Supplied with in-ear headphones, and a very short USB cable. If you work as I am laptop or netbook, the cable length is sufficient for PC users but certainly a nuisance.
The headphones can at least convince my lay ear when listening to rock and pop music. The technical details I leave there but rather those that there really familiar with. To listen to audio books, they are definitely satisfying. However, I have here the problem is that my audio books are all different loud. To add get a reasonable volume without much noise in the car via AUX IN, I must put on the full volume mp3 players mostly. However, this is then too loud for the attached in-ear headphones. I therefore prefer headphones, where can separately adjust the volume.
A Quick Start Guide is located in the package, the user is stored on the mp3 player itself and must be downloaded.
However, this detailed manual is not sufficient enough to me. For the first problems which presented itself to me, I found no solution and there are not even explained the possible display symbols in it.
The touch buttons, I found a bit strange. Unfortunately, they do not react particularly sensitively.
On real buttons only the on / off switch or the lock button and the volume control is available. This makes an operation without looking (eg in your pocket like I did it otherwise) or in low light conditions almost impossible.
What absolutely is missing here is an eyelet for attaching a strap or something similar to it. If one has no bag, you have to carry the player in your hand.
Let us now turn to the specifics related to audio books.
If you want to copy data to the MP3 player, so you will find in front of several possible folder. On the one hand there is the Audible folder. For audiobooks I thought I then probably'm right here. Unfortunately this is not so. From the Audible folder only files can be played with AAX format. The mp3 files are simply not recognized.
Well, I thought to myself, next try.
I created myself a audiobooks folder. The was however completely ignored by the ZEN X-FI3 that was then so nothing.
Next try the Music folder. And yes, actually now finally appeared on my audiobook. However, something else comfortable. Since they were an audiobook with subfolders for individual CDs with me, I was in the music department "Album" only one "CD1", "CD2", etc. appear. If you have now several audiobooks on the player can not distinguish what belongs to which one.
So I tried it with the Music Department "Artists". There I was able to at least read the audio book title correctly, depending on how named and tagged, but it can also be the case that only the author stands. But that just depends on your own settings when audio book.
Well, I thought now. you managed!
Until I had heard Track 1 and then he wildly leapt to Track 8, from there then to track 3 and on track with 15 ?!
Aha, I thought to myself, I've already heard that because some players have problems with the tags. So I run over my audiobook program mp3tag and copied to the new player. The result was unfortunately the same. Okay, so, this time adapted again into mp3tag the track numbering and the title. The result: still a mess.
There were now so yet two options, either of these players just can not play audio books correctly (which I had almost feared), or else it's true here is a basic attitude not.
Fortunately for him, the second of the case.
Although each artist / album etc. separately the option "Play all" or "Random" is that I had not, of course chosen, there is the menu when you are in a single track is also the possibility to select the play mode. There "Ramdom once" was preset. If you change this to "Normal", then you are with the audio book!
So, do it again with the: Going to the track, then press the touch key on the bottom right, if the selection on the top row is press the Play button, as long as to "normal" is.
And then a lot of fun while listening to audiobooks on your Creative ZEN X-FI3.
Oh, of course you can also all audio book files assign the genre "audio book". But I was only useful if you're really acted always very precise and consistent when naming the audio book subfolder.
Those like me who already airs new audiobooks to MP3 player (and deletes already included) when the last audio book is still there, which should remember how far he has come. Unfortunately namely lost during this process the bookmark. I know that so not of my old mp3 player.
Even worse, I find, however, that even when charging the battery, the bookmark is lost. This was apparently not thought along in the construction.
Overall, there is too much, what I did not like here. In addition to the touch keys is to create a separate folder for audiobooks missing mounting option and in particular the impossibility. I can the Creative ZEN X-FI3 therefore only conditionally recommended and forgive rounded 3 stars.
Update December 2012:
Meanwhile annoys me the Creative ZEN X-FI3 only. He turns off for alleged overheating whenever he feels like it. The support does not respond to my requests in this regard. In addition, I was really very annoyed that the mp3 player just the bookmark does not notice when it is loaded or new "refueled". Plus this mess with the mp3 tags, which just makes me too much work. Now I have a new device (Philips Go Gear Muse), the sorted my audiobooks by Name happening, bookmarks and notes about which I do not have to constantly annoy. The Creative is therefore now landed in the corner and sulk to himself. I can not recommend to audiobook listeners this unit and values therefore depend on generous 1.5 stars.
