Cowon O2 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

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Cowon O2 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
 
Manufacturer: Cowon Systems
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $229.99
Sale Price: $202.99
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Product Description

Cowon continues to master the personal media player with the O2. The player's sleek minimalism marries cutting-edge technology with simple, sophisticated details. The O2 is much more than an eye-catching MP3 player--it boasts support for more audio and video codecs than you can count on both hands, a brilliant 4.3-inch touchscreen, image and document viewing, voice recording, and plenty more. The O2 is a compact and versatile media player that'll keep you entertained no matter where, no matter when.

Sleek minimalism marrying cutting-edge technology with simple, sophisticated details. Click to enlarge.

Navigate with ease using the 4.3-inch touchscreen LCD. Click to enlarge.

Sample UI screens. Click to enlarge.

Also available in white and pink versions. Click to enlarge.

View a control diagram. Click to enlarge.

A quick glance at the O2 will make you want to pick it up--it's nearly all screen, with its 4.3-inch, 16.7-million color touchscreen TFT LCD. This makes for quality viewing and easy navigation. Surrounding the screen are various input/output options, the volume control, power switch, and speaker on the back.

You'll also notice a slot for SD cards, which lets you expand your 16 GB capacity on the fly. Of course what really counts is what you can pack into all that storage...

Enjoy Video in Nearly Any Popular Format or Codec
Anyone with an extensive collection of digitized audio and video knows that things are far from cut and dried. Depending on sources and preference, you might have a slew of different formats on your hard drive. With a lot of media players, you might spend hours just converting everything to the proper format for playback on your device--more waiting, less watching. Not so with the O2, which boasts native support for AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, and MTV video formats.

And then, of course, don't forget the compression codecs. Everyone's got their favorite way to squish video down to a size that makes sense for portable players. The O2 can handle DivX 3.11/4/5/6, XviD, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, WMV 9/8/7, H.264, M-JPEG, and MPEG 1 video codecs, along with the following audio codecs for the accompanying soundtrack: MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, and PCM. Quite a list, but it's one that any media geek would be happy to hold in his or her hands.

Regardless of file format and codec, you'll enjoy up to 8 hours of continuous video on a single charge. Whether you're on a transatlantic flight, a subway commute, or just hanging out at some coffee shop, you have plenty of video time at your disposal.

Support for Your Digital Music Library
Just as with video, everyone has a unique approach to digitizing their music libraries. Some are happy with low-bitrate MP3s, and others insist on lossless compression formats like FLAC for a higher-quality audio experience. No matter your preference, chances are you'll be covered here as well--the O2 gives you up to 8 hours of continuous audio on one charge, and will play back MP3/2/1, WMA, ASF, AC3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, MATROSKA(MKA), TTA, APE, MPC, WV, and WAV audio files, with full support for the following audio codecs: MPEG1 Layer 1/2/3, WMA, AC3, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, BSAC, True Audio, WavPack, G.726, PCM.

Whatever you use to tag your files with artist info will show up on screen as well, with support for various meta tags, from all versions of ID3 to Vorbis comment or APE tag. LDB lyrics files also are supported for the lyrics-obsessed.

Getting the sound you like is no problem either. In addition to a 10-band graphic equalizer, the O2 features four "JetEffect" audio technologies to help you improve your sound:

  • BBE is a sound effect that refines the sound quality.
  • Mach3Bass provides deeper, tighter, and more musically accurate bass frequency.
  • MP Enhance restores and enhances the harmonics lost through compression.
  • 3D Surround provides the three-dimensional surround sound effect.

View Your Photos, Documents, and More
The O2 also happens to be a powerful photo-viewing device, and as with audio and video, it doesn't limit you to just a few formats. Share your favorite JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP, and even RAW images on the go, and personalize your device by setting your wallpaper to your favorite JPG, PNG, BMP, or TIF image.

The O2's text viewer lets you view pretty much any text file, and you can add support for all kinds of standard docs, whether it's PDF files or various Microsoft Office formats (DOC, PPT, XLS). And since the product supports true-type fonts, you can adjust the font size, character spacing, color, and properties to your preference.

Microphone In, AV Out
Use the built-in microphone to take voice memos, record lectures or meetings, sing melodies, or whatever tickles your voice-recording fancy.

The composite output (cable sold separately) lets you enjoy your O2 content on most TVs, whether NTSC or PAL video.

What's in the Box
Cowon O2 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black), Earphones, AC adapter, USB 2.0 Cable, Manual, Stylus/Mini Holder, CD, Quickguide

Product Details

  • 16 GB capacity for about 4,000 songs
  • 18 hours of audio or 8 hours of video on a single charge
  • 4.3-inch, 16.7 million color digital TFT LCD screen with 480 x 272 pixel resolution
  • Supports MP3/2/1, WMA, ASF, AC3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, MATROSKA(MKA), TTA, APE, MPC, WV, and WAV audio formats; AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MATROSKA(MKV), OGM, MPG/MPEG, DAT, and MTV video formats; JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, BMP, and RAW image formats; and TXT text files
  • 1-year limited warranty

Video Reviews

No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews

The functionality I want but not so pretty...
 
Review Date: November 17, 2009
Reviewer: John Robinson, Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan
I have edited this review to increase the stars from 4 to 5. Why? Because continued familiarity with this device allows me to overlook its not-so-sexy interface and appreciate more fully its excellent file-playing abilities and go-everywhere portability. It plays all my stuff and fits perfectly into my front shirt pocket. It is my TV and Movies everywhere video player.

In short: it just works. Really.

Just wanted to mention it because I didn't see it in the other reviews: this PMP will play your videos, etc right from the SD or SDHC card. No need to copy the files into the player itself. There is no end to the memory you can take with this thing. Wonderful.

It was the lack of this facility that made the otherwise-excellent Creative Zen Vision W so limiting.

Good job Cowon!

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