Creative dropped the Zen Stone seemingly out of nowhere to compete head-on with the iPod Shuffle, doing so at half the price with more to offer. Creative’s screenless player is a very basic offering - only audio playback and data storage. However, the player does step out of the current Zen lineup feature set by offering up true MSC drag and drop, catering to all operating systems.

The Zen Stone makes a great secondary player to your audio arsenal, handy for the gym or any place you need a simple, truly portable music solution.

Read on for a look at all the features Creative has managed to pack into this player, as well as a peek at the Stone’s insides, disassembled for all to see.

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Retina-X Studios has introduced a call and messaging activity-monitoring service for Windows Mobile smartphones. “Mobile Spy” enables employers, parents, or other suspicious people to monitor SMS (Short Message Service) text messages and call details online in real time, according to the company.

SMS, a feature available with most mobile phones, allows users to send and receive short text messages. Now, thanks to Retina-X, if you don’t trust your employee or your child, you can monitor their text messages and other related activities on their smartphones.

The company says its software is completely hidden from view. Following setup on the mobile device, the application records all SMS text messages and calling information, and then silently uploads logs to a designated private account on Retina-X’s webserver. Thereafter, the messages and activity logs can be accessed over the Internet. Mobile Spy runs in “total stealth mode,” the company claims.

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