X

Photos: Cowon iAudio 7

Cowon's iAudio 7 is a small, feature-packed MP3 player that boasts an incredible battery life of 60 hours. This is the perfect device for power users looking for a highly configurable player with stellar sound quality and enough juice to last through a road trip on a single charge.

Donald Bell
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
Donald Bell
32491087-2-440-TP.jpg
1 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
At the top of the iAudio 7, you'll find the dedicated buttons for volume, menu, power, and hold. On the far left you'll see the built-in microphone for the voice recorder.
32491087-2-440-PURSE.jpg
2 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
No, it's not the thinnest kid on the block, but the iAudio 7 is still a small MP3 player by most standards.
32491087-2-440-SD.jpg
3 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
Behind this rubber door is a standard mini-USB port. You'd think this would be obvious, but we're seeing more and more players using odd proprietary ports on their players.
32491087-2-440-FT.jpg
4 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
Here's a good shot that shows the dimpled surface of the Swing Touch interface. Though the photo doesn't show it, the touchpad is backlit as well, making navigation in the dark fairly simple.
32491087-2-440-DT1.jpg
5 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
Not much in the box as far as accessories go. Headphones and a USB cable is about all there is. The instruction manual mentions a minijack cable for use with the dedicated line input recording port--but we didn't see one.
32491087-2-440-PALM.jpg
6 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
Still smaller than most cell phones, the iAudio 7 packs music, video, and photos; unbeatable sound quality; line-in recording, voice recording, FM recording; and multiple format support, into a neat little package.
32491087-2-440-0.jpg
7 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
The iAudio 7 lets you record voice, radio and line-input directly to a stereo WMA file with a selectable resolution between 64Kbps and 128Kbps. Line-input recording also allows the option of automatically splitting the recording into multiple tracks when it detects silences between songs.
32491087-2-440-DT2.jpg
8 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
These things look cool, but they only sound about as good as a set of iPod earbuds. They're not bad, but considering how good the audio quality is on the iAudio 7, an investment in higher quality earphones is recommended.
32491087-2-440-BUTTONS.jpg
9 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
The iAudio 7's Swing Touch interface isn't as intuitive as the iPod's jog wheel. Once we realized that the touch strip responded in different ways to different gestures (sliding, tapping, and holding), it became much easier to get around.
32491087-2-440-DT3.jpg
10 of 10 Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks
This looks a little like a Mac vs PC ad, except it's more like Mac vs Linux. The iPod Nano is beautiful and very easy to use, but it's also maddeningly restricted. It's almost as if the iAudio 7 is the result of every frustrated iPod Nano user getting together and designing their own player. Sure, the iAudio 7 can't match the elegance of the Nano, but its feature list would make any iPod cower.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos