Cowon's iAudio 7 is the latest and supposedly greatest MP3 player to take a swing at Apple's iPod nano. The fearless new contender to the ever-expanding portable audio market comes loaded up to the eyeballs with features, but as with all players, it'll need to prove itself in the arena if it stands a chance at beating down Apple's iPodtropolis.
With 4GB and 8GB capacity options, this is a no-holds-barred player. Previous models from Cowon have surprised us with functionality, but have lacked the key cool factor and usability that Apple has bestowed unto its devices.
Design
We couldn't have been more pleased to see Cowon has left the iAudio F2's control system in the cesspit it deserves to lay dormant in. In the iAudio 7, the Korean manufacturer has adopted the swing-touch interface -- a touch-sensitive alternative to using navigational buttons. It takes very little getting used to and feels natural from the get-go. Using nature's pointing tool -- the finger -- you simply need to sweep the touchpad in the direction you want the cursor to move. It's accurate and fun to use.
Two touch-sensitive function buttons sit on the front too, and after playing with this interface we can't help feeling the volume, power and menu buttons on the top of the player are a tad boring. Still, as buttons go, they don't disappoint. There's also a pair of 3.5mm sockets on one end: one for headphones and one for line-in sources.
Features
Support for a shed-load of audio codecs is always admirable. Cowon frequently throws in support for FLAC and OGG music files, but in its last player -- the iAudio F2 -- memory maxed out at 2GB, so what use are you going to get from a lossless audio codec? In the iAudio 7 8GB is the limit, which could mean up to 32 albums compressed into the lossless FLAC format. This is a terrific feature for audiophiles who are after a tiny portable player.
Support for video comes in the form of the Xvid format, but only up to 15 frames per second in 160x128-pixel resolution. The resolution is low because of the tiny 35mm (1.3-inch) screen -- archaic for a player that can store 8GB of video files. But this is more a player designed with lossless audio in mind -- for video playback, you'll be better looking elsewhere. JPEG photos can be viewed, but, like video, this is of limited use -- the real emphasis here is on music.
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User reviews2
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Edward Gane 18 April 2011
Comment: If all you want to do is listen to music in high quality, this is the way to do it.
mawi 8 September 2008
Good: Best sound, batterylife and format support in market
Bad: Controls take a little getting used to, would've liked version with standard battery compartment
Comment: I've had this player for some time and there is still no alternative on the market.
It comes with exceptional sound in a small package with great batterylife and supports many formats, including flac which I require. flac + great audio quality and large flash memory sizes means a great package.
I've got the 8 gb version, I know there is a 16 gb version now.
I have two gripes: First, that they don't make one with a standard (replaceable) battery compartment. Now, since the battery lasts so long it isn't a biggie, but once it starts to degrade - like all rechargeable batteries do - there is nothing you can do about it. Now, this story is exactly the same for almost all devices out there. There may be one or two that is different, but almost all are gone now.
There used to be a iriver that took AAA batteries, but they nevere updated it, I think.
Secondly, the controls are not perfect. They should go back to physical controls and skip the touch thingies, I think. It works without problems most of the time, but 1 / 10 times it does glitch. It is very seldom and only requires a restart of the device so it's a very small annoyance but it is a tiny issue. The menu system is quite good once you get used to it, and the hardware buttons can be tweaked.
Despite these small complaints, the unit is still the best there is. Small, runs looooong and has the best audio quality and format support. Very good.
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