COWON Z2 - The complete Review (from Izzi going)

[shiorisekine]

So if I get a 32gb one can I also insert a 32gn micro sd?

 

[hyogen]

yes, you can even put a 64gb microsd card.....and i've read that 128gb cards work as well.  make sure you get a fast card

 

[Ronald Lee]

anyone experience that the player is running many programs after booting up? anyway to prevent these program from running?

 

[MRH88]

From what i understand, it is possible to use the android app market. It just doesn't have the built in market app or support for it. You can still DL from the market website using the web browser.

 

[ancjob]

Quote:

yes, you can even put a 64gb microsd card.....and i've read that 128gb cards work as well.  make sure you get a fast card

watch out - cowon offers quirky support for ext cards cards
Even my 32GB card [Fat32] gets read by D2+ and sometimes NOT ! very annoying
i'd be careful with the ext card expansion in z2 if i buy one from my 'past' experiance !

 

[cawboy12]

hello,

I thinking about buying cowon z2 but i have two concerns.

In one of the earlier posts one person wrote "The buttons on the side are a pain to use".
In cowon J3 with side buttons I can fast forward or rewind by 5 seconds (with one press) in video or more by holding button for longer time. Does side buttons in cowon z2 work the same as in cowon J3. Are there any problems with them like slow response etc.

My second concern is about playing different videos. How many mkv (with h.264 codec) didn't work on this device ( is there a problem with playing mkv files).

I would be really thankfull for answer

 

[hyogen]

MKV files even work with the D3.  there should be no issue with the Z2.  As for the side buttons, the D3 seems to be perfectly fine.  In fact, after all the updates there is really no lag at all even in UI.  There is one minor bug where you can't press play unless the screen is on, sometimes...if it's asleep you have to press the power button first and then press play.  

 

[Domdom]

Ok guys, Z2 reads everything so far so no worries: MKV, AVI, FLAC 16-44 even 24-96 (probably downsampled). No issues whatsoever with 64GB microsd card, I am not planning to exject/insert it a lot but so far no problems.
I agree with Hyogen just said btw.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Where you at ipod touch 

 

[thewind32]

Hi, I'm planning to get either the Z2 or J3. This being my first cowon product, can anyone tell me how do the files on the in-built flash memory and micro-sd interact? Like, will I be able to create playlists with songs from both areas? Or will they be independent from each other, like the zen x-fi I'm using now... (though I'm assuming they will be integrated since this is cowon we're talking about, and I read about the media scan upon start-up, which i suppose integrates any new media. Still, I'd like a confirmation.)
 
Btw, speaking of playlists, how are they created and with what level of ease? I understand that files are copied over via drag & drop, then what about playlists? Are they done through the player itself etc? Sorry but it's because all this while I've been forced to use the nonsense called Creative Centrale which Creative calls a software for my player.

 

[Domdom]

If you use tag navigation they show as one, if by folder, you have to choose where to pick your music.

On J3, tag navigation is great, and multilevel, so once you select "genre", then you get artist, album ....

On the other hand Z2 is still buggy, the stock player (the only one currently with no issue with background noise, hiss and stuff) has issues with Flac tag and is only one level navigation meaning you select a genre you get all tracks for this genre ... just unusable ...

Personally, I use "folder" navigation so since my music in well organized in folders, I am ok but you may not.
Z2 is really a universal player, and sound is great, but not yet mature and hopefully Cowon will do something or not ...

Pure sound player, J3 is probably preferable although it has been phased out I believe ...

 

[thewind32]

Quote:

If you use tag navigation they show as one, if by folder, you have to choose where to pick your music.
On J3, tag navigation is great, and multilevel, so once you select "genre", then you get artist, album ....
On the other hand Z2 is still buggy, the stock player (the only one currently with no issue with background noise, hiss and stuff) has issues with Flac tag and is only one level navigation meaning you select a genre you get all tracks for this genre ... just unusable ...
Personally, I use "folder" navigation so since my music in well organized in folders, I am ok but you may not.
Z2 is really a universal player, and sound is great, but not yet mature and hopefully Cowon will do something or not ...
Pure sound player, J3 is probably preferable although it has been phased out I believe ...

I arrange my music in separate folders per artist, and since I usually listen to one artist at each time (meaning not a playlist made up of various artists) I suppose it'll work out for me. Unless my understanding is wrong. However, will I able to arrange the play order, and can playlists be created? For example, I use a playlist for each artist on my current player, in which I group the songs according to their respective albums, and in turn these albums are arranged according to my own preferences. On the Z2/J3, will I be tied down by parameters such as alphabetical orders etc? (like if I choose to play all songs of an artist, will the album starting with "A" come before "B" in the player order etc?)
 
As for the one level navigation, are you referring to Flac files or all files in the player?
 
Lastly, I more leaning towards the Z2 due to the larger screen and higher resolution, since I am planning to watch shows on it. I mean, 800x480 vs 480x272 is quite a difference right? And the max video res between the Z2 and J3 is quite a big deal to me...

 

[Ronald Lee]

using the z2 to watch video is great! big screen size plus resolution not bad. 

 

[Chirag Soni]

Can someone explain this internet phone call feature? On Cowon's official website it says:
 
Internet Phone Call
 
Make your phone call conveniently via COWON Z2 without even booting a laptop or a desktop PC. You can also make an international call via a free internet phone call feature. 
 
That's word for word, can someone please explain this? Sorry if its self explanatory, I find it confusing and don't understand it at all.
 
Also is there a way of having seperate libraries of music for different formats? E.G. 1 library for flac songs, and another for MP3 songs?

 

[AnnaB]

Hi,
 
I'm sorry if this has already been asked but..
 
re. gapless playback
 
I understand that in order to achieve gapless playback on a Z2 that you need to use either Poweramp or GoneMAD apps. Both these apps are paid for and so therefore cannot be downloaded direct to the Z2 (am I correct so far??)
 
If I download them to my Android phone and upload them to dropbox as .apk files can I then download them to the Z2 and WILL THEY WORK???
 
I would appreciate any help. I am new to this forum and to the side-loading; .apk file thingy.
 
Thanks.