iAudio U2 1 GB Digital Music Player

by Cowon

Product Details

Product Manual [4.76mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 1.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00063G0BO
• Item model number: U2-1024BL
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)

Product Description

iAUDIO U2 is a ultra-compact 1 GB digital music player with FM Radio, Voice Recorder and Direct MP3 Encoder. Enjoy the highest-quality sound powered by BBE, 4 lines wide graphic LCD and 20 hrs of continuous playback with a built-in rechargeable battery.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

226 of 251 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars just like I5 version, but with Li Polymer battery., May 21, 2005

By 

H. Sachan (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: iAudio U2 1 GB Digital Music Player (Electronics)

This review describes the complete thought/research cycle for deciding a digital player. It includes hdd based, flash based, different flash based capacities, features, battery life etc. The features etc for any player are already available on the detail pages and else where so I'm not including those, instead doing the comparison exercise. I've also written this review for other flash players which I considered in the comparison.

I've been using iRiver SlimX iMP-CD350 CD/MP3 player for quite a while now and decided that its time to move to a smaller player which is more versatile and portable. I'm just not a CD person, and as soon as I buy a CD, I rip it and get the files all over my computers/laptops.

There are lot of smaller digital music players available in the market. My first decision point was to decide between HDD (hard disk drive) or Flash memory based players. HDD based are available from 4GB to 60 GB and since it has a mechanical drive, it's not suited well for my activities (gym/running etc). While flash based don't suffer with this draw back, they come only in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB. I wasn't buying a player to make it a permanent repository of all my music and having up to 1GB of music (16 hours of CD quality, 32+ hours otherwise) was good enough for me. For this reason, I decided to go with Flash based player. Plus, most flash based players have direct USB connectivity and some of those can also be used as a regular flash disk for document transfer and storage.

Next step was to decide the capacity. I was inclined for a 2GB player since it'll store even more songs, but found some warning in iAudio (Jet Audio) site where a 2gb version can store only up to 450 (files + folders) and the player cannot address the last 260MB memory of the player. I had also used a flash based 2gb usb storage device which had similar storage problems. So, I went with 1GB version and decided to give more time for 2GB+ technology.

Next was feature sets and brands. I had following things in mind in terms of features: formats capable, battery life, firmware upgradability, and FM player. I considered Creative (MuVO Micro N200), iRiver (iFP 799), Apple (iShuffle 1GB), and JetAudio (iAudio 5, G3, U2).

iRiver had drawbacks were not being able to work as USB storage device, limitation on Ogg audio and MP3 VBR files. Apple was not just my thing since it lacked a display, FM tuner etc and accessories like FM player are added cost/size/weight too. Creative was also limited only on WMA amd MP3. It seemed like most of the players but iAudio/Jet Audio have format limitations.
Jet Audio (iAudio) had most of the formats available (MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, ASF etc), firware upgradable, trendy size, good reviews, USB storage device and good choices. And, I was totally bought on iAudio.

The last step was to decide on the model. I considered iAudio i5, G3, and U2 version. The main differences are that I5 is based on 'AAA' batter and lasts only 15-20 hours, G3 is slightly wider but less longer model with 'AA' battery and supports up to 45-50 hours on one cell, and U2 was similar to '5' but had internal Lithium Polymer battery and the same 15-20 hours playback time. U2 model also lacked Ogg Vorbis format capability.
If I was travelling long distance and not able to charge LiPolymer battery, it's a waste. And, 15-20 hours just doesn't turn not ecnomical with 'AAA' battery, so I ended up with iAudio G3 1GB player and I'm very satisfied with the player itself.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome!, February 19, 2005

By 

ej76az (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: iAudio U2 1 GB Digital Music Player (Electronics)

The U2 is the best flash memory digital music player on the market.

Pros: VERY solid construction; easy user interface; great manual (the one you download, not the puny one that comes in the package); many accessories included; cool display; good 'phones.

Cons: Writes files SUPER slow. Rechargeable battery is built in, not removeable. USB cable doubles as recharger, but it's slow. Normal plug-in-the-wall-outlet battery recharger is available, but costs extra.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Flash Memory MP3 Player Alternative, May 12, 2005

By 

N. Bangera "Bang" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: iAudio U2 1 GB Digital Music Player (Electronics)

This Korean made U2 IAUDIO Flash 1GB Mp3 player has replaced my previous Sony MD player, and was a better alternative to the Ipod Mini or Shuffle. If you like larger, hard-drive based MP3 players that require proprietary software and formats in order to use them, then by all means buy an IPOD. If you dont like having a convenient Display on your flash player then buy an IPOD shuffle with its incredible 'random' feature. The U2 Iaudio Flash player is for people who hate superfluous and bulky transfer software programs and enjoy a particular disdain for conformity. I can drag and drop Mp3 or other audio format files and transfer music from CD's (quite literally) in a flash. Yes I can only hold about 250 songs, but who wants to hold their entire CD collection. I'm constantly changing the music on it, every couple of days. The battery is charged while its connected to the USB and performs well.

The sound is crisp and it has several options for Bass, Equalizer and Sound Enhancements. Not to mention it has Voice Recording abilities on MP3 or WAV, and FM Radio that can be recorded as well!

The menu is easily navigatable and all controlled with one simple and small shuffle button.

The best part: I bring it to work and use it as a USB Memory Key. I dont need anything extra to be able to store any other document or miscellaneous files that are under 1GB!

Now the only CON I can think of: the shape and design are way too boxy and utilitarian, and not nearly as stylish as the other players out there. But I can live with that. This player is awesome!