With a recessed 5-inch wide-screen display and elegant metal construction, the Cowon Q5W looks like a Cowon D2 on steroids. Considering that the Q5W comes in at nearly a pound of unwieldy metal girth–measuring 5.5 inches wide, 3.5 inches high, and 0.8 inch thick–it would also make a decent weapon should you choose to hurl it at someone. Anyone shopping for high-capacity portable video players is likely resigned to issues of size and weight anyhow, so let’s dive into the heart of what makes any PVP worthwhile: the screen.

GPS Navigation: Fantastic. Just plug the unit into the dock, plug the dock into the cigarette adapter, and you’re ready to go. The dock even has an FM transmitter so you can broadcast GPS sound, music, or movie (audio) over your car’s speakers. The actual navigation is great too, with a pleasing female narrator and airplane-esque ding noise. The icons are large enough that you can hit with your finger instead of the stylus, and the UI has a 2D, 3D, and 2D/3D view. You can even listen to your on-board music while you’re navigating as well.

The Cowon Q5W is undoubtedly the most feature-packed PVP we’ve ever reviewed, thanks to its built-in wireless Internet connection, Bluetooth audio streaming capability, Internet Explorer Web browser, Flash game support, and some limited Microsoft application support. The Q5W supports an extensive list of acceptable audio and video formats (including DivX, XVID, WMV, MPEG, and audio formats such as MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG, FLAC, APE, MPC), but chokes on AAC, h.264, MKV, VOB, and MOV files.

The Cowon A3 isn’t the slimmest or lightest portable video player we’ve seen, considering that it weighs in at 0.6 pounds and measures 5.2×0.9×3.1 inches. Fortunately, it’s got it where it counts–the screen. The A3’s 4-inch, 800×480 LCD is sharp and gorgeous. The tradeoff, of course, is that the Cowon A3’s glossy plastic screen is a magnet for both fingerprints and scratches.

The COWON A3 also boasts the industry¿s most expansive digital media format and codec support, including popular lossy and lossless audio codecs True Audio, Monkey¿s Audio, Musepack, WavPack, Matroska, FLAC and Ogg Vorbis; and video codecs DivX, XviD, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV, H.264 MP and M-JPEG. Additionally, the A3 comes equipped with an FM radio and recorder, voice recorder with internal microphone, built-in stereo speakers, and it functions as a full-screen photo and document viewer. With its high-speed USB 2.0 interface and USB host functionality, the COWON A3 also doubles as a data storage and high-capacity photo backup device for digital cameras with support for JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP and RAW image formats.

As an audio player the Cowon A3 has plenty going for it, including support for MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG Vorbis, OGG FLAC, Apple Lossless, AAC/AAC+, AC3, True Audio, Monkey’s Audio, MusePack, WavPack, G.726, and PCM audio formats. Noticeably absent from this list is the DRM-protected WMA format required for subscription music services. For better or worse, you probably won’t want to load up the Cowon A3 with a ton of music anyhow, seeing that it doesn’t allow you to sort music using common ID3 tags such as album, genre, or song. Instead, Cowon’s music browser uses a straightforward file-tree system that is completely up to you to organize. If you can live without the convenience of ID3 tag sorting, however, the A3 will reward you with the stellar audio quality and slew of advanced music enhancement features we’ve come to expect from Cowon. One of the more interesting audio features crammed into the Cowon A3 is the ability to record audio directly to either WMA (128 to192Kbps) or FLAC (lossless) files using the line-input connection. FM radio or voice recordings (using the built-in monophonic mic) are saved as 128-to-192Kbps WMA files.

Key Features:

FM tune
Voice recorder
Digital audio player
Digital photo viewer
Digital video player
Digital audio recorder
Video capture from external source

The player is even smaller than it appears in pictures, or at least that’s my impression. Build quality seems solid, and the weight feels right. Nothing is flimsy or fragile on the D2, except maybe the cover for the USB ports. The slightly rough-textured plastic frame and back plate appear to be scratch resistant, and the back plate has four small bumps to further prevent abrasion. The D2’s housing doesn’t overly attract fingerprints.

The included FM radio feature is certainly a welcome addition, as some devices require a 3rd party accessory to use this feature. The ability to record FM radio transmissions and save them as WMA files (from 32kb-256kb) is pretty sweet. The ability to schedule radio recordings on the device is key (it’s a DVR for your radio), especially because it keeps us from missing Angie Martinez while we’re working. Our only beef with the radio recorder is the filing system. It would be nice, for example, if the player would insert the date, time and station of the particular recording, as opposed to going through after the fact and making the changes on your computer. Not to mention it would make it a lot easier to find later. The D2 also includes a recorder, which records through a built-in microphone.

The touchscreen interface is surprisingly simple to use. If it weren’t for the fact that most functions took two touches to execute instead of one (one to highlight, one to confirm), we’d rate the experience as high as using Apple’s Click Wheel. A stylus that doubles as a kickstand is included in the box, but we had no trouble using our fingertips. Our test unit was loaded with 4GB of flash memory, and you can add capacity using the SD/MMC slot.

The D2 is dominated by a 2.5-inch color screen, which makes it look quite similar to the iRiver Clix. Unlike the Clix, however, the D2’s display is touch-sensitive, which means the majority of navigation is accomplished by poking at the screen PDA-style. Your finger will do the trick, or you can use the included stylus–which also acts as a nifty kickstand, by the way. The D2’s touch screen is responsive, but we prefer tactile controls for MP3 players since a touch interface makes blind navigation impossible. All in all, the D2’s user interface is pretty straightforward, with an icon-driven main menu that reminds me of Archos’ PVPs, but deeper navigation will take some acclimation. Still, anyone with a bit of tech experience should catch on swiftly.

Features:

- Video & Audio Player / FM Tuner / Voice Recorder / Text & Photo Viewer
- 2.5 inch 16 million color 24bit TFT-LCD - QVGA (320×240) Touchscreen
- SD / SDHC Memory Expansion
- Up to 52 hours (Music) of continuous playback (Movie 10 hours)*
- DRM-protected content Support (PlaysForSure, etc.)

The Cowon A2 is a portable media player/recorder with a 30GB hard drive, a widescreen 4-inch LCD, and an integrated FM tuner. Its video and audio playback capabilities are good, the design is attractive, and the interface is fairly easy to use, but we’re a bit disappointed in what we feel is the device’s main feature: video recording. There are also some file-compatibility issues that need to be worked out before we can get really excited about this product.

Video playback is stunning with a crystal clear image even when being interpreted into widescreen from the native resolution. The display can be toggled between 4:3 and 16:9 or can be left on automatic so the player makes up its own mind. The unit supports playback of AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4 and video made with Divx 3.11 to 4.5, Xvid and Windows Media 9 codecs with reasonable resolution limits imposed on each. There are very few video formats that this unit doesn’t display, the only two major ones being Quicktime and Real Media. There is no noticeable slow down on any of the formats when played on the LCD screen and no audio lag. The video playback function also supports SMI subtitle files which make watching foreign films possible and also opens up a world of possibilities for those with hearing disabilities. Unfortunately, SMI is not the most widely used subtitle standard but there are free programs available on the internet for easy conversion. Video can also be played back via a television set with the flick of a switch and maintains its quality of image and sound reproduction.

Record video directly from external AV devices (TV,VCR, camcorder). Just connect your A2 with included AV cable then start recording.USB 2.0 support allows fast file transfer to the built-in hard disk, and the “USB HOST” feature allows you to transfer pictures from your digital camera (with UMS support) to your A2 without computer. You can record voice memos or important lectures with A2’s built-in high-fidelity microphone. You can also directly from any analog sound device such as a CD player with the lin-in cable.

Specifications:

Video Playback File Format : AVI, WMV, ASF
Video Codec : DivX 3.11 1) / 4/ 5 2), XviD 2), WMV9 (MP@LL) 3)
Audio Codec : WMA 4), MP3, AC3 5.1 Downmix
Audio Playback MP3, OGG 10), WMA 4), FLAC 10), WAV with 5 bands EQ, BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, and 3D Surround 5)
Photo Viewer JPEG 6), PNG 7), BMP 8 )
Text Viewer TXT (EUC-KR, EUC-JP, GB2312, Big5, ISO-8859-1, UTF-8)
FM Radio 76 ~ 108MHz with preset
TV Recording ASF (MPEG4 video and MP3) : Up to 640X480, 30fps
Line-in Recording MP3 : Up to 44.1KHz, 192Kbps
TV Out NTSC/PAL
DivX Certified Yes
Subtitle SMI Format
Playback Time Video : Up to 10 hours
Audio : Up to 18 hours
LCD 4″ 480×272, 0.183mm pitch, TFT LCD (16:9 Wide)
Storage Hard disk (20GB/30GB) 9)
PC Interface USB 2.0 (Max 480Mbps)
USB OTG USB 1.1 (Max 12Mbps)
USB USB 2.0

iAUDIO provides direct encoding by which you can record output from an external audio device at a 1:1 ratio. This means that you can connect the recording terminal and the output terminal of an external audio device with a bi-directional stereo cable for recording. Using this feature, you can receive the direct input from audio devices such as a walkman, MD (mini disk), old LP phonograph, or TV, and record them with iAUDIO. Also included in the package is JetAudio VX, the most popular integrated multimedia player software in the world. Also, a simple video conversion for 6 is possible using the JetAudio conversion tools without need for any additional program.

The iAudio 6 follows in the Cowon tradition of being packed to the gills with features. It is an MP3, WMA (including subscription tracks), OGG, FLAC, and WAV audio player; an MPEG-4 (AVI) video player; a photo viewer, complete with a three-by-three grid of thumbnails and zoom/pan features; an FM tuner with 24 autoscannable presets; and a voice and line-in recorder. High-resolution graphics and data pop off the colorful, 160×180-pixel OLED screen, though the display is highly reflective outdoors.

Battery life for the internal rechargeable battery is rated for 20 hours; CNET Labs got a little more than 18 hours, which is respectable. While the internal processor can handle multitasking–that is, viewing photos and listening to music–you’ll notice minute pauses while rapidly skipping through tracks, which is characteristic of hard drive players. You’ll also have to contend with a long 20-second boot-up time.

The iAudio 6 is equipped wit the faster USB 2.0 standard meaning you can push media onto its hard disk at speeds up to 35mbps, in daily use this means its quite possible to completely change the contents of the player in under 16 minute, perhaps this would be a weekly task? Cowon supply their Jet Audio package as a management tool, we’ve covered this package before and it’s competent enough and far better than Sony’s Sonic Stage, however being a Cowon you can just drag and drop media over to the unit or even transfer from Windows media Player 10 with DRM enabled.

Features:

MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, Moving Picture Playback,
FM Radio Receiver and Recording, Voice Recording, Line-In Recording
TXT (Text), JPEG (Image) File Viewer (Image Enlargement, Background Screen Designation)
built-in 0.85 inch HDD (4GB)
USB Host Interface
260,000 Color 1.3 inch OLED, Resolution 160×128
Long Playback Time : Up to 20 hours playback(Based on company’s self-test, The playing
time may be shortened according to LCD usages.)
Multi language support
Enhanced Integrated Navigator
Play/Pause, Recording/Pause While Recording
Next Song/Previous Song, Fast Forward/Rewind, Section Repeat
Resume, Fade-In, AutoPlay Features
Search Speed, Skip Speed Setup
Volume (Digital 40 Levels)
Various EQ and Sound Field Effects
- User-Adjustable 5-Band EQ
- Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal, User
- Supports BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, and 3D Surround.
Clock, Alarm, Timer Recording, Sleep Function, Power Saving Shut down.
LCD Auto Off Time Adjustment, Brightness, and Contrast Adjustments
Easy Firmware Upgrade
Supports ID3V2, ID3V1, FileName
Product Info Display (Firmware version, Memory Capacity/Usage)
Supports MAC OS (Data transfer only), Supports Linux v 2.2 or higher (Data transfer only)
Software
- jetShell (File transfer, MP3/WMA/WAV/AUDIO CD PLAY)
- jetAudio VX (Integrated multimedia player software, music/video conversion feature)

The player is available in several different configurations: the slim X5 with a battery life of 14 hours and capacities of 20 and 30GB, and the bulkier X5L rated at 35 hours of battery life and the same capacities. A 60GB version of the X5 also exists, with the same dimensions as the X5L (due to the bigger 60GB hard disk). There is no 60GB version of the X5L.

Measuring 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches and weighing 5.4 ounces, the black and silver Cowon iAudio X5 is about the same size as the 4G iPod (including the Photo version), but it’s lighter, with a thin lower half that slopes inward from the 2-inch LCD. Just below the screen is a tiny, five-way navigational joystick, similar to those we’ve seen on Cowon’s flash-memory players; the play and record buttons as well as a power slider sit on the right side of the device. While the spare layout gives the X5 a clean, uncluttered look, it’s a pain having the play button relegated to the right side of the player; we wish it were right next to the joystick for easier access. And for that matter, a scrollwheel or a touch-sensitive slider for navigating our 30GB of files would have been nice.

Sturdy, versatile, and remarkably compact, given its voluminous storage capacity, iAudio’s X5 portable multimedia device is sure to be a hit. The 30 GB audio/video player and recorder can store about 7,500 songs (4 minutes each, 128 kbps) in a nearly unparalleled choice of formats, from MP3 and WMA to linear (uncompressed, CD-quality) WAV files, Ogg Vorbis files (which sound a bit better than MP3 for files of comparable size), as well as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec, compressed but designed for 1:1 encode/decode). The X5 can recognize up to 2,000 folders and 10,000 individual files, and its super power-saving circuit provides up to 14 hours continuous playback on a full charge.

Another design similarity that the X5 shares with the M3 is that the headphone jack is located on the left side of the player. When using headphones with straight plugs instead of “L” shaped plugs it isn’t really ideal, but seeing that the player is so small, it doesn’t really bother me too much, even with my PX200. For my Sony Fontopia EX51 I personally find a side-mounted jack better than a top mounted jack. The M3 came in the standard “electronic gadget silver” which is nice, but in comparison to the X5’s sleek jet-black it is outclassed by miles.

Features:

• MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, Moving Picture Playback, FM Radio Receiver and Recording,
• Voice Recording, Line-In Recording
• TXT (Text), JPEG (Image) File Viewer (Image Enlargement, Background Screen Designation)
• Built-In HDD (20GB/30GB/60GB), USB Host, File Copy/Delete
• USB 2.0 Interface
• 260,000 Colors TFT-LCD, Resolution 160×128
• Long Playback Time : Up to 14 hours playback (35 hours for iAUDIO X5L)
  (Based on company’s self-test, The playing time may be shortened according to settings.)
• Multi language support
• Enhanced Integrated Navigator
• Play/Pause, Recording/Pause While Recording
• Next Song/Previous Song, Fast Forward/Rewind, Section Repeat
• Resume, Fade-In, AutoPlay Features
• Search Speed, Skip Speed Setup
• Volume (Digital 40 Levels)
• Various EQ and Sound Field Effects
  -User-Adjustable 5-Band EQ
  -Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal, User
  -Supports BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, and 3D Surround.
• Clock, Alarm, Timer Recording, Sleep Function, Power Saving Shut down.
• Power, LCD On/Off, Hold Combined Switch
• LCD Auto Off Time Adjustment, Brightness, and Contrast Adjustments
• Easy Firmware Upgrade
• Supports ID3V2, ID3V1, FileName
• Device Information Verification
  (Firmware version, HDD capacity, HDD volume, total folder number, total file number)
• Supports MAC OS (Data transfer only)
• Supports Linux v 2.2 or higher (Data transfer only)
• Software
  -JetShell (File transfer, MP3/WMA/WAV/AUDIO CD PLAY, MP3 ENCODING)
  -JetAudio (Integrated multimedia player software, music/video conversion feature)

iAUDIO M5 is a micro portable digital audio device that can play many multimedia sound files including MP3; record through a built in microphone, or separately- sold subpack, or input port which is the cradle line; and support text viewer. iAUDIO M5, with its super-compact slim design is not only convenient to carry, but also stylish with a high-quality aluminum external finish on most of the unit. iAUDIO provides direct encoding by which you can record output from an external audio device at a 1:1 ratio. This means that you can connect the recording terminal and the output terminal of an external audio device with a bi-directional stereo cable for recording. Using this feature, you can receive the direct input from audio devices such as a walkman, MD (mini disk), old LP phonograph, or TV, and record them with iAUDIO.

easuring 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches and weighing 5.1 ounces, the silver and black Cowon iAudio M5 is based on the same scratch-resistant aluminum case as the X5. The unit is about the same size as an iPod, but it’s lighter, with a thin lower half that slopes inward from the 2-inch display. Just below the screen is a tiny, five-way navigational joystick that’s identical to the X5’s. The play and record buttons, as well as a power slider, sit on the right side of the device. While the sparse layout gives the iAudio M5 a clean, uncluttered look, it’s a pain having the Play button relegated to the right side of the player; we wish it were right next to the joystick for easier access.

Sound quality is very good, as we have come to expect from previous iAudio models. While there are many excellent hard drive players on the market, the most persuasive reason for buying the M5 is probably its multi codec support, with high quality OGG or the lossless FLAC format files delivering far better sound quality than the standard MP3 format is capable of. Fire up the M5 and select an OGG or FLAC file (indicated by an O or F on the file icon in the selected folder) and it delivers a fantastic performance, while it’s ability to get the best out of MP3 files is none to shabby either, particularly with MP Enhance mode engaged from the settings menu. Play an ordinary MP3 file (identified with an M icon) and the M5 delivers a spacious, airy sound. Switch to an OGG or FLAC file and the sound takes on a smoother and even more pleasing character. Side-by-side comparison of Madeleine Peyroux’s ‘Jai Duex Amours’, for example, highlights the ability of the superior codec’s to separate the sound of the harmonica from the other instruments, which can sound muddled on the MP3 version.

Features:

- MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC ASF, WAV playback, Voice Recording, Line-In Recording,
TXT(Text) File Viewer
- USB Mass Storage : Removable disk
- USB 2.0 interface
- Voice recording
- Superb sound quality with BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, 3D, 5Band EQ
- Supports MAC OS

Wireless LAN, Wireless Internet
Integrated WLAN capability means new possibilies! Entire world is in front of you to be discovered. Just touch the screen and start exloring. Pocket-sized COWON Q5W will assist you throughout your journey. Your exploring experience will only be better with its huge 5-inch 16million color LCD touch screen.

“Jamming a Web browser, Bluetooth, a text editor, and a zillion other features into a PMP is a solid idea, but the interface must be done right. Unfortunately for the Cowon Q5W, running a dated-looking minimally functional version of Windows doesn’t cut it. The 5-inch touchscreen looks great, and the audio is excellent and offers flexible options, but the design (inside and out) is decidedly technophilic. With a few firmware updates, this could be a decent travel companion for the tech-savvy, but it’s too big and heavy to be carried with you everywhere, and the touchscreen interface doesn’t compete with offerings from the likes of Apple and Samsung.”

The top edge of the Cowon Q5W includes conveniently located buttons for controlling volume, a power switch that doubles as a hold button for disabling onscreen controls, two built-in speakers, an infrared sensor for the included remote control, and a pinhole microphone for creating voice recordings. A useful (often necessary) stylus pen for the Q5W’s touch screen is conveniently housed in the top-right edge of the player. Packed into the left edge of the Q5W are jacks for a 3.5mm headphone cable, a 2.5mm headset cable (for voice recording), a power adapter input, a USB-to-PC port, a USB host port, and the oddest feature of all: a fragile, retractable antenna that we first thought was for the FM radio, but is actually used for Wi-Fi reception. The back, bottom, and right edge of the Q5W are bare, save a small proprietary port on the bottom for the player’s AV cable output and optional GPS dock

‘The Q5W powers up in about 20 seconds, booting first into Windows CE and then launching Cowon’s extremely thin interface layer — two icon-filled panes on either side of the screen and several inches (diagonal) of wasted space in the middle. While clearly designed for fingers, the icons should have been made much bigger, and the rest of the menus could use a lesson in finger-friendliness. You can exit Cowon’s interface into Windows CE, but it’s ironic to see such an outdated-looking version of Windows on a device from one of the industry’s most cutting-edge manufacturers. And the OS is pretty sluggish on the 600-MHz Alchemy Au1250 processor and 128MB of RAM.