Cowon iAUDIO M3
MP3 | February 11th, 2008
Rather than copy the white of Apple, Cowon has opted for a grey or black, smooth and solid chassis. The aluminium-covered body is strong and svelte. There’s no screen on the main unit- that’s hidden away -and there is a small just a button cluster and discrete lights tucked into the top edge. The separate screen is 128×96 dot 4gray LCD with led backlight, built into the first section of the headset. It’s an interesting idea that’s a bit different to the Apple option, and allows you to pocket the main player out of the way- don’t worry, Cowon’s had the foresight to add plenty of length on the headphone cord however. Also, the top half of the headset is interchangeable so you can plug in your own headphones.
The iAudio makes a claim to be the World’s Smallest 20GB hard disk-based music player (there’s a 40GB version now, too) and it clearly is, as long as you ignore the inline remote, where the engineers have offloaded the LCD screen and most of the controls. It’s not a bad gimmick, really, and for somebody that uses in-line remote (I happen to love them), it really makes a lot of sense. In fact, if there are any serious failings of the iAudio M3, it’s in the controls and software, not the atypical form factor.
About the size. The 20GB M3 measures 4.08 x 2.39 x .56 inches and tips the scales at 4.8 ounces. The 20GB iPod measures 4.1 x 2.4 x .62 inches and weighs 5.6 ounces. Granted, the dimensions aren’t drastically different, but the M3 is smaller. More important is the weight. Cowon was able to undercut the iPod by almost an ounce, which isn’t much if you’re talking about bowling balls but is appreciable if you’re talking about ultra light portables. How did they do it? Well the most striking characteristic is the lack of an onboard LCD. This is a pretty ballsy move considering that the current LCD trend is to make them larger, not take them away. It makes for a pretty streamlined player, but you must rely on the remote for all navigation and most control. The remote has six lines of text.
Features:
20GB /40GB HDD Jukebox
Fully controlled by Remote Controller with Wide LCD
Multi-functional Cradle (Option)
Powerful Sound Effects
- 5 bands EQ
- BBE : Improves brilliance and clarity of music
- Mach3Bass : Provides deeper and tighter bass
- MP Enhance : Adds warmth and clarity from compressed music files
- 3D Surround : Creates an authentic and exciting 3D sound effect.
Multi-codec
Direct MP3 Encoding
High-quality Voice Recording
Portable Hard Disk
FM Radio
High Speed USB 2.0 Interface
Longer lasting battery life
Anti-Shock
Upgradeable firmware
Wide LCD
Multi-folder and Navigation
Dynamic Playlist
M3U Playlist
Multilingual
Various options
Changing Logos
Powerful management software - JetShell
MAC OS
High-quality ear buds Cresyn AXE2
Fashionable carrying case included
Powerful multimedia player - jetAudio 6