cadetcabrera
12-11-2005, 00:02
Hello everybody! This is how much I fell in love with the a2 from doing hours and hours of research! I live in San Diego, CA. I was about to order the A2 three days before thanksgiving on the cowonamerica online store, and have it shipped over 2 day air. However, I happened to somehow come across Cowon America's contact information and find out that Cowon's office is in Irvine, CA which is about 1 hour and a half drive from San Diego!!!! So, being a former owner of an M3 and an X5L and knowing the "Ipod-Killing Quality" Cowon is known for... (Cnet is somehow bribed by apple for their reviews in my opinion)... What do I choose to do??? I decided to drive straight to Irvine the very next morning and buy my Cowon A2 in person!!!! And let me just say, it was definitely worth the drive, especially since Gas prices haven't been so generous.
So first off.. My Order ID is a little different than everyone else since I ordered it in person. But I called Cowon to make sure that I can still be eligible for this giveaway... and they confirmed that with me.
(My ORDER ID: cadetcabrera@hotmail.com , purchased 11/22/05)
BOX
----
People make a big deal about the box and packaging that the Cowon A2 is placed in. I don't know why people need to compain about the box. The unit is more important. The box is just the right size, durable, has a nice professional look to it, and does the job right in protecting the A2 and its components. Again, what strikes me is how "Professional" the product is presented. Looking at the box alone, can only make one assume that what is inside is top of the line.
MATERIALS/ACCESSORIES
-------------------------
The A2 comes with the following: AC Adapter, Nice white headphones that match the A2 unit, a couple of usb adapters, in line connector, manual, rca cables, getting started software cd, and an EXCELLENT Leather case that 1) can act as a stand 2) can allow access the the usb/in line ports while the case is closed.
MANUAL
-------------
The manual serves its purpose. However, it can be a little unclear at times. BUT? The A2 is designed to have the extra A, B, C buttons which has little descriptions on the screen showing you each of the buttons functions depending on which menu you are looking at.
DESIGN
-----------
Having an Iaudio M3, upgrading to an Iaudio X5L and AGAIN upgrading to a Cowon A2, All I can say Cowon just keeps getting better and BETTER with their product?s designs, durability, and multitude of features that totally blows away the Ipod Video.
The A2 fits very comfortably in your hands with or without the case and looks very sexy and sleek. Everytime I show the device to one of my friends, their jaws drop to the ground as they stare in complete awe. The screen is very Crisp and clear, and when using DVD Shrink to rip out a DVD and then using DrDivx to convert to an AVI file, the A2 displays the ripped DVD in TOTAL DVD QUALITY!!! It is simply amazing. I was about to buy an Archos AV500, but the price was too expensive and the screen quality on the A2 just seemed much prettier to me. It has the TFT LCD screen just like a PSP and the quality is that of a Sony PSP if not better. The buttons on the A2 feel very good and solid. When they are pressed, you have great control. The mini joystick has very minimal quirks when pressing it, but you just have to get used to it to get it right all the time (like fast forwarding a movie). All in all, the A2 is the most attractive looking portable media player on the market.
BATTERY
-------------
The battery can be computed in two modes: 1) video battery life 2) audio battery life. I went on a trip to las vegas using the A2 as an mp3 player connected to the car stereo, driving 6 hours to vegas and 6 hours back, and I never had to recharge the A2. After the trip, the A2 battery meter was still at 2 bars full. As for video, I have played 2 dvd movies: 1) office space 2) Mr. and Mrs. Smith and I had 2 bars left on the battery meter!! That is awesome. The battery is built in, unlike most media players with a detachable battery. This might seem like a flaw due to weight and having extra batteries, but the weight of the A2 is NOT HEAVY AT ALL. It actually feels very Solid. People on cnet and across the internet who complain about the A2 battery are just lazy and have nothing better to do, but to make the other products against the A2 look better. The battery life on the A2 is much more than its competitors so with that said, you will be able to recharge the battery before it dumps completely.
FM RADIO
--------------
Works pretty good except for the fact that depending where you are, connection to some radio stations are hard to pick up. Maybe a new firmware might be able to fix this.
VOICE RECORDING
----------------------------
AWESOME!! I used it in nursing class and was about 8 rows back in a 20 row lecture hall, and was able to hear the speaker after recording the class fairly decent. I?m sure if I placed the player on my professor?s podium, it would be crystal clear and crisp.
PHOTO VIEWER
----------------------
The only problems I see with the photo viewer 1) can?t display pictures larger than 4 mega pixels and 2) Can?t view pictures while playing music. Firmware fix????
FILE TRANSFER / EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
------------------------------------------------------------
The A2 combines itself as both a media player and an external computer hard drive. USB 2.0 on it is VERY FAST. You don?t even need to install Jet Shell for the A2. You can simply PLUG AND PLAY! DRAG AND DROP! Easy as that!
MP3 PLAYER/EQUALIZER
------------------------------------
If you know about Cowon, their MP3 players are known to have among the top if not the best sounding media players on the market. I tell everyone that once you pop in some ecent headphones and play around with the built in equalizer like winamp, it sounds like a complete home/car audio sound system!
RECORDING
-----------------
I have not used the recording function yet, but just from reading reviews and knowing that the ports are built in unlike the archos attaching a bulky video in/out unit, I?m sure recording will be easy and in outstanding quality.
OVERALL
-------------
Decent price, Awesome design and build, stunning video and audio quality, outstanding battery life, and an abundance of features, THE A2 IS THE BEST PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER ON THE MARKET. Don?t waste your money and time on an Archos AV500 or Creative Zen Vision. The A2 will let you experience the true meaning of ?Love at First Sight?.
Cowon Thanks for putting out on excellent portable media player. My birthday, is December 12, 1982. Hopefully, you will be able to select my review as one of your top 20, and send me a nice nifty A2 remote! (crossing fingers). Have a good one.
So first off.. My Order ID is a little different than everyone else since I ordered it in person. But I called Cowon to make sure that I can still be eligible for this giveaway... and they confirmed that with me.
(My ORDER ID: cadetcabrera@hotmail.com , purchased 11/22/05)
BOX
----
People make a big deal about the box and packaging that the Cowon A2 is placed in. I don't know why people need to compain about the box. The unit is more important. The box is just the right size, durable, has a nice professional look to it, and does the job right in protecting the A2 and its components. Again, what strikes me is how "Professional" the product is presented. Looking at the box alone, can only make one assume that what is inside is top of the line.
MATERIALS/ACCESSORIES
-------------------------
The A2 comes with the following: AC Adapter, Nice white headphones that match the A2 unit, a couple of usb adapters, in line connector, manual, rca cables, getting started software cd, and an EXCELLENT Leather case that 1) can act as a stand 2) can allow access the the usb/in line ports while the case is closed.
MANUAL
-------------
The manual serves its purpose. However, it can be a little unclear at times. BUT? The A2 is designed to have the extra A, B, C buttons which has little descriptions on the screen showing you each of the buttons functions depending on which menu you are looking at.
DESIGN
-----------
Having an Iaudio M3, upgrading to an Iaudio X5L and AGAIN upgrading to a Cowon A2, All I can say Cowon just keeps getting better and BETTER with their product?s designs, durability, and multitude of features that totally blows away the Ipod Video.
The A2 fits very comfortably in your hands with or without the case and looks very sexy and sleek. Everytime I show the device to one of my friends, their jaws drop to the ground as they stare in complete awe. The screen is very Crisp and clear, and when using DVD Shrink to rip out a DVD and then using DrDivx to convert to an AVI file, the A2 displays the ripped DVD in TOTAL DVD QUALITY!!! It is simply amazing. I was about to buy an Archos AV500, but the price was too expensive and the screen quality on the A2 just seemed much prettier to me. It has the TFT LCD screen just like a PSP and the quality is that of a Sony PSP if not better. The buttons on the A2 feel very good and solid. When they are pressed, you have great control. The mini joystick has very minimal quirks when pressing it, but you just have to get used to it to get it right all the time (like fast forwarding a movie). All in all, the A2 is the most attractive looking portable media player on the market.
BATTERY
-------------
The battery can be computed in two modes: 1) video battery life 2) audio battery life. I went on a trip to las vegas using the A2 as an mp3 player connected to the car stereo, driving 6 hours to vegas and 6 hours back, and I never had to recharge the A2. After the trip, the A2 battery meter was still at 2 bars full. As for video, I have played 2 dvd movies: 1) office space 2) Mr. and Mrs. Smith and I had 2 bars left on the battery meter!! That is awesome. The battery is built in, unlike most media players with a detachable battery. This might seem like a flaw due to weight and having extra batteries, but the weight of the A2 is NOT HEAVY AT ALL. It actually feels very Solid. People on cnet and across the internet who complain about the A2 battery are just lazy and have nothing better to do, but to make the other products against the A2 look better. The battery life on the A2 is much more than its competitors so with that said, you will be able to recharge the battery before it dumps completely.
FM RADIO
--------------
Works pretty good except for the fact that depending where you are, connection to some radio stations are hard to pick up. Maybe a new firmware might be able to fix this.
VOICE RECORDING
----------------------------
AWESOME!! I used it in nursing class and was about 8 rows back in a 20 row lecture hall, and was able to hear the speaker after recording the class fairly decent. I?m sure if I placed the player on my professor?s podium, it would be crystal clear and crisp.
PHOTO VIEWER
----------------------
The only problems I see with the photo viewer 1) can?t display pictures larger than 4 mega pixels and 2) Can?t view pictures while playing music. Firmware fix????
FILE TRANSFER / EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
------------------------------------------------------------
The A2 combines itself as both a media player and an external computer hard drive. USB 2.0 on it is VERY FAST. You don?t even need to install Jet Shell for the A2. You can simply PLUG AND PLAY! DRAG AND DROP! Easy as that!
MP3 PLAYER/EQUALIZER
------------------------------------
If you know about Cowon, their MP3 players are known to have among the top if not the best sounding media players on the market. I tell everyone that once you pop in some ecent headphones and play around with the built in equalizer like winamp, it sounds like a complete home/car audio sound system!
RECORDING
-----------------
I have not used the recording function yet, but just from reading reviews and knowing that the ports are built in unlike the archos attaching a bulky video in/out unit, I?m sure recording will be easy and in outstanding quality.
OVERALL
-------------
Decent price, Awesome design and build, stunning video and audio quality, outstanding battery life, and an abundance of features, THE A2 IS THE BEST PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER ON THE MARKET. Don?t waste your money and time on an Archos AV500 or Creative Zen Vision. The A2 will let you experience the true meaning of ?Love at First Sight?.
Cowon Thanks for putting out on excellent portable media player. My birthday, is December 12, 1982. Hopefully, you will be able to select my review as one of your top 20, and send me a nice nifty A2 remote! (crossing fingers). Have a good one.