Creative unveils X-Fi media players

Creative's Zen X-Fi promises better sound quality

Creative has taken the wraps off its Zen X-Fi media players, including some models that feature Wi-Fi support.

The new devices boast a 2.5in TFT screen and are based on Creative's Xtreme Fidelity X-Fi audio technology, which is currently used in its range of PC sound cards.

As with previous models in the Zen range, the X-Fi players include FM radio, voice recording, built-in speaker and expandable memory via an SD card slot.

The addition of Wi-Fi to two of the new X-Fi players enables users to stream and download music from a PC to the player over a wireless home network.

Customers can also stream or download photos and video files in supported formats directly to the player.

"Some of the top recording artists in the music industry are very outspoken about the poor quality of digital music," said Craig McHugh, president and chief operating officer at Creative.

"We addressed this issue by inventing X-Fi technology, which restores the quality of music that is lost during the digital ripping process. Now for the first time ever we have been able to implement this technology in a Zen."

The Zen X-Fi range will be available from the end of July in three flavours. The Zen X-Fi 8GB will retail for £109.99, the Zen X-FI with Wi-Fi 16GB will go for £139.99 and the Zen X-Fi with Wi-Fi 32GB will sell for £199.99.