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You wanted it, you got it: the 60-gig X5 is back!
comment: 1 | Friday, July 22 (2005) 10:03AM | Posted by Austin Vaughan
Does this company rock or what? We spoke, they listened. Check it out:

"Dear iAUDIO customers,

I appreciate your warm support for iAUDIO.

The iAUDIO X5 60GB version became a hot issue at many sites recently. My information about X5 60GB was not our official announcement nor correct. I was wrong. Please do not be disappointed with that.

Today we decided to release iAUDIO X5 60GB version in near future.

Sorry for the confusions that I've made by my e-mail. Once a specific schedule is ready, we will inform you of it.

Thanks and regards,
Kevin Kang"


Right on, Cowon! Once again, iAudio comes through for the fans. It wasn't long ago that people were asking for FLAC format support, and they delivered. There's more goodies in the works too - according to CNET, Cowon is still developing new features for the X5, including id3-tag based navigation (iPod-style) and WMA JANUS (Napster-to-go) support, due out in the next few months.
Comments

d0n
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 10:07AM  

Hurray!!! Will be waiting...




Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2802
Jul 22 (2005) 10:09AM  

I <3 Cowon. Could be a risky move, but lets hope the demand is high.




bunthius

Comments: 14
Jul 22 (2005) 10:16AM  

wow, im impressed by the courtesy of this company and the willingness to listen to its core. ive had my eye on this player for a while, i think i may just buy this 60gb version because of this... and because my gmini400 was stolen.




jblock

Comments: 77
Jul 22 (2005) 10:20AM  

"id3-tag based navigation (iPod-style) and WMA JANUS (Napster-to-go) support, due out in the next few months"

Ya see, now here's a perfect example of just getting it. Aside from listening to its base, they realize that DRM is a feature that adds value. You liked its original feature set, what's not to like with 60gb, more features, and JANUS?




BoSox
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 10:24AM  

Perfect. id3 and janus are great.




rockendoublez

Comments: 4
Jul 22 (2005) 10:29AM  

woooohooo! i love the power of the people. Man that didn't take very long either! cowon rocks! (still satisfied with my m3, but contemplating getting the x5L anyhow! LOL)




boogie_doggie

Comments: 11
Jul 22 (2005) 10:53AM  

OK, that's it... I'm tired of waiting for Rio, when this comes out I'm getting one.




underdog

Comments: 12
Jul 22 (2005) 11:07AM  

DARNED CREATIVE!!!




Anonymous
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 11:07AM  

Hah, best company ever!




jimslim89

Comments: 6
Jul 22 (2005) 11:11AM  

ID3..ID3..ID3




Anonymous
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 11:51AM  

If they make it I may jsut buy one. Thanks Cowon




jleckron

Comments: 33
Jul 22 (2005) 11:57AM  

It's nice to hear about a company being responsive to it's customers like that. It'll definatly be something to keep in mind for the next time I'm dap shopping.




Nqstv

Comments: 1
Jul 22 (2005) 12:09PM  

The moment a 60GB X5 is available with ID3, I will be purchasing it. Way to go Cowon!!




T10
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 12:28PM  

I have actually bid on an F60 this morning on Ebay, with the dissapoing news of 60gig X5 cancellation.

Hopefully I will be outbid. Go Cowon!!!




chicubs

Comments: 915
Jul 22 (2005) 12:32PM  

good news!




Roach

Comments: 48
Jul 22 (2005) 12:39PM  

impressive... i haven't seen many companies (if at all) that really listen to their customers like that...
Hopefully this will get them far... i'm seriuosly considering buying the X5 (20GB not 60GB) just because of this announcment, serioulsy this is really impressive!
GL Cowon




Anonymous
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 12:39PM  

Good news, good news. I definitely want to test out any size model of this player in the near future just for a proper hands on experience, On paper it looks pretty damn perfect to me and I'm sure as soon as I get my hands on one and properly test it out and the 60 gig one is on the market, I'll be heading straight to advanced mp3 players to order one!




TheChemist

Comments: 4
Jul 22 (2005) 12:59PM  

" but turning it on and initially choosing tracks is a bit of a pain, thanks to those controls and this menu system."

This part confuses me. The interface is perfectly fine. If you use the player for more than 30 minutes, it all becomes apparent and seamless.

=|




TheChemist

Comments: 4
Jul 22 (2005) 01:07PM  

Finished the review, have a few more things.

" but they won’t blow you away or rival iTunes in ease of use any time soon."

Uhhh, as far as I'm concerned, highlighting folders and dragging them into a window is kind of easy.

"Ogg Vorbis audio formats, the latter preferred by a noisy group of audio fans"

That shouldn't be in there.

"We say “false impression” for only one reason: those demanding accuracy from their audio will be thrilled with the iPod’s flat, accurate reproduction of recorded sounds"

I've used both of these players. I think both sound good. I have all of those nifty features turned off on my X5 - just an EQ. And it sounds better than my iPod, no question.

"The iPod’s strength is that you can use one hand to find any random song from a catalog of 15,000 in a matter of seconds, start playing it, and smoothly move to other tracks. You just can’t do that with X5 unless you’re exceedingly dextrous and well-organized using the old-fashioned file system."

Of course the iPod has a better interface, I won't deny that. But this reviewer is making the X5's seem to be medieval. It's not. It's not hard to use. It's easy.

The video I'm not arguing - it is really just a novelty in my opinion.

"It was uneven, for instance, when displaying photographs: half of the JPEGs we tested worked, half did not. "

Wild guess here: they didn't read the manual and see that Progressive JPEGs are not supported (which is disappointing, but its not like they randomly don't work)

That was long.




TheChemist

Comments: 4
Jul 22 (2005) 01:13PM  

Hey, what do you know. I posted this in the wrong news section.

Go me.

I'd love to see these moved.




Pooh
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 03:47PM  

"Does this company rock or what? We spoke, they listened. Check it out:"

What are you yammering about? This is what Kang said:

"My information about X5 60GB was not our official announcement nor correct. I was wrong. Please do not be disappointed with that."

In other words, Kang was spreading misinformation which he has now corrected.









Austin Vaughan
Location: Lenexa, KS
Comments: 770
Jul 22 (2005) 04:08PM  

Pooh, need to work on your Reading Comprehension skills my man.

"Today we decided to release iAUDIO X5 60GB version in near future."




SV
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 06:39PM  

To add to what Austin "Austin Vaughan" Vaughan said, there are actually several interpretations:

1. There was no official agreement on at what to do, and Kevin said they weren't planning a 60GB because no plans had been officially announced. Cowon decided in a vacuum that they'd do it after all, or decided to do it because they saw demand for it after all.

2. There was no official agreement on what to do, and Kevin said they weren't planning a 60GB because things weren't looking good for that model. Then Cowon saw user input and decided to go with a 60GB model.

3. Cowon had decided not to produce the 60GB model, but reversed after they saw customer reactions and had the spokesperson take the fall (standard corporate policy).




Kovno

Comments: 110
Jul 22 (2005) 07:04PM  

I hope all the people who complained about Cowon's initial decision actually buy one now. If not Cowon may come to the conclusion that it's not worth listening to the public.




Austin Vaughan
Location: Lenexa, KS
Comments: 770
Jul 22 (2005) 11:17PM  

SV... heh, crazy nickname you've given me there. I suppose it fits, at least.

Austin "Austin Vaughan" Vaughan

Next time I'm in a bar: "The name's Vaughan, Austin Vaughan. But people call me 'Austin Vaughan.' Remember that shit, homey."




narutosaki
Location: China
Guest
Jul 22 (2005) 11:38PM  

i think its a great move! except the fact that the screen is so small... hmm

wondering if cowon is really the best portable player for videos, cus the only reason you need 60 gb is because of the movies right.. and the cowon x5 has a really small screen, personally i prefer the PSP

but i guess its still koo you guys making 60 gbs




khamel
Location: China
Guest
Jul 23 (2005) 04:30PM  

or you could have 60 gigs of music. i was thinking of getting a 60gb ipod to replace my 40 gig ipod but a 60 gig x5 with id3 is an option i would seriously consider. i know it sounds crazy but im really hoping someone will release a 100 gig player that i can use for music and possibly files/movies in the future. i heard there would be a gmini like player with a 100 gig hd but is that just wishful thinking?




Seraph Wing
Location: China
Guest
Jul 24 (2005) 02:51AM  

Err, am I the only person here that hates ID3 database structure? All my music is already perfectly organized in folders, and many times the tags on my music is messed up (lots of foreign music with messed up characters like *&^__@lO& as an artist name). Will the File Directory system still be usable after the firmware update?




Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2408
Jul 24 (2005) 04:45AM  

either is fine by me, i dont find either one more complicated than the other, but with id3 the controls remain the same for all DAPs, with file tree, sometimes, on the odd occasion, u'll get a DAP with really fucked up contols for accessing folders and choosing music etc.
But anyway i like them both, i would probably prefer file tree to be honest




elektrip
Location: China
Guest
Jul 25 (2005) 05:16AM  

Yeeeeeeeah what good news is that. I will definitely buy the 60GB X5, after spamming Cowon and forums with that wish. Great they listened to us. And no, 60GB are not for the vids, actually videos and pictures will not get one bit of storage on my player (unless it's able to shop album covers jpg/tag). It's all for the music (FLAC), and 60GB is the least amount I'm in for buying a dap (250GB would be great). It will be my first DAP. I can do perfectly without watching vidz on 1.8" screens.
I hope we can choose to browse by ID3 Tags AND file structure. I'm near perfectly organized with both, but probably will use the file structure. It's way faster to get to the album or the track than by ID3 since the slightest spelling mistake in tags makes double entries for one single artist or track. This comes more apparent the more tracks you got, and I do manually review every single tag after downloading (partially misspelled) amazon/cddb tags...always dragging files rather than tags, even in winamp, though they are nice to display. Sure, I know what music I got and where to find it.




shiftis
Location: Canada
Comments: 369
Aug 13 (2005) 12:01AM  

60 GB X5 = Sweet




jadow
Location: China
Guest
Aug 18 (2005) 08:30PM  



Is iAudio X5L 30GB Mp3 player direct download compatable with Nikon 7900 digital camera?


Thanks!





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