Cowon o2
BackPortable Media Player
Tonight I am going to review the Cowon o2 PMP that I have been using for a couple months now. I started my search for the perfect media player after my creative zen started getting the white screen of death. My requirements were as follows.
The player had to have the following:
1. a full size sdhc slot
2. a good amount of internal memory
3. audio book mark features
4. video playback
5. long battery life
6. 2.5" or better screen
This search lead me to a couple of players like the zen I already had which failed me. The sandisk sansa view, the cowon D2 and then the cowon o2. After I saw the specks on the cowon o2 the search was over. It cost a bit more than the cowon D2, which has gotten great reviews from every one but with that price comes a bonus at least for me. You pay a little more for a 4.3" touch screen that runs at 480x272. That is not all you get for your extra money, you also get a device that will play most any format video you can think of including 720p content. Granted the screen is not 720p resolution but it is so nice to not have to transcode every thing you want to watch on it. You also get composite TV out which is great for travelers. The cable is a separate buy but at only $10 who cares.
Here are some specs for every one about which files it will play back.
File Types:
AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, MTV
Video Codecs:
DivX 3.11/4/5/6, Xvid, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, MPEG 1
Max Video Resolution:
1280x720, 30 fps
Audio Codecs:
MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, OGG Vorbis, AAC, FLAC, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, PCM
Full specs for the cowon o2 can be found at there web site Cowon America
The biggest plus for me is the fact that the device will keep track of your place automatically in audio and video. For any one who listens to audio books this is a great thing to have. The screen is a good resolution and the touch screen is responsive, I have not tried the video out yet as I need to buy the cable. File sorting is done by directories and not ID3 tags which can be a pain to some users but so far is doesn't bother me much, Battery life is great on it. When just playing audio books to and from work (45 minutes each way 5 times a week) I only have to charge it maybe once every week and a half. You can charge via the usb port but the cowon o2 charges faster if you use the included wall charger.
The only regret I have about this player is that I did not spend the extra money to get the 32gb instead of the 16gb. Not a huge deal though as I can buy a 16gb or 32gb sdhc memory card and expand on what I have. Now on to the pictures.
The player had to have the following:
1. a full size sdhc slot
2. a good amount of internal memory
3. audio book mark features
4. video playback
5. long battery life
6. 2.5" or better screen
This search lead me to a couple of players like the zen I already had which failed me. The sandisk sansa view, the cowon D2 and then the cowon o2. After I saw the specks on the cowon o2 the search was over. It cost a bit more than the cowon D2, which has gotten great reviews from every one but with that price comes a bonus at least for me. You pay a little more for a 4.3" touch screen that runs at 480x272. That is not all you get for your extra money, you also get a device that will play most any format video you can think of including 720p content. Granted the screen is not 720p resolution but it is so nice to not have to transcode every thing you want to watch on it. You also get composite TV out which is great for travelers. The cable is a separate buy but at only $10 who cares.
Here are some specs for every one about which files it will play back.
File Types:
AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, MTV
Video Codecs:
DivX 3.11/4/5/6, Xvid, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, MPEG 1
Max Video Resolution:
1280x720, 30 fps
Audio Codecs:
MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, OGG Vorbis, AAC, FLAC, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, PCM
Full specs for the cowon o2 can be found at there web site Cowon America
The biggest plus for me is the fact that the device will keep track of your place automatically in audio and video. For any one who listens to audio books this is a great thing to have. The screen is a good resolution and the touch screen is responsive, I have not tried the video out yet as I need to buy the cable. File sorting is done by directories and not ID3 tags which can be a pain to some users but so far is doesn't bother me much, Battery life is great on it. When just playing audio books to and from work (45 minutes each way 5 times a week) I only have to charge it maybe once every week and a half. You can charge via the usb port but the cowon o2 charges faster if you use the included wall charger.
The only regret I have about this player is that I did not spend the extra money to get the 32gb instead of the 16gb. Not a huge deal though as I can buy a 16gb or 32gb sdhc memory card and expand on what I have. Now on to the pictures.
Pictures
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