Not to be outdone by iRiver’s N series of necklace MP3 players, Cowon has releases the T2 or the “take two”. The T2 has a solid set of file type support such as MP3, WMA, OGG, ASF, FLAC and WAV, all of this loadable by UMS. The player comes in 512MB, 1GB & 2GB capacities and a rated internal battery life of 12 hours. On the front of the player resides a 96 x 64 65k color OLED screen. Overall it looks like another great entry from Cowon.
[Cowon via generationmp3]
The Clip+ has a fantastic little form factor; somewhat cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straightforward. The features on the Clip are more or less average, however it supports the alternative Rockbox firmware which provides tons of additional options (gapless playback, Replaygain, playlists, Last.fm scrobbling, etc). Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.
The J3 is a fantastic PMP with a very nice AMOLED screen and tons of features. It sports Cowon's trademark BBE sound enhancements, and offers a customizable user interface with strong support by our user community. You can usually find it at Amazon for the best price - and don't forget to check out our review.
Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune: sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of Editor’s Choice. You can check out our Zune HD review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest info and gossip.
Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.
The Hippo VB (Variable Bass) offers a serious subwoofer for on the go, right in your head. They don’t just deliver generous quantities of punchy, textured bass, but good audio quality over the whole frequency range with decent clarity and exceptional soundstage. Exchangeable bass ports let you customize their sound to your liking. Read our in-depth Hippo VB review.
The Soundmagic E10 and E30 are basically right in the middle between the Phonak PFE and Hippo VB - not too analytical sounding, not too bass heavy. The E10 provide a bit more bass, the E30 a bit more clarity. Both come with a very fair price tag considering the sound quality they deliver - a great choice for the audio aficionado on a budget. Read our E10 and E30 reviews for more info.
12 Comments
sam on June 8, 2006 12:13 PM
kudos
Laura Bergells on June 8, 2006 2:52 PM
I just discovered your site today, and I think it is brilliant! Apple certainly cornered the term “ipod” to mean “mp3 player” — and it is easier for people to say than “portable media device.”When I say “portable media device” people regard me strangely. Then they usually say, “Oh, you mean an iPod!”But I do not, will not buy the overpriced/underfeatured iPod when there are other options of the market.Kudos to you!
Crash on June 9, 2006 5:52 PM
Hey if you dont like IPod visit this website http://www.idont.com its pretty fun and its advertisement for SanDisk new MP3 player the e200 series –> I just got one and its awesome!!
atrax on June 10, 2006 6:25 AM
its a stupid site, its just sacrificing one mp3 player for another
therejustnoway on June 16, 2006 3:20 AM
I agree what a dumb site the revieer acts biased and snobby and acts like a VIP which i hate…
Crash on June 17, 2006 6:17 PM
Well thats kinda the point of the website its not called IDont for nothing and i said its for people who dont like IPod so obviously its not because theyre saying good things about Ipod.And im not sure i understand what youre saying when you say the host acts like a VIP so maybe you could clear things out for me…
Bruce on August 11, 2006 1:27 PM
I love Cowon, but I think this player is one of the ugliest players in existence.It can be improved with:1) more logical placement of controls (pressing buttons on one side can easily press buttons on the other, by all appearances). A better option would be to buttons on the front face, perhaps one set of buttons on the front face, like the Play and Forward/Back track changes.2) gloss surfaces shouldn’t be gloss. Fingerprints are awful, and scratches are so much more noticeable on gloss surfaces. So why the gloss?3) the boxy design looks like it came out of 1985. Whoever is designing this thing needs to put form first, and round the corners off. Square structures are very weak. Buttons should be made rounder, with more usable surface area for fingers.
Snazz12 on October 25, 2006 3:09 PM
I think the square share is very nice. Rounded corners usually look childish as if it is to stop a kid from poking its eye out. Small buttons are fine and these are easy to use for me (but then I dont have fat fingers) and if the buttons were rounder they wouldnt fit with the style of the player. Its damn loud too!!!
Snazz12 on October 25, 2006 3:11 PM
Oh and also, Burce really hated the gloss but im sure u have a Sony PSP which has a very glossy finish but I dont hear much complaints about that from ppl. Could it be because ppl just want to nitpick about things they already dont like and ignore problems with things they support blindly? Just a thought.
Luc on November 19, 2006 11:19 PM
I think it’s a real beaut. I mean, really, 2gb? FM radio and recording? It has so many features and it’s so tiny and it rather does look like a piece of jewelry.It’s sexy. I would definitely buy it if I was looking in the 2gb range.
Kate on November 21, 2006 8:30 PM
My husband just got me one of these for my birthday, and I’m loving it so far. It’s worth upgrading to the 2.2 firmware, as the original firmware has a few bugs on it, but overall, it’s a nice little player.
Fletch on January 4, 2007 3:01 AM
Be aware that no firmware more recent than 1.20 plays FLAC files. I bought this player expressly for that functionality and it’s a bummer that I must use an outdated firmware to do so! Here’s hoping Cowon writes FLAC back into the next update.