cowon

No sooner had I posted an announcement about Iriver's holiday price drops than fellow Korean DAP manufacturer Cowon hit us with some news about some enticing pricing of its own. The company is lowering the MSRPs for all models currently marketed in the U.S., with the exception of the newly-released O2. For the rest, you can expect to see a drop of between $20 (for the smaller, flash-based players) all the way up to $70 for the 80GB Q5W.

You can find a complete list of the new prices below, but I wanted to give special attention to … Read more

Our official rated review for the Cowon O2 portable video player is now up on CNET Reviews, along with a full photo gallery and a First Look video.

We've been putting the O2 through its paces all week and it's held up remarkably well. It's still not the sexiest piece of tech we've laid eyes on, but it's got more muscle than any other portable video player in its price range.

Audio enthusiasts will also want to give the O2 a look, considering it supports desirable lossless music formats such as FLAC, Apple Lossless, and … Read more

In the world of MP3 players, not unlike the world of fashion, one day you're in; the next, you're out. If you're a passing feature fad, that is. While certain functions have gained and retained traction--playlist support, album art display, photo-viewing capability--many have fallen by the wayside. (Remember the micro hard drive?)

One such feature is integrated line-in recording, which allows you to record directly to the MP3 player from another audio source, such as your sound card or home stereo setup. Line-in has enjoyed brief surges in popularity since the inception of the MP3 player but … Read more

Donald and Jasmine discuss a new PVP from Cowon with an attractive price point.

Plus, Sonos inadvertently lowers the entry price point for its excellent in-home audio networking system--for those who already own iPhones or the iPod Touch. We interview Sonos co-founder Tom Cullen to get all the details.

Also this week: cute multimedia speakers, an overpriced in-car charger dock, and Jasmine's favorite music gadgets.

Listen now: Download today's podcast… Read more

It hasn't been a terribly exciting year for portable video players. Despite its relatively small screen, the iPod Touch is one of the few PVPs we've been giving an unqualified recommendation for in 2008. The Archos 5 is ambitious, but the battery life just isn't there; the Q5W is overpriced and bulky; and the A3 left us feeling kinda "meh." Thankfully, the Cowon O2 looks like it's going to close-out our year of PVP reviews on an upnote.

First off, let me mention the official U.S. MSRP for the O2, because I know there have been a few guesstimates floating around. The Cowon O2 will retail for $219 (8GB), $249 (16GB), and $299 (32GB), which you can pick up in either black or white. If 32GB isn't enough storage for you, keep in mind that the O2 includes a SDHC card slot for quickly swapping out content and increasing storage as you need it.

The second thing to notice about the O2 is its stupefying amount of file support. On the video end the O2 can play back AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MKV, OGM, DAT, MTV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-4, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, and MPEG 1. The O2 is also agnostic when it comes to video resolution, accepting files all the way up to 1,280x720 at 30fps. For me, native format and resolution support is huge deal, because my home media collection is all over the place and few things test my patience more than re-encoding batches of video files.

Another huge deal for me is battery life, and Cowon is claiming that the O2 will get up to 8 hours of video playback (under "optimal" conditions) before surrendering. If Cowon's right, 8 hours of video playback would put the O2 far beyond the 4 hours of video life on the Archos 5, and ahead of the 6 hours of video on the iPod Touch and even the iPod Classic. Audio battery life isn't as impressive, with only 18 hours, but it's still ahead of the 12 hours of playback time on the Archos 5. Another thing to bear in mind is that all of the O2's competitors require a proprietary cable to recharge the battery, which can be a huge pain if you lose the cable while traveling. The O2 charges best when using the included AC adapter, but you can charge over its mini-USB connection, as well. … Read more

Our favorite Brits over at Crave UK have an exclusive hands-on with the new Cowon 02.

They're pretty impressed with the new interface, screen quality, battery life during video playback, and the extensive list of supported file formats. Click the photo above to see the entire gallery of photos.

(Via Crave UK)

Donald and Jasmine discuss new touch-screen PVPs from Cowon, some sleek and slender Etymotic earphones, as well as wireless MP3 players and portable devices for those who like to live dangerously. The winner of the iHome ZN9 is also announced. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Cowon teases three new touch-screen PVPs

Etymotic hf5

Belkin GoStudio on-the-go recorder

Wireless MP3 players

Mophie Juice Pack for iPod Touch

MP3 players for pirates

*iHome ZN9 contest winner announced*

Let's get real. You know you've got some music and movies on your computer you can't exactly vouch for. Maybe you feel guilty about it, maybe you don't, but clearly there are plenty of folks out there who play a little fast and loose when it comes to ripping and sharing music and videos. For example, recent estimates show that 48 percent of the average teenager's iPod is made up of illegally obtained music.

There's at least a hundred different ways to find yourself on the wrong side of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. … Read more

Cowon is teasing three new portable video players for the upcoming 2008 IFA showcase in Berlin. Along with the Cowon P5 unveiled last month, the newly announced S9, O2, and L3 make up a formidable new product lineup of touch-screen beauties--none of which have been officially announced for the U.S.

The prettiest of the bunch, the Cowon S9, includes a 3.3-inch OLED touch screen (480x272 resolution), music and video playback, photos, Bluetooth, composite video output, FM radio, voice recorder, and a built-in accelerometer that will rotate the screen depending on how it's held.

The backbone of the … Read more