Cowon's iAudio F2: another tiny 2GB player

Cowon may not be the biggest portable audio maker out there, but they make some decent little players. The iAudio F2 features a tiny, 128x160 pixel 1.3-inch display, up to 2 GB flash, line-in recording, 22 hours of audio playback off battery, and the typical list of Cowon supported codecs: MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG Vorbis and even FLAC for lovers of lossless. At 39-grams / 34.4 x 72.9 x 16.7-mm, this 2 gigger is small, just not that small and likely includes an integrated FM radio and voice recorder judging by the interface icons. Available starting 22 September for 179,000 won or $187.

[Via CNET Asia, Thanks Garcia and Chris]

[Logan Trussell @ Sep 18th 2006 6:12AM]

It looks like the Blackberry Pearl.

[JJ @ Sep 18th 2006 6:56AM]

It looks like a tiny phone and not like an MP3 playner. Yeah, Blackberry Pearl, that's what it looks like. A baby version of the Blackberry Pearl.

[aptmunich @ Sep 18th 2006 8:23AM]

Cons: Thicker, uglier, pricier & worse battery life than the nano, no podcast section
Pro's: Support a few more codecs, has radio & recording

Sorry, at the moment, it's still the nano!

[@ Sep 18th 2006 10:22AM]

Also, it costs $38 more than the nano at that size.

[garrett @ Sep 18th 2006 9:50AM]

The actual shell looks like a mobile, and the interface is very similar to the one on my old SLVR.

[Jordan Meeter @ Sep 18th 2006 10:59AM]

It looks OK I guess...

[Hans Castorp @ Sep 18th 2006 11:17AM]

Great, another irrelevant device which offers no support for the AAC standard ...

[tekdroid @ Sep 18th 2006 11:25AM]

1) FLAC support. Killer.
2) Native drag-n-drop USB Mass Storage in multiple OSs without the need to install crappy software and easy use on any system. Killer (assuming it's like the rest of their range).

Embedded batts and red backlight = downers. Any colour would have been better than that off-putting red, IMO.

Removable SD cards would be welcome in future Cowon products, and more models offering AA battery capability would be very welcome.

[GioNYC @ Sep 18th 2006 3:26PM]

All that high tech color display and fancy design and its up to only 2gig???

[X Budd @ Sep 18th 2006 3:47PM]

Wow... I don't know why they made it so thick!

[andrew cooke @ Sep 18th 2006 7:45PM]

i'm kind of surprised by the interface, but i'm a linux user and have a lot of ogg and flac files, so cowon's emphasis on a range of file formats and easy access (assuming it's the same usb disk as their others) is what makes their stuff better than much of the competition. they also have a decent reputation for sound quality and, i admit, it's nice to have something a bit different to all the apple users...

[humblefrog @ Sep 18th 2006 7:48PM]

Just bunged these dimensions into http://www.sizeasy.com and you're right its not that small for a 2gb player. Wonder if this size issue will prove to be a problem as it goes to market against the svelte competition.

[korockid @ Feb 16th 2007 10:46PM]

The new adjusted price for this DAP is 120-130USD.
Atleast 20USD less than the nano equivalent.
Also, note that this plays video and is drag and drop.

[Luke @ Jun 23rd 2007 6:19PM]

i don't get why people are so anal about thin-ness these days...

all models/celebs are anorexic, and now all mp3 players have to be anorexic too? players like the samsung yp-k3 and the nano are both uselessly thin players that feel horrible in the hand and feel like they can snap in half. The feature ranges of these two pencil thin players SUCK too. pictures and music. WHAT ELSE?

this iAudio F2 is clearly superior than the nano like MANY other players. The only reason the nano hasn't been killed yet is because of Apple's brainwash marketing. The F2 plays music (more codecs than the nano), pictures, video, BUILT IN FM radio, and text. Sound quality kills the nano in every way too.

price? the 4GB F2 is only a mere $120 now. How much is the 4GB nano? a HOLY-SHI* whopping $200-250.

Looking at same-class flash players from Samsung, iriver, and Cowon/iAudio, there is no reason, ABSOLUTELY NO REASON, to get an Apple iPod Nano.