Cowon A2 (20GB)

reply on June 25, 2006 by Monkboon

I researched the Cowon and imo, it comes up short against the AV500. The only (major) feature that the av500 lacks against the A2 is the FM tuner in which I addressed in my review.<br><br>IMO, the bigger capacity more than makes for the lack of a tuner. If the A2 had a 100GB HD, I may have purchased it or the Creative Vision M for that matter. Like many have stated, they both are great in their own respects but when I found my AV500 online at Amazon for $395.95 with no shipping or tax, that sealed the deal and is what makes the AV500 much better in my eyes, Monk....

reply on December 29, 2005 by daveagain

I don't want to get into a mine is better than yours debate. Unfortunately, your summary begs the question from Archos advocates. Let's get one thing clear: there is no price issue --- the A2 Cowon 30gb is $450 and the Archos Av500 (30gb)is $500 (street less than $450). BTW -- keep in mind that I am only responding to your rating and review and I am not giving my own "rating" or review of the A2 Cowon since I don't have it.<br><br>My big problem with the A2 Cowon is no replaceable battery (I already have an extra one for my AV500) and the mini cam for the AV500 (mine is arriving next Thursday. The A2 Cowon has neither and the other features are not sufficient to make a difference. <br><br>I have had the AV500 since it first came out and it is phenomenal. I don't say this lightly. While I have all my music albums (with album art) on the device, listening to music is only one of the many pluses for this device. It has simplified my life in many ways. I purchased the 40gb ARCdisk from Archos and it recognizes it so I can move stuff to the other drive if necessary. It recognizes my card reader so all of my camera stuff can be downloaded. It works easily with my camcorder so I don't have bring over my camcorder and firewire my video to my computer.<br><br>Yes, I have recorded movies, TV programs etc. but that has been addressed elsewhere. <br><br>I read the early reviews of the A2 Cowon but was not impressed. Again, no replaceable battery and for a device of this expense/feature rich that is a MUST. It's a deal breaker. What were they thinking? The mini cam -- what a boon for the AV500..expands possibilities. Archos has done their research.<br><br>Archos got it right because they have a lot of experience but it's not perfect...okay, close to perfect for what I want. Dave

reply on November 20, 2005 by 40sondacurb

It's stupid to buy a product that needs to be charged every day, but doesn't have a removable battery.<br><br>You better be planing to get a new one in a year or two because batterys don't last forever.