Cowon O2 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Reviews
Cowon O2 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Black) Reviews
Other products by Cowon Systems Ratting 4.0 Out of 5.0 Special Offer Total New 3 Total Use 1
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Amazon.com Product Description
4.3-Inch Wide LCD, 16 million color, res. 480x272, ultra portable; Play all your digital entertainment: movies, TV shows, photos and music; Touch sensitive interface; Voice recorder with internal microphone, built-in stereo speakers, and TV-out supporting composite connections; Maximum 8 hours of video playback and maximum 18 hours of audio playback.Cowon continues to master the personal media player with the O2. The player's sleek minimalism marries cutting-edge technology with simple, sophisticated details. The O2 is much more than an eye-catching MP3 player--it boasts support for more audio and video codecs than you can count on both hands, a brilliant 4.3-inch touchscreen, image and document viewing, voice recording, and plenty more. The O2 is a compact and versatile media player that'll keep you entertained no matter where, no matter when.
 Sleek minimalism marrying cutting-edge technology with simple, sophisticated details. Click to enlarge. |
 Navigate with ease using the 4.3-inch touchscreen LCD. Click to enlarge. |
 Sample UI screens. Click to enlarge. |
 Also available in white and pink versions. Click to enlarge. |
 View a control diagram. Click to enlarge. |
A quick glance at the O2 will make you want to pick it up--it's nearly all screen, with its 4.3-inch, 16.7-million color touchscreen TFT LCD. This makes for quality viewing and easy navigation. Surrounding the screen are various input/output options, the volume control, power switch, and speaker on the back.
You'll also notice a slot for SD cards, which lets you expand your 32 GB capacity on the fly. Of course what really counts is what you can pack into all that storage...
Enjoy Video in Nearly Any Popular Format or Codec
Anyone with an extensive collection of digitized audio and video knows that things are far from cut and dried. Depending on sources and preference, you might have a slew of different formats on your hard drive. With a lot of media players, you might spend hours just converting everything to the proper format for playback on your device--more waiting, less watching. Not so with the O2, which boasts native support for AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, and MTV video formats.
And then, of course, don't forget the compression codecs. Everyone's got their favorite way to squish video down to a size that makes sense for portable players. The O2 can handle DivX 3.11/4/5/6, XviD, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, and MPEG 1 video codecs, along with the following audio codecs for the accompanying soundtrack: MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, and PCM. Quite a list, but it's one that any media geek would be happy to hold in his or her hands.
Regardless of file format and codec, you'll enjoy up to 8 hours of continuous video on a single charge. Whether you're on a transatlantic flight, a subway commute, or just hanging out at some coffee shop, you have plenty of video time at your disposal.
Support for Your Digital Music Library
Just as with video, everyone has a unique approach to digitizing their music libraries. Some are happy with low-bitrate MP3s, and others insist on lossless compression formats like FLAC for a higher-quality audio experience. No matter your preference, chances are you'll be covered here as well--the O2 gives you up to 8 hours of continuous audio on one charge, and will play back MP3/2/1, WMA, ASF, AC3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, MATROSKA(MKA), TTA, APE, MPC, WV, and WAV audio files, with full support for the following audio codecs: MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, PCM.
Whatever you use to tag your files with artist info will show up on screen as well, with support for various meta tags, from all versions of ID3 to Vorbis comment or APE tag. LDB lyrics files also are supported for the lyrics-obsessed.
Getting the sound you like is no problem either. In addition to a 10-band graphic equalizer, the O2 features four "JetEffect" audio technologies to help you improve your sound:
- BBE is a sound effect that refines the sound quality.
- Mach3Bass provides deeper, tighter, and more musically accurate bass frequency.
- MP Enhance restores and enhances the harmonics lost through compression.
- 3D Surround provides the three-dimensional surround sound effect.
View Your Photos, Documents, and More
The O2 also happens to be a powerful photo-viewing device, and as with audio and video, it doesn't limit you to just a few formats. Share your favorite JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP, and even RAW images on the go, and personalize your device by setting your wallpaper to your favorite JPG, PNG, BMP, or TIF image.
The O2's text viewer lets you view pretty much any text file, and you can add support for all kinds of standard docs, whether it's PDF files or various Microsoft Office formats (DOC, PPT, XLS). And since the product supports true-type fonts, you can adjust the font size, character spacing, color, and properties to your preference.
Microphone In, AV Out
Use the built-in microphone to take voice memos, record lectures or meetings, sing melodies, or whatever tickles your voice-recording fancy.
The composite output (cable sold separately) lets you enjoy your O2 content on most TVs, whether NTSC or PAL video.
What's in the Box
Cowon O2 32 GB Video MP3 Player (Black), Earphones, AC adapter, USB 2.0 Cable, Manual, Stylus/Mini Holder, CD, Quickguide
Technical Details
- 32 GB capacity for about 8,000 songs- 18 hours of audio or 8 hours of video on a single charge
- 4.3-inch, 16.7 million color digital TFT LCD screen with 480 x 272 pixel resolution
- Supports MP3/2/1, WMA, ASF, AC3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, MATROSKA(MKA), TTA, APE, MPC, WV, and WAV audio formats
- Supports AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, and MTV video formats; JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP, and RAW image formats
See more technical details
By K. Schmidt (Tampa, FL)
The O2 is a simple straightforward media player. It is hands down one of the best sounding players in the world. The BBE enhancements for the audio produce very lively and added warmth to the music. The built in amplifier can power the most demanding of headphones. The video looks very good. Not as good as the new OLEDs, but the screen refresh rate is great, along with the color reproduction and vibrancy. Also, the player supports an outstanding array of audio/video codecs, so you have no need to convert audio or video.
The only downsides to this are that the UI isnt very flashy. This is fine for a lot of people. The now playing screen does look good though with huge album art.
By Minnie (OH USA)
After researching all mp3 players I asked for a cowon 02 for Christmas..and that's what I got. Several times I was queried "sure you don't want an IPOD?" Nope I want the Cowon!
Well on Christmas, my sister got an IPOD, my niece got a Sansa and I got the Cowon. We all got them started and after a few glitches the Sansa and Ipod are downloading and working by Christmas afternoon. Here I am with my well researched "better" mp3 player and I got nothing - nothing on Christmas -nothing on Saturday - nothing on Sunday. Everybody is trying to make the Cowon download a book....we even resorted to reading the manual...no luck. We finally got music downloaded but just couldn't load a book.
...Guess what? WMA is NOT supported on the Cowon...huh? In all the materials I read in making my decision, it says WMA is supported. NOPE its not....
Well I feel like an idiot...I'm sending it back and getting the Sansa.
By Audio Dude (Florida)
I use the Cowon O2 as a replacemrnt for a CD changer in our home audio system. I rip CDs in FLAC format and use compression level 4. The connection I use is an analog audio cable. The sound is almost identical to the sound I get when playing a CD on my blu-ray player. Fantatic sound and even with FLAC I can get about 100 CDs on the 32 GB memory card.
My set up begs the question: Why don't audio receiver companies make an audio amplifier with memory built in to play compressed digital music? Maybe next year.
By Ricky D. Wright (Houston, TX)
Although it looks good in design and the touch screen is great. It lacks using appeal. Browsing thru your files is no fun; there are no graphics, no pretty add-ins or anything. Just a steal looking folder in which you expand to view your media files. There is no FM tuner, I like talk radio in the morning on my bus ride to work. Playing your music files are no fun as well, this device does not display album art or anything while playing, best to just turn the screen off and not look at the device. Also, does not play MKV files, yes it's supposed to, but it doesn't. Firmware update did not fix any of this issues either. I traded in my unit and got the A3. A3 bigger unit, smaller screen, but offer so much more than the O2, very appealing, even when just browsing thru media files. Still issues with MKV files, firmware update did help, but still needs improvement. Maybe one or two more updates and the MKV files should play fine.
By Nathan Beauchamp (Oak Park, IL USA)
I've always been a fan of Cowon. I think they typically make great mp3 and video players, and their D2 is my favorite mp3 player of all time. When the O2 was announced, I knew I would be buying one. Overall I'm satisfied with the O2, but there are a few rather glaring problems with the player that cannot be ignored.
Cowon has always been better at making hardware than writing firmware to support it, and this trend continues with the O2. Things that should be there aren't, and things that should work better don't. There is a lot to love about the O2 anyway, but it just feels like Cowon keeps just missing. I'm still waiting for that perfect PMP that I know they're more than capable of producing. I'm hoping that as the firmware matures for the O2 that they fix some of the problems and make this a good PMP into a great one.
Before addressing what makes this player good but frustratingly imperfect, here are a few technical details from my experience using the O2:
File upload speed: internal memory, using provided USB cable plugged directly into the computer (no hub) is about 6.5 - 7.4mb/second. I tried large batches of files (3-4gb) and small batches (200mb - 500mb) and they all uploaded at approximately the same speed. Single large files like movies upload slight faster, in the 7.5-8mb/second.
Firmware updates have been made much easier than in previous Cowon players. No more Copy file, reboot device, copy in 2nd file, reboot device, etc... The firmware can be updated with a single collection of files uploaded to the main directory. Reboot the O2, the system loads the new firmware and you're done. Updating from 1.9A (preloaded when received from Amazon) to 1.4b took about 20 seconds tops. This is a great improvement from the D2.
A strange difference between the O2 and the D2 is that when connecting to the computer via USB, you can only access the internal or external memory at one time. When you plug in, the O2 will give the option of selecting internal or external. This is different from the D2. The major disadvantage to the only being able to access internal or external in isolation is that you cannot transfer files from one directory to the other.
Now lets get on with the good:
1. 32gb of flash memory (about 29gb accessible).
2. Support of many audio and video codecs, including FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) which is what I use for all my music files.
3. Slick, sexy design. Understated cool. The O2 feels solid in your hand and is just quality all the way around. Has a very thin bezel. Almost the entire device is touch screen.
4. Expandable via SD or SDHC card. I've got a 16gb SDHC card combined with the onboard memory for an outstanding 48gb of flash (about 44 accessible). The SDHC card slot is PERFECT for a PMP because you can add movies to an SDHC card and swamp them in and out as needed. This is especially nice if you're taking a trip and want to have a good number of movies available.
5. Great resolution and very pretty screen. Movies look nice on the O2.
6. Very fast boot up. My O2 starts in about 8-9 seconds, which is 3 times as fast as my D2. That is an excellent improvement.
7. Simple, intuitive GUI (Graphic User Interface). The O2 uses icons sort of like what you would find on a smart phone to navigate through menus, select media files and play them. There O2 also allows multitasking; you can simultaneously listen to music while using the notepad for example.
8. 10 band EQ. This is simply fantastic, and easily the best EQ I've ever had in a PMP. You can adjust to your hearts content and make your music sound the way it should. I love this feature!
There are some real problems with the O2 however, a few of which are beyond silly in a PMP of this caliber.
1. No support for meta tags. Seriously Cowon, what were your designers smoking when you decided to leave out support for tags? Especially since Cowon has offered support for them in every other PMP they've put on the market! The D2 supports tags (albeit after several rounds of firmware to get it to do it correctly) so why the heck doesn't the O2? Because my media files are all tagged perfectly (download mp3tag if you need a great tag editor) and also organized very logically in files, this doesn't affect me that much, but it could be devastating for someone who keeps their files all in one big mix and relies on meta tag information to keep them sorted.
2. No support for DRM files. While I don't personally own any, this is a bit of a travesty considering how many people have extensive libraries of DRM files.
3. No FM receiver. The D2 has it, and the O2 should as well.
4. Finicky GUI in certain situations. I have larger fingers and find touch screens to be a pain. The O2 is no exception. The size of the some of the menus, and especially those in the audio and video playing area, are small and hard to access.
5. Firmware bugs. Even the most recently released firmware has bugs. Check out the official O2 forum (google search iaudiophile) for details. Since Cowon changes firmware for their players like most people change socks, it would be pointless to point out the current bugs. As time goes by, they will evolve. Fortunately, Cowon also has a history of steadily improving their firmware, so if you have a bug now, chances are it will be fixed in the future.
6. Flap that covers the SDHC card slot and USB access is connected by two flexible plastic bands. I hate when phone makers do this (Razr2) and its even worse on a media player. They always wear out, especially since they have to be used ALL THE TIME when charging the device, and once they break off they are impossible to repair. They should use steel bands (or anything other than plastic!) to make sure these covers don't wear out!
Conclusions:
The number of files supported, over all excellent GUI, sexy design, and high quality audiphile touches like the 10 band EQ make the O2 a great PMP option. Sadly, it isn't perfect, and while firmware updates may improve it, they can't add an FM receiver nor replace the plastic bands that hold on the SDHC card slot cover. If they manage to fix my other complaints and provide support for meta tags, tweak the GUI, and add support for DRM files, the O2 would be unchallengeable as the best PMP on the market. Here's hoping that happens.
Additional thoughts:
I've added a few photos to the Amazon page. One is a size comparison to several other PMPs (Ipod 4th generation, Cowon D2, Iriver Clix), on of the included accessories, and the last a picture of the SDHC and USB port and its cover.
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