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"Something critical the review fails to mention!" on by jhpolsky
Pros: Beautiful screen, compact, solid build, great format support, sounds simply amazing
Cons: A little thick and on the heavy side for its size
Summary: Though the touch screen interface is unlike other mp3 players, it is so easy to use because of its flexibility. And what can be more simple than a touch screen? It is especially easy to use if you've ever used a PDA for 5 minutes.
But there is something crucial about this player that the review failed to mention: BLIND CONTROL IS A BREEZE AND IT IS PERFECT FOR ACTIVE MEMBERS! There is an option in the menus that allows the player, when in hold mode, to convert the menu, volume+ and volume- buttons to pause and skip forward and backward buttons. This is the perfect compromise since they are tactile and on top of the player so they are easy to find in a pocket or case. This is a feature that is small, yet clever, and it is things like this that set Cowon apart.
Also, the review makes no mention of the fact that the D2 supports flash games and apps of which there are hundreds of user made ones available that are really neat and fun. -
"Best flash MP3 player yet." on by Jay Clawson
Pros: Expandable memory adds great versatility, Radio, voice recorder, touch screen is very intuitive, FLAC codec
Cons: Slightly larger than some, but large color screen compensates
Summary: I own several iPods, but switched to Cowon players for several reasons: 1) no need to use iTunes, these players work with just about any interface, 2) the FLAC lossless Codec has more versatility than Apple lossless, and even sounds better, 3)I love the large touch screen, 4)Cowon periodically provides driver updates that add versatility. The built-in radio and voice recorder are nice features to have without paying extra.
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"Where has this player been it's AMAZING!! A++" on by jvas2
Pros: Almost everything.
Cons: Transcoding video down to 320x240
Summary: This little player is a god send. 4gb capacity plus sd/sdhc expansion slot so you can add another 16gb sdhc card (when it comes out) if you wanted to making it a total 20gb! It's small, light and very portable. The TFT resolution screen with 24bit and 16 million colors is absolutely fantastic!! Touch screen you get used to pretty fast. The Sound quality is superb with many EQ settings. The transcoding of some video files does not take long if you have a core dual cpu, just set the jetaudio app to high cpu usage and the job gets done fast AND it works as a Mass Storage Device (UMS) for drag and drop of files making soooooo easy. Highly recommend!!
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"Best sounding media player out there" on by tofucanyon
Pros: nearly everything
Cons: firmware a little unstable, screen hard to read in sunlight
Summary: Simply the best player I've ever heard. You really need good earphones to hear the improved sound quality. This player is able to produce an excellent sound stage making each instrument/beat/vocals separate from each other. I've heard sounds in my music I've never heard before - simply amazing! It makes movies awesome to watch too - the screen is great to watch too very crips and clear. The brightness can be improved though to make it easier to see in sunlight; not nearly as bright as iphone but close enough. This player is so good I'm so happy with it.
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"Simply the best ultra-portable multimedia player @ present" on by ajm48786
Pros: Pretty much everything
Cons: Too many fools buy the inferior products,meaning good products like this one lack accessories
Summary: This is it! I almost got the IRiver clix2; and I am so glad I did not (ipod was not even in my mind). It only weighs in at 4 gigs (and 8 now),but you will never run out of memory due to the SDHC slot. All these fellas that have praised it speak the truth. The only thing I dislike about it is they had to stamp "Cowon" on the front, compromising the design a bit.
Cowon, this no-named company is a great company! They keep on patching the driver for this player. They just added a scientific and regular calculator. Point is, they are great about supporting their product and refining it.
It really would take a long time to praise this thing. The sound quality blows away the competition,the 2.5 inch 24 bit screen overshadows most rivals' displays,can be used as a Mass Storage device, supports virtually every file format, is completely customizable (wallpaper,color of font,etc),handy microphone built in that works very well,capability to record FM radio (or any line in), a great highly customizable EQ system,oh and the battery life lives up to the hype. 52 hrs for music and 10 for video, this is unrivaled. The alarm feature is also great, I can set it to wake me up to whatever song I choose (or one may use a radio station), you can also set it to automatically record a radio station at a certain time. The video quality is awesome, you really can't tell on this review video,in person it looks just right. It also hooks up to my xbox 360 with no problem. The 74 watt output is too powerful for the pretty decent sound system in my car to handle beyond 70% of it's maximum output. You really can damage your ears with this device; and though many players can do that, this one will tempt you to, because the sound remains dang crystal clear!
Fits very well in my pocket, I barely notice it. I do engage it as I walk, it's really not difficult, unless there is direct sunlight. You still can use the dedicated buttons to scroll through your memory. The feature that was added where one may slide their finger in order to scroll through is a nice touch (like the iphone), you can also set how fast the scroll will go. The fact it allows you to set up a separate list of favorite songs makes it easier to navigate when on the move. It would be cool (and I suppose possible) for Cowon to add some sort of voice control via the internal mic, which would completely take away any argument against the touchscreen interface.
The stylus is cool yet lame as a stand. I use my finger to move about through the interface.It takes a little getting used to;but,once you're used to it you can navigate it almost as well as an ipod(i do concede it is not as easy). This is not a big deal to me.
The Cnet review was ridiculous. Some chick talking about how she thinks it is too heavy, and how the touch screen isn't hip enough.The touch screen is not for everyone, fair enough;but,the weight is just fine! She also did not highlight just how important the expandable memory is! It is a WONDERFUL FEATURE!Even if this thing had 100 gigs, it would be nice to have a slot to pop in right after using the camera or whatever.
The problems with this are not really problems so much as minor nuisances, for example, you can't change the size of the display letters, nor make them bold, that is a bit of a nuisance;but,it is something that can be updated,you're not necessarily stuck with something like that. Every player has nuisances, this player has the least I have seen. If you care more about appearance than quality,then go buy a cool iphone, they say it is revolutionary (cough cough cough);if you want the biggest bang for your buck ($190 @ Amazon.com,very cheap for what you get), get the Cowon D2, this is the future of this market.
Cowon D2 user reviews (4GB, red)
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