The Cowon A2 enters a luxury PVP domain currently dominated by the Archos AV500 and the Creative Zen Vision, and it fits right in. On the plus side, the A2, which is available in 20GB ($380) and 30GB ($420) capacities, boasts excellent audio and video playback and recording quality, as well as solid battery life. While the A2 can play a huge number of audio and video formats, it does not currently support Windows Media DRM 10. We really dig some parts of the interface, but we were annoyed by others. / The ultra power-saving circuit of COWON A2 enables up to 10 hours of video and 18 hours of audio continuous playback with its built-in, fully charged, 4300 mAh lithium ion battery.The Cowon A2 is a sleek, attractive, and all-encompassing with video-recording capability that suffers only when compared to the similarly appointed Archos AV500 Mobile DVR. 480 x 272 pixels, 26 M color 4 inch Wide TFT-LCD presents overall operation status at your fingertip, and high-quality images anywhere, anytime.
Cowon A2 Plastic Case Portable Media Player
It plays videos (lots of formats, but I only care about mpeg4 and DiVX), audio (MP3 and more), and displays photos (JPG) and text files.Other controls and connections are arrayed around the Cowon A2's perimeter. It has a smooth plastic case that's sorta simple and elegant. So far: I like it Here's a few pics. Valuable cherish and precious design.I've finally gotten around to posting something about my new portable media player, the Cowon A2. Sharp gets slim line for refined taste with fresh black chrome plating Scratch protection case ling-lasting polish. Both the Archos and the Creative players are slightly smaller and lighter than the 5.2-by-3.1-by-0.9-inch, 10.5-ounce 20GB Cowon, but the player's curved rectangular shape is easy on the hands and the eyes.lisse-Q10.
On the bottom spine is a triposition switch for LCD, hold, and A/V out. Identifying icons for these four jacks are embossed on the inside of the latch and are difficult to read. Headphone and power-adapter jacks flank a hatch covering dual A/V-in/out and USB jacks on the left spine.
Cowon A2 Plastic Case Update That Will
The main menu gives the A2 a PDA feel.Despite tricky navigation (thank goodness for the well-placed Back button), the Cowon A2's solid graphics add to the player's appeal. Cowon plans to release a firmware update that will sort music by ID3 tag.Visually, the Cowon A2's interface is vivid and uncluttered. Because the device is currently a UMS device (with its own advantages), you cannot browse music by album or track unless you organize your media in such a way. The thumbstick also serves as the volume control, so you'll need to navigate back to the playback screen to adjust the volume.
The graphical interface is way geeky and not a breeze to use.Unlike the Archos-which requires a separate hub that enables video recording, including a higher-quality S-Video connection-the Cowon connects directly to a minijack-to-RCA cable familiar to anyone who's hooked up a camcorder to a TV however, you have to use the included cable. The radio screen is the best interface we've seen for a portable, and the recording interface is nice and simple, though we'd love sound-level meters. The A2's folder-tree file browser is PC-like, with preview thumbnails for photos and video-as with the Archos-that show up in an adjunct window as you pass over them.
It can play back MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, and OGG digital audio files natively, and you can create a playlist on the fly, though you can't save it it also includes a top-notch FM radio/recorder. There is no remote control to be found, and there are no other accessories available from Cowon.The Cowon A2 is no stranger to features. Accessories include decent white earbuds, a USB device cable, a USB host cable, an A/V-in/out cable, an audio line-in cable, an AC adapter, a black pleather carrying case, a hand strap, an installation CD, and a user manual. One edge that the Archos AV500 has over the A2 is its removable battery, though Cowon A2 users will be pleased by the battery results (see Performance). Still, not having to travel with an Archos-like hub gives the Cowon A2 an edge in full-featured portability.Unfortunately, the Cowon A2 doesn't have a built-in kickstand, but the included carrying case can prop the player up for hands-free viewing.
Cowon plans to release a firmware upgrade in early 2006 that will make the A2 compatible with store- and subscription-based audio and video. First, the Cowon A2 is not compatible with WMA DRM and WMV DRM files, so it's not a PlaysForSure device. The latest firmware update (v 1.61E) gives the A2 the ability to multitask-that is, it allows viewing of photos or text while listening to music, something the Archos PVPs aren't able to do yet.Still, there remain a few holes in the feature set that we hope Cowon can address soon. Chances are that the A2 will play a decent percentage of video files you throw at it. Since there are numerous formats, Cowon has included software to convert noncompatible files.
PVR recordings are listed in some arcane Cowon nomenclature (Video_051216.001.asf, for example) instead of something handier, such as the time and the date of the recording, with no way to relabel them on the device.Getting content from your PC to the Cowon A2 is equally annoying. Click Record, and you get a video folder, inside of which, finally, is your list of recordings. For instance, to find a TV show recorded by the PVR, you need to click on the Movie folder (this really should be labeled Video), which brings you to two folders: Movie, which stores files transferred from your PC, and Record, which stores PVR recordings. Instead of the timer/recorder function listed among the options in the Record menu, you have to go to the system settings under Setup from the main menu and set the alarm, making sure you pick the right mode-the Record Line-in Video mode, not Movie Player.All content is listed alphabetically in the Cowon A2's varying sections, but a lot of material is buried deep in folders that require some drilling, depending on how it was transferred to the device. Finally, timed recording with the PVR is badly handled.
Subsequent attempts to play an incompatible file froze the player, usually requiring a reboot. JetShell, which offers one of the most convoluted interfaces we've come across, did not screen out these incompatible files. We synced all our video, which included several DRM WMV files, and music, which included a substantial number of Napster subscription tracks and AAC files, on to the A2.
JPEGs, however, seemed a bit pixelated, and certain patterns produced moiré effects. Even tiny text was amazingly easy to read. Downloaded DivX content, such as trailers for Batman Returns and War of the Worlds, was glossy and crisp, with sharp details sans jaggies bright colors with only occasional video noise on solid color backgrounds and no false contouring in scenes with gradual gradations between light and dark, such as sunsets, shadows, or spotlights. The same goes for video playback, which also features a bookmark option and instant scrubbing 10 to 12 seconds forward or backward with the tap of the thumbstick, though the Archos's controls are better.Like the Archos AV500 Mobile DVR, the Cowon A2 has a dazzling 480x272-pixel, 4-inch-wide screen that makes videos look sharp and bright, even in daylight and at varying viewing angles. This means you can apply the Cowon A2's impressive set of EQ and BBE effects on the fly, and you can hear results in real time. In addition to the technostylish graphics, the player settings can be quickly accessed without having to back out into the Menu settings area.
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