the way it treats the environment.

After going through life and death and life in Star Trek II and III, the crew of the Enterprise choose to return home to face the consequences of their insubordination from the previous film. On the way back, they intercept a message from the Federation Council warning all ships to stay away from Earth because of an alien probe which is causing untold damage to the planet and any ships that come close to it. Disturbed by this turn of events, Kirk and his crew decide to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out what's going on. They discover that the probe is emitting the sounds of songs sung by humpback whales which are extinct in the 23rd century. In a daring move, Kirk decides to take them all back to the 20th century where they can rescue two whales and bring them back to the 23rd century in the hope that they can communicate with the alien probe.

A strong message is at the heart of any good Star Trek story and in the case of this film, the message is green. We as a species have abused nature and its resources, and the indiscriminate killing of whales has to be one of our low points. This film postulates that due to our perverse actions in this area, we will face a threat in the future that could lead to our own destruction. Perhaps the reality wouldn't be so dramatic but it makes the point nonetheless that we can't go around treating nature with impunity without one day suffering the consequences.

'Star Trek IV' is the lightest in tone of the series and this largely stems from the 'fish out of water' concept that our beloved characters find themselves in. This film has a lot of running gags as the crew of the mighty starship Enterprise find themselves lost and helpless in a world that looks familiar but might as well be completely alien. The stand out scene is where Kirk and Spock encounter a punk rocker on a bus. Spock gives him a neck pinch to shut him and his boom box up and makes for one of the film's funniest scenes. But there is also a lot of dialogue by-play, take for example: "Are you sure you won't change your mind?" - "Is there something wrong with the one I have?". Taking this film in this direction really freshens up the franchise and delivers something new. Not bad being the fourth film in the series! Or perhaps an even better sequence is Chekov asking about the 'nuclear wessels' to an unimpressed cop.

The main guest stars in previous films have been villains but this time around we get a cute chick played by Catherine Hicks who understands her whales and is a smart scientist. She becomes the pseudo love interest for Kirk and the two of them have excellent chemistry. Their scenes also create some cringeworthy moments when Kirk tries to use his bravado to try and win her over but his out-of-step and out-of-time words bemuse her rather than get to her, making for some funny scenes.

Unlike previous entries which were locked in to soundstages, this film benefits from being, for almost the entire film, outdoors and on location. It adds an extra dimension and scope to the film, not to mention a more accessible vantage point for non-fans to get in to the film as they recognise familiar locations. This of course isn't the only thing; the film has a universal message and is not so steeped in Star Trek lore to make the non-Star Trek fan get lost when watching the story. No other Star Trek film before or since has truly been able to capture the mainstream market quite like this film did for these reasons.

'Star Trek IV' is a delightful film and a wonderful change of pace for the series.

For the complete, original DVD review, click this link: http://www.allaboutmovies.net/dvdreviewstartrek4thevoyagehome.htm

Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at the film/DVD review web site All About Movies.net. He also contributes reviews and articles for the Digicosm Film Blog: http://www.filmannex.com/Digicosm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Demattia

Samsung LCD TV - Samsung's Touch of Color LCD Flat Screen TV Review

What exactly is the Touch of Color LCD TV? Is it a gimic, a ground breaking, trend setting innovation or simply a clever marketing campaign? Well it may actually be a little bit of each.

The battle for market share for LCD TV sales has become increasingly challenging over the years. Samsung has tried a new approach to differentiate their LCDs in the battle for the LCD TV market share with it's Touch of Color LCD flat screen TVs.

The Touch of Color LCDs have turned out to be a great success for Samsung as they have been wildly popular among consumers. The Touch of Color design is a unique color process that adds a hint of amber color blended in with the traditional piano black bezel for a smooth, sleek, attractive appearance. The popularity of the TV has proved that consumers are interested in having their TVs be attractive pieces of art, even when turned off. I would expect for other manufacturers to follow suit with their own stylish and unique designs in the upcoming years.

The Touch of Color is a design feature simply for the exterior of the TV. It does not light up or add any other bells or whistles. While the design element is attractive, the TV obviously would not be successful if it did not perform brilliantly when turned on. The Samsungs do not disappoint in this area either.

The Samsungs offer a full 1080p picture for the ultimate HD resolution. The crisp, clear images capture the essence of high definition television.

The Samsungs offer a 4ms response time and a 120hz frame rate with their Auto Motion Plus technology that doubles the frame rate from 60hz to 120hz. The Auto Motion Plus technology allows the TV to interpolate between frames for a smooth transition. It handles motion extremely well unlike early LCD models making it great for sports and other shows or movies where there is a lot of fast moving action.

In addition the TVs offer a 50,000:1 contrast ratio which improves upon the already impressive 25:000:1 contrast ratio of the previous year's model. Contrast ratio determines the ability to produce dark blacks and bright whites. A higher contrast ratio will help avoid a washed out image that can be seen in TVs with a lesser contrast ratio.

This year's model also includes InfoLink, which provides access to free RSS news, sports, stock and weather feeds through a built-in Ethernet port.

While the Touch of Color in and of itself is not a ground breaking innovation, it is certainly a design feature that has seemed to be a hit with consumers and will more then likely start a trend towards having TVs seen as pieces of art while on as well as turned off. The attractive design along with innovative features and smooth, crisp HD screen images make the Samsung Touch of Color LCD flat screens one of the best TVs for your money out on the market today.

For a review of the complete line of Samsung LCDs check out the Samsung LCD TV review at http://familyhometheaterguide.com

The Family Home Theater Guide is an informative guide to home theater, with a particular emphasis on family entertainment with information and reviews on home theater equipment and design ideas for the perfect home theater.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jared_Dawson