Cowon adds 32GB model to J3 media player lineup
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted June 11th 2010 5:13PM
posted June 11th 2010 5:13PM
Our one hang-up regarding that ultra-slim, ultra-sexy Cowon PMP? Not enough of it! Up until now, that is. The company's just announced that it will be making a 32GB model available in Japan for ¥29,800 (roughly $325). That is, of course, in addition to the 8GB and 16GB models already on the streets. If that weren't enough, a company called JetMall has the thing listed as "in stock" for $299, available in either white or black. Hit the source link to see for yourself.
@summerboy18 What makes you think that Cowon is crap? They're actually really quite good at what they do. The S9 was the predecessor to the J3 and...
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2008/12/cowon-iaudio-s9-review.php
@summerboy18
The iPod isnt the only mp3 player in the world you know...there are others...
JetMall is actually Cowon's online store.
@Jesse S
You can't expect Engadget to just KNOW that. I mean, they've never used one of these players, obviously. Engadget is like the common consumer in the 90s: Nintendo=Video Games. But now it's iPod=MP3 player. "What's an MP3 player?" people ask nowadays.
Now expecting them to research something they put in an article... well we should expect that. But it's not going to happen, unless there's a little glowing Apple logo on Cowon's next player.
@commenter7 Indeed. Why anyone with choice would buy an iPod is beyond me. I'll exclude the iPod Touch for the obvious advantages, though. The rest? If you're not buying your music through iTunes, or have a collection already, everything about it is pure nuisance.
@summerboy18
Ahahaha. S9 has audio quality far superior to any iPod and supports FLAC audio. The Ipod is a joke when it comes to audio quality and lossless audio .
@summerboy18 This is a dedicated media player unlike iPhone, some people don't like to have the all-in-one, because one thing that does everything average don't do everything excellent. The iPhone/Touch,etc is far from being the best pmp around, probably in the top 10, but not the best.
In fact the iPhone ins't a good cellphone either, but that is another story.
@summerboy18
Crap? Lol, I use my iPod Touch 32gig primarily for alarms after I purchased Sony Walkman S545! And I am told that Cowon S9 is slightly better than Sony Walkman S/X/A series in terms of sound quality! How ignorant are you.
Reminds me of the Zune HD hardware. Very nice design. I think I'm done with stand alone players though. My phone works well enough for me now, just wish I could get some sort of all you can eat subscription service for it.
@Dafrety
I think what you mean is that the Zune HD reminds you of the Cowon S9 hardware, which was out nearly a year before it.
@j3ff
No, I believe I meant that it reminds me of the Zune HD, which I saw more than a year before the Cowon J3 (which was today.)
I love Cowon. I think they're the last company that can still do a great PMP. I have the A2, A3, and O2. The problem is, on their recent players, Cowon focused more on the display and looks, and actually severely cut back on the functionality. The best thing about Cowon players is used to be their codec support. The A3 can pretty much play anything, including matroska and H.264. Then came the S9, which cuts back the codec support severely. No more MP4, no more mkv, no more H.264, and the trend continues to this J3. I wish Cowon should just stop playing with these half-hearted models, and focus on what people want. Focus on the V5 and expand from there, put better UI for it, better hardware, stop playing around Cowon.
@pika2000
I wanted a Cowon for the longest time. I might still get one, just to have it. :) In your opinion what's the best option for a newcomer, the A3? I don't even know what's current now.
@Dafrety The A3, as great as it is, is old. The offspring is the V5, which still carries the awesome codec support.
@pika2000 The S9 is focused on the audio part, not as a general use PMP. It outputs one of the best audio quality when coupled with some serious headsets (denon/sennheiser ) , it wasn`t designed for movie watching, hence no h.264 support.
@pika2000
I looked up the V5 and it's pretty nice. I think I might wait for SDXC support though. 32GB+32GB seems like it would be easy to outgrow with HD video stored on it. :)
@GreenEyez If Cowon wanted the S9 to be for audio only, then why bother with AMOLED and 16:9 screen ratio? My point is for Cowon to stop playing around and fragmenting their own lineup. The least they should do is put the same codec support on all of their devices.
@pika2000 Marketing mostly. AMOLED does look nice even if you`re just scrolling through menus, but 16/9 is useless. But i agree, the V5 does need a little overhaul.
@GreenEyez * Useless on an audio focused device.
@summerboy18
You know, not everyone wants a smartphone for a media player. Some people actually prefer something like good sound quality or a beautiful screen. Data plans do not bode well either.
@GreenEyez
He is an idiot. He won't understand! He just said that he didn't understand the purpose of a mp3 player when an iPhone could be purchased! No one can reason with him regarding the sound quality.
@krishansy
I have the s9 and have had the x series from sony, sony has one mayor drawback, they dont support flac and they dont as the s9 can play any file format also video. But that said if you only have mp3 320, then the sony sounds the best
@summerboy18
I think "summerboy18" has had his ass thoroughly handed to him, again. I wonder if he will make his next account because nobody responds to his crap or because he was banned again?
If I were to get a PMP for you know, the media playback, I'd stick with a Zune HD, much cheaper than this, too.
This still looks great, though.
@summerboy18 "256 or 320 kbps is more than enough"
like an IQ of 21 is more than enough for you.
@summerboy18
There we go... I was wondering when you'd pull out the iHaters bit. Because you know, no one could just prefer the better product. If they don't like Apple best then they're an iHater! Black or white! 16 GB or 32 GB! There are only two choices! Nothing in between!
So does the J3 have some kind of desktop software or can I just throw music on it like a hard drive??
@summerboy18
You know, I've been meaning to ask. Everyone who doesn't like Apple is an iHater. What are you then? You go into every non-Apple post (like this one) and stir your shit before anyone else gets a word in (like here.)
@summerboy18
I'd rather be a goon than have my head up some company's ass. Unless they pay me to like their products they're not getting any praise unless they make something good.
@summerboy18 Guess what? I buy Denon / Onkyo / Harman Kardon high-end receivers and high end speakers that cost more than half of what you paid for your crappy car, not 300$ HTiB sound sistems like the "average person". And i expect every sistem (including my portable sistems) to perform the same i.e. top notch quality.
PS: Watch who you call a nerd or you might end up with your legs broken and your head shoved down your mothers @ss, got it ?
I've been using Cowon S9 and you don't need any desktop software to copy your music. This shouldn't be any different.
@summerboy18
So this makes it okay to go into articles and troll until you get downranked to oblivion and then banned, yet again? I would have hoped after the first time you'd realize that it isn't us, it's you. If people keep downranking you every time you post something idiotic it isn't because of their irrational hate for Apple that is only visible to you, it is because of your idiotic post.
Oh, and stop with the "WWWWWWWWHHHHHYYYYY MMMMEEEEEEEE!?!?!?! ROFL CHEEP ASIAN CRAP" bit. It is unbecoming of you. Not that we expect much better.
@Plazmic Flame I've been using Cowon S9 and you don't need any desktop software to copy your music. This shouldn't be any different.
@summerboy18
"They are the best. Period."
This is why Microsoft, Motorola, Cowon, HTC, Sony, Sandisk, Dell, HP, and [insert every company that ever competed with Apple Inc. here] has gone out of business immediately after Apple showed up on the scene. Yep. Totally what happened.
I like how you run away once people start refuting your brilliant "arguments."
@hated one
You're late. Oh well, I need a new toy now that "summerboy18" decided to run off with his tail between his legs.
@summerboy18 Nope, actually, i forgot to wear a condom last time i was drunk, so basically we are something close to family. Or how the hell do you think "mommy" bought you your Ipod ?
@hated one
and GPS and WiFi and browser......
Oh no! What am I going to do without all these in my PeeMPee?
@summerboy18 Last I check on Head-Fi a well rated forum for headphones and audio equipment, it been a while since Shure has been highly rated.
@hated one Docakabikity? Sounds like a disease. No thanks.
@hated one What America? The way you write, you`re from the freaking Somalia, at best.
I have never ever seen a Cowon in real life so I make a sad face.
This would be nice player to own.
@summerboy18 give me the same song in flac (~1000kbps) and in mp3 (320kbps). I will do a random test with my Klipsch Image S4s plugged into my Cowon S9 and tell you which is which.
@whatiknow They're going to drain the battery. That's why I use my phone for apps, navigation, games, and my Cowon S9 for music. (50 hours worth of a charge) :)
@summerboy18
...and people wonder why there's so much hatred for Apple and their users. Every fucking time we get a post about an MP3 player, laptop, tablet, phone, etc., some moron who thinks it's a good idea to waste their life shilling for Apple shows up and blurts out (almost always with the first comment, to add to the annoyingness), "LOLZ, it never be good as iphone, suck it loserz, consumer wantz 'it just works' not good sound lol u know y i like my iphone cuz it just workz lol next time try removing all butons so you cant use it in ur pokit lol then tie it to itunes that way ur life iz made ez-er with 23 extra processes added to ur startup on windo$e dragondrop is fur lozers lol you should think like i think LOL."
@hated one
Hey, thanks! I never knew you could get an iPod for cheaper from a company called Apple! That's great news, you should submit it to Engadget!
Yeah Cowon! Your days are numbered! Sure, you've lasted since before the first iPod even came out up until now, but now that I know the iPod is available from a company called Apple, your days are numbered!
@hated one
I personally don't feel the need to dock my MP3 player to my vacuum cleaner.
Engagdet you don't know JetMall is Cowon's American official distributor?
wtf .... ?
@summerboy18
I'm not sure what you mean, but either way, say what you want because sooner or later it will say this: "This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion." Heck, you might as well just use that line for all of your posts now. Save people the effort of clicking the minus sign.
The Best way to appreciate Cowan devices is to use one, so far everyone who has heard my old iAudio X5, compared to iPhone's (all), iTouch and similar devices, have always said one thing to me, WoW!,
even my nephew who is a Die Hard Apple guy, got very quiet when listening to the X5?, and his face said it all as he quietly said "Yeah sounds nice", and with all the Audio enhancements he was able to play with it became clear as to which was substantially better. I have a set of Home use old Stax SRS-2020 headphones and connected to X5 or iPhone the difference is dramatic!, if I put a cheap 99 cent headphones it will be very hard to tell difference other than the fact the iAudio X5 allows to adjust for the lack of quality of the headphones which is a plus! But anything Audio is subjective unless you are an Audio Engineer of which I was for the last 28 years! But in the real world most people pick the shiny mp3 player over the high quality but not so shiny audio player. But if you are giving a "True" review of a product it must rely on Facts only, and the subjective only as a secondary, otherwise it becomes useless when you are spending serious Monie$ on Audio Equipment.
@commenter7
Agreed, however there is a BIG problem with the media devices on the market. There is NO high capacity player that is half decent except for the ipod classic. The Zune 120 is nice but MS has decided to discontinue their Hard Drive players. I bought a 7th gen classic because I have a TON of lossless albums and wanted to be able to carry them in my pocket. Apple Lossless is just as good as FLAC (however I rip to FLAC for my back-up copy then convert to AAC).
If COWON made a high capacity player (IE 160+GB) I would buy it in a heart beat. Instead I will have to deal with the ipod's SQ, which is not bad at all, especially if you use a line out dock and a good headphone amp, as well as some good headphones.