New Cowon players in US

[comfortablyNUMB]

For anyone that cared, I was just on Cowon's websites, and 3 new players that have been in Japan are now available in the US. Cowons, flash-based, racecar-like F1, their PMP, the A2, and a 60 gb X5. I did notice though that the 60 gigger is like 40 bucks more than the 60 gig iPod. Though the iPod comes with no accesories and the Cowon comes with just about everything.

www.cowonamerica.com

[skauff83]

Very nice, I've always really liked the A2.

[comfortablyNUMB]

Yeah, I've liked it too. It's got a nice design and it's good alternative to the Archos AV500.

[Kardon]

Yea, I love those X5's... When my dj craps out, if I have the money I will get one.

[Flip]

Doesn't the A2 remind you of the Gen 1 DJ's with the silver border?

X5 looks pretty sweet. I do wish that the headphone jack was on the top, though.

[Kardon]

yea, I would learn to live with it, But yea, its a small nusance. I am also not a big fan of buttons on the side.

[comfortablyNUMB]

I wish Cowon came out with a microdrive player, preferebly 8 gigs, with the same features as the x5 but better controls. I would buy it.

[merouby]

More expensive than the iPod?!! Does it play video??

Not a new iPod killer, but definately very interesting.

[skauff83]

Yep, it plays mpeg4 and WAV.

But I guess you do get what you pay for hmm?

[BinaryRaven]

iAUDIO X5 is kinda big for my tastes. cool device though.

[getthecatdj15]

The 20 gig with dock included is a pretty nice package. What does the "L" stand for? I couldn't find any blatant differences.

[Kardon]

pretty much the same size as a 4th gen ipod. They just look somewhat large. About the video playback, its only 15FPS...

[comfortablyNUMB]

The 20 gig with dock included is a pretty nice package. What does the "L" stand for? I couldn't find any blatant differences.

The L models are a little thicker but pack about double the battery life as the regular X5's.

[merouby]

Yep, it plays mpeg4 and WAV.

But I guess you do get what you pay for hmm?


So it's
* bigger than an iPod
* has a smaller screen
* only plays 15fps
* costs more
* no third party backing
* probably little US support network
* has buttons on the side
* has poorer sound (SNR 95db vs iPod 100db)
* Silly "COLOR SOUND" logo by the end of the screen
* According to C/Net, a bad-designed interface

To be fair it also has:
* better battery life
* multitude of accesories (better like them cause they'll be no aftermarket support)
* more choice of file formats
* inline recording & FM radio functionality

Actually in this case it looks like you do NOT get what you pay for!

Interesting but definately no iPod killer.

[comfortablyNUMB]

* bigger than an iPod - Actually, they have the same dimensions
* has a smaller screen - Youre right about that
* only plays 15fps - This one too[B]
* costs more - [B] For a little more money you get WAY more stuff included
* no third party backing - You get so much stuff included anyway
* probably little US support network - You know this how?
* has buttons on the side - Just the play/pause and record buttons, and theyre not inconvenient
* has poorer sound (SNR 95db vs iPod 100db) - You can't prove this
* Silly "COLOR SOUND" logo by the end of the screen - What a catastrophe..
* According to C/Net, a bad-designed interface -Yeah, a little more complicated than the iPod, but the menus are easy to use, and colorful...not so much white in every screen. And besides, everyone knows that Cnet is on Apple's payroll :D.

Yeah, the new iPod is great, and there's really nothing like it in its past. HOWEVER. The X5 came out months ago, when nobody was really even thinking about video capabilities on such a small player. The X5 was the first one to accomplish music/photos/videos in a regular, hard drive player. The iPod came out months after the X5, so techonology has improved a lot since then. And besides, though the X5 has a shitty screen, it's easy to get content on it because it supports a ton of formats. The iPod only supports 2, and it takes a lot of time to convert you video. So don't bash the X5, for it was the first of its kind. The iPod might be better but Apple has had plenty of time to work on the video aspect, which still isn't even that great.

DM, or Grant, or Chooch, or Rev, or any mods...I think this thread should be locked to prevent any further arguments. This guy is just gonna continue to piss people off.

[merouby]

bigger than an iPod - Actually, they have the same dimensions

The 5th Gen iPod is smaller (eg thinner).

has poorer sound (SNR 95db vs iPod 100db) - You can't prove this

I can. The specs for SNR is on the Cowan website, while the spec on the iPod's Wolfson chip is on the Wolfson Micro website.

I'm not arguing - it is rather interesting and I can't wait for something to be 'better' but this isn't it IMO.

The X5 also requires conversion of video to allow the player to fit it's format (which the software does comes with the player)

[comfortablyNUMB]

The 5th Gen iPod is smaller (eg thinner).



I can. The specs for SNR is on the Cowan website, while the spec on the iPod's Wolfson chip is on the Wolfson Micro website.

I'm not arguing - it is rather interesting and I can't wait for something to be 'better' but this isn't it IMO.

The X5 also requires conversion of video to allow the player to fit it's format (which the software does comes with the player)

Oh yeah, youre right about the X5 needing to convert video, but the software DOES come with the player. I'm not gonna go dig up a link but read the review from Cnet or from dapreview.com and it will tell you about its included software.

[TheBigNewt]

IMO Merouby wrote a good post, nothing flaming at all, Swmr (did you win this week in FF?). The screen probably separates the X5 from the ipod mainly. A bigger/better screen will sell a lot of units when you're using it for photos as well as music.

[comfortablyNUMB]

Swmr (did you win this week in FF?).

Hehehe...was that a joke? Actually I lost to the Marshmallow Puffs....78 to 36.

:boohoo:

[merouby]

The X5 was the first one to accomplish music/photos/videos in a regular, hard drive player. The iPod came out months after the X5, so techonology has improved a lot since then. And besides, though the X5 has a shitty screen, it's easy to get content on it because it supports a ton of formats. The iPod only supports 2, and it takes a lot of time to convert you video. So don't bash the X5, for it was the first of its kind.

Just to clarify, the X5 was not the first of it's kind to do all those things.

The Archos Jukebox Multimedia 20 did all that (and I owned it). It played

*MP3/WAV/WMA
* Records MP3s
* Videos (AVI, DiVX/Mpeg4) - on built in screen or on TV
* Read pics off memory cards
* Pictures
* It *took* pictures (came w/ optional camera attachment)
* It *took* video via camera attachment (poor mans digital camcorder)
* w/ optional adapter it could *capture* live video and store it in the correct viewing format (a poor man's DVR)

and all in a handheld size similar to the 1st gen iPod!

http://www.gadget-gopher.co.uk/electronic_gadgets-3.shtml

It came out in 2002!! Too bad it had issues! Cost me appx $500 at the time.

So the X5 should have gotten it right from a three year old predecessor!

If anyone wants, I still have pieces of it at home.