An MP3 Player with 'Tween Appeal

SanDisk's Sansa Connect has emerged from CES as a promising new wireless MP3 player. As Chris points out, it will offer music downloads directly via a yet-to-be-named Internet music service and music sharing among other Connect owners when it hits the market this year ($250 for a 4GB). But with an eye toward digital music players that I think would appeal to 'tweens and challenge iPod's hold on the market with younger users, I like Creative's Zen V and Zen V Plus.

True, they came on the market months before CES, but I got a chance to handle Creative's Zen V Plus on the show floor, and I liked its small but sturdy feel and simple interface. At 2.6 by 1.5 by 0.5 inches, it's got a 1.5-inch OLED screen, so you can watch videos, view pictures, and choose songs easily. The dial, which comes in different accent colors, works like a tiny joystick to navigate the menu, which is easy to follow. The sound is great. I could definitely see this appealing to 'tweens (and older kids) if they were to get their hands on it and were interested in experiencing digital music life beyond the iPod. My almost 10-year-old gave it a thumbs-up when I showed her photos of it today. In fact, she was pretty impressed with the whole Creative line; she'd only heard of iPods before.

The Zen V Plus adds video playback and FM radio and it still costs less than an iPod Nano: The 1GB model is $129.99, 2GB is $169.99, and 4GB is $229.99.

Related link: Creative Zen V Plus Rivals iPod Nano