MP3 players

  

The good: The Cowon iAudio 7 is one of the most versatile MP3 players available. It plays music, video, and photos; has unbeatable sound quality; records line-in, voice, and FM; supports OGG and FLAC file formats, plus DRM-protected WMA; works in MTP and MSC connection modes for use on both Mac and PC; and has an unmatched rechargeable battery life.

The bad: As tiny as the iAudio 7 is, it’s still about three times the width of an iPod Nano. The reflective, glossy plastic found on the front and back of the player is prone to smudges and glare. There’s a learning curve to the Swing Touch interface, and we would like to have seen support for Audible audiobooks, as well as a memory expansion slot.

The bottom line: The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player.

  

(credit CNET)

General

• Width
• 1.3 in
  

• Depth
• 0.7 in
  

• Height
• 2.9 in
  

• Product type
• Flash player
  

• PC interface(s) supported
• USB
  

• Weight
• 0.1 lbs
  

• Digital player signal-to-noise ratio
• 95 dB
  

• Flash memory installed
• 4 GB
  

• Dimensions (W x D x H)
• 1.3 in x 0.7 in x 2.9 in
  

• Voice recording capable
• Yes
  

• Software type
• Drivers & Utilities
  

Radio

• Tuner type
• Built-in FM tuner
  

• Tuner bands
• FM
  

Video Playback Features

• Video playback support
• MPEG-4, ASF
  

• Still image format
• TXT, JPEG
  

Battery

• Required Qty
• 1
  

• Technology
• Lithium ion
  

• Recharge Time
• 3.5 hour(s)
  

• Battery
• Lithium ion
  

• Mfr estimated battery life
• 60 hour(s)
  

Audio System

• Sound output mode
• Stereo
  

• Additional features
• Text viewer, Photo viewer
  

System Requirements

• Peripheral / Interface devices
• USB port
  

• Min Operating system
• Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, Apple Mac OS 10.X, Linux kernel 2.2 or higher
  

• Min hard drive space
• 40 MB
  

• Min RAM size
• 64 MB
  

Connections

• Connector type
• 1 x USB
  

Built-in Display

• Audio system built-in display
• LCD
  

• Backlight display
• Yes
  

Audio Features

• Sound effects
• BBE, Mach3Bass, MP enhance, 3D surround
  

• Amplifier response bandwidth
• 20 - 20000 Hz
  

• Timer
• Yes
  

CD System

• Playback modes
• Play, Pause, Record, Next track, Previous track, Fast forward, Fast rewind, Infinite loop
  

• Digital audio standards supported
• MP3, Ogg, WMA, WAV, FLAC
  

• ID3 tag support
• Yes
  

Equalizer

• Equalizer type
• Built-in
  

• Equalizer factory presets
• Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal
  

Microphone

• Microphone type
• Built-in

Read CNET editors’ full review here