Creative today announced their latest MP3 player, the ZEN Stone. Aimed squarely between the eyes of Apple’s iPod Shuffle, the Stone is a small, flash-based player designed for the low-end of the market.
The 1GB Zen Stone will retail for the amazingly low price of just $39.99 (roughly half the price of the equivalent iPod.) Capacity is enough to store up to 250 songs. Like the iPod Shuffle, there’s no display, so you have two simple choices: “play” or “random.” It can play tracks in MP3, WMA and WAV formats and its rechargeable battery provides to up to 10 hours of tunes on a single charge.
The player will be available in six colors: black, white, blue, red, green and pink, as well as optional skins for further embellishment. A variety of Stone accessories will also be available, including an armband, a keychain holder, and a docking amplified speaker. The Zen Stone should start shipping on May 14.
