Cowon iAudio 4 user reviews (Silver, 512MB)

2.5 stars

"IAudio 5 is out" on February 16, 2005

Pros: Excellent sound, durable. NOTE: IAudio 5 is out and adds DRM, Line In Encoding, More Battery etc. at JetAudio's website.

Cons: This is an old model. IAudio 5 is now out.

1.0 stars

"Horrible build quality" on August 14, 2005 by ehandelus

Pros: lots of functions

Cons: broke down very fast, even after repair

Summary: When I bougth the iAudio4 I was very happy, great looking product with great sound.
However, the great sound didn't last long, after approx 1 month the headphone jack loosened up and the sound couldn't reach the earphones. I then got the device repaired (not too easy to find a repairman though for this brand), but after 4 weeks of repairing it still broke down after 1 month, same problem.

Additionally, there are a few other problems:
The player occasionally goes awry, and need a restart.
If the disk is loaded to max the player malfunctions.
If the player is dropped a few cm (2-3) or lies on a vibrating surface (train table) it will shut itself down.

So, all in all, stay clear of this player.

2.0 stars

"Great Sound, Easy Setup, Poor Ergonomics" on March 16, 2005 by shedit

Pros: Powerful sound, easy to get up and running

Cons: Opposing controls means you hit the wrong function a lot

Summary: Impressed by how easy it was to transfer MP3s from Explorer and begin listening right away. Sound is very good using Shure E3C's.

Would not buy again (or any other player) because the buttons for changing traks and volume are on exact opposite sides of the player and very small which means you are pressing the wrong button about 50% of the time. Also after about 30 hours of listening, there is a short in the headphone jack that cuts out the sound if jiggled at all.

4.0 stars

"2 words: Sound, Quality" on September 22, 2004

Pros: Man this thing sounds great. This player as a number of features built in to fine tune your mp3's, you never knew your song had bass like it does on this player. I previously owned a WEWA WMP-4000 and I thought it was good. It broke on me for the secon

Cons: Menu navigation is confusing. USB 1.1 (SLOW) 4-5 min to fill its 256mb drive. The worst part, the USB connection is located under the battery slide, so you have to slide it back every time you want to transfer files.