Cowon's N3 player packs DMB, GPS, 7-inch touchscreen

Cowon has really been tossing out a lot of winners of late, and if this N3 is any indication, there seems to be no stopping the DAP manufacturer at this point. While the N3 doesn't look to be headed for US shores in the immediate future -- thanks to that pesky built-in DMB tuner -- it does seem to have all the codec goodies and design refinement of its older siblings. The player is a followup to the N2, with a 800 x 480 7-inch touchscreen, 600MHz Alchemy AU processor, dual SDHC slots (but no built-in memory), and GPS. Software is based on Windows CE 5.0. No word on price or release date, but hopefully we'll be finding out more next month at CES.

[Zeek @ Dec 27th 2007 10:36AM]

Software is based on...ugh. Archos FTW.

[Osaru-san @ Dec 27th 2007 10:52AM]

Having to pay for codecs
Archos FTL

[JohnTitor @ Dec 27th 2007 4:16PM]

Having to pay $600+
Cowon FTL

[Nate the great @ Dec 27th 2007 10:52AM]

The nice thing about the N2 running on WinCE 5.0 is that you essentially have a 7" PDA. This is my "carry it everywhere that I don't want to lug the laptop" dream device.

[rob @ Dec 27th 2007 11:01AM]

This is essentially an upgraded Q5 with no internal memory but the problem is the Q5 reviews weren't very positive.

The real big news is the possiblity of an upgraded D2 at CES.

[Al @ Dec 27th 2007 2:17PM]

Um no this is the updated to the N2 that came out last year.

[paragraph @ Dec 27th 2007 11:09AM]

No built in memory... but it runs Windows CE 5.0... so clearly there IS some sort of internal memory (happy hacking)

It sounds good though, GPS + Media + CE means this is more PDA than PMP, and thats something that i like :-P

Now just give it WiFi and i'll be happy.

[Wwhat @ Dec 27th 2007 11:31AM]

Indeed, it's too late to not have BT or WiFi in a device.

[Wwhat @ Dec 27th 2007 11:50AM]

Minus point is that 7" is perhaps over the limit for 'pocketable'.

[Gadgetman @ Dec 27th 2007 12:03PM]

I wish they would compare the size to these gadgets to get an idea how or how small ?

[Backlin @ Dec 27th 2007 12:35PM]

That screen is bigger than the physical size of a lot of other PMPs.

[aoeu00 @ Dec 27th 2007 12:47PM]

Yeah, I don't get it. I think the real sweet spot for these portable video players is around 3"-4". The 2.0"-2.5" market is too crowded (and the screen is a wee bit on the small side). I still love my Zen Vision but want a good 3"-4" screen player that supports "all" the popular codecs (including either DivX and/or Xvid). 3"-4" is big enough yet can still fit in my pocket. Of course, the biggest issue is getting the price point to around $200-250 with good size storage space.

[sidemouse @ Dec 27th 2007 1:39PM]

why would I want something pre-loaded with the Dave Matthews Band?

[Al @ Dec 27th 2007 2:19PM]

Oh and with two SDHC card slots you can essentially have what 64gb of space. Not to mention this is Cowon so you know it is going to have good sound. And WinCE doesn't use that much space, just look at Pocket PC and other devices.

[Baba Booey @ Dec 27th 2007 4:10PM]

A bit too much of a niche product to me...A 7in screen and all. I have a D2 and its definitely a step down from the vision:w but it's worth it.

[Miles @ Dec 27th 2007 4:39PM]

Well, yet another touchscreen based mediaplayer!
But can it make phone calls?
Thought not.

[Jeremy K. @ Dec 27th 2007 5:55PM]

Cowon seriously needs some good software programmers. WinCE sucks. And what's the deal with using 5.0 when 6.0 has been out for over a year?

[Jeebus @ Dec 28th 2007 12:57PM]

Cowon's biggest problem is their shitty software/firmware.
I have the D2, and while it's a nice player, the last many firmware updates have been for things non-music non-video related, like adding Flash player, calculators, sketch stuff, while gapless playback remains missing, album art and font size is too small, and nothing gets done about it.
Cowon, hire better better product managers and better software developers.

[Siddharth Chatterjee @ Dec 29th 2007 10:54AM]

It looks great, has GPS, thh 7-inch touchscreen is sexy to say the least. Now if only they would add WiFi & an internal HDD. After some hacks on the CE 5.0, that would make one awesome PDA!