MP3 players keep getting smaller in size, better to look at and richer in features by the day. Continuing with the trend, Creative launched their LX series recently which consisted of two flavors- the LX100 with 128MB and the LX200 with 256MB memory. We have the 128MB version with us today- lets find out what we think of it

Packaging and Software

The LX100 is instantly recognizable as a Creative product as its packaging is true to Creative’s regular style. The blue and orange box has a hard plastic cover on the front of the player so you can see what the actual unit looks like. Along with the MP3 player, Creative bundles a pair of earphones, a USB cable and a carrying cable. the manual is bi-ligual (English and Chinese) and explains all the basic features of the unit in an easy to read format.

Software-wise, the CD comes with drivers for Windows 9x. If you’re using Windows XP, you wont need any drivers as the unit is automatically recognized and you can start copying files to it straight away. You can make folders in the root directory of the MP3 player and store your files under that folder, however, you cannot make sub-folders inside this folder as the unit only recognizes the root and one level deep directories. This shouldn’t be a problem as the capacity of the player doesn’t really require much organization.

Design and Feel

The LX100 is nice and compact in size and about as thick as 12 CDs stacked together, however, we have seen smaller MP3 players like Creative’s own MuVo. What distinguishes the LX100 from the MuVo is the rather large backlit LCD screen which is divided into two. The bigger half shows information related to what is being played while the smaller one shows info like battery life and the current mode of the player along with an equalizer.

The front of the unit also features the mic for voice recording and has two buttons- one that lets you play/pause and turn the unit on/off while the other changes the playback mode between repeats when you’re in the MP3 mode. These buttons change their function depending on the mode. The mode button which lets you switch between MP3, FM and voice is located towards the bottom of the unit along with the hold switch and USB cable connector. Lastly, the top of the unit features volume buttons, the record button and a pressable jog-dial that also functions according to the mode player is in.

We feel that the unit is a bit big in size. It would’ve been ideal if Creative could have shaved the height of the player to keep it as big as the LCD screen. We think that the rechargeable battery inside the player is the reason for its slightly bigger and thicker size which is a decent trade-off. Also, we think that the USB plug built on the unit would’ve been more convenient than a cord as using the player as a storage device will require you to carry the cord.