Cowon D2 2GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After about a couple of years looking in the market for a digital audio player (DAP) I finally found everything I wanted in the Cowon D2. Part of what was really important for me was the Ogg Vorbis and FLAC support as a big part of my collection is in those formats (Besides MP3, WMA and many other common formats).

I don't like hard disks in mobile devices, so I was looking for expandability and was really amazed to found that the D2 is one of the first devices to fully support SDHC cards (4GB to 32GB!!).

Including FM radio and video playback at 30fps are other of the characteristics that makes this device even more desirable. And don't forget the touch screen! And the 50+ hours in music... Also the amazing audio processing engine that Cowon is famous for... There are a lot of stuff I could be writing about regarding this amazing device, but let's just say now for a quick review that the wait for the 99% perfect digital audio player is for me over.

Some friends say that if Cowon releases a DAP just like the D2 but with WiFi access (For retrieving your music collection across a wireless network or just quick checking a RSS feed, or controlling the device via a web interface... The possibilities are endless!), there would not be need for any other DAP in the market.

For a tip, I'malso using this device in Linux, and using MPlayer's mencoder for transcoding any playable video to one supported for this device, for those interested in knowing if this device is multi platform compatible, it is just a USB Mass Storage device, no needed applications or middleware is required to transfer data from or to this device.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cowon D2 2GB Portable Media Player (Black)

Want to buy Cowon D2 2GB Portable Media Player (Black) at other amazon sites? Click the corresponding icon below:

Cowon D2 4GB Portable Media Player (White) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This player is a very solidly constructed mp3 player (the weighty feel confirms this even though the unit is not that heavy) that has great sound, good interface, and a good mix of features and EQ settings for the price.

The battery life is stated at 52 hours music and 10 hours video, and this was confirmed by my research at CNet's review, who clocked in at 51 hours and a few minutes and roughly 9.5 hours of video time.I can say from practical use of this product that I do not worry about battery life like I did with my Samsung mp3 player, although that was hard drive-based.

The touch screen interface is a little gimmicky in my opinion, more of a "wow" factor.However, when looking at the overall design, the touch screen does help in enlarging the screen size, with all the other buttons on the top of the unit.The interface is fast and responsive, very important for mp3 players and for me since I'm always on the go.Its possible to operate this unit single handedly like iPods.

The quality of the screen is very nice, very clear text, although they are quite small sometimes.I've had to squint a few times to see what I was pressing while on the run.Don't let this be a turnoff though, since the video quality was nice when being played back (so far I have only viewed the promo video that came with the unit, none of my own clips).

Sound quality is top notch, and EQ settings can be individually changed, however, beware the radio.I have heard some problems with people receiving poor feedback through the radio feature (Cowon America's product forums), and personally have heard some occasional static when walking around the city.

The transferring of music went by quickly, and can be done with USB going through Windows Explorer.No need for specialized software that needs to integrate with the player.The ability to sync with specialized software is available, although I have never tried it.

Overall very impressed with the player. Forget the stylus, it doesn't really help keep my unit standing, not that I'd need to anyways.

<>

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cowon D2 4GB Portable Media Player (White)

Product Description:
Cowon D2 4GB Portable Media Player (White)

Want to buy Cowon D2 4GB Portable Media Player (White) at other amazon sites? Click the corresponding icon below:

Cowon D2+ 8 GB MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is the best audiobook player. I also have an Ipod 80GB Classic and had a Zen Vision M. It leaves both for dead.
- superb sound quality.
- excellent bookmark function- 256 bookmarks. It returns to the bookmark and continues to the follwing tracks (unlike Zen which just stops, as do many other players, and windows mobile players).
- the touch screen is very nifty and the smart menus pop up nicely. Navigation quickly became intuitive.
- the standard folder structure makes loading books and tracks very simple. I am over Itunes and do not miss it.
- 16GB or 8GB or 4GB of internal memory, then an SD slot which means you can have as many SD cards as you want. bookmarks work on the current SD card no worries.
- excellent for music albums.
- the video function works well when I test it, although I am not interested in using it routinely.

If you're looking for the best portable audiobook player, you've found it. But if you just want to listen to audiobooks on your computer get ViddyMP3 for free. Or if you want to tinker get Rockbox free software for various portable players. I think the D2 is great for music too as its sound is clearly superior to Ipod and Zen to even my untrained ear.

It does not do playlists, but really who needs them? I mainly used to use them to work around Itunes bugs.(maybe I like compilation albums, but I can just compile a folder of MP3's any way I like).

Wishlist- on the fly erase & click for more details on the bookmarks (but still the best for bookmarks), playlists (OK already).

Tips- use the stylus supplied for navigating the touch screen.
- when you first ever turn it on, be careful as the first thing you do is set language and I accidentally clicked Korean!! It took a while to return it to English, ha ha.
- If you're not sure just buy the 4GB Black version [...], and later expand it with an SD card.

Note that Cowon also make the S9 which I have not seen. It is more expensive and uses a different screen technology.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cowon D2+ 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)

Product Description:
Video and audio player with FM tuner, voice recorder, and text and photo viewer 2.5-inch, 24-bit QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen LCD with 16 million colors Up to 52 hours of music playback (10 hours of video) on one charge SD/SDHC/MMC/MMC-plus card memory expansion DRM-protected content and BBE+ support What's in the BoxCowon D2+ (Black), stylus, earphones, USB cable, Quick Guide, installation CD.

Want to buy Cowon D2+ 8 GB MP3 Player (Black) at other amazon sites? Click the corresponding icon below:

Cowon D2+ 16 GB MP3 Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, allow me to clear up some confusion pertaining to the previous review pertaining to the tagged music not playing properly.
I've purchased the 16GB D2+. You can also just put your mp3's (or FLAC, ogg, wma's, etc.) in folders before transferring to the D2+ and then select Folder View on the D2+ too. The previous reviewer hasn't spent much time with his D2+ before deciding to bash it, or was going about it the wrong way :)
As far as video goes - I also have an 8gb Creative Zen (same size screen and color depth) and all my videos I've converted using CloneDVD Mobile and they play on the D2+ perfectly with no audio sync issues, so I'm not sure what "tools" he's used. Cowon also adds a CD to the kit for converting video as well.
For tagging music, MP3Tag or MediaMonkey work fine (leave out the "comments") and they're quick (and also free). I have over 200+GB in FLAC audio files alone and don't have any issues with them playing on the D2+ ...and yes, I've converted some of them them to mp3 to test on the D2+; however, I prefer FLAC, a lossless audio format which the D2+ clearly shows its sound quality benefit, if using high-end headphones.

That being said, the Cowon D2+ is a very customizable unit. You can adjust or change the font colors, add skins, themes, Flash skins and themes (again - free) to change the interface to something different and adds to the fun factor. They can also be changed back quickly to the factory default mode, if desired.
It also offers BBE+ sound enhancements which truly augment the sound in a nice way to emulate different listening environments (if desired, however not needed), unlike the cheap-sounding or distorting sound enhancements of other players.
As mentioned before, I also have the Creative Zen and the Sandisk Sansa Clip. While the Clip is fine if the audio EQ is set flat and is also great for being and uber-portable device (running, gym, etc.), the D2+ just absolutely blows them both out of the water in the sound department once you have the audio settings adjusted to your taste. It also features the strongest amp I know of in a portable music player. As an added bonus, the expandable SDHC card slot integrates the music with the music on the player's internal memory for a seamless listening experience. Just be aware that for a player that does so much, plan on spending some time to play with it in order to bring out all it has to offer, which I can say has been entertaining and enjoyable. It's also well supported in the major online audio Forums - primarily as the D2 version (since it's been around alot longer), but upon reading into it, practically everything that works for the D2 also works on the D2+ without issue.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cowon D2+ 16 GB MP3 Player (Black)

Product Description:
Video and audio player with FM tuner, voice recorder, and text and photo viewer 2.5-inch, 24-bit QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen LCD with 16 million colors Up to 52 hours of music playback (10 hours of video) on one charge SD/SDHC/MMC/MMC-plus card memory expansion DRM-protected content and BBE+ support What's in the BoxCowon D2+ (Black), stylus, earphones, USB cable, Quick Guide, installation CD.

Want to buy Cowon D2+ 16 GB MP3 Player (Black) at other amazon sites? Click the corresponding icon below:

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Blue) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)So recently, because I love my Sansa Clip so much for exercising, and I thought I could use one more, I picked one of these up at Bestbuy. I have used it for about a week so I can't say anything about the longetivity of the new Clip Plus, but I can tell you about everything else. First I will give you the cons since there is only one and that is also only about preference. I personally LOVED the sleek look of the original sansa clip, but that has been replaced with a sort of glittery finish on the front. That is about it and to add to this, everything else from the outside such as the plastic used has been revamped to feel better in your hands and is just overall better quality. Now on to the most important part, the features. The main thing that sets this apart from the original clip is the addition of a microSD card slot. This can take up to a 32gb microSD card, so if you were to pair one with this, you could potentially get a 36(!)gb memory for this puny little item. That is the next thing I will get into, the size. If you haven't ever heard about the original sansa clip, basically, Sandisk designed this line of Sansa for portability and mainly for exercise. It feels really good in the hand and the non removable clip on the back can clip on to virtually anything. Next is the display. The menu remains much of the same, but Sansa also added slotRadio compatibility and a nicer flow to menu if you're into that. Finally we'll go to the placement of the buttons. On the old sansa clip, there was a button the side for power and hold, but a lot of clip owners including me found that uncomfortable. To cope with this, Sandisk put the power button on the top and put the hold funtion to holding the home button for about 3 seconds. So overall, this is a fantastic MP3 player in any category, but if you are in the market for one for the gym, pass up the Ipod Shuffle for 79$ with no screen and counter-intuitiveness(in my opinion) and get this really nice compact MP3 player for only 50$ for the 4gb, 40$ for the 2gb and 70$ for the 8gb. Thank you and I hope this review helps.

Click Here to see more reviews about: SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Blue)

Product Description:
The Sansa Clip+MP3 playergives you more to enjoy. Enjoy up to 2,000 songs†† with an 8GB* player, FM radio, long-life battery and voice recorder. PLUS now even more!Expand your enjoyment when you add in preloaded content cards** into the new memory card slot, including slotRadio™ and slotMusic™ cards**.Or, save your own music, podcasts, and audio books onto a microSD™/microSDHC™ memory card** to expand your play.It's brought to you by SanDisk with awesome sound to enjoy your music.Just clip it on and enjoy more music with an incredible 15 hours† battery-fueled fun.See what you're listening to with the bright, easy-to-read screen and intuitively searchable menus. Color your world in red, blue or sleek black undertones.

Get 47% OFF

Want to buy SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Blue) at other amazon sites? Click the corresponding icon below: