Review: Cowon D2 portable media player

The Cowon D2 is a little gem of a media player, with good sound and video, handy extras and remarkably long battery life.

The big difference you'll notice immediately with the D2 is the touchscreen.

Pretty much everything you do with the player uses it, from pausing a song to fiddling with the settings.

It's a good design that means you get a bigger screen to watch videos on, 2.5 inches to be exact.

It's possible to control the touchscreen using your finger but easier to use the included guitar-pick like stylus, which is attached to the player with a piece of elastic cord.

That loses marks for style, but the stylus does come with a handy extra feature.

You can stick it in a slot to prop up the player, making it easier to watch videos. I found I didn't use this very much though.

The firmware on the player (the software you use to control it) isn't perfect.

The track numbers for my ripped CDs didn't come through so the tracks were arranged alphabetically, for example, though the distributor said this has been fixed by a firmware update.

And while the menu system looks pretty swish I found it a bit clunky to use.

But the touchscreen makes it easy to figure things out, because you can see what each action does.

You will want to invest in some sort of screen protector though, otherwise the things will get covered in smudges pretty quickly.

The video playback was smooth. It supports only WMV and Mpeg-4 files, but the included software will convert other common formats to the right screen size and frame rate.

It'll play most audio codecs, including OGG Vorbis. The sound quality was decent with the included earphones, but if you want to really appreciate what the D2 can do, invest in a better pair.

There are three buttons - volume up and down and a menu key - as well as the power/hold switch.

The touchscreen has one major disadvantage though. After a week with most players, I can change tracks, even albums, with the player in my jacket pocket.

This just isn't possible with a touchscreen.

You have to stop whatever you're doing to do anything on the player more than turning the volume up or down.

There's no software to install to transfer files. The D2 works like a USB Flash drive, so you just drag over your tracks into the right folders, and you're set.

It means the D2 will work with pretty much any operating system, whether its Windows, Linux or Mac.

It will also sync directly with Windows Media Player.

What really sets this player apart is the battery life. The manufacturer says it'll go for 52 hours of music, 10 of video, which is incredible given the bright, colourful touchscreen.

As for photos, it only supports Jpegs, but the screen for vewing them was top-notch.

It comes with a basic FM radio (reception was decent, not fantastic), a voice recorder and text viewer. It can charge via USB or an included AC power adaptor (check).

There are lots of sound settings to tinker with, like equalizers and play speed, as well as 10 customisable pre-sets.

For video on the go, you're not going to get much better than the Cowon D2. It's small, has great features, is easy to use, and has tremendous battery life.

Cowon is a pretty well-known name in Asia for its electronics, though in New Zealand that's not the case. Look for this to change if they keep making players like this one.

$329 for 2GB, $429.00 for 4GB from Noel Leeming, Bond and Bond and specialist shops.

A full list is at www.cowon.co.nz/reseller_list.php

- © Fairfax NZ News