02 December 2007 Sunday
Cowon D2 Review - highly recommended
Would definitely make a solid xmas gift to yourself or someone you like/love
Have had my Cowon/iAudio D2 mp3/media flash player for a few days.. wanted to post a review the first night.. putting aside this pocket of time to do it.
Mine’s black. Comes in white and red, too, I believe.
Mine’s 4gb. Comes in 2gb and 8gb also. I reasoned that I would get the 4gb and then collect 4gb SD cards. That’s working out really nicely.
Plenty of pictures, spec-sheets, hands-on reviews, youtube reviews on the ‘nets, so I’ll just throw my own opinion/experience in..
- impressively beautiful image quality on the LCD screen
- excellent sound as characteristic of Cowon/iAudio devices
- real buttons for volume controls rather than part of touchscreen
- it’s very compact
- expansion slot means I can insert my 4gb SD card (or other sizes) and run new media simply and easily — the player finds your music across the board, and generally finds the other files across internal and external media as well.
- FM radio (and FM radio recording) (like all Cowon devices. what the heck is wrong with you, Apple?)
- great sound/equalizer control (like all Cowon devices)
- voice recording (like all Cowon devices)
- reads wide range of media formats (like all Cowon devices)
- reads text files
- view your pictures/photos, zoom in, set as wallpaper on the screen
- a little “notepad” utility that actually is more like a drawingpad — draw on the screen with your finger
- latest firmware upgrade (2.51) also included calculator and scientific calculator apps
- runs quickly and easily
- very reasonable pricetag (check pricegrabber) or Newegg
- dynamic playlist for music and dynamic bookmarking for all media (text files, movies, etc.)
- recharges via AC adapter or through USB connection to your computer
- perfect plug-and-play portable harddrive
- comes with JetAudio software free but YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE IT OR INSTALL IT ON YOUR COMPUTER EVER (*cough*iTunes*cough*)
- works on Windows, MAC, Linux
- Look at the specs — that’s just happy
Notes:
- Touch screen responsiveness is very good for fingernails and fine points —
not as much for full-finger contact.I take it back — the D2 responds to fingertips too. I just typically use my fingerails anyway. - Accepts AVI/DIVX files (and others) but will probably need to run them through the jetaudio video converter (free download from their website) to clean up the compression so that it will play smoothly and may compress the file further too. The software works quickly, cleanly. I don’t use JetAudio as a player. just the video converter to do its thing.
My biggest complaint is that it does not have built-in speakers.
And, if I’m being nitpicky, they could have included extra screen protectors like they used to with other iAudio products.
If you’re looking for something with internet connectivity, etc., check out the brand-spanking new Cowon Q5W
…now I just have to figure out an ideal ultra-compact/high optical zoom digital camera…
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Comments on Cowon D2 Review - highly recommended
Nice review!
Imagine a Cowon Q5W with a phone in it as well. It would be a kick-ass product. Not that it isn’t already.
I sort of have a D2 myself. I’m not allowed to open it yet though. Can’t wait for my birthday…
I got a beauty of a D2, with silvery leaves on it. But… I can’t get the Radio working. Neither when I use a different headphone. Can anybody help me?
Ooh.. I wanted the silvery leaves, but could only get the gold leaves. which is also pretty, but I’m a silver girl… Anyway, I’ve recently traded mine with my Mom, since she saw my gold and liked it, and we had the same specs anyway (4gb, black). So she now has the gold. I’m still looking for the silver leaves sticker/plating. Also recently bought the same D2 model for my uncle in Malaysia. D2’s getting around :)
What do you mean you can’t get the radio working? You know how to get to the radio mode, right? you change channels? but don’t hear anything? maybe adjust volume? I’ve never experienced a problem with the radio.. let me know what you’re seeing/experiencing, and maybe we can troubleshoot it..
Hey ya,
I have no idea how to check out which version of JetAudio I have.. I think I only have a trial(delivered with my player, is that usual? Some kind of stunt to make you buy the software?)
And I’ve admitted my D2 at the cowon site and my mp3-player says that he has version 2.57.. But the site says it’s ready to donwload the newest firmware(2.57, which the player already says it has??)
Simply a beautiful thing it is, but how do I put my picture as a screensaver? I went through all my utilities and settings, tried it fromout the photo-map, but I can’t seem to find it out.
The magnetic sticker is able to buy from some internetsites, I think that the cowon site also allows online shopping, or else u can look for online shops through http://www.cowonglobal.com/ and see the accessories, you can find it as the magnetic sticker. At least that’s how I found mine.
Well thanks in advance for taking time to read/answer my questions and I hope I could have helped you, Alicson!
I mean metallic sticker, lol, sorry
example->
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/Accessories.7/Cowon_iAudio.30/?list=1
Hey Jo, sorry for the late reply.
The jetaudio software is a free download on their site There is a “plus” version you can purchase, but… aside from converting large video files into small ones that play on my D2, I use Winamp in lieu of JetAudio to play my music on my computer.
Side note to anyone reading who might be confused: JetAudio is a music player for your computer; the D2 firmware is what actually goes on your D2 (and when you upgrade, it wipes out all your data on it..so be careful to back it up!).
I did find some stickers.. still didn’t find the silver leaves.. but that’s okay. Thank you for the links/info.
I know there’s a wallpaper option but I’m not sure about a screensaver. I think it just goes dark when it’s screensaving, though someone else may know better.
The CowonGlobal site seems to get the very latest firmware downloads before the CowonAmerica site .. so I’m running the latest on my D2. And I have a 16gb SD card in it, and we are all very happy together. :)
So I have one, my mother has one (the one I originally purchased for myself went to her, unopened, as a christmas present, but I shortly ordered myself another..), and recently I picked up one for my dad (father’s day).. I looked at other/newer options for Dad before ordering another D2, but the D2 is still by far the best. And he’s been pretty pleased with it too.
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