Zen Touch & Stor

Hey.
Apologies in advance as I know this has been discussed, no doubt many times previously.
However, I was just wondering if there is any news/update on when and if there will be a firmware upgrade to allow the Zen Touch to be used as a true mobile storage device by allowing "Dri've Letter" assignment on third party computers.
Thanks
SGX Saint

I would like to know if its possible with firmware to allow for the possibility to arrange things in a tree directory arrangement.
Before you people complain about these topics being discussed to eath, perhaps there should be a sticky thread on what should be fixed with respect to the Zen Touch. We would benefit from it and so would Zen's research and development department.
I would also like to know once and for all, is the mass storage device and the tree directory arrangement things that could be fixed through firmware updates?

Similar Messages

Creative Labs Firmware Update: Zen Touch Overv

This message is to give Creative Labs a clear overview of what is missing/needs updating in the next firmware download.
) Touch Pad Sensitivity- The Touch Pad sensitivity settings need to be changed to provide a slower scrolling speed.
2) EAX Sound Features- Including EAX support just like in Xtra models.
3) Volume Synchronization- The ability to apply the same volume to all music.
I think all Creative Zen Touch users would have to agree that these are most important things to be updated.
Yes, it is possible to adjust to the sensitivity of the scroll pad, however for new users is somewhat a disappointment. Most Zen Touch users would agree that the Touch Pad is over sensiti've and that such a problem is one of the reasons users buy the iPod. Based on the reviews which potential consumers use to decide on a purchase the Zen Touch loses points to the iPod for having the over sensiti've Touch Pad. The comparison was very close and the Zen Touch lost by fraction of points which can easily be solved with an update.
The comparison result can be found here: http://www.mp3.com/iPod+vs.+Zen+Touch/stories/090.html
The Zen Touch lost by only 3 points, however the Zen Touch as everything over the iPod besides the little things such as the style, and clearly the Touch Pad.
The EAX feature is highly supported by Zen Touch users and more information an be found here:
http://forums.creative.com/creativel...&message.id=88
Lastly, another key features that was included on the Xtra models, but not included in the Touch was the Volume Synchronization. This is key for Ripped and Download music. The Ripping volume is often times different from volume that is provided by the MP3 download sites. This is another feature that is worthy of upgrade.
Creative has a lot of potential right now, mainly because the features on the Zen Touch outperform the iPod yet Apple still has the market on MP3 Players. It would not hurt at all to update these features mainly because the iPod has been around longer so they obviously had more time to perfect the MP3 Player.
Thus, I encourage Creative Labs to take a lead on the MP3 market by releasing the next firmware with these updated features.
No matter how you look at it the Zen Touch should be leading the MP3 market.
With these small updates I think more consumers will purchase these players, thus increasing Creative revenue.
Please Creative you have heard loyal customers speak out, now it would be a great time to show loyalty and boost your customer service reputation from great to the best support.
If anyone agrees or support these firmware updates please post here.
Sincerely,
-Coolrulez
Thank you for listening and please update me on any confirmated releases of a firmware update.

Coolrulez wrote:
This message is to give Creative Labs a clear overview of what is missing/needs updating in the next firmware download.
) Touch Pad Sensitivity- The Touch Pad sensitivity settings need to be changed to provide a slower scrolling speed.
2) EAX Sound Features- Including EAX support just like in Xtra models.
3) Volume Synchronization- The ability to apply the same volume to all music.
I think all Creative Zen Touch users would have to agree that these are most important things to be updated.
well, I have to disagree with #3. You should actually be able to set the Sync Properties on the Program you use to put music onto the Touch anyhow. the Easiest way to do this without this, is putting all music in the same format, and in the same size. Unless the recording/file is already bad, that should do you well. I use WMP0 and all my files were ripped in the same Quality, and if not, they were automatically converted to fit the specifications I chose, which was WMA-28KBPS. And mostly it all sounds the same. Of course, the classical music I listen to quieter than the Rock I listen to, but thats normal.

Zen Touch File Transfer/Stor

Im thinking of buying a Zen Touch in the next few weeks but i have one niggling doubt which i haven't been able to resolve over its file storage capabilities.
Can i simply drag and drop file onto it without the need for seperate software, as i intend to make use of my colleges T3 connection and i do not have user privliges to install new software or drivers?
Sorry if this has been brought up before, i couldn't find any info on the matter.

To do so with the zen touch you will need nomad explorer. A program that ties into windows explorer.
If you will need a player that does this take a look at the Zen Micro. You can partition 2GB on the hard dri've of the micro for data only and if you do so it should show up as a removable dri've.
Torstein.

Use zen touch as portable data stor

Hi all
Can I use zen touch as a portable data storage?
I use shared computers in school and installing Zen Media
Explorer is not possible.
Is it possible to reslove this problem by fireware update or it is related to hardware capabalities of zen touch?
thanks

Data storage is a must have, I mean thats like include driverless support for the iPod Mini, but not including them on the iPod 20GB?
I understand that if they do include it the Zen Micro won't sell, but then Creative should have adjusted the pricing on the Micro.
I love the Zen Touch, but I must saying now that I understand that data transfer's are nearly impossible (Other computer must have same drivers) it's kind of a negati've point.
I think Creative needs to keep the Zen Touch (20GB) at about $225 and if they were to drop the micro to $75 in the future then they would still sell.
2GB of storage for the micro, please. When a player has a potential of 20Gb or 40Gb thats when you need storage options.
Creative you did a great job on the Zen Touch, and you need to add on to it, not the micro.
Keep the focus on the stylish, feature loaded, high storage players and the company will go a long way.
This is troubling that this is not even being considered to be included, I hope Creative Labs thinks through this...
Message Edited by Coolrulez on 2-28-2004 08:5 PM

DO NOT BUY CREATIVE ZEN TOUCH 2

I cannot begin to explain the problems I have had with the Zen Touch that I bought 2 Weeks ago. The long and short of it is the original device that I bought, I could not transfer songs to it. Dowmloading the latest Firmware / Drivers / Application etc made no difference whatsoever. Problems ranging from errors like 'Device is busy or not attached', to copying songs across and them showing on Creative Media Organiser but not showing on the device itself. Also problems with the device freezing and having to wait for the battery to run out before it would work again. After lengthy phone calls to someone on support who could neither speak or understand english, I arranged for another one to be sent to me, in return for the faulty one. And guess what, the new one has exactly the same faults as the original. I have uninstalled the software on numerous occasions thinking that it may be a faulty install. Set it all up on my machine at work, and my friends machine at work, only for the same problems to occur when transferring songs. To top it all, I sent 3 messages to the support link on the creative web site, only to have a response to, yep you guessed it, NONE of them in FOUR DAYS. My advice to anyone who is thinking of buying a Zen Touch, or any other Creative Labs product come to think of it is, is to go out in the back garden and set fire to the money instead. Just incase anyone thinks I am doing something wrong, I work for a software company, and I know that if we sent a product / gave a support service that was as poor as that I have received, I would be out of a job in 5 minutes. I am Going to get my money back and go for an iPod, telling everyone I know to steer well clear of creative. Thanks for listening.

"If the mailer I received from Cambridge Soundworks yesterday (a Creative complany) is any indication, buying a 20GB Zen Touch or even Sleek would be a bad move. It looks like the Sleek is already being relegated to the status of "**bleep** stepchild" in the Zen line-up, which is where Touch has been for a while. The latest ad from Cambridge Soundworks was pushing the Micros, Nanos, Muvos and even Neeons. But no Sleeks."
You comments don't make much sense. The Sleek is a new model and is probably backordered by many dealers. That is probably why Creative is not promoting it heavily on its own. Demand from Creative's retailers is probably more than enough to consume the production for a while.
"But that's not what's interesting. It's what product was prominently featured: The Zen 20GB. This is the player that looks like a fat Zen Micro in a black case, previously available only in Asia. "
That does seem to make sense though, since Creative probably didn't make enough of them for a full retail store roll out in the US, so they probably decided that that selling them directly would be a good move. National retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, etc. want products to be available in huge quantities otherwise they don't want to sell them.

Q&A Guide about ZEN Touch 2

Hey people!
I had time to kill, and I've been around since a while now; I now own a ZEN Touch 2 since more than 6 months. I figured out I'm able to help quite a lot of people about this device, actually (even though I don't have an astronomic number of posts), and I felt like writing a little guide about common questions about the ZEN Touch 2 could help, why not?
First of all, this is a guide applying to the ZEN Touch 2, I don't know about the ZiiO. Maybe my tricks will work on both devices, but I can't be sure about it.
LAST UPDATED: November 23th 2012.
Q: Why does my ZEN Touch 2 freeze so often?
I've got 2 theories about why these freezes happen so often: I own another Android device, which have a fairly weaker processor than the ZEN Touch 2, and it does not freeze at all. So the ZEN Touch 2 is quite powerful! But even on Android 2.2.1, it's perhaps the installed stock firmware that is unstable. That cause the problem.
Second theory, I believe the ZEN Touch 2 don't have much RAM availible! Around 200-256 MB. What's interesting here, is that my other cellphone does have a weaker processor (600 MHz VS 800 MHz), but it also have more RAM, 512 MB! That could be the reason why the ZEN Touch 2 freeze so often, when the device is basically running out of RAM.
Or it could be both! An unstable firmware installed, and no enough RAM. Who knows?
Q: Okay, but how can I fix this issue?
There's no magic way to make your device running super-fast like any other smartphone, especially if the problem is the lack of RAM, rather than the unstable firmware. The number 1 solution, it's obvious: uninstall APPs. The more APPs are installed, the more RAM they use. The more your device is going to freeze/crashe. Myself, I don't have many APPs installed, only 17 (Some of them being like 500 Ko, or even extensions or themes, that are only 150 Ko). I use my ZEN Touch 2 only for listening to music, and browsing the Internet using Flash Player. It does the job well enough.
What you could also do, is install the APK/APP Fast Reboot Pro. I have it installed, and it free your phone memory everytime you unlock your screen, or press the widget. Extremely usefull. That'll help to prevent the ZEN from freezing, a bit.
Well, even though I have 17 APPs installed, including Fast Reboot Pro, my Touch 2 still crash, rarely. I've been experiencing a serious issue about my ZEN booting loop, for no reason at all! Had to boot in recovery mode, and wipe the data. Which lead me to think the stock firmware can also be the problem for unstability.
Q: How do I install APPs on the ZEN Touch 2 ?
Since the Market is unavailible (I've tried to install it without any success. However, seems like some people managed to install it, most probably with root. I've tried, but cannot get it to work, myself), you'll have to download APK files. You have the choice to download from ZiiO Space, or from any other website. Download an APK file, save it anywhere on your SD Card, then open the built-in APP "Explorer" on the ZEN. Lauch the .APK, install it, and you're done.
Remember to check "Enable unknown sources" on the "Manage Applications" menu!
A fastest method, you could manually download and install "SlideME". I've used it for a while, and it's a Android-Market / Google-Play "Like". It'll work without any problem on the ZEN.
Q: Is the ZEN Touch 2 rootable ?
Yes it is!
First thing first, rooting your device will void your warrantee. I did it, since I live in Canada, and I have no intention of returning the device in California if it break. I am not responsible if you brick your device doing the process, even though nothing wrong should happens. If you don't know what is Root Access, you better not doing this.
I've used the following method. It worked like a charm.
Install the Z4Root APK. Now your Antivirus (Computer maybe, and ZEN Touch 2 antivirus as well, if you have one) will warn you it contain a malware. Z4Root is not a virus! Simply because it perform actions that can be dangerous to your device, that's why you get a warning.
Launch Z4Root, and press the "Root" button (Not temporary). Z4Root will do the rest automaticly! Then your device will reboot, which is normal. Don't do anything during the rooting process, however!
If the rooting worked, you should now see the APP "Superuser" in your APP Drawer.
You still have the option to Un-Root your device - assuming you want to return the ZEN to the store, for example - by launching Z4Root again, and press the button "Un-Root". Simple as that.
Q: Can you install a Custom ROM such as Cyanogenmod ?
I've tried without any success... I was hoping install another firmware would make the device as stable as it should be.
I installed ROM Manager, but when the APP ask you to backup your current bootloader and select your device, the ZEN Touch 2 isn't in the list, so I couldn't perform the backup.
There are more complex ways of installing another ROM, but I haven't tested those. This is becoming quite dangerous.
I requested help on XDA Forums, but haven't got any, sadly.
Q: The GPS doesn't work !
Okay, so I don't know if your device really is defective, but I can tell you about my experience; I always disliked Google Maps APP, since it requires you have a Wi-Fi connection availible to use your GPS. Not pretty helpful when outside.
What I recommend you, is to install the APP Locus (Keep that in mind: the more APPs you install, the more your device will freeze.). Free version is powerful enough. What I like about this magical APP, it allows you to download maps, so that you can view them offline (They are pretty big in size)! Download a few maps, and activate your GPS, it should seek your position.
I believe when people says their GPS doesn't work, it's mainly because the ZEN Touch 2 GPS is really slow to find your position. Really. I first had trouble with this too, and for the GPS do to his things, this can takes up to 15-30 minutes, no kidding. And when the GPS work, it have chances to loose your position randomly.
So yeah, sad to say that, but the GPS on the Touch 2 isn't the best. My position is find instantly on my other 600 MHz smartphone (LG Optimus One).
Q: What is the Recovery Mode, and how do I access it ?
You can access Recovery Mode by holding the HOME button and then turning ON your device at the same time. This menu can be really useful, and even save your device, like it did for me.
Here are the options availible:
- Reboot System Now;
- Apply Sdcard : update.zip;
This is used to update your firmware if you're still on Android 2.1. You could also install Custom ROMs with the filename update.zip that you've put to the root of your internal storage. Highly not recommended to install any Custom ROM, since these ROMs aren't customized for the ZEN Touch 2, simply!
- Wipe Data / Factory Reset;
This delete all of your data on the ZEN, to bring it back to his original state. For some reason, when I used this option, it kept everything that's on my internal storage (Music, Pictures..). GLAD that did. What I've lost, were the APPs I installed, and my Android settings. My APPs were all backed up, so that was no big deal. I wiped the device 3 times, and I can confirm that the data in /mnt/sdcard (The internal storage where you put your music, on USB) isn't deleted. All you have to restore is APPs (If they're backed up, that's fast) and ZEN settings.
Also, be advised that wiping the device does not "unroot" the ZEN - Superuser APP is still there, and the device is still rooted. Notice that if you have uninstalled system APPs (see below), the APPs won't be reinstalled automatically. You'll have to reinstall them manually, if you want them back - hope you have a backup of these APPs!
I had to use this option to stop my ZEN from booting in loop. I thought it wouldn't change anything!
- Wipe Cache Partition;
Wipes the cache partition of the device to clear all the data accumulated there over use.
Thanks to Haroon Q. Raja from AddictiveTips for the info.
Q: Would you qualify the ZEN Touch 2 as a durable unit ?
Well, "on the outside", yes. People (Not me! :P) dropped my ZEN twice, without any consequence (That freaked me out).
Maybe I was lucky, don't know. But durable "on the inside", the firmware and all this stuff, it's a no-no. I should you have more chance that your ZEN will die for no reason because of the firmware, rather than die because you dropped it (Well, just don't drop it in the pool...).
Q: The stock music player suck, I have no control at all !
What I recommend you to install (Personally) :
PlayerPro for the look;
PowerAMP for functionalities. I used PowerAMP, since it sort my music better. I've switched to NRG music player, since PowerAMP became glitchy, for some reason.
Both are shareware, but since there's no access to the Market, you have no choice, but to download illegally. I apologize Creative, for approving the download of APPs, but what else can we do? Simply make the Markey availible, that will sove this issue.
If you plan on getting PowerAMP, get it here, along with the Full Version Patch (You HAVE to be rooted for this to work! Tested, and work in my case):
http://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic....fdb7e20fd84c70
1. Unistall your current version of PowerAMP.
2. Install PowerAMP.2.0.4.467 APK (Do not run it!)
3. Install PowerAmpPatcher by ChelpuS APK
4. Start the Patcher, and press the button.
5. Reboot the ZEN, then start PowerAMP. That should do it.
Warning: You will loose all your previous PowerAMP settings, however!
Since the ZEN Touch 2 is not a Google cellphone / has no Android Market, this is the only way to have PowerAMP all the time on your ZEN.
NRG Music Player is pretty decent as well, it can play different formats that PlayerPro can't. Still a shareware, but easy to download and install without hassle.
Q: Which Photo Gallery do you recommend ?
Everyone agree, nothing is worst than the Android stock Gallery, super slow, and doesn't sort your pictures at all! Again, I have 2 recommendations:
Grab Quickpic or Picturen. Both are extremely light (500 Ko), fast and there are a lot of zoom steps, for us ZEN Touch 2 owners without any multi-touch support! You can also hide the useless folders, or add a password to these hidden folders, if you prefer!
JustPictures! is also excellent, as well. Take a bit more space, a bit slower, but the interface is more attractive, and One-Touch zoom is supported. Some functions that are in QuickPic aren't in this APP, but I feel like JustPictures sort my photos better. I can put differents "accounts" or "folders" to sort all my pictures.
Screw the original 3D Gallery!
Q: Any browser I should get ?
That really depend on what you do...
Read this article, from november 2011:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Android-...view-1705.html
Opera Mini is lightning fast, but unfortunately, Flash Player is unsupported on this browser!
Note: Avoid browsing the Internet with a ZEN full of APPs, you'll get in trouble. I did this, and this was a nightmare, freezing all the time, have to reset...
I do this now, but with my 17 APPs installed. It's quite OK, I should say. Especially that I use Flash Player a lot.
Q: Any Home Replacement you recommend ?
I've been using Go Launcher Ex for a while, because it's resonably fast, beautiful and way customizable; ADW Laucher is pretty fast, too. I've now switche to Nemus Launcher - way lighter (The GO Dev Team applications really are getting bloated by useless features, sadly), and still pretty beautiful. Go Launcher Ex is more customizable, but is getting bigger and bigger in size (And RAM, maybe. Not sure.). 8-10 MB or up for an APP? Even for a Home Screen, I hope you're kidding me.
Both APPs allow you to add folders to the APP Drawer ! Excellent!
Q: I want to disable / customize the lockscreen.
Disable the lockscreen: NoLock;
Customize the lockscreen: WidgetLocker.
Q: Does the games play well ?
Yes, pretty good, with the 800 MHz processor of the ZEN Touch 2 !
Comparing it to the 600 MHz processor of my LG Optimus One, there really is a noticeable differece in fluidity. The vast majority of the games doesn't lag on the ZEN Touch 2, that's great.
If you want to try those games emulators (SNES, Genesis...), go ahead, they work decently. Unfortunately, since the Touch 2 doesn't have multitouch, that's a problem, but try to set Left-Right as volume Up-Down to move your caracther, it's pretty playable and fluid enough. The best games are the RPGs, for sure, since multitouch isn't necessary at all.
There are also 3D emulators, such as N64oid or PSX4Droid; these also work, but watch out! At that point, 800 MHz is not enough for these games to be "playable". Super Mario 64, for example, is the most playable game availible for N64oid, and still then, it is really slow (Not that enjoyable, seriously).
You're free to try N64oid or PSX4Droid for fun, but just saying, if you want to freeze your device, this is the way to go.
Super Mario 64 shouldn't freeze instantly your device. However, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong 64 or Tony Hawks (Tested) freeze your device for sure - you wouldn't even get past the "Press Start" screen. My advice: only try Super Mario 64.
Still then, the ZEN does play games (2D or 3D) smoothly enough!
Q: My ZEN keep booting in loop! What should I do ?
That happened to me once in a while, and this is freaky.
"ZEN Touch 2" screen, "Touch the Sound of Perfection screen" again, and again, and again...
First: wait. Maybe it'll boot
If your launcher still doesn't start, reset button (Inside the SD Card slot, very tiny) is your only choice, of course. Reset, then power it up again. It booted for me all the time, except once.
If that still doesn't work: Recovery Mode, like stated earlier.
Now, here's what could happen if you reset during the boot sequence; I got this extremely annoying problem like 3 times. Hooray, you can get to the launcher!
Now, what can unfortunately happen, is that you get random popup like "SmartKeyboard Pro Force Close", this stuff. You'll keep getting these popups. That mean the vast majority of your 3rd Party APPs are corrupted, and you'll have to uninstall, then install again almost every single APP... This is a serious pain!
Now, don't install again. It is very important that you uninstall first, then reinstall. Otherwise, it won't work. Luckylli enough, your stock APPs will remain intact (Default Music Player, ZiiO Space, Explorer...)
Hope you don't get this problem!
Q: The ZEN freeze at "Touch the Sound of Perfection" screen...
I would suggest you to wait for a while; I guess it's because the ZEN is getting too hot. Reset the device so it can power OFF, and wait for the ZEN to cool down a bit (Do not reload it, unless you don't have the choice to.), and try again later. Also try to connect the ZEN to USB, it'll power ON on it's own, perhaps it'll get to the Home Screen. If it still freeze, too bad: do a factory reset (that should work).
Q: Can I uninstall preinstalled System APPs (ZiiO Space, Audible, Default Browser) ?
Yes, you can! I'll show you the easiest way to do it!
If this isn't appropriated, ask me Creative, I'll remove this question.
First, you HAVE to be rooted, again!
Second: doing this can be seriously dangerous if you delete a APP that is required for the system to work, you could really kill your ZEN! Again, I take no responsability if you kill your ZEN because of this!
Okay then, download the APP SDK Stock APP Removal (Thanks to the developpers!):
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...vTHqe6KdBudQLg
Install it (If you have an antivirus on your ZEN, it'll detect it as dangerous. Ignore it. It's normal, since the APP allow you to delete system APPs, which can be dangerous), run it.
You can now see a list of every single APP installed on your ZEN, including the system APPs. ALWAYS make a backup of the APP when you delete one! The APP itself being extremely easy to use, no need to explain how it works, you'll understand it by yourself, for sure.
Just keep in mind, it is your responsability to verify if it's safe to remove an APP or not! Always check!
I used the APP to remove ZiiO Space, Audible and the default Browser (Without any consequences), since I never use those. Not sure if it's safe to delete the default 3D Gallery.
Mainly because I want to free up the most space as possible on my ZEN to avoid freezing issues, of course!
Q: How can I backup my APPs ?
It's quite easy to do. I've realised backing up my APPs was very important, on the ZEN Touch 2, since you never know when the device is going to freak out, when you'll have to do a reset, and that your APPs get corrupted!
You can of course use Titanium Backup, but I would recommend Smart App Protector / Pro, for his simplicity.
The main purpose of this APP, is to password/pattern-protect your APP (Which does the job perfectly well), but you can also backup (on SD Card, well, ZEN internal storage) and restore your APPs extremely easilly. No root required, here!
This APP completely saved me, when I wiped my device...
Q: What about my contacts ?
In the stock Contacts APP, there's an option to do a full backup of your contacts, on the ZEN internal memory.
If for some reason, you can't find it, download the APP Go Contacts Ex (In my opinion, the best contacts APP availible). This APP also have an option to backup and restore your contacts super easilly.
Q: In some cases, the ZEN Touch 2 isn't loud enough!
Something I would recommend is using a different music player with an equalizer. PowerAMP + PowerAMP patcher should do the job. Open the equalizer and increase the value of the first bar on the left. You'll get a small volume boost. I do use it for some tracks that have the volume REALLY low.
Q: The Agenda / Calendar does not work at all! When I start it, I get the message "You have no calendar" !
Dear calendar... It's always been a pain to set the calendar on the ZEN Touch 2, since it's not a cellphone...
2 recommendations:
First: forget it. I've tried, and seems this is possible to get this to work, but quite uneffective. First, you should download the APP Calengoo, a more than excellent calendar. It'll sync with your Google Calendar, so try using a Gmail account, to get it to work. It seems to have troble with the sync, and it doesn't work all the time.
Haven't done this in a while, this is seriously a pain. I'm using the calendar on my LG smartphone anyways. I won't be able to help that much about this issue.
Second: what you could do instead, is to download the calendar Jorte. It's a standalone agenda, so it does not requires sync to work at all. It'll work without any problem on your ZEN, you don't have to set-up anything.
However, I fairly prefer Calengoo over Jorte, way more powerful.
Q: Where's the reset hole?
Inside the micro SD slot. You can use a lockpipe (recommended) or a linguee mine (less safe).
Q: Is the battery removable?
Unfortunately, no. Unless you manage to open the ZEN in a very specific way, using a knife and a hairdryer to make the glue melt, I've read. You should probably gain access to the battery this way, but I've been completely unable to know the exact battery type (Lithium-Ion, but details), so replacing it would be a real pain. Creative couldn't help me, since they do not encourage self repair; they recommended me to purchase another device if this case happen, which I honnestly find pretty ugly.
Q: The default Android keyboard is not good enough...
The APK "Smart Keyboard Pro" is the answer.
Q: I would like to quickly turn ON WiFi, and ajust screen brightness without going in the Settings all the time.
Grab the APK "Extended Controls".
That's it, hope this guide was helpful!

Originally Posted by agrimstad
This Q&A guide was enormously helpful to me with the zen touch 2, my first android device.
I'm pretty happy with the device--everything pretty much works--but doubt my experience would have been so positive without this guide. I do have some observations as a kind of follow up.
1. I'd recommend staying with Creative's web browser. I tried a couple of alternatives. I tried Opera and Firefox. I thought they were painfully slow. I quickly abandoned them. The default browser seems good enough. That's not really what I got the zen for.
2. I bought PowerAmp. I had issues where it would work for a few days and then fail with licensing issues. Reinstalling fixed matters, then the licensing failure recurred. So I tried ProPlayer. To me, it's better. I like the way it handles folders.
3. I bought Locus Pro. It's pretty good. I like the ability to download a map so you're not tied to the internet. The GPS is slow, but it does work.
4. I did root the device with z4root. For me, the only advantage seems to be that I need to be rooted to get ClockSync to work. Being able to sync the device's clock with NTP is a really professional touch.
5. I use Go Launcher Ex (paid version). One thing to mention is that the default launcher has a Bluetooth widget which doesn't seem to survive the installation of Go Launcher Ex. I installed another Bluetooth widget I found on AndroidPit App Center. By the way, this App Center seems pretty decent, since Google Play isn't supported. (I also use the SlideME Marketplace.)
6. I like the Go Power Manager for monitoring the battery. It has a widget and power usage modes that are quite good.
7. I don't seem to be having lock up problems. (Note that I only use the default browser). I think this may be due to my being really careful about RAM usage. There are a set of things I've done in this area. First, I use StartupManager. (This is a second reason to root the device.) This keeps the things running at start up to the minimum you want. I've also installed FastReboot. I run this from time to time. But there are two other things that I really rely on. One is the Go Task Manager. This lets you monitor RAM usage and kill things to recover RAM. Another thing I use is a widget--I can't remember where it came from--that displays RAM usage on the home panel and a button in the shape of a broom, which, when tapped, recovers RAM. I think this is part of Go Task Manager.
8. It seems obligatory to have a scanner app for all the 2-D bar codes that have sprung up everywhere. I haven't seen any advice about which app is preferred. I'm using Unibet Scanner, which seems to work.
9. Because Google Play isn't supported, I've had to get some things via googling for apks. One finds these in strange quasi legal places and I worry about viruses. I'd be interested in advice regarding a virus scanner.
Thanks again for the guide. -- al
Thank you very much!
1. Maybe you want to try Dolphin Browser Mini / HD, it's pretty powerful. But if you're looking for a lighter web browser, you could give BoatBrowser Mini a shot, if you want to.
2. I've read that PowerAMP cannot activate on a non-Google phone, which I find pretty ridiculous.. I have to patch it with an illegal app, but now I get that strange noise when my music play, and the app is basically dead, unless I reinstall and loose all my settings!
7. That's the right thing to do. If you don't have much APPs installed, that shouldn't lock up.
9. Same here. I've used Lookout Antivirus before, but you wouldn't be able to uninstall it, if you're not rooted. I've then switched to Zoner Antivirus (Free). Less known, but for some reason, I've read it detected more viruses than any other free Android antivirus.
Enjoy the ZEN Touch 2.

A post, Zen Touch Owners might consider and an Open Letter to Creative. L

Creative needs to take some COORPERATE PRIDE as regards one of their products, that until recently was the FLAG SHIP of their hard-dri've based line of D.A.P. s,
By using the Napster-To-Go Subscription Service, I spent the better part of last weekend loading up my Touch 40 GB player with reams of music. At about the 9 GB point on the hard dri've, the seek head would no longer write to the platters and after a time out, stopped with a subsequent TRANSFER ERROR coming up.
Bummer.
OK.
I phoned Creative, got an RMA number and shipped it off for a hard-dri've replacement at the least, a totally new unit sent promptly back at the best.
Being bummed out that I probably wouldn?t see a new TOUCH 40 GB returned to me for the most part of two weeks to a month (by some of the reports via this thread), and being that I wanted a FLASH DRIVE so I could use a D.A.P. in places where intelligence dictated that a hard-dri've based player is going to experience hard-dri've shock/abuse (like being on your bicycle, jogging, cross-country skiing, etc?.all forms of outdoor activity) so?being that I did not now have my TOUCH to listen to (I am a music-aholic) I went out on Saturday and purchased an IRIVER T0 GB flash player.
Being this is a Creative board, I won?t go into a RAVE on how good and feature packed this D.A.P. is. Just suffice to say that if you would like a D.A.P. for when being acti've, or as a back-up to the TOUCH 40/20, THIS IS THE PLAYER TO CONSIDER.
Now, amongst features heaped upon features this player has, never mind the FANTASTIC sonic output it puts out in sound fidelity and reams of non-distorted volume (I use a set of BOSE TRI-PORTS that need a setting of 8 on the Zen Touch, but with the Iri'ver T0, I am right now (as I type) listening to Gloria Estefan?s CONGA at a volume setting of 2 out of a possible 30!!!! It is just that good!
Now, what is this post doing on a Creative Forum board?
The answer lays in the next few sentences/thoughts?.
Amongst 2 EQUALIZATION presets, that ALL so differently shape the sound wave (they again, are THAT good, including SRS (WOW) is a CUSTOM EQUALIZATION pad that covers the following frequency ranges:
50K /200K/ K/ 3K/ 4K/ (adjustable from ?0/+0
It was in using this EQUALIZATION PAD, that is was so totally demonstrated to myself how truly abused we are as Creative Ltd. Customers having all of us, purchased a Zen Touch D.A.P. from this company. I paid $300.00 dollars for my Zen Touch 40 GB and it was deli'vered to me straight out of the package with a DEFECTIVE Custom Equalization feature, that is made defecti've by inferiorly produced Creative code in their Zen Touch Firmware, the very ?heart? of the product, driving and deli'vering all the features(?) on the Zen TOUCH 20/40 GB.
It is one thing to release defecti've code, if the defect was not caught by (hopefully) Creative upon the launch of the product, but with ENOUGH paying customers having made this defect well known and so WELL DOCUMENTED back to Creative Ltd. and in the many MONTHS since the defect was found in the FIRMWARE that dri'ves the TOUCH, and yet, and UNBELIEVABLY so, the defect yet remains (if in fact now even more profound!) in their latest version of the Zen TOUCH firmware!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, who are now reading this post, ------by having had the extreme PLEASURE in owning a D.A.P. (newly acquired Iri'ver T0) with all features advertised upon the package ***WORKING***, right out of that package, let alone with such amazing performance deli'very, I now declare that I will wait a reasonable (not months any more, BUT ONLY A FEW WEEKS FROM THIS POST DATE) period of time to elapse before I see a FIRMWARE release and/or patch from this company, Creative Ltd., to ***FINALLY*** address this broken Custom Equalization feature ?offered? within the Zen Touch firmware.
Now in having custom set the ranges of frequencies in the Iri'ver T0 to JUST how I like my music----I have to tell you Folks----IT DOES make a TREMENDOUS difference to the sound and your PERSONAL expectations of it!
A Custom Equalization feature is THAT important to have on a sonic device, let alone a fully WORKING ONE, bug free!
To Creative:----a personal comment:
 I have been a loyal customer of yours from the mid 90?s by having purchased EXCLUSIVELY from you, my sound cards, as well as your line of VIDEO CARDS. I have been a most faithful repeat customer having never seen to date your company so delaying/ignoring the defecti've broken issues from one of your FLAG SHIP sonic products.
I spent $79.00 (far below the asking price of your Zen Touch product line) last Saturday on an Iri'ver T0 GB flash player that (with obvious pride of manufacture from Iri'ver Ltd.) works as advertised, works with the present FIRMWARE installed in the device at the TIME OF PURCHASE and PRODUCT RELEASE, and has earned my respect in putting out such a feature-rich product and with obviously, such Cooperate Pride.
Creative Ltd, if you do not put human resources immediately on releasing a patch that brings the Zen Touch FIRMWARE to a bug-free condition that it should have been when having been released with the product launch, I will consider no longer you as the stalwart CREATIVE company of old, that once DID HAVE SUCH COOPERATE PRIDE in any and all models of hardware they produced or sent out with their name upon it.
I will no longer purchase from your company, fearing that as I hold the product in my hands at the store, the features that I am there to purchase will NOT be deli'vered ?out of the box? due to inferior workmanship in materials, in SOFTWARE CODING, and a lack of Quality Control that dictates nothing leaves the plant until the Chief Technology Officer and his staff can sign off on that product?s quality and being fit for release to the Consumer and potential Customer.
I hope that the Moderator of this forum sends this post to whomever it will have cause to see the crippled firmware inside the Touch finally be brought up to quality standards that was the mandate of the Creative Ltd. of past years.
If this post has to reach the desk of the C.E.O of CREATIVE Ltd., then let it be sent there!
Creative Ltd, you are losing Customers hand-over-fist that won?t bother to sit down and type out/compose this letter/post, but will merely resolve to NEVER AGAIN look at, let alone buy one of your present, or future products. Nobody likes to have a ?broken and crippled? product---RIGHT OUT OF THE PACKAGE! Nobody should have to experience that when hard-earned money is being exchanged for it!
A present Creative Ltd. financial supporter,
(Sesquash)
Michigan, U.S.A.


I wrote the following e-mail to Creative Support today. If they can't respond to a polite, reasoned e-mail like this then I will never buy another Creative product again!
I will post again when Creative respond to me, with a bit (well, more than a bit, more like a billion tonnes) of luck they will be able to say whether they even PLAN to fix the Custom EQ problem.
All the best, everyone.
<E-mail>
Dear Support,
I recently (0-Nov-05) purchased a Creative Zen Touch 40GB mp3 player, and I am generally very happy with it. The battery life is great, and I was happy with the quality of design and build compared to the (relati'vely) affordable purchase price.
However, my query/complaint concerns the new firmware release for the Zen Touch, version 2.0.05 (MTP support for Zen Touch). I have uploaded the new firmware to my Zen Touch (and also the relevant updates for the Creative software: Media Organiser, Zen Touch Explorer etc), and have experienced no problems in loading this new firmware to my player or my computer.
Generally, I have no problems with the performance of the new firmware: my files transfer easily and quickly between my mp3 player and my computer, and (using Windows XP SP2, and WMPv0) I have experience no compatibility issues, as one would hope.
However, I do take issue with the Custom EQ bug that the new firmware accentuates on the Zen Touch. I am sure that Support has doubtless been contacted by other people regarding this problem, but to summarise, with version 2.0.05 of the firmware installed, usage of the Custom EQ function on the Zen Touch severely impaires the volume of the player, and consequently the enjoyment of myself, the customer.
I would like to ask Support whether Creative plans a 'fix' firmware update to eliminate this bug in the firmware in the near future? I am not concerned with any new features to the player with a future firware 'fix' release (although they would not be unwelcome!), since Creative did not promise any such features in the first place. However, I feel that since Creative advertised the Zen Touch as having a customisable graphic equaliser - from Creative's own press release: "Supporting both WMA and MP3 formats, the Zen Touch deli'vers crystal-clear audio, thanks to a signal to noise ratio of 98dB, which can be customised using the built-in, four-band graphic equalizer with eight equalization presets." - a firmware update should not render an advertised feature of the product effecti'vely useless.
Please could Support acknowledge the disappointment I feel with this fairly fundamental flaw to an official product upgrade, and provide assurances (or take measures to seek assurances from whoever makes decisions upon such issues) that a firmware 'fix' update will be released in the near future?
I end by saying that I have only ever bought Creative mp3 players, and to date I have been happy with the products I have purchased, but if basic product flaws such as the Custom EQ being 'broken' by official firmware updates are allowed to go unaddressed (especially with the fact that this has doubtless come to Creative's attention through Support/the official discussion forums etc) then Creative may lose customers like myself in the future to rival companies.
Thanks for your time, and I await your reply.
Kind regards,
Lawrie Ward
</E-mail>

The Creative Zen Touch Movement: Active Creative Us

Who out there wants a skin for their Creative Zen Touch? Who is tired of the monopoly that Vaja cases has and forces you to buy their horrific case for 70 Big Ones? Who is tired of the Creative Case that is included and is extremely bulky and doesnt even have a screen to see what you are doing? Are you not tired of having to take the Zen Touch of the cases everytime you want to do something? Are you tired of users that have Iri'ver and Apple's Ipod having infinite accessory choices while you are limited to 2 case choices? If your answers to these questions were yes, this is the new movement for you. This movement will bombard companies like Iskin and xSkin with emails asking them to provide a Creative Zen touch alternati've for cases that are protecti've, photogenic, and sleek. This method works because Iskin and xskin want to make $$$ and with more emails they know they will make more money. My Ipod counterparts show off their Ipods and protecti've them with the xskin exo3 which is only 0.7mm thick, and cannot defend my creative zen touch because I have a bulky case that makes it 3 times as big. With a skin, my creative will be protected from scratchs, perfect for style points, and i dont have to take it out of a case everytime I want to change anything. This movement worked on the Iri'ver site where they overloaded the system with emails for Iri'ver skin requests, and 3 months later, Iskin rolls out a skin for the Iri'ver. We can do the same. I encourage you to assist me in this movement so we can bring the Creative Zen Touch to the top of all mp3 players trampling the Ipod and Iri'ver alltogether. Now whos with me? Its time for action because we are the Acti've Creative Zen Touch Users
We are sending emails to these sites
http://www.iskin.com/store/I2feedback.tpl
On this site fill in your name and email and then paste this message (below) into the comment zone:
The Creative Zen Touch Skin Movement
This is the Creative Movement brought to you by Creative Zen Touch users. We have had enough with the horrible cases that are offered to us as choices. We are look to towards you for salvation. We kindly ask that you create a skin for the Creative Zen Touch, our forums are overloaded with request. The market for a skin for the Zen Touch has great potential to grow and we offer you as our first choice to do so. We are tired of the Ipod and Iri'ver users who can show off their sleek mp3 player complimented by a sleek skin and a screen protector. We wish we can do the same. We want to level the playing field for all mp3 players and we are asking you to do so. I have talked to over 80,000 creative zen touch users via the Creative Forum and they are all urging for a skin and are willing to buy it. That is a great potential market you have in front of you. Thank you for your deep consideration. This movement is lead by Creative user dmai7.
- Your Concerned and Ambitious Customer

actually about the skin thing
if u wanna change the skin of your touch you ll have to brake the warranty patch that is over a screw and with it end your warranty time.
for stuff that sticks over the case its alright
and yes there should be more accessories to this thing
have fun

Connecting Creative Zen Touch to Stereo (Bose Lifestyle Syst

Hi Folks,?A bit of a naf question, I want to connect my Creative Zen Touch to a Bose Life Style System, To provide the best quality Audio connection can you advise what is the best cable for me to use. On a seperate note has anyone any comments on the Cambridge SoundWorks Dock Station, I would like something to connect the Zen Touch to for the kitchen, the cambridge sounddock id a bit of an ugly beast. Is there anything a little easier on the eye but with the same excellent audio quality. Thanks in advance for any help?Earlsie

scorpian007 wrote:
If you have RCA inputs on your stereo, just buy a 3.5mm to 2 RCA cable and connect it that way. If not, buy an FM transmitter, connect it to the headphone jack on your Zen Touch, set it to a channel and then tune into that channel on the stereo's radio.
Hope that hel
ps.
Here's a pic & link too:
http://www.radioshack.com/images/ProductCatalog/ProductImage/42/42-2483.jpg">
You can buy it at any RadioShack (in America) and in Canada I would assume FutureShop would have it as well as any local electronics store.

Creative Zen Touch Skin PLEEEAASSEEE HELP!!!

Who out there wants a skin for their Creative Zen Touch? Who is tired of the monopoly that Vaja cases has and forces you to buy their horrific case for 70 Big Ones? Who is tired of the Creative Case that is included and is extremely bulky and doesnt even have a screen to see what you are doing? Are you not tired of having to take the Zen Touch of the cases everytime you want to do something? Are you tired of users that have Iri'ver and Apple's Ipod having infinite accessory choices while you are limited to 2 case choices? If your answers to these questions were yes, this is the new movement for you. This movement will bombard companies like Iskin and xSkin with emails asking them to provide a Creative Zen touch alternati've for cases that are protecti've, photogenic, and sleek. This method works because Iskin and xskin want to make $$$ and with more emails they know they will make more money. My Ipod counterparts show off their Ipods and protecti've them with the xskin exo3 which is only 0.7mm thick, and cannot defend my creative zen touch because I have a bulky case that makes it 3 times as big. With a skin, my creative will be protected from scratchs, perfect for style points, and i dont have to take it out of a case everytime I want to change anything. This movement worked on the Iri'ver site where they overloaded the system with emails for Iri'ver skin requests, and 3 months later, Iskin rolls out a skin for the Iri'ver. We can do the same. I encourage you to assist me in this movement so we can bring the Creative Zen Touch to the top of all mp3 players trampling the Ipod and Iri'ver alltogether. Now whos with me? Its time for action because we are the Acti've Creative Zen Touch Users
We are sending emails to these sites
http://www.iskin.com/store/I2feedback.tpl
On this site fill in your name and email and then paste this message (below) into the comment zone:
The Creative Zen Touch Skin Movement
This is the Creative Movement brought to you by Creative Zen Touch users. We have had enough with the horrible cases that are offered to us as choices. We are look to towards you for salvation. We kindly ask that you create a skin for the Creative Zen Touch, our forums are overloaded with request. The market for a skin for the Zen Touch has great potential to grow and we offer you as our first choice to do so. We are tired of the Ipod and Iri'ver users who can show off their sleek mp3 player complimented by a sleek skin and a screen protector. We wish we can do the same. We want to level the playing field for all mp3 players and we are asking you to do so. I have talked to over 80,000 creative zen touch users via the Creative Forum and they are all urging for a skin and are willing to buy it. That is a great potential market you have in front of you. Thank you for your deep consideration. This movement is lead by Creative user dmai7.
- Your Concerned and Ambitious Customer

my god, THANK YOU FOR SOMEONE SAYING THIS, man, they got em out there, but only in the UK, and i dont know about you, but i li've in the US and im dying for the exspect skins to be in the us, can SOMEONE please tell me where to get them in the US or someone make them, cmon guys at creative, if they can do it, you sure can

CREATIVE ZEN TOUCH - CUSTOMER SERVICE WONT H

CREATIVE, i will never ever buy another product from you again and will encourage all others not to buy from you because of your poor customer service. My problem is not with the product as such, i own a Creative Zen Touch and until about?6 weeks ago everything was going fine, when i formatted my harddri've. It was then i relised i had misplaced my Zen Touch software CD, so as you'd expect the first place to look would be this website.. off i go looking around the store and customer support, i even sent an email.. to be fair i did receive an automated response about tunring off the Zen and trying again (useless when i need a software cd howevere), so i waited a while (a week) to see if they'd reply - which they didn't. So, i then sent another which ended with the same result., and then again with the same results. Just now i finally called customer support (paying intl call-rates) and all i got was an automated response telling me to log onto the customer-support page on the website. ARGHH!!?Basically if anyone, ANYONE can please please tell me where i can get the Creative Zen Touch software CD it would very very very very very appreciated as i go on holiday in two weeks and i don't really want to fork out more cash on an I-Pod or I-Pod alternati've (never again will i buy Creative). Angry-customerMessage Edited by angry-customer on 03-29-20060:46 PM

Clearly, this is not true.
Despite seeing everywhere that "firmware available via USB from creative.com" the Creative Sleek Photo has no firmware that is available online anywhere and when you ask, everyone from customer support talks to you as if you have 5 heads for even suggesting that it should be available like anything else is.
This IS ridiculous and I too, have no more interest in Creative products despite purchasing my last 2 MP3 players from this brand, I'm done with this mess. It's frustrating beyond belief that a simple fix turns into a huge fiasco all because the company has no real rhyme or reason for failing to offer any support for a product, instead forcing you to send said product in the mail to take weeks for something that otherwise take a few minutes.
Truly absurd.

Zen Touch no longer uses fold

At some point after an update (not sure if it was firmware or an update to MediaSource as I have applied both in the last 2 months) my 20GB Zen Touch stopped storing music in logical artist/album folders. Instead it stores all music files in the root folder of the player.
I realise the player does not need folders to operate correctly, and that it organises the files by their ID3 tags, BUT...
It has a 20 Gigabyte storage capacity, and so if ALL the files go into a single root folder my poor PC struggles and hangs as it tries to list the files whenever I open up MediaSource. There are way too many files in a single folder for it to run smoothly.
It makes MediaSource almost unusable. Why has this been done, and how do I fix it's

Can you see any files on your Zen Touch using Windows Explorer? I have the latest driver installed on mine (with Windows XP), and all my music is still under "artist" folders under the "Media" folder. I don't use Mediasource. I always found it WAY too slow and clunky to use. I am using WMP now, which seems to work much better than MediaSource to synch music (and now creates playlists). As you know, WMP uses tags like the Zen itself, so you don't see or don't use folder structure. The only downside I've found to totally replacing MediaSource with WMIP is that I can't edit tags on the player itself without Mediasource. So, I just delete them, edit on PC and copy them back.

Is my Zen Touch DRM compliant/compatib

Hi All,
I've just got a Zen Touch 40gb.Apologies for such a dumb question,but this mp3 malarkey is new to me!
Can you tell me if it is DRM compliant (as Creative claim in the online catalogue). I'm just wondering if anybody can tell me which music download sites I can use (I'm based in the U.K.) e.g. Wannadoo/Napster etc. ?
Thanks in advance,
Si.

DM wrote:The only way to get those songs to transfer is if you burned them to a CD and ripped them back into MP3 format, thus losing the DRM protection.
Or to unprotected WMA format. (Some older versions of WMP ripped to protected WMA by default, but there's a checkbox to turn that off; WMP 0 rips to unprotected WMA by default.)
The "burn-and-rip" method is good to learn for purchased DRM'ed files of any format, even WMA. It's the best insurance against loss of purchased music due to a corrupted DRM store, which happened to me in WMP 0 when I tried to install the original beta of Yahoo! Music Engine; luckily for me, this happened just after I had burned all my files, and I was able to recover all of them from the CD. (It's not as important with subscription files; you can usually just re-download them.) It also lets me buy most of my purchased album downloads from iTunes; though I'll probably never buy an iPod, I prefer the iTunes burn engine (no 2-second gaps like in WMP) and cover printer (easier to use than anything in the WMA world), and it has better exclusi'ves than most WMA stores. (And yes, I know about transcoding issues; but most folks who need to worry about that don't buy from download stores to begin with.)
Message Edited by RBBrittain on 08-22-2005 05:38 AM

Zen touch problem

Hello everyone.
I have a 20gig zen touch which was working fine . I have the latest drivers / firmware installed .
But when i connect it to the computer windows says found new hardware creative zen , then opens the install new hardware part , even although i have already installed the drivers for it . windows device will not work properly could not find any drivers . therefore i cannot access the player at all or install media source etc as the drivers are not working Please would someone be able to help me with this ..
thanks Lonso

First of all, dropping the player into the water doesn't fall under waranty, but maybe you can contact Customer Support and ask how much it costs to get it fixed?
I think that you won't get the player to work again, or not completely. The water could have damaged it and turning it on so fast isn't a good idea, i think. And that crisping sound doens't sound that ok?
So the best thing you can do is try to contact support somehow and ask them what they can do about it
You should be able to contact support, no matter in which country you are...
(PS: when you drop it again, let it dry for some weeks instead of hours!!! they've told me once in a computer store that they were able to get thinks that were wet working againg, but after a looooong time of drying.)Message Edited by Doockles on 02-06-2006 06:52 PM

Connecting Zen touch to Stereo sys

I was wondering if there is a cord or some way to connect my touch to a stereo and play the music through the stereo?
thanks, much appreciated.

scorpian007 wrote:
If you have RCA inputs on your stereo, just buy a 3.5mm to 2 RCA cable and connect it that way. If not, buy an FM transmitter, connect it to the headphone jack on your Zen Touch, set it to a channel and then tune into that channel on the stereo's radio.
Hope that hel
ps.
Here's a pic & link too:
http://www.radioshack.com/images/ProductCatalog/ProductImage/42/42-2483.jpg">
You can buy it at any RadioShack (in America) and in Canada I would assume FutureShop would have it as well as any local electronics store.

Zen Touch & Stor

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for