Cowon 16 GB Portable Multimedia Player (Black) | List Price: $199.99
Discount Price: $184.99
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Brand: Cowon
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Video and audio player with FM tuner, voice recorder, and text and photo viewer
- 2.5-inch, 24-bit QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen LCD with 16 million colors
- Up to 52 hours of music playback (10 hours of video) on one charge
- 16 GB built-in memory; SD/SDHC card memory expansion
- DRM-protected content support (PlaysForSure, etc.)
Awesome sound, questionable menu [Posted on 2008-09-19]
Love the sounds coming out of this thing! best MP3 player i have ever listed to, for sure. If you want to use a subscription service like Rhapsody, you have to change the default settings for USB connection on the D2, to MTP, then it works fine and you play on the go music.
After using Creative and Sandisk's menus, this thing is a nightmare to navigate, especially while driving, or otherwise occupied - extremely non intuitive, definitely have to study the manual to figure it out, and I am a pc pro. Thats my only complaint - oops except for the stupid triangle stylus that cannot be stored anywhere - why not put a standard stylus with a holder???, otherwise I love it - great screen, nice small overall size (body), and loud with a great EQ.
Great Product, does so many things. [Posted on 2008-09-20]
I really love this product, I am using it mostly for the MP3 player function, but it does a ton of other stuff. I never used a touch screen before, but it was easy to use and I like it better than buttons now. I got it as a replacement for a hard drive based mp3 player that was over 5 years old. What a difference! It also plays video and has an FM radio. It also has a resume function (in settings) you can turn on, which picks up where you left off when it's turned back on (really nice feature for podcasts). You can look at text files, it has a calculator, and a little drawing program. It has an SD card slot which I haven't used yet, but will be very useful later when it gets more filled up. I use it at work - I pop it in the drawer, put in the earbud, and listen to it all day. Just playing music, I could go almost all week on a single charge. It charges thru the USB port but also comes with an AC adapter that charges twice as fast. I record alot of FM radio shows, and was AMAZED that it clearly picked up the stations I listen to (I live WAY OUT in the country). It also can record line-in from a stereo, but be sure to get the line-in adapter cable for that. It uses the same input for the line-in and AC adapter, which is a very small slot, smaller than the mini USB slot it uses for the computer cable connection. Also check out the reviews on youtube, they have a bunch of really detailed ones there.
The Good, The Bad, and The Cowon [Posted on 2008-09-21]
I recently owned the Cowon Iaudio7 and when that one went missing there was no doubt where I was going to go for my next player.
The first reason is simply because this player has the exact same audio hardware and effectors as the iaudio7 which frankly delivers the best sound from any portable player I've ever heard. The main difference is that the amp in the D2 is stronger which unfortunately can cause some bass roll off in the extremely low ranges, but that can usually be tweaked out via effectors. For those debating this product just think of it as the "Audiophile's player." The D2 like the Iaudio7 also plays ogg, flac and other formats that allow for ridiculous audio quality.
Videos look good on the screen and conversion isn't all that difficult with 3GP (profiles can be found online easily.) The bitrates it supports for videos aren't going to wow visually though. Over a certain bitrate they get choppy or go black entirely, leading you to reencode to a so-so looking video.
The player itself isn't pretty like a touch or iphone, the trend follows into the device's interface as well but if you're reading this review I assume you're not here for pretty (hence the review title.) The player is quick and responsive, and the touch screen is accurate enough to not hinder usability. While there's a notable improvement in the interface design compared to previous Cowon products it's still pretty basic. You can change the background image, and if you upgrade the player with the Korean version of the firmware you'll be able to insert user created flash files to use as the menu for the actual music section, and install custom icons for the main menu.
One of my favorite features of the D2 is the external SDHC slot which has been tested and proven to work with the newer 32gb cards. The D2 doesn't need any extra junkware to transfer files, just plug in, drag and drop. It will show its internal and external memory as separate drives which is oh so nice.
Another great point is the battery life. On one charge I usually get about 45 hours of music and 8 for video. It's frankly amazing how Cowon gets that much time out of their players. The D2 will charge from the wall with the included charger (which oddly enough came with a European attachment out of the box) or via USB. USB takes about twice as long (up to 7 hours) for a full charge however.
The Good:
-Good screen
-EXCELLENT audio
-Up to 32gb external storage
-Amazing battery life
-Excellent customization (with Korean firmware)
The Bad:
-So-so video quality
-Lack of customization in default firmware
-Bass roll off at low frequencies
The Cowon:
-Not the most visually appealing player
-Basic interface
-In hold mode volume buttons can be used for previous/next
Final thoughts: This player is perfect for those who buy their own headphones. You'd be wasting your time with regular in ear headphones. Personally I use Sennheiser PX-100's on the go and HD220's at home. While it won't drive super high end headphones it will power more than most.
BEWARE! Package from JetAudio without the player! [Posted on 2008-10-02]
I ordered from Jet Audio because it was a few dollars cheaper than other vendors, including directly from Amazon. The package arrived, and I was excited...until I opened it and discovered that no player was present. I am still waiting for a refund. It's been over a month now. I am about ready to have my credit card company take over that process.
Cowon D2 is the King of PMP and MP3 Players [Posted on 2008-10-03]
Buy it. I know you can't see it or touch it in a store before you purchase, but THAT WON'T MATTER ! The screen is great, pushing buttons to get through menus is a pain in the arse on other players, but on the D2 it's fast, intuitive, and similar to using a touchscreen PDA, yet better. The sound is by far the BEST I have listened to, and I like it loud. Previous players were Apple shuffles, 2 Nanos, and a Sansa E280, all of which were lower volume players with lousy eq's, and crappy firmware that locked up. The Cowon is amped for the audiophile AND the guy who wants it loud and I do for when I am riding the motorcycle. The D2 drives the volume in the headphones well enough for me to hear just fine at 45 mph on the bike. The others were drowned out at that speed. 16 GB ? Killer... over 2500 songs on mine and I plugged in a $20 4GB card for storing photos and stuff. It's rugged and the firmware has not been at all quirky and I've had it over a month. Just buy it...if I'm wrong send it back, so what if you can't touch it first, trust Amazon ! scotmacpro@aol.com
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