[FlatNine]

Happy day - the Cowon J3 is now available on Amazon. Oh yeah!!!
 
http://www.amazon.com/COWON-Portable-Media-Player-Black/dp/B003JME32C

 

[slaters70]

It's been available from Amazon on pre-oder for some time (I had ordered it but canceled to see if prices are any lower once it actually is available, but that is a third party seller, not Amazon. There is shipping and you might want to check the return policy of JetAudio. I received an email two days ago, before I canceled my order, that Amazon expects to ship their J3s on June 2.
 
If you look to the right on the link above, you can get it from Amazon w/free shipping. For some reason, Amazon is not listed as the main seller for the J3 (JetAudio is). Also, your post got me curious again, and I reordered the J3 (it says expected arrival date June7).

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

It's been available from Amazon on pre-oder for some time (I had ordered it but canceled to see if prices are any lower once it actually is available, but that is a third party seller, not Amazon. There is shipping and you might want to check the return policy of JetAudio. I received an email two days ago, before I canceled my order, that Amazon expects to ship their J3s on June 2.

JetAudio is Cowon, at least in the U.S., so it's not exactly a third-party seller.
 
And yeah, like I said before, it's too expensive. $60 for a MicroSD slot (S9), or $100 for a bigger, nicer screen (D2+). When the price of this drops below $200, it'll be a worthwhile alternative. But hey, if you've got to have an S9 with a card slot right now, go for it.

 

[slaters70]

Doh! I didn't put 2 and 2 together (Jet effects, etc). Thanks. Amazon does their fulfillment. There is an open box S9 for $217 which is very tempting (32GB). With a 16 GB card full of flac files (which I have), that's a great capacity DAP for a very good price. I may end up canceling my J3 order for a second time and buying the S9. I have the S:flo2, but it's not a good on the go machine because it has no external controls, so not a DAP you can use "blind" except for volume.
 
Just realized there is no slot on the S9, so S9 is a no go. Like you, I will wait and see if the 16GB J3 price drops.

 

[tds101]

Wait for the 32gb J3 instead, as it's already being released in Korea. That way you'll have 32gb + whatever is the highest capacity microSD card for extra space. Better plan IMO, but YMMV.
 
Me, I want a 32gb J3 - FTW!!!

 

[slaters70]

See your point. Wait for the 32GB, and possibly have a 64GB model, but at what cost? $400? The 32GB has to be at least $300 if the 16 is $239. And the 32GB cards are going to be another $100 or so. Pretty steep overall. I already have 16GB card with my flac files and a couple of 8s, so maybe the 16 is fine. Not sure.

 

[clarinetman]

Finally! I've been eying this one for a couple of months now... I love my S9, but I've always been annoyed by its curved form factor because it doesn't sit flat on my amp... Nevertheless, I think the J3 is a great upgrade.

 

[4DThinker]

You'll love the J3.  Read the manual though. The settings, mainly for video, are cryptic icons that you'll need a decoder sheet to figure out the first time. 
 
More and more stores are carrying the J3 too. Newegg, amazon, Jetmall, etc..
 
4D