Cowon iAudio U3 reviewed

We're still not sold on the idea of using a pocket-sized, flash-based player with a 1.2-inch screen to watch videos, but if we're going to consider it, we may want to use the Cowon iAudio U3 as our testbed, given the player's other features. CNet took an early look at the U3 and found that watching video on the tiny screen was "neat, if not enjoyable" (sort of gives new meaning to the old saw about "damning with faint praise"). Tiny screen aside (CNet also quipped that the display "makes the iPod's 2.5-inch screen seem plasmalike"), CNet liked the U3, calling out its solid codec support, which includes protected WMA, MP3, OGG and FLAC; along with its 2.8 x 1.2 x 0.7-inch size and great audio playback. Of course, this is probably going to hit the US market at around $300 for the 2GB version (it's already showing up in the UK for £199, or $350), meaning no matter how good its audio quality is, it's going to be very hard for it to compete with non-video 2GB flash players available for much less.