I’ve never been a huge fan of new technology, especially portable media players. Part of the reason is that I think manufacturing companies focus too heavily on features without thinking about usability. Battery life is my favorite example. It doesn’t matter how amazing a portable media player is – if the battery dies in 2 hours, you’re in for a disappointing machine.
So when I was searching for a portable media player and found the touchscreen Cowon D2, I got excited. The little device had a battery rating of 10 hours for video and an amazing 52 hours of music – enough for a full day of videos or 3 to 5 full days of music before charging. I made the purchase right away.
Pros of the Cowon D2
Obviously battery life of the Cowon D2 is simply incredible. Though I never quite reached 10 hours of video, 8 to 9 hours was not a stretch at all, and the music player never disappointed. Its battery life meant that I could take the portable media player with me on vacation and skip the charger altogether. That’s amazing.
The sound quality of the Cowon D2 is equally as impressive. I was able to hear background tunes on my audio files that I didn’t even know existed. It supports almost every codec imaginable, though interestingly it doesn’t support DRM files, so you may need to rip or torrent your CDs. Your iTunes account is no good here.
Another feature of the Cowon D2 that I particularly liked is the ability to drag and drop music and videos at will. Since I’ve also had to deal with the ridiculous iTunes syncing software for my iPhone, the D2’s easy to use drag and drop system is a welcome relief.
The design – although small – is comfortable, sleek, and easily fits in your pocket. I did buy a rubber protective cover from eBay, but only because I was worried I might scoff up the smooth and polished design. It seems pretty durable regardless. The touchscreen is user friendly and responsive. Perhaps my favorite part of the Cowon D2 is the price – I purchased mine for only $125, and even though the product is “old” in technology standards, I’d say it’s comparable to some of the best portable media players still available.
Cons of the Cowon D2
The Cowon D2 is not without some flaws. The screen itself is very small at only 2.5 inches. Although it’s LCD and the color is phenomenal, you are still squinting a little to make out details, especially in widescreen video.
The flash player is also abysmal for games, so just don’t bother. The text reader isn’t that great either and although I loved the photo album feature, I would argue that it’s somewhat pointless since few people are going to stare at these tiny photos while they listen to music. It was a good way to show people what my dog looked like, nothing more.
Finally, the headphones that come with the Cowon D2 should be replaced, preferably with expensive headphones that allow you to truly appreciate the music.
Overall Thoughts
I’ve tried a lot of portable media players before, and for what it is, the Cowon D2 is my favorite. These days I tend to use my iPhone more because I need it for work, but I think the Cowon D2 is a more impressive device for music and video, despite being smaller, older, and less feature rich. If they ever make a Cowon D2 phone, my iPhone will be on eBay within 24 hours.
