News   Forum   Reviews   Articles   Where to Shop   Links   Polls   Submit News   DAP Shop  
Cowon Announces the iAudio 7
comment: 32 | Thursday, June 14 (2007) 06:56AM | Posted by Michael
As excited as I am to tell you about the iAudio 7, I'm also a little concerned about a previous bit of news I reported on that may have gotten lost in translation. Last month, GenerationMP3 stated exciting news that Cowon will be releasing the X7 this summer. Now with the announcement of the iAudio 7, I'm starting to wonder if this was a mistake. Will there ever be a successor to the X5? We'll have to cross our fingers on this one. Now onto today's agenda.

The iAudio 7, as the name implies, is the successor to the iAudio 6. This time around, they've swapped out the .85" microdrive and replaced it with flash memory. This actually isn't the first time we've seen a flash version of the iAudio 6. A few of you may remember our exclusive scoop on the iAudio D1. It was to have 4GB's of memory, but Cowon scrapped it due to "demand and manufacturing issues" Thankfully they seemed to have fixed these problems and now we're rewarded with a player that's even better than the D1.

  • Capacity: 4, and 8GB
  • Display: 1.3" TFT, 262K colors (Previously OLED)
  • Audio: MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg, WAV, and ASF
  • Video: Xvid
  • FM Tuner/Recorder and Voice recorder
  • Battery Life: 60 Hours from built-in Lithium-Polymer battery
  • UMS Device
  • Swing-Touch Control system


I'm glad to see Cowon catching up with its competitors and releasing higher flash capacities. The 60 hour rated battery life is also quite impressive, even topping their popular D2 model. One more change you will notice is the addition of a red backplate in addition to the silver. The player will be released on July 18th at a price of 169,000 won (~$182US) for the 4GB model, and 229,000 won (~$246US) for the 8GB version.

LINK (via, engadget)

Thanks, PeterDLai
Comments

DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		Jun 14 (2007) 08:31AM  

Killer feature set/battery life, but...

COWON really needs to get a grip on pricing and realize what a difficult sell this will be at US 246.00 (8gb) when MEIZU is selling a competing DAP at some US 100.00 less.

I don't doubt the capabilities of COWON players, but the rules have changed (especially regarding dollar-to-megabyte), and they seem very resistant to accept this fact.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 14 (2007) 08:47AM  

I don't think the rules have changed all that much. Apple is selling their 8GB iPod Nano for 249US, and their 4GB for 199. This is right on par with those. Just because Meizu and other lesser known brands are selling flash players at lower costs does not mean they've set any new standards.

Cowon is an established brand and I doubt they're concerned about Meizu's offerings. If Apple, Sandisk, Creative, etc.. start selling players at cheaper prices then Cowon will start doing the same. Meizu is no doubt getting popular, but they're not yet on the level of the companies mentioned yet.



dodap

Comments: 47
 		Jun 14 (2007) 08:59AM  

I too don't see that "the rules have changed (especially regarding dollar-to-megabyte". This will only be true, if the different players were otherwise identical in technical and aestetic aspects. The market is far from that. And the prices are far from uniformity. Newcomers always have to price their products aggressively to get a foot in the established markets. This is what Meizu attempts, but is far from having acchieved yet.



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		Jun 14 (2007) 09:21AM  

In my opinion,

APPLE is in a completely different (marketing/sales) situation than others in the DAP game.

For the average consumer, the name iPOD is synonymous with MP3/DAP, much in the same way that KLEENEX is with Facial Tissue, affording them the luxury of setting their own prices (at will) due to the fact that they are the ‘standard by which all others are measured’

COWON does not have this kind of market position, and (again… in my opinion) should do more to fight for sales from a value platform.

Great products – YES… Great Value – NO


[ edited Jun 14 (2007) 09:32AM ]



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		Jun 14 (2007) 09:29AM  

You also mentioned the competing products from:

CREATIVE - Zen V Plus 8gb (US 150.00 to 200.00)

SANDISK - E280 8gb (US 150.00 to 200.00)

SAMSUNG - T9 8gb (US 150.00 to 200.00)

These DAP manufacturers obviously see the advantage of offering the consumer more value for their dollar, as all of their (respective players) also hit the market in the US 250.00 plus range and have since been priced more realistically


Maybe COWON will follow suit… I hope so.because I'd hate to see them follow the same path as RIO.

Just my take on the matter...


[ edited Jun 14 (2007) 09:36AM ]



pecker

Comments: 501
 		Jun 14 (2007) 09:32AM  

I see your point daharder and i believe they should lower there prices to cut apples but i dont think they should cut it by $100 like meizu, if meizu tried to sell at $249 not many people would purchase it when they could get an apple for the same price. Cowon isnt that well known either, but they are a well established company and have no need to have price cuts like meizu IMO

This is just the release price creative , samsung sandisk all had the 249 release price!
[ edited Jun 14 (2007) 09:33AM ]



77Pat

Comments: 6
 		Jun 14 (2007) 09:34AM  

In one of the reviews for the Cowon D2 they were saying it was overpriced compared to offerings like the Creative zen V+ and Sandisk, even though the D2 has a lot more features. The general public would probably read those reviews and not come to sites like this. For the iAudio 7 to be priced the same way, it might seem even more overpriced to reviewers and the general public.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 14 (2007) 09:58AM  

this spells the death knoll for the micro-HDD....

I hope that with the flash memory, the iAudio 7 is not as thick as the 6 was.

I imagine that the "demand and manufacturing issues" was that 8GB memory became as affordable as 4GB was initially, at least enough to make Cowon think about waiting a bit and then come out with the greater capacity...

I also agree on the initial price quotes: it will come down a bit, but it will still remain typically higher than Creative and Sandisk prices for like DAP's. Cowon is not known for offering budget players.....



babu

Comments: 8
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:08AM  

so does this mean they're coming out with an 8gb version of the D2? I really hope so:)



DapHunter

Comments: 82
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:11AM  

This looks great.
As usual NEARLY perfect.
60HR battery life is incredible.

However, too thick looking.

Thin it up and add a SD slot and BAM instant perfection!
Is that asking too much!



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:12AM  

The iAudio i6 is 3.0 x 1.40 x 0.75 inches (76.1 X 35.6 X 19 mm)

Using my trusty engineering scale, the player pictured looks to have approximately the same dimensions.


Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:50AM  

Good features and all but still too expensive like the nano (sic) for 250 USD and 8GB. yeah, Cowon is Cowon...but they should consider lowering their prices a bit as DaHarder is commenting



pecker

Comments: 501
 		Jun 14 (2007) 11:19AM  

Babu, why not just throw a 8gb card into the D2. I got a NEW D2 off ebay for £85ish then chucked a £50 8GB SDHC class 4 card into it. That £135 for a COWON 10GB player. After purchasing the SDHC i found A 8GB class 6 SDHC for £42 inc p&p.

I know that is ebay and i wouldnt have bought the Cowon at full price, but by god they are awesome and are worth EVERY PENNY



DaHarder

Comments: 513
 		Jun 14 (2007) 11:32AM  

Man - I'm seriously starting to get that COWON D2 itch again...

Come On 8gb Internal…




Roger767

Comments: 206
 		Jun 14 (2007) 11:54AM  

very sweet battery life, and they are keeping loyal to the design instead of dropping it and creating a whole new flash player.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jun 14 (2007) 12:10PM  

DaHarder wrote ...
The iAudio i6 is 3.0 x 1.40 x 0.75 inches (76.1 X 35.6 X 19 mm)

Using my trusty engineering scale, the player pictured looks to have approximately the same dimensions.


yeh, the 6/7 is roughly 2/3rds the length and width of the 1.8" HDD Zen Vision:M, yet is thicker. Most complain about the high-capacity ZVMs' thickness. A flash DAP has got no business being that thick, unless it used alkalines...



[ edited Jun 14 (2007) 12:11PM ]



bloodycape

Comments: 705
 		Jun 14 (2007) 05:54PM  

8gig internal in the D2 means the possibility of a total of 24gigs or so.



Design Fabulous

Comments: 1038
 		Jun 14 (2007) 06:28PM  

Cowon is really making me wonder what they are up to. In Korea, iriver is currently eating up 40% of the market and Samsung a big 27%. The rest is taken up by pmp brands and other more minor Korean DAP brands that we always see. But Cowon is now joining that minority group, getting eaten up more and more by Samsung.

The golden age of Cowon was when iriver was struggling and going almost bankrupt, and Cowon became an "alternative" brand. But now that iriver is filled with energy, I'm really worried about them. Even the D2 wasn't the biggest hit because of its fat and clunky design.

Cowon is still hailed in Korea as having premium sound quality but they aren't producing many devices these days. I really hope this device will help Cowon a bit, I'd be really sad if even this to end up as a ruined project.
[ edited Jun 14 (2007) 06:30PM ]



rockinamigo14

Comments: 188
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:08PM  

i really hope this isn't the "x7" GenMP3 was talking about.



rockinamigo14

Comments: 188
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:33PM  

i also need to add that i still don't like that the player is horizontal. i'd much rather see a vertical style player, or at least one where you can choose the direction.



Utew
Location: Oregon USA
Comments: 351
 		Jun 14 (2007) 10:55PM  

purdy... I always did like the iAudio 6 design and that diagonal touch strip....



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jun 14 (2007) 11:03PM  

Since they're releasing a sequel I do hope cowon support this one a heck of a lot better than they did the last one.



dap_pad

Comments: 519
 		Jun 14 (2007) 11:16PM  

I liked the diagonal strip and actually hoped they would include it in their A3... Cowon's actually been pretty disappointing this past year... but 60 hours is impressive.
[ edited Jun 14 (2007) 11:16PM ]



theweirdone
Location: AMP3 Office monkey!
Comments: 37
 		Jun 15 (2007) 04:54AM  

According to some confidential release dates (which I hope are accurate) the X7 is still due to come out. I can't remember the specifics, I'll have a gander later to make sure I'm not remembering the wrong thing.
Also, the D1, wasn't that supposed to have DAB? That's why we had so many customers wanting it! Grrr



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 15 (2007) 05:30AM  

Yeah it was supposed to have DAB I believe. Thanks for that info weirdone



rockinamigo14

Comments: 188
 		Jun 15 (2007) 03:15PM  

that gives me hope. thanks, theweirdone.



babu

Comments: 8
 		Jun 15 (2007) 03:32PM  

pecker- ya i had though about that, and for the longest time had almost gotten a d2, but i ended up getting a 8gb meizu m6+ accessories from ebay for around 135 instead- it was a deal too hard to resist, and i'm very happy with it. (i also got a 2gb and a 4gb sony nw s700f player from woot!- ones still in the box)
But ya, i'd rather have a 8gb d2, as from what i've read battery life is significantly less when using a sd card, the switch between sd and internal memory is not so seamless. hopefully if they come out with a 8gb d2, but by that time creative and even meizu should have released some new stuff- i really cant wait for the m6 se and the x fi player. Back on the subject, this seems like a great player, but nothing screams "must have"!
[ edited Jun 15 (2007) 03:34PM ]



theweirdone
Location: AMP3 Office monkey!
Comments: 37
 		Jun 15 (2007) 07:54PM  

Yup, re-read the info and the X7 is still due to come out. Pretty soon apparently, but you know how these things can be delayed! Hope it's soon, we're running out of X5s to sell...



rockinamigo14

Comments: 188
 		Jun 15 (2007) 09:27PM  

i hope it's soon too. i running out of DAPs to wish I had.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jun 15 (2007) 11:26PM  

I really hope it's good too. It'll likely be my next DAP purchase if it is. *fingers crossed*



enigman

Comments: 216
 		Jun 16 (2007) 12:58PM  

me too



danny_pav
Location: New Jersey
Comments: 14
 		Jun 18 (2007) 12:13AM  

gapless ? rockbox? i can dream...


You must be logged in to make comments on this site - please log in, or if you are not registered click here to signup
Welcome
Username:

Password:


Remember me

[ ]
[ ]

Online
Guests: 49
Members: 1, Step666
On this page: 1
Members: 9194, Newest: woody

Chatbox
You must be logged in to post comments on this site - please either log in or if you are not registered click here to signup



TheDarkSide
Personally, I didn't buy any of those clips, great deal nonetheless - enjoy!!!!

DaHarder
TDS...

I couldn't help myself - In for 3 of those WOOTs - LOL!

DaHarder
Yea! It's here Android 2.1 for the DROID

TheDarkSide
Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player for $32.99 on woot: [Linky]

Dominic
lol

Step666
[Linky]

TheDarkSide
Forgot the link: [Linky]

TheDarkSide
OMG!!!! I can't post the meaning of my name, but #2 & #3 is actually me. But, I did get a decent amount of action cause I'm great @#1,............

Dominic
That's great...my skills are average at best

Step666
Yeah but my one's true


Staff
Senior Editor:
Michael aka ssjmichael

• DAPreview N. America
• Publisher
• Marketing and Advertising


Contributing Editors:
Dominic aka Dominic

• DAPreview Europe
• Forum Moderator

Andrew aka DF

• DAPreview Asia
• Design consultant


Click on names for email and user ID for Member Profile

RSS Feeds
Our news can be syndicated by using these rss feeds.
rss1.0
rss2.0
rdf
DAPreview WebRing

Fan site for the Creative Zen brand of MP3 players


Fan site for the Cowon iAudio brand of MP3 players


Subscribe in a reader
User Reviews   Privacy Policy