Cowon D2 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
See it at Amazon.com for $121.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
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(5 out of 5)video, audio, fm radio, and photos too
Having researched portable media players such as the Cowon A2 and Toshiba Gigabeat V30 I was ready to spend considerably more than the price of the Cowon D2. The electronics store in Melbourne gave me an 8% discount off the advertised price, and I was happy to buy the item which I had never even heard of before! There was no reason to give me a discount, they have been selling well. In comparison with those larger players, the D2 has a smaller screen, and has much less memory. But, to make up for this there's an SD slot which is handy for viewing photos from my digital camera. Other features such as touch screen make this an attractive product.
The software that I got with the box includes the PDF manual (version 1.3), a program for converting video, and a browser for transferring files. I needed to upgrade the video conversion program "JetAudio" as the version on the CD did not recognise my device. The PDF manual on the CD was up to date. The date of the CD material appears to be January 2007.
The problem with this player is that you have to format video before it can be viewed - the resultant files are either AVI or MWV and you can choose a range of quality options, but it seems that regular AVI or WMV will not play unless they have been converted. Why is this a problem? Well the conversion time appears to be only slightly less than the duration of the video, in other words a fair bit of waiting around. But I am trying out different conversion options to see what works best. The speed will be improved on a faster computer with more RAM. Luckily, transfer to the device is a very quick process.
First Steps - here's what I suggest that you do:
1. Keep the plastic protective film on the screen - this will protect it.
2. Loop the stylus / stand device through the catch provided on the player.
3. Check out the forum [...]
4. Download and upgrade the firmware and JetAudio software on your D2.
5. Start converting video files using your upgraded JetAudio software.
6. Start saving your 24 favourite FM radio stations into the preset list.
(5 out of 5)Ipod who? Zune who?
This is absolutely the best mp3 i have ever owned. What makes it the best?
1. 16 million color 2.5 LCD touchscreen.
2. Battery life is too good to be true. 52 hours audio 10hr video.
3. The best sound, it has how much tweaks, its sick. You can slowdown a song or make it sound like the chipmunks. Has BBE,Wide stereo, enhancement stereo etc.
4. The volume is sooo dam loud. I had a Zune and the volume level was at 20, the lourdest it could go. The D2 level is 50 and at 30 it sounds as high as the zune.
5. You can encode AVI video bitrate at 1.5mbps.Also have WMV which you can encode at 768kbps.
6. No need to install to transfer files, it works like a USB flash drive.
7. You can change backgrounds and if you put a black background and your text is black, you can change the text color to 20 difference colors or make you own.
8. The touchscreen is smooth and flawless. WHen playing music it tells you the info of the file. example bitrate info, Hz etc. Something that is lacking on the big boys.
9. Has tv output, also has a recorder to record conversations.
10. Can view .txt files.
11. Can view pics at very high pixels.
12. Fm tuner, you can record from the FM radio. You can set the bitrate from low to 256kbps.
13. Has a SD slot for more storage. Get a 8 gig SD for a total for 12 gig. Imagine in 2 years when they have 20 gig SD.
14. Great support, firmware updates are always available.
Plus sooo much more.
(5 out of 5)Amazing product
When I got tired of my Creative Zen Vision M freezing up on me I decided to get a flash based player rather than a hard drive one. I'd have to give up a lot of space (going from 30 to 8 in this case, including the SD card) but it was definitely worth it. At first I had to decide between the new iRiver clix 2 and this player, I picked the iRiver and within a week felt like it wasn't living up to what I expected, it was nice but it lacked too much compared to the Cowon D2 (I knew this because my friend has this player). I was disappointed that it was only 4 gigs and not loud enough for me. With the D2 I have 4 gigs and a slot for an SD card, another 4 gigs, so it's double the space. As soon as you install the newest firmware you'll be on your way and ready to listen to music from the SD card as well as the player. The battery life is great, very small and compact, touchscreen works wonderfully, and again the sound is just amazing! And it's even better with the right pair of headphones (in my case I got the Westone UM2's, also on my friends recommendation).
(5 out of 5)Absoulutely the finest PMP for the money.
Cowon has significantly raised the bar in the PMP (Portable Media Player) market with the D2. The sound is amazing, and the 16 million (24 bit) color screen simply has to be seen to be believed.
The 74mw amplifier in the Cowon D2 provides enough power to drive even the most demanding headphones. Likewise the 5-band EQ section with each band featuring adjustable frequencies to 12db and the inner 3 bands featuring adjustable Q widths will allow music lovers to tailor their listening preferences. Most MP3/PMP players would stop there, but the D2 also offers sound shaping through technology licensed from BBE, a company that has been providing recording studios, musicians, and sound system engineers professional sound reinforcement for several years. The combination of bass enhancement, MP enhancement, stereo field enhancement, and 3D surround enhancement allow you to tailor the sound to your particular tastes. Having 10 user-assignable slots allows you to easily store these combinations that can be used with music, movies, different headphones, or even different users.
One would think that a 2.5 inch screen is just too small to watch, and I was one of those detractors, but not anymore. The 16.7 million color screen faithfully reproduces images with a crisp and clear viewing area that you quickly grow very accustomed to watching. Although you have to convert your videos to the specific size of the screen, the provided software does this with ease in a variety of formats.
Probably the best feature of the D2 is the touch-screen interface, which is well thought-out and intuitive. The interface is activated by touching the screen, and virtual buttons appear which are surprisingly easy to navigate, even for people with large fingers. However, those who want a tactile interface aren't left behind, as the three-button pad can be set to skip, pause, or rewind when placed in lock mode. MP3s tagged with embedded images will be displayed as songs are playing, which I found to be a very cool feature; I've spent several hours re-tagging my media collection with these images for the coolness factor.
The battery life on this device is amazing, almost insanely so. Cowon claims 52 hours of battery in music mode, or 10 hours in video mode. While I have not tested these to the extreme, I did watch two movies and listened to several hours of music with my battery meter only dropping one (of four) 'bars'. A note on the battery -- Cowon devotes nearly half the volume of the D2 to the internal lithium-polymer battery, which results in a "thicker" device than some others, just over 5/8 inch. This battery can be charged over USB, or using the provided A/C adaptor, which charges the batter much faster.
The Cowon D2 is expandable with an SDHC compliant slot, meaning that any SD card you have will work in this, as well as the newer high-capacity SDHC cards, which currently are available in capacities up to 8GB, with cards in 16 and 32 GB being announced. Connectivity is through a standard min-USB cable. You can operate the D2 in standard "mass storage" mode where you just drag and drop files into the folders, or you can operate this in MTP mode which is supposedly compatible with Microsoft's "Plays For Sure" program and other subscription based services. I cannot vouch for this, but I have no reason to doubt it.
I've waited for about three years to upgrade my MP3 player, waiting for the perfect player to come along; the Cowon D2 nicely fits that bill. I was looking for a player that had the following qualities (in order of importance):
1) Awesome sound
2) Standard USB interface (no specialized USB connectors)
3) Drag and Drop (no special sync software required)
4) Expandable memory using standard media (SD/CF)
5) Firmware upgradeable
6) Replaceable/standard batteries
Unfortunately this device doesn't exist, but the Cowon D2 comes pretty close; 5 out of 6 ain't bad. It will be interesting to see what products Cowon comes up with in the future.
I've spent a good deal of time telling you what I like about the D2, now I need to tell you what I don't like about it:
For such a large player, it would be nice to have the ability to create playlists. I have yet to see a truly functional set of playlists work on this player. Sure, you can browse through music by artist, album, genre, folder, etc... But since I have such an eclectic collection of audio, it would be nice to organize it in the way I want.
The included stylus/kickstand is pretty much worthless. Sure, you can navigate with your fingers, but that makes for a smudgy screen. A normal stylus makes this a bit easier, but there's no way to attach it to the device.
On a rating of 10 stars, I'd have to give this 9.5. It's not perfect, but it's as close to it as anything I've ever heard of.
(4 out of 5)So far the best in class, but not perfect.
Cowon D2 is close to the ideal portal video device among those available as of early 2007, but competition is not far behind. (For example, check out Dane-Elec 4GB Meizu MP3/MP4 Portable Media Player.)
Unlike music, movies are generally not interesting enough for repeat viewing. Even if you find something worth seeing again and again, wouldn't you want to do so on your 50" 1080p LCD HDTV coupled with 1000W Dolby Digital surround sound coming out of a $3000 7.1 speaker set? Logic therefore dictates that portable video should be designed for viewing either the TV shows you TIVO'ed the night before or special interest materials.
Since I don't watch TV any more, I get interested in such a device for watching operas and educational clips on my long daily train rides. The selection seems wide at first, ranging from using my notebook computer to buying a portable DVD player to video iPod or PSP. But the first two options give only 2 hours of viewing time, not to mention the incredible bulk involved. iPod and PSP are both expensive, proprietary, short on storage and not specifically designed for viewing video. They also do not fit in a regular-size pocket well. This is important because the commuter rail is getting more and more crowded and I prefer riding it without carrying anything. The Cowon D2, in contrast, is single-mindedly dedicated to portable video, comes with cutting edge components and actually smaller than I would have preferred.
Its 2.5" screen is the same size as iPod but with better resolution. Unlike iPod, the screen occupies much of its face. Thus there is very little wasted bulk and the whole thing fits easily into my shirt pocket. Also, unlike iPod, the screen is touch sensitive, so there is no need for many buttons or wheels. Its Lithium Polymer battery provides a whopping 10 hours of video time, by far the best in the industry. D2 has 4GB of flash built in, enough for several DVD's worth of MPEG4 video. The SD expansion slot allows additional storage flexibility and possibility. Even the earphones are fairly decent, giving out reasonably crisp sound. It even has a FM radio.
Although I am immensely pleased with D2 overall, I do have a few minor gripes. D2 weighs just 3 oz, but is 0.65" thick. This is a little thicker than the iPod. Ideally, I wish Cowon could use a 3.5" screen but also make the device thinner (maybe 0.45"?) to keep the same weight. While they are at it, they may want to consider switching to a transflective LCD because the D2 screen is not visible under sunny conditions right now. But for a sale price of $190, I may be asking for too much.
The "pen" pointer is a clever design, as it doubles as a stand when you want to put D2 on a desk. While being stowed in the pocket, it does create a tiny mess, however, and I am somewhat concerned that it may scratch the screen. It would be nice if it could be inserted into a tight-fitting slot in the style of Palm Pilot.
I do recognize that I have been nitpicking so far. The real problem as well as the only reason why I am not giving D2 a 5-star rating, is the PC software that comes with it. D2's firmware is fine enough and frequently updated, but the conversion software is limited in features (e.g. no merging capability) and buggy in execution. Sometimes it would simply fail to convert the images properly without any warning. Since it is also slow, I tend to leave it running overnight. It is quite frustrating to go halfway through the video next morning only to have it go blank. According to the forum, JetAudio's inability to handle VOB files seems well known.