Cowon iAudio M5 and F1--we have them!

Yesterday, we met with Cowon, who gave us three things: a beta version of its new X5 firmware that enables Janus subscription-based downloads (we'll let you know how it works), a preproduction version of the new 20GB iAudio M5, and the iAudio F1.

The Cowon iAudio M5 is a silver version of the iAudio X5, though without the color screen or the photo and video playback capabilities. It's a tad lighter than the X5, and it's a bit of a backward step, as the monochrome screen is not nearly as vibrant and cool as the X5's. However, it will be more affordable and make a nice fit for those looking for excellent sound quality and recording features. As with the X5, you'll need to use an adapter for line-in recordings.

The Cowon iAudio F1 is a cool little flash-based player that looks like a modded Hot Wheels car. Surprisingly, we've never seen a "car" MP3 player that looked so good. We'll get you more info and videos about these players plus the upcoming Cowon iAudio A2 PVP soon.