[proxops-pete]

So I finally got one!

It was about $380 from Newegg.com.

Upon opening it, the player is safely packaged (very well, I might add) inside a case...

All extras were there... incl. leather case and strap. The tech specs are found here...

What was the first thing I did, you ask?! Well, Cowon is well-known for frequently updating firmwares for their devices!

So I did just that! I upgraded to the latest version 1.61C, another painless thing to do. You unzip it to the top level of the directory. Reboot holding down lever and power button. Wait and voila!

What was important to me is > 20 GB storage, both audio AND video playback. So the fact that this player comes with 4" 480x272 res. 16.7 million color LCD was very nice!

It also has the ability to be a photo viewer (also being able to be a USB HOST to download pics and such!), an FM tuner, and (currently useless) DMB TV broadcasting... Another nice feature is the voice recording capability with the mic built-in. While its performance of S/N isn't great (noticeable noise), it was fun to play with my kids and record them singing songs. It's convenient and sure even my onboard sound recording is better than this but kids are more willing to sing around this cutey!

You can also record from the radio, video in (VCR and TV and whatnot), audio in (like a CD player) ... When you hook it up to Win XP OS, it sees it as a portable HDD and you just simply drag and drop your songs and videos. Since this gem supports all 3 popular video compressions (WMV, DivX 3/4/5, and XviD), I can now bring my kids' home made videos and favorite TV shows with me!

While video and images look sharp and crisp, I do miss one thing from my long gone Creative Zen 20 GB player... ability to play mp3s by genre, and track numbers. Anyone know how to?? I must say though... as I listen to music more and more, I have to admit how clear and neutral the music sounds when compared to my previous Creative Zen 20 GB. The sound is just so sweet!! Switchfoot sounds so much better with it!

Also, it's nice to know that this thing can view text files. Eh... Another nice add-on is the speakers!

No, it's not loud, but for light video watching (in relatively quiet environment), it works and works well! My kids loved being able to instantly hear back their recorded sessions!!

It also has auto-resume feature!! Like the Windows' "Recent Files", it has the list of the files you have played... and remembers how much you played thru it and resumes from it! Very nice and handy feature in resuming videos...

The controls take a bit getting used to but it works and is fine. It's very well made and a great all-around multimedia device! If it could take pics (even at 1.3 MP), it would be totally awesome! But oh well...

Pros: Capable of lots of things (radio, image, video & audio playback AND record, text viewer. Very crisp video display. Firmware updates.

Cons: Unable to play mp3 by genres or track numbers (ID3 tags).

[size=large]Verdict: 9/10[/size]

 

[proxops-pete]

Wow.. 88 views and not a single comment?!!

Did I miss something??

 

[Fallingwater]

Very interesting. It's not even ludicrously expensive for what it is, and plays Ogg too.
If I was interested in video reproduction on the go I'd give it a serious thought. Well, and if I had that much money to burn on a player, too

Any word on file number limitations? I know the iAudio X5 can't load more than 9999 files... I wouldn't want this "feature" to have been kept in this.
Also: does it use a 2.5 or 1.8" drive?

 

[proxops-pete]

I don't know about HDD size... but according to Cowon site, there's limit of Playable media files : Total 15,000 files/folders.

 

[apnk]

Nice review!

 

[muckluck]

You know that the firmware is up to version 1.81, right? Just to make sure. And I wanted to back up your statement, and say that the A2 is a great player.

 

[Nick S]

Nice review!
I got one a few weeks back, love it. Bigger HDD would be nice though!

 

[dr.morton]

The A2 is a great player. I have mine for over six months now and still have nothing (important) to complain about.
I took me quite some time to find the right player and so far nothing that came up since then can beat the A2 IMO.
The biggest complaint is the 30GB hard drive: it fills up too quickly.
Right now there is nothing you can do about it, since there is no bigger hard drive on the market that would fit in the case (some people tried).
Hope you will enjoy the player as much as I do.

 

[proxops-pete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.morton The A2 is a great player. I have mine for over six months now and still have nothing (important) to complain about. I took me quite some time to find the right player and so far nothing that came up since then can beat the A2 IMO. The biggest complaint is the 30GB hard drive: it fills up too quickly. Right now there is nothing you can do about it, since there is no bigger hard drive on the market that would fit in the case (some people tried). Hope you will enjoy the player as much as I do.

Yeah, I've been on this market for a while too... and couldn't find a good competent player... I was looking into FLAC but it takes too much space...

Oh well...