Advantages: Amazing sound, good codec support, small in size Disadvantages: Lack of included accessories
's swings and roundabouts. Besides, if you lose it or it breaks, you can get a replacement for cheap. The battery life is excellent on the L models and I can get about 20-25 hours out of a single charge, which is fine with me (supposedly 35 hours in with the right settings!!!). Also, until recently, the X5 didn't support DRM in any form, but Cowon have released a firmware upgrade that's compatible with Windows Media DRM and it's likely they'll add more soon. My only real bugbears are:
1) Very few accessories included - no case (essential if you want to keep it safe from scratches and low impact knocks), no dock and no remote. All are available, but at hefty additional costs.
2) The buttons on the side don't feel like they could withstand a year or two of heavy use and the protruding joystick (whilst tough) could easily fall foul of various ...
Advantages: Fantastic quality on video, audio, photos and text. Loads of extras built in Disadvantages: Could have a larger hard drive but i'm just being picky!
Why didn't I get an iPod like everyone else? Why not an Archos? I guess I just wanted to be different like always. I wanted to buy a brand of PMP (Portable Media Player) that no one has heard of and yeah, take a gamble.
I'm glad I did!
I got my CowonA2 (30Gb) in February last year and am still a firm believer that this product is just as good, if not better, than an iPod. It has so many features it is astounding! I'll run through all these (or as many that i can remember) later on.
Let me first introduce the makers of this fantastic method of watching video on-the-go. Korean company Cowon are also the producers of the iAudio range. These MP3 players are said to be of the very highest sound quality and that this was also carried on onto the CowonA2. I must admit, the sound quality of the CowonA2 is brilliant. Very clear ...
Centaurus_X-3 09.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Cowon Iaudio A2
Advantages: Multi-use; very very stylish; light; robust Disadvantages: controls on the remote can be fiddly for we old codgers. Don't always work as expected.
This is one amazing machine. It is small light and very very stylish with a metal casing finished in metalic colours (mine is gunmetal grey). I have is the 20Gb version but there is a 40Gb one with the same physical size.
A real shame to hide it in a pocket - it's far more stylish than ALL competitors - but then the tiny in-line remote with screen makes it un-neccessary to take the machine from the pocket to change channels or tracks - or to turn it on or off. A major advantage over competitors. The remote includes a clip to attach to a collar or pocket.
The FM radio is a boon but reception can be iffy as you move around because the aerial is the cabling.
The remote is a bit fiddly for we more elderly people but the small screen is amazingly easy to read without reading specs!
But then the remote doesn't always properly ...
MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows ME, MS Windows 98 SE
Manufacturer's product description
With Cowon A2's clear and wide 4" LCD screen, users are able to enjoy realistic movies and also record or watch TV programs through an AV in/output jack. BBE technology is employed to clarify sound to its original clear sound during the digital reproducing. Build a powerful multimedia desktop environment with the world famous integrated multimedia playback software, JetAudio Basic VX. Movie file formats that are not supported by A2 can easily be converted for viewing with simple conversion features of JetAudio VX.
