Cowon S9 32 GB Video MP3 Player with Touchscreen (Titanium Black)Cowon S9 32 GB Video MP3 Player with Touchscreen (Titanium Black)
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- 32 GB capacity for about8,000 songs
- 55 hours of audio or 11 hours of video on a single charge
- 3.3-inch, 16-million color AMOLED display with 480 x 272 pixel resolution
- Supports MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV, and APE audio formats; AVI and WMV video formats; JPEG image formats
- 1-year limited warranty
 An eye-catching way to enjoy your favorite movies, TV shows, photos, and music on the go. Click to enlarge or view controls. |
 Song control buttons conveniently placed on top of the S9. Click to enlarge. |
 The S9's intuitive user interface makes using it a pleasure. Click to enlarge. |
 Freely adjust the zoom with your fingertips. Click to enlarge. |
 Get a quick preview of your videos before you watch. Click to enlarge. |
3.3-Inch AMOLED Display
The S9 boasts a 16 million color, 3.3-inch AMOLED display with a 480 x 272 pixel resolution. Thanks to the low-power display technology, the screen is viewable from virtually any angle. It looks great in the dark and even in direct sunlight. AMOLED turns electric signals into video 1,000 times faster than the speed of conventional LCDs, leaving no ghost images while playing motion pictures.
Intuitive Touchscreen Interface
Cowon S9's interface has been optimized for its durable anti-scratch touchscreen, with gesture recognition features like zoom-able album art, pictures, and text; TrueType fonts for clear visibility at any zoom level; and more.
Video Player
The S9 will play AVI and WMV video files, with codec support for Xvid SP/ASP and WMV9 SP/MP. Enjoy all your favorite clips and shows, and just tilt the unit to switch to 16:9 widescreen viewing.
The S9 also makes browsing your content fun and easy. Preview thumbnail images of all your videos before choosing which one to watch. The "Quicklist" feature allows you to preview the files surrounding the one being played--check to see the next file in the queue, whether you're enjoying music or video.
Finally, the S9 features a composite video out for sending your signal to your television.
Music Player
The S9 is a full-featured music player with support for MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV, and APE formats so you can stick to the format you like.
Get detailed track info on the S9's screen with meta tag support, and view LDB 1.0 and 2.0 lyrics files while you listen.
The S9's track control buttons are conveniently placed on the top of the device for use while carrying in your pocket--perfect for use on the bus or subway.
JetEffect Music Enhancement
Dial in the perfect sound no matter what you're listening to with Cowon's various enhancement tools:
- BBE: clarifies music
- Mach3Bass: enhances low-frequency bass spectrum
- MP Enhance: restores distorted digital music
- 3D Surround: provides 3D sound effect
- 5-Band EQ: customizable equalizer with adjustable band and bandwidth filter
FM Radio and Recorder
Enjoy your favorite FM radio programming using the S9's unique "jog shuttle" touchscreen control for selecting stations. Store your favorites in up to 24 user presets, and record live radio for later listening.
Photo and Document Viewer
View or share slideshows of your favorite JPG images, and read your TXT text documents wherever you are.
Bluetooth Freedom
The S9 features built-in Bluetooth 2.0 support (A2DP, AVRCP Profile) for use with various wireless devices. Get rid of those cables and enjoy the benefits.
Digital Clock with Alarm
Set an alarm to play your music or FM radio, and use the sleep timer to drift off to your favorite songs. You also can use the clock to schedule FM recording for a particular time.
Voice Recording
Record voice memos, lectures, meetings, or whatever else you need for later using the built-in microphone. The S9 also supports line-in recording, for grabbing audio from external devices like CD players.
Energy Efficient Entertainment
The S9 will give you up to 55 hours of music playback, up to 11 hours of video playback, and up to 350 hours of stand-by sleep mode on a single charge.
Flash Player
The pre-installed Adobe Flash Player lets you enjoy Flash games and other utilities, along with the Flash content present on many web sites.
What's in the Box
Cowon C9, Earphones, USB 2.0 cable, Manual CD, Quick Start Guide
- Electronics: 0 pages
- Publisher: Cowon
- Label: Cowon
- Studio: Cowon
- Batteries: 0 AA batteries required
- Average Customer Review: based on 55 reviews
- Sales Rank in Electronics: #1946
- nv: Album Art Supported^Yes | Aspect ratio^16:9 | Audio Output Connections^3.5 mm headphone socket | Battery Life^Approx. 55 hours audio 11 hours video | Battery Type^Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) | Bluetooth^Yes | Bluetooth Compatible Profile^A2DP AVRCP Profile | BlueTooth Protocol^Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP | Codec Support^MP3/2/1 WMA FLAC OGG WAV APE | Colour LCD Screen^Yes | Copyright Protection System^Yes | DAB Radio^No | Data Storage^Yes | Depth^12.7mm | Designed for Sports Usage^Yes | FM Tuner^Yes
Pros:
1. Format flexibility - this player is a must if you have access to FLAC files and use high-quality headphones. No need to convert .avi video files and FLAC files to .mp4 and .wav like with iPods.
2. I love being able to lock the sideways display; you can prevent a song's album photo from appearing when you turn the player sideways. I always thought that the sideways album photo display is a worthless feature, and something that really annoys me about my iPod--I'd rather just have the same display even if I accidentally turn my player sideways.
3. Frequent firmware updates show that Cowon is committed to improving functionality and customer support.
4. Drag-and-drop system from Windows Explorer/iTunes is so incredibly quick and easy. The file transfers take a little while, but are not as excruciatingly slow as adding files to iTunes.
Cons:
1. Takes a few days to learn the unique lock/sleep/screen off system--it's not as quick and easy as the iPod Touch's. Can't lay it face down if it's not locked, since this will keep the player on.
2. The file and folder navigation system is foreign to anyone coming from an iPod background, but makes plenty of sense once you learn it.
3. The screen is a little smaller than the iPod Touch's.
4. I'm not aware of many good, compact case options. Certainly nothing like the DLO case/stand for the Touch, which lets you stand up the iPod hands-free on a table to watch videos. I ended up getting a cover glued onto the screen, there are stalls in various malls that provide this service for about $20.
5. Screen is a bit unwieldy, you have to learn how and where to touch in order to get precise control.
6. Can take up to 15 seconds to start up the first time you've added a lot of new files (but this time gradually decreases).
7. The sound quality can be flat and dull on some headphones, but that's what all the EQ options are for. However, it can be a never-ending process to find the perfect EQ settings for the headphones and genre you're listening to. I have 4 different settings, 2 for my Westone 3 headphones and 2 for my Sennheiser IE8 headphones (one to bring out the bass and soundstage width for dance music and one for the clarity which jazz/classical/acoustic music requires).
8. No micro SD slot like with the Cowon D2. This is a major drawback for anyone who uses large files like FLAC or wants to put a large collection of music and videos on the player.
Overall, the features that this player offers and its strengths easily outweigh its weaknesses. If you only listen to mp3s and don't have high-quality headphones, you may be best served by the iPod Touch, but anyone who has higher standards for audio quality and hates the iTunes system for adding files must give the Cowon a look.
I purchased it because of these following features:
1) Battery life
2) File compatibility (plays FLAC OGG WAV)
3) Sound Quality
4) Display quality
5) Frequent updates
6) Drag and drop files
My choices were
iPod Touch is not a reasonable or valid video or music device, and people complain about the battery life.
Samsung P3 is not AMOLED, and has a smaller screen
Sony X is too expensive, wi-fi is not implemented well
Zune to watch anything on the player I would have to convert it.
I wish that the display were bigger, that it read PDF files, and that the unimpressive cover flow display worked. The photo viewer is bad. I want to have a handful of really good games and they do not exist.
I haven't had to convert a file yet. I have recharged the player maybe 4 times over the past month, and I use the player daily.
A multitude of extras is available from [...]. Games, wallpapers, themes etc. Advice can be found for every possible concern.
I wish that I could fuse this player with a iPod Touch, it would be the ultimate device then. As it stands it is great for music and video, if it were a top notch gaming system/e- book reader/organizer with wi-fi then I would be in electronics heaven. As it is my music never sounded better.
This is a great device and buying it refurbished was a great choice for me because I saved about $90 going that way.
All the ravings you read about on high quality sound and video are, in my opinion, justified, and I agree with them.
I am particularly pleased that AVI files play so well with no compression.
All in all, I am impressed with this unit, and have no regret that I chose it over iTouch.
Here are some my own feedback.
Don't get me wrong. I like Cowon s9, and am a satisfied consumer.
However, I am making the following points, hoping that Cowon will address these issues in the future version:
1. The User Interface does injustice to this otherwise gem-like gadget.
In well-designed UI, I believe that the user must be given an option to navigate to the top level from any screen levels below.
Not S9. It takes many frustrating trials to finally understand what the UI designer had in mind, but at best, it is still confusing and
inconsistent. For example, in Music playing screen, "M" button takes you to the top menu. But, when you are browsing albums, "M" disappears.
When the screen is in landscape mode, there is neither "M" nor "X" for cancel.
In Document screen, "M" is denoted as "X".
These are just some inconsistencies among others.
I think that a totally redesigned UI is warranted and would be a real welcome.
2. Sleep time seems to be reset each time it is rebooted. Can it be saved?
3. Being able to download your own fonts was a pleasant surprise too. Thank you, Cowon, But, can I have more than one user-defined font?
-end
Pros:
1. The screen is amazing - vivid colors and razor sharp quality. The videos I've been watching (music and movies) are outstanding.
2. No need to convert videos - just drag and drop using Windows Explorer.
3. Sound is impeccable - I have a couple of pairs of high-quality earbuds and I believe when combined with the player, the notes I can hear are unlike anything else I would hear on other players.
4. Updates - Cowon has a dedicated support group and active user forum. You can even code UIs yourself if so inclined.
Cons:
1. When playing videos in landscape mode, there is a delay getting back to the main menu occassionaly.
2. The S9 is made of sturdy plastic. This is really OK but I would have preferred a bit more heft (weight) that you get with metal.
Gotchas:
1. Manual - you need to play with this unit, read the forums and user guide. The unit is not totally intuitive but not overwhelming either.
2. Battery life - hmmmm...wondering about this as I like to watch quite a few music videos and I haven't totally drained the battery but unsure of stated battery life.
3. If you use a Mac and a Windows machine, choose one or the other for transferring files. I started with Windows and plugged into my MACBook Pro to recharge and had some issues. Nothing major but I ended up reformatting the S9 drive and reloading everything. There is a setting to use if you choose Mac; make sure you read the forums.
Whatevers:
1. Flash - not a big deal for me but there a host of games and apps you can load for free
2. Pictures - I have a SmartPhone and a camera so really not interested using the S9 to hold my photos
My Conclusion - if you like to watch videos and listen to music on a first rate machine and transfer files with no issues, then the S9 is a great choice. If you need wifi, like to play games or just want to download a bunch of apps, then this unit isn't for you. I also purchased a great case for the unit from Amazon and I am very pleased with that as well.
Good Luck