So I finally got one! It was about $380 from Newegg.com.

Upon opening it, the player is safely packaged (very well, I might add) inside a case...



All extras were there... incl. leather case and strap. The tech specs are found here...

What was the first thing I did, you ask?! Well, Cowon is well-known for frequently updating firmwares for their devices! So I did just that! I upgraded to the latest version 1.61C, another painless thing to do. You unzip it to the top level of the directory. Reboot holding down lever and power button. Wait and voila!

What was important to me is > 20 GB storage, both audio AND video playback. So the fact that this player comes with 4" 480x272 res. 16.7 million color LCD was very nice! It also has the ability to be a photo viewer (also being able to be a USB HOST to download pics and such!), an FM tuner, and (currently useless) DMB TV broadcasting... Another nice feature is the voice recording capability with the mic built-in. While its performance of S/N isn't great (noticeable noise), it was fun to play with my kids and record them singing songs. It's convenient and sure even my onboard sound recording is better than this but kids are more willing to sing around this cutey!

You can also record from the radio, video in (VCR and TV and whatnot), audio in (like a CD player) ... When you hook it up to Win XP OS, it sees it as a portable HDD and you just simply drag and drop your songs and videos. Since this gem supports all 3 popular video compressions (WMV, DivX 3/4/5, and XviD), I can now bring my kids' home made videos and favorite TV shows with me!





While video and images look sharp and crisp, I do miss one thing from my long gone Creative Zen 20 GB player... ability to play mp3s by genre, and track numbers. Anyone know how to??

Also, it's nice to know that this thing can view text files. Eh... Another nice add-on is the speakers! No, it's not loud, but for light video watching (in relatively quiet environment), it works and works well! My kids loved being able to instantly hear back their recorded sessions!!

The controls take a bit getting used to but it works and is fine. It's very well made and a great all-around multimedia device! If it could take pics (even at 1.3 MP), it would be totally awesome! But oh well...

Pros: Capable of lots of things (radio, image, video & audio playback AND record, text viewer. Very crisp video display. Firmware updates.

Cons: Unable to play mp3 by genres or track numbers (ID3 tags).

Verdict: 9/10

Nice review, would you mind if I posted it on the main CG site?

Sure... go right ahead. It would be an honor!

Thanks to your review I might reconsider when buying a PMP. I was first thinking of getting an Archos AV 500 but I don't think i'm gonna need that much space.. so thanks for the review!

Right on! It's not like you will keep all the TV shows and movies on it forever! I just rotate out stuff I've watched w/ new things.

Has been posted now
http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20060...-30-gb-review/
Thanks again, cool review .

thats a great review and good it see it on CG

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Thanks... it really helps me save those few minutes here and few there to watch the TV shows I missed... And movies.. and animes... well, you get the idea! LOL...

Great review.... maybe I'll give it a try. Screen looks very nice but what is the battery autonomy? With my Video iPod is ridicilouse. I fill the battery full play a video for couple of minutes and theres a noticable drainage of battery... couple of minutes more and the battery is on red. Kind of takes that Video for granted.

The battery is great. I can watch videos for at least 3 hours or so...

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