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Cowon S9
One of the main selling points that Cowon has managed to stabilize is the copy-paste media option wherein users won’t need to waste time converting videos for playback. While I believe that to be true, I also believe that one of the drawbacks to their franchise is the fact that their players, brilliantly large displays and all, are rather heavy and generically designed. The Cowon S9 seems to be a horse of a different color however and here’s exactly why.
Form Factor
The S9 is a very trendy looking PMP with a classy feel. The curved back panel gives it a smooth finish unlike any of the other players the company has brought to the shelves so far. A set of volume and canning keys are located on top and what may look like a strap loop in the middle is actually a Play/Pause button. At the bottom is a slider for switching the power on or off as well as locking the display. A proprietary USB port is located on the same end after the 3.5mm earphone socket. The 3.3-inch AMOLED (16 million colors 480 x 270) capacitive touchscreen display is simply brilliant.
Here are the issues I have with the design – Firstly, why have a proprietary USB port when other models have standard mini USB slots? If the cable is misplaced, it may not be easy getting a replacement, but mini USB is a standard across the range so if you’re a techie you’ll probably have some device that uses a similar wire. It’s also easily available.
Secondly, and I know that other reviewers share the same sentiment, the press images of the product give off a rather metallic, steel like impression of the device. It looks like it could be a sturdier player as well. This image is quickly wiped clean from your mind when you have the product in sight. Although I’m still a fan of the design and I’m quite happy that it’s so light weight and easily portable, the jury’s still out on the overall build quality.
Features and Performance
Interface
The main menu is designed with extreme simplicity. The player offers two themes to add a little spice if that’s what you need. The internal menus provide small but still accessible options for settings, scanning etc. To save space, the main menu bar usually located at the bottom of the display is dual sided with a small ‘Flip’ option at the end to reveal more settings. While the accelerometer is smooth with no transition effect, the touch sensitivity is a bit erratic sometimes in some conditions. When it comes to scanning files, the status bar was, for some reason not very easy to use, so the buttons on the top will work out very well here.
I do wish that the entire Flash UI worked with the accelerometer. It seemed like there were dedicated menus that worked with screen rotation. So if you’re watching a video and come back to the ‘List’ menu you’ll have to flip your hand to portrait and back again when resuming the file. A quick menu option to select files is available on both the audio and video playback screens.
Audio
First off, the bundled earphones were a real disappointment. With X-Bass or any of the other Bass options selected, they would jar loud enough to convince you without a shadow of a doubt that the speaker was tearing in agony. A quick change to a better set and I was good to go. The decibel level is insanely high. I DO NOT recommend playing any music with the volume peaked. You could cause some serious damage to your ears.
With a set of Sennheiser headphones, I was thrilled with the kind of audio quality the device generated. The resounding thump in the bass line and clear tones all round make for an excellent audio experience. There are plenty of EQ presets to choose from in the JetAudio section of the player’s settings. 30 to be accurate. Those include 26 pre configured and 4 customizable. BBE is the sound engine used in the Cowon that really does manage to bring a richer and fuller sound to audio in the portable device category. When they claimed that the S9 would deliver great audio, they weren’t kidding, not one bit.
What will make the player even more appealing to an audiophile are the customizable options and the detail the company has put into making sure that those who know their audio will get the absolute best out of the product. Every detail of each band can be further customized not just to provide higher or lower tones, but a much wider range of sensation.
The S9’s integrated FM radio has decent pick up even while commuting to the city and although it doesn’t have a recording feature, I didn’t miss it. The player does however have a stand-alone voice recorder. The mic (and reset pin sockets are located on the rear panel) has really good range - up to four feet for dictation if you really want clear vocals, as it tends to pick up a lot of ambient sound. The closer the better of course.
Video
What I’ve always loved about the Cowon PMPs is the copy paste method of video files for playback. Cowon has included Media Center application in case you prefer to convert files for the player, though I don’t see why. It doesn’t read hi-def files in .MKV format. Video playback looks really good and like I said before, canning via the display is a bit of an issue, you can simply use the keys as a stress free method. The player allows you to increase the size of the video to full screen in case it’s in a wider screen format than 16:9. The S9 also supports TV out, you’ll have to purchase your own set of cables.
The File support system of the S9 is a rather long list so for information on all audio and video file formats supported just click here.
Misc. Features
Since the S9 with the latest firmware update and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR is fully A2DP and AVRCP compatible, with a set of Stereo Bluetooth headphones you’re just going to enjoy the audio even more than with a really good set of headphones or earphones. Why? No wires at all. Once again I used i.Tech’s BluePro A2DP headphones and was a completely satisfied reviewer. Smiles all round!
Large images in JPEG format may take a little longer to open than scaled images of course but that’s not something you can’t get by with. Amongst the other features the S9 also has an alarm clock feature, a Calculator and a Flash player for games and other flash supported applications. Getting games and apps may not be that simple but if you look hard enough you’ll find some and even though all may not function (some cause the device to hang), the games that do play are fun and entertaining on the players touch sensitive display. EBooks in .TXT format can very easily be read and a zoom control slider is present through most of the menus to make reading onboard files and documents a whole lot easier.
Battery
Having read the few other reviews and the company’s own claims about the ‘ridiculous’ 55 hour battery life for audio and 11 hours of video, I was curious to find out if the product would deliver. The verdict is – 7 hours and 45 minutes for video and over 45 hours of audio (non stop playback). Now it didn’t quite reach the 55 hours mark but I’m not going to complain and I know for a fact that no one else will either. I could have used a little more battery life on the Video though, but I have to say those were a very pleasant 7 hours and 45 minutes. Perhaps the next one will actually deliver on the 11 hour promise.
The Bottom Line
The Cowon S9 is available for Rs. 15, 750 for 16GB of storage. Now while this portable audio experience may have been the best I’ve experienced so far, the touch screen technology could have been a little bit better. Although I have just a few minor issues with it, on the whole it's no iPod Touch. Then again, I’m quite happy to not have to deal with iTunes and simply copy paste my files for instant playback. Battery life is excellent and this light weight player is perfect for the active individual. I think it’s a brilliant product but with an 8GB iTouch available for close to Rs. 12, 000, your only consideration for purchase would have to be sound quality and the S9 delivers in spades.
Form Factor
The S9 is a very trendy looking PMP with a classy feel. The curved back panel gives it a smooth finish unlike any of the other players the company has brought to the shelves so far. A set of volume and canning keys are located on top and what may look like a strap loop in the middle is actually a Play/Pause button. At the bottom is a slider for switching the power on or off as well as locking the display. A proprietary USB port is located on the same end after the 3.5mm earphone socket. The 3.3-inch AMOLED (16 million colors 480 x 270) capacitive touchscreen display is simply brilliant.
Here are the issues I have with the design – Firstly, why have a proprietary USB port when other models have standard mini USB slots? If the cable is misplaced, it may not be easy getting a replacement, but mini USB is a standard across the range so if you’re a techie you’ll probably have some device that uses a similar wire. It’s also easily available.
Secondly, and I know that other reviewers share the same sentiment, the press images of the product give off a rather metallic, steel like impression of the device. It looks like it could be a sturdier player as well. This image is quickly wiped clean from your mind when you have the product in sight. Although I’m still a fan of the design and I’m quite happy that it’s so light weight and easily portable, the jury’s still out on the overall build quality.
Features and Performance
Interface
The main menu is designed with extreme simplicity. The player offers two themes to add a little spice if that’s what you need. The internal menus provide small but still accessible options for settings, scanning etc. To save space, the main menu bar usually located at the bottom of the display is dual sided with a small ‘Flip’ option at the end to reveal more settings. While the accelerometer is smooth with no transition effect, the touch sensitivity is a bit erratic sometimes in some conditions. When it comes to scanning files, the status bar was, for some reason not very easy to use, so the buttons on the top will work out very well here.
I do wish that the entire Flash UI worked with the accelerometer. It seemed like there were dedicated menus that worked with screen rotation. So if you’re watching a video and come back to the ‘List’ menu you’ll have to flip your hand to portrait and back again when resuming the file. A quick menu option to select files is available on both the audio and video playback screens.
Audio
First off, the bundled earphones were a real disappointment. With X-Bass or any of the other Bass options selected, they would jar loud enough to convince you without a shadow of a doubt that the speaker was tearing in agony. A quick change to a better set and I was good to go. The decibel level is insanely high. I DO NOT recommend playing any music with the volume peaked. You could cause some serious damage to your ears.
With a set of Sennheiser headphones, I was thrilled with the kind of audio quality the device generated. The resounding thump in the bass line and clear tones all round make for an excellent audio experience. There are plenty of EQ presets to choose from in the JetAudio section of the player’s settings. 30 to be accurate. Those include 26 pre configured and 4 customizable. BBE is the sound engine used in the Cowon that really does manage to bring a richer and fuller sound to audio in the portable device category. When they claimed that the S9 would deliver great audio, they weren’t kidding, not one bit.
What will make the player even more appealing to an audiophile are the customizable options and the detail the company has put into making sure that those who know their audio will get the absolute best out of the product. Every detail of each band can be further customized not just to provide higher or lower tones, but a much wider range of sensation.
The S9’s integrated FM radio has decent pick up even while commuting to the city and although it doesn’t have a recording feature, I didn’t miss it. The player does however have a stand-alone voice recorder. The mic (and reset pin sockets are located on the rear panel) has really good range - up to four feet for dictation if you really want clear vocals, as it tends to pick up a lot of ambient sound. The closer the better of course.
Video
What I’ve always loved about the Cowon PMPs is the copy paste method of video files for playback. Cowon has included Media Center application in case you prefer to convert files for the player, though I don’t see why. It doesn’t read hi-def files in .MKV format. Video playback looks really good and like I said before, canning via the display is a bit of an issue, you can simply use the keys as a stress free method. The player allows you to increase the size of the video to full screen in case it’s in a wider screen format than 16:9. The S9 also supports TV out, you’ll have to purchase your own set of cables.
The File support system of the S9 is a rather long list so for information on all audio and video file formats supported just click here.
Misc. Features
Since the S9 with the latest firmware update and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR is fully A2DP and AVRCP compatible, with a set of Stereo Bluetooth headphones you’re just going to enjoy the audio even more than with a really good set of headphones or earphones. Why? No wires at all. Once again I used i.Tech’s BluePro A2DP headphones and was a completely satisfied reviewer. Smiles all round!
Large images in JPEG format may take a little longer to open than scaled images of course but that’s not something you can’t get by with. Amongst the other features the S9 also has an alarm clock feature, a Calculator and a Flash player for games and other flash supported applications. Getting games and apps may not be that simple but if you look hard enough you’ll find some and even though all may not function (some cause the device to hang), the games that do play are fun and entertaining on the players touch sensitive display. EBooks in .TXT format can very easily be read and a zoom control slider is present through most of the menus to make reading onboard files and documents a whole lot easier.
Battery
Having read the few other reviews and the company’s own claims about the ‘ridiculous’ 55 hour battery life for audio and 11 hours of video, I was curious to find out if the product would deliver. The verdict is – 7 hours and 45 minutes for video and over 45 hours of audio (non stop playback). Now it didn’t quite reach the 55 hours mark but I’m not going to complain and I know for a fact that no one else will either. I could have used a little more battery life on the Video though, but I have to say those were a very pleasant 7 hours and 45 minutes. Perhaps the next one will actually deliver on the 11 hour promise.
The Bottom Line
The Cowon S9 is available for Rs. 15, 750 for 16GB of storage. Now while this portable audio experience may have been the best I’ve experienced so far, the touch screen technology could have been a little bit better. Although I have just a few minor issues with it, on the whole it's no iPod Touch. Then again, I’m quite happy to not have to deal with iTunes and simply copy paste my files for instant playback. Battery life is excellent and this light weight player is perfect for the active individual. I think it’s a brilliant product but with an 8GB iTouch available for close to Rs. 12, 000, your only consideration for purchase would have to be sound quality and the S9 delivers in spades.