iPod Shuffle versus the Zen Stone Plus

iPod Shuffle

Apple has created an iPod of an almost impossibly small size: the 1 GB iPod Shuffle. It has an attached a clip on the back, so it can be clipped anywhere for skip-free music playback. Perfect for working out or just walking down the street.

Purchase songs from the iTunes Store and sync with iTunes Jukebox.

The third generation shuffle comes in purple, blue, green, silver. The second generation comes in green, blue, orange, metal, pink and green.

Creative ZEN Stone Plus

This little device gives the iPod Shuffle a run for its money. The Zen Stone Plus 2 GB mp3 player is a little larger than the Shuffle but it features a built in FM radio with 32 presets, a stopwatch, countdown timer, clock and a voice recorder. It supports MP3, WMA, and Audible file formats.

Music can be sync’ed with drag and drop or via Creative Media Lite software which is downloadable from the Creative site. Creative Media Lite allows users to rip CDs, manage folders, transfer files and access other functions. The Stone Plus is compatible with most online music stores. And it can even be used as a USB drive.

The Zen Stone Plus comes in black, blue, pink, red, green, and white.

To summarize, the Zen Stone has double the memory (2 GB versus 1 GB), an FM radio, song display, etc, and it's cheaper than the Shuffle. The Shuffle is still smaller than the Zen Stone Plus and has a clip on the back.

Check out the iPod shuffle and the Zen Stone Plus players in the webstore.