Creative Zen X-Fi Does Wi-Fi, IM

Creative's latest PMP can wirelessly draw music and video from a home PC, and even send IMs.

After rumors trickled out last week about an upcoming Wi-Fi-enabled media player from Creative, the company finally dropped the curtain on Monday and revealed the new Zen X-Fi. Copping the “Xi-Fi” branding from its own line of premium PC audio hardware, Creative is billing the new Zen as a hi-fidelity MP3 player.

According to the company, enhanced sound quality is accomplished with its own X-Fi Crystalizer Technology, which restores the high and lows lost to MP3 compression during playback. Creative has also emphasized the player’s quality by packaging it with a pair of its priciest in-ear headphones, the $79 EP-830.

The player will be available in two variants: with and without Wi-Fi. Wireless-enabled players will be able to stream music from a home PC, effectively enabling access to far more media than actually stored onboard when used at home.

Other features include an FM radio with 32 presets, a built-in mic for voice recording, and a rather rare built-in speaker. Even stranger, Creative has given the Wi-Fi enabled X-Fi instant messaging capabilities, although the logistics of tapping out messages with its unmarked array of nine black buttons could prove tricky.

Currently, Creative has only released the Wi-Fi versions of the player, which retail for $299.99 in 32GB capacity and $199.99 in 16GB capacity. An upcoming 8GB model with no Wi-Fi will sell for $149.99 when it goes on sale later this month.