Customer Reviews

Cowon A2 30 GB Portable Multimedia Player

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

The A2 provides the perfect traveling device to enjoy music, videos, photos and FM radio. The text feature is limited for use until it can use more common reader software. The user friendly nature, sound quality, screen quality and overall versatility is at the leading edge. I have 500 photos, 2000 songs, 10 full length movies and I still have over 30% of the drive to use.

Some have argued that the battery should be replaceable. This is not a major problem since few offer such a feature, and when you have the battery life of 15 hours one does not have to replace the battery to keep using under normal activity. People have to complain about something. It does not have a video camera like the Archos AV500, but who really needs that for the typical use of this type of entertainment product. One should look at the ease of use, the range of capabilities, the quality of how it works. Another reviewer said they had problems. I have not with either the A2 or the XL5 by iAudio. All electronic devices are going to have a few lemons. Complaints have been made of the customer service, but since I have not needed them it is hard to rate them. Their website has an excellent international chat room that provides much of the knowledge of issues and applications, as well as accessories available. The A2 has a greater international following due to longer marketing in Europe and Asia.

Their firmware updates every few weeks addressing many of the issues raised by customers. The A2 now has greater features than the AV500 at a much lower price. One problem is the newest features such as DMB (Digital Mutlimedia Broadcasting) is not able to be used in the US with our antiquated technology.

The earphones are only mediocre. Consistent with trying to break from the lemming pack, try the Ultrasone headphones (iCans or HFI700, I have both)from Germany. They provide a sound quality that the A2 can support with open, accurate and balanced frequency response.

The biggest weakness is that iAudio (Cowon) does not effectively market their products so more people can become familiar with their products.

I have had the Cowon A2 for about 3 months now and absolutely love it. To keep things concise and purposeful;

Pros:
-Amazing audio quality playback
-Unique and excellent audio enhancements with 5-band equalizer
-Supports more codecs than any PMP available in the U.S.
-AC3 audio codec support!! (only PMP available in the U.S. which
supports this so far and ALL of my digital movies use AC3 audio)
-Sharp, crisp screen with 12 brightness level adjustment
-Recording function works well with high quality video (early
issues of poor quality video fixed with newer firmware)
-TV out function very handy and simple with just 1 A/V cable
-Astonishing battery life (I consistently return approximately 8
hours for video and 15 hours for audio at volume level 20/40
and screen brightness 7/12)
-Well built, leather-like carrying case included
-EXCELLENT technical support with CONSTANT firmware updates

Cons:
-Needs enhanced WMV support
-GUI could be more intuitive, but it's not terrible
-TV recording function could be more intuitive
-Mediocre voice recording
-FM radio useless without headphones/earbuds (act as an antenna)


Overall, I love the Cowon A2 and purchased the product over its main competitors the Archos AV500 and Creative Zen Vision because of the A2's excellent value, feature set, and beautiful screen.

My daughter just saw my A2 for the first time, (she's 22) and BEGGED my to buy her one. So much for first impressions. The unit is small and sleek and easily transported in a pocket or purse. But let's begin with the manual. It's flawed, to say the least. It doesn't explain all the functions and fails to address several issues.
For example, it shows an item called a DMB and a tv logo. But this is for a Korean who wants to access a tv signal in Seoul. Since I'm in Arizona, that's a problem. The main function button allows things like fast forwarding of videos, yet this is not even mentioned. The manual type is very small and hard to read. The illustrations, likewise. But the player is pretty intuitive to use and playing with it for a while allows you to figure out most of the functions.
Now for the best parts. The screen is crisp and clear. Downloading from a DVD player or the tv is easy. I can also copy a DVD to my computer and download using the USB to the A2. And I have a Mac, which they says won't work with the software. W-R-O-N-G! It works just fine with my iMac G4 without any special softwware. Downloading does take a while, but so what? You can move items into folders and rename them at will. I dumped the Korean subway maps that are included as photos and popped in my own photographs in the jpg format.
I also have a tip: download the manual in PDF from their website, convert it to a txt file, and move it into the text folder. Then you'll have it on the screen if needed. I figure you can load about 28 2-hour DVD movies and 500 mp3's, which are also a breeze to load. And still I have room for 100's of photos. The sound through the earphones is good and better with better earphones. I can't wait to take it on airplane trips to avoid the in-flight movies and pick from dozens of my own, played on MY schedule.
A final word. It would have gotten 5 stars if not for the poor manual and tech support guy, who told me it wouldn't work on Macs and not to even try. I did a lot of research before choosing the A2 for it's size, price and features. I wasn't disappointed and if I ever am, a know a certain girl that will love to inherit it.

This is the best PMP in the 4" market for video playback bar none. This is the only one with an LCD of 16.7M colors & low latency. And it shows. I can also play any file (with latest, 1.81 firmware), from mpeg-1/2/4 to xvid and divx and WMV. And the included software is also great if you want to encode for example a larger mpeg to a smaller compressed xvid. I compared this to the Archos AV500, Zen Vision, Ipod Video, Epson and a couple of others. This one is the best for video playing, by far. And I get about 9.5 hours on a single charge! If you want something for commutes or for when you're on the exercise bike to WATCH videos this is it. It also is fantastic as a radio and mp3 player, although these aren't the primary reasons I bought it. Hope this helps!

In looking for the best media player, I had a very short trial of the Video iPod. The screen was way too small. Then I thought I had found a great player in the Archos 604 WiFi. Much better, since I like to watch movies, but I decided to give this one a try. After a few days, the Archos is going back to the store. Here's why:

Screen: The Archos screen is good, but not nearly as bright at the highest setting. There's an anti-glare coating on the screen, which makes images much lower in contrast than the Cowon. The Cowon screen must be seen to be believed. It's better than my television. The shiny surface of the screen can be a bit of a problem in bright light (seeing reflections), but that doesn't come up very often.

Sound: The Archos has decent sound, but it's not loud enough. Turn the volume all the way up, and it's just barely acceptable (for me). On a plane, forget it. The Cowon sound blows away the Archos... there are many settings for sound enhancement, quality is noticably better, and the volume goes much higher.

Video: What bugged the heck out of me was that Archos wanted me to pay $20 for decoders for common video formats. The Cowon plays everything I throw at it, for free. And it comes with a cable that allows me to play videos to a TV. On the Archos... yep, it costs extra.

Recording: If you want to record on the Archos, get set to pay extra for the necessary bulky accessory. With the included cable on the Cowon A2, you can record off the TV... even set it to turn on and record something on your favorite channel, then turn itself off, just like a DVR. Amazing!

I must say that this is THE most impressive electronic purchase I've ever made. Passes the time at my kids' sports practices, and cool for lunch breaks at work. When I travel, the battery lasts long enough for a cross-country flight. The Archos died in a few short hours.

I did some research between the Archos, Creative Zen Vision, and this A2 before I bought it. First things first, the Archos has some glowing reviews, and I've got no hatred against it, other than the subpar battery life (ofcourse, they offer a replacable battery). The Zen is slightly lacking in display quality behind the Archos and Cowon, but their audio quality is superb.

Which brings us to the Cowon: the main reason i bought this over the Archos was a) better battery life (though it's not replacable) b) extensive file type support and firmware upgrades (definitely good because they can always add future releases for better performance and new file types), c) it's cheaper than the archos, and d) it runs on linux.

Out of the box, they give you EVERYTHING. The cables are there for plugging into your tv, to use as a usb host, and ofcourse, the main USB interface cable. They include a quality case, and a little wrist band to hold on to the player (very useful). AC adaptor also included. the headphones are bass heavy, loud, and very clear considering they're standard inserts. i'm personally buying a more expensive pair, because i ride the train to work and need some decent noise canceling. you don't need to buy a separate pair of headphones if you're using the unit in a normal, not very loud, operating environment.

that brings us to the player itself. the interface is very clean, and support for all different video and audio file types is extensive. the picture quality is superb, to say the least. the playlist feature is great, and the joystick functionality is different than the archos, but still very good, especially if you're used to that kind of thing. best of all, battery life is fantastic. i get about 7 hours of video plus an additional 1-2 hours of audio in before it decides to die. this is FAR better than the archos.

sound quality is also great, really depends on your file type and how well the file is encoded. i watch some good quality recordings which really come to life on this thing.

recording quality is decent too. i've converted some old VHS cassettes to divx with the unit, and it does the job very well.

all in all, if you are looking for a great player with a decent price tag, and one that has all the bells and whistles included, this is the unit to go with.

The Ipod is an mp3 player first, that can also play video.

The Archos AV500 is a video recorder first, that can also play video.

The Cowon iAudio A2 is a video PLAYER first, that can also play mp3s and record video.

So if video playing is your priority, the Cowon iAudio A2 is the one product you want.

I got this a few weeks ago and i am so impressed.I know there are new players on the market like the Archos 604 or vision:w but feature for feature this is the best device on the market for a variety of reasons
1.10 hour battery life for video( no one can match it)
2.16 million color screen
3.inline mp3 recording capability
4. included ac charger and leather case with kickstand
5.no software needed to import files
6.works with mac's or linux
7. The best audio playback features like bbe,mach 3 bass,3d surround sound
8.very easy menu system
9. plays ogg and flac files
10.Divx certified
11.video bookmark feature
12.built in voice recorder and fm radio recorder
13.line in video recording

its hard to believe this device has been on the market for a year and no one has come close to matching it

I did a fair bit of research prior to purchasing the Cowon A2 (looked at players from Archos, Creative, Apple, and a few others I can no longer remember) I knew I wanted something that would record as well as play, which put it against the Archos AV500.

For the longest time, I was under the belief that the Archos player had a TV tuner which enabled it to change the channel and record programs according to a schedule. Once I realized it didn't, that put me over the top for the Cowon player.

I couldn't be happier with everything. The Cowon player has made it easy to get my Disney videos/DVDs onto it since it records directly from the players and has been a lifesaver as I am able to entertain my 4/2 year olds anywhere (restaurant, car, etc). The battery life is steller, and it comes with all the accessories you might want

Cons: Only con I have run into is when I am playing the player into a TV and use stereo sound, there is some sort of issue associated with the sound out where it cancels out the main channel. This is alleviated by using mono sound (just the white RCA plug), but is a little annoying. I'll be reporting that to tech support, since they release upgrades to their firmware at least quarterly, constantly improving the player and its features.

I have had my A2 for about 2 weeks now and have it filled with movies in Xvid, and Divx formats, tons of MP3 files, and some spare zipped programs I need while traveling. The video is great looking on this widescreen screen, and as another user wrote, the headphones are better replaced than used to listen to music. My only real gripe is that the A2 seems to only like to fast forward for a short time, and then won't fast forward anymore. Perhaps this is a problem on Xvid and Divx movies as I haven't tried any of the other formats it supports. I like the included "leather" case that doubles as a stand, and my FM radio reception is pretty good as well. This unit has a REAL long-use battery inside it. I have watched movies for over 10 hours before it needed recharged. This unit is not as light as my Samsung YH-999 video player, but the picture is bigger, the battery lasts longer, it has FM, and it records too.

I'd give it 5 stars, but the FF thing annoys me. Updates to the firmware seem to answer most of the things past owners have asked about, and the ability to NOT have to use a Windows based device pleases me as well. I recommend a screen protector for all portable video and MP3 players, and have already put one on this new player to avoid scratching up this very pretty screen.