Showdown! Cowon S9 vs Samsung P3 vs iriver SPINN!

All three of these Korean-made players are available now in the U.S.. Each has been around long enough to benefit from a few firmware updates. All are pocketable touchscreen players with 480 x 272 resolution. All support FLASH games and apps. All have Bluetooth. These are easily the showstoppers from each company this year, and the competition between them is good news for consumers. Here we'll take a look at the Samsung P3, Cowon S9, and iriver SPINN.

I'll compare them for aesthetic design, hardware details, format support, usability, price, and overall satisfaction as personal media players. I've had all three for some time now, and done exhaustive testing of each. Scores will be explained in each category and will be from 1 to ?, with the higher number being the better score. You'll have your own priorities for the player you own, so don't let the final tally dissuade you from your favorite.

Aesthetic Design. I'm a furniture and product designer, and greatly appreciate the looks of a player. Players that go beyond being visual "knock-offs" and seek new aesthetic territory get my vote. These players all caught my eye before getting further attention from me. My guess is that they've caught your attention too. I've rated them as I see them. Click on each to see their manufacturer support pages and the relative "press" given to the aesthetic design of each.

Cowon S9 · 5 Points.

Simply beautiful from every point of view.

iriver SPINN · 4.5 Points.

Original Spindle control breaks away from the pack.

Samsung P3 · 3.5 Points.

Minor improvement over the P2. No iPod clone.

Hardware Details. These days a player has to be more than just a touchscreen. The P3 and SPINN both have haptic (vibration) feedback when you touch them. The S9 and SPINN are AMOLED (beautiful!) screens compared to the P3's backlit LCD. All have Bluetooth but the P3 has far greater profile support than the other two. They all have external volume buttons. The SPINN and S9 offer external Pause/Play and track Fwd/Back. The P3 has a speaker. The SPINN and the S9 have 3.3" screens to the P3's 3-incher, but the S9's screen supports a greater color range than the SPINN. Each device gets a point for any feature all three don't have.

Samsung P3 · 5 Points: Haptic + BT Phone pairing + BT File transfer + BT game play + Speaker.

iriver SPINN · 4 Points: Haptic + Spindle controls + AMOLED + 3.3" screen.

Cowon S9 · 7 Points: G-Sensor + Track/Play/Pause controls + AMOLED + 3.3" screen + more colors + LineIn + TVout.

Format Support. This is simply another counting comparison. If you're coming from an iPod then AAC and MP4 media playback will be worth more to you than OGG or FLAC or WMV. Yet each codec has value to somebody. As such each audio and video and photo codec supported gets one point. Click on each to go to their specifications page.

iriver SPINN · 13 Points: MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, ASF, APE for music.

MP4, WMV, XVID for video. JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG for photos.

Cowon S9 · 10 Points: MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, WAV, APE for music. AVI, WMV, ASF for video. JPG for photos.

Samsung P3 · 13 Points: MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC, FLAC for Music. JPG, BMP, PNG for photos. SWF, WMV, H.264, MPEG for videos.

Usability. How easy is it to turn on the player, find the song you want to play, and start listening to it? The P3 will resume on the page it was on when you last turned it off. It's also got a touch interface that really takes advantage of the hardware's potential. With the S9 one tap on the Music icon goes directly into the media player, yet makes you "back up" to pick a song to play. The SPINN lets you look for and select a song without touching the screen, yet doesn't let you control it completely with touches on the screen. For this comparison 5 songs are chosen among all the common songs each player contains. The average number of taps/click/spins/strokes it takes to begin playing each song will be part of that player's score, with low score winning. The songs were all from different albums, and spread across the alphabet. From Boof by Tony Remy to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield.

Cowon S9 · 2 Points: 5.4 average.

Samsung P3 · 1 Point: 6.2 average

iriver SPINN · 0 Points: 7.2 average

The other part will be a boot-up value. Using my stopwatch each device will be timed from when the power switch is pressed/slid to when an icon can be tapped on. The quickest device gets 2 points. Second place gets 1, and last place gets 0 additional points.

Samsung P3 · 0 Points:

From OFF = 11.90 seconds. From SLEEP = 2.70 seconds. (14.60)

iriver SPINN · 1 Point:

From OFF = 7.71 seconds. From SLEEP = 1.18 seconds. (8.89)

Cowon S9 · 2 Points:

From OFF = 6.09 seconds. From SLEEP = 1.52 seconds. (7.61)

Price. The price has fallen on both the S9 and SPINN since they first came out. The P3 is the latest to arrive, yet it's MSRP is competitive with the other's current prices. The SPINN doesn't come in a 16gb version, so these prices are all for the 8gb versions of each device. The P3 is a bargain here, with 16gb models still under $200. There is more cost involved with the AMOLED screens that the S9 and SPINN use, but their prices have crept down since the P3 was released, and may come down more. Lowest price gets the highest score.

Samsung YP-P3 8gb · 2 Points: $149.99

Cowon S9 8gb · 0 Points: $169.99

iriver SPINN 8gb · 1 Point: $159.00* normally still $199.

Overall satisfaction. This part is purely subjective. I hate the SPINN's user interface. I love the efficiency of the P3's UI. The one I most want to hold in my hand is the Cowon S9. All three sound great once you get to your music and start listening. The S9's amazing battery life reduces that annoying need to charge these players periodically. Cowon has a U.S. based retail arm (jetmall.net) that make is easy to find cables and other accessories. The P3's extended bluetooth capabilities exceed those of the other two, but in practive I don't use them much. That little speaker the P3 has makes it easy to check sounds when your headphones are out of reach. Widgets are generally eye-candy and have little to do with media play on the P3 or S9, yet some provide easy access to system settings. No widgets on the SPINN. What pushes the S9 over the edge is it's support for video-output and line-in recording. Watching videos on that 3.3" AMOLED screen is satisfying, but watching them on a 40" HDTV is easier on the eyes. Neither the P3 or SPINN allow this. For these reasons I score them:

Cowon S9 · 4 Points.

Samsung P3 · 3 Points.

iriver SPINN · 0 Points.

Totals. Simple addition. The Cowon S9 wins!

S9 = 30 Points. P3 = 27.5 Points. SPINN = 23.5 Points.

Your personal satisfaction may vary, but online forum activity seems to follow these results. The busiest forum (of these three devices) is the Cowon S9 forum at anythingbutipod.com. Their Samsung P3 forum is most recent to the game, yet is building in activity as more people get them. It's hard to find anyone checking their SPINN forum these days. The one I pick up most often is the S9, yet I'll take the P3 with me to show off it's capablities to friends. I think 99% would be happy with either, and the SPINN will satisfy anyone who hasn't seen an S9 or P3. ;·)

4D.

What do YOU think? Leave a Comment.
If you enjoy my blog, please consider clicking on an Ad or two. Thanks! 

Cowon S9 Gets Another Update! Firmware 2.30b

Update: Firmware Version 2.30b (still a beta release) is now available for download. You can find it HERE along with info on what it includes. For direct download of the Zipped file click HERE. The main difference between 1.30b and 2.30b is that 2.30b doesn't include a dictionary icon or application. It looks like Cowon has decided to be king of the hill among the Korean players. They are at a feverish pace with updates to their beautiful S9 media player. These aren't minor bug fixes.

- This update enables full access to the S9's tilt sensor. Data returned is no longer limited to up, down, left, and right.

- There's a new game to exploit it. Hunter has five levels, each a little harder than the previous. The objective is to not get hit by a bullet. You tilt the S9 to move the character around the screen. The longer you last without getting hit the higher your score. It is similar to the ancient arcade asteroids game, except you can't shoot back. It proves how sensitive the tilt sensor is.

- They've completely started over with music art display in landscape view. You get a 3 x 5 array of your album art. Slide left or right to see more pages.

- Tap on a cover to see a big view and a list of the songs in the album. Do a quick double tap on a song title to start playing that song. The CD below the art appears to spin if a song is playing. The album name overlays it.

- You now can opt to give the S9 a shake to change songs forward or back a track. You can also optionally lock off both landscape Matrix View and the Shake feature. - It's still in beta, so you can expect a few more improvements before the final release. A few things that still need work include remaining in your previous sort mode once you select a song from the landscape matrix view.

You can download the 1.30b firmware HERE. Some info thanks to Google Translate is HERE.

Enjoy!
4D

Cowon S9 Revisited. 2.10 Firmware

Cowon's S9 media player just received it's official (non-beta) 2.10 firmware update. You can find and download it HERE. There are 14 new features and 12 noted improvements. The new features include:

1) Added subtitle synchronization in Movie mode.

2) Added graphic buttons in Movie mode (for subtitle synchronization, playback speed control, and JetEffect).

3) Added support for DivX3 codec in Movie mode.

4) Added images to sliding album art when you tap screen toward right or left, even if the files don't have album art in vertical Music mode.

5) Added pitch correction for playback speed control in Music mode.

6) Added support for Audible (can play Audible.com's audiobooks)

7) Added pitch correction function when adjust playback speed of video files.

8) Added Widgets.

9) Added support for WMV7, WMV8 codec and ASF files.

10) Added full screen mode in TV-out mode. (press Vol - button)

11) Added support for Unicode (UTF-8) and color tags for subtitles.

12) Added a function to assign wallpaper pictures from within the picture mode.

13) Added the function of hiding controller in picture viewer (tap the screen).

14) Added option of entering a passkey(PIN code) to connect Bluetooth.Improved features:

a) Improved battery life when high resolution (over 480*272) files are played in Movie mode. Continuous Playback hours depend on files but it is improved up to 75%. (ex> 6hours -> 10 hours 30 minutes)

b) Improved the Widget GUI.

c) Fixed the error that some images were discolored in Picture mode.

d) Fixed an exit button in calculator. e ) Improved function of playing next or previous songs by dragging right or left on the screen in Music mode.

f) Improved Browser scrolling.

g) Fixed to delete music files only in music folder.

h) Improved method of recognizing ID3 Tags in Music library mode.

i) Improved play of irregular MP3 files that didn't play properly.

j) Fixed the error that some lyrics made by LDB 2.0 had stopped working.

k) Improved support of some movie files that were not supported.

l) Fixed the error that document viewer skips a line in text irregularly.

·

It's an impressive list. The S9 was great when it first came out. Now it's even better. Some of the tricks it can do are simply amazing. Consider pitch control in both the Music and Video apps (5 and 7 above). Once enabled (from the settings menu) you can speed up or slow down movies or music, and the audio will not change pitch. With pitch control OFF, speeding up will raise the pitch of audio tracks and slowing down will lower the pitch. Other players have speed control, but the pitch change means audio becomes distorted. The S9 solves that problem (almost). With held notes in either music or videos there is a tremolo effect introduced when the speed increases. It's an artifact of the technique used to maintain pitch. This is less noticeable with spoken dialog and quick paced music. Pitch control does not work when using bluetooth headphones.

I'll add that since it first came out the S9 has supported custom flash-based user created replacements for the OEM applications. This means that any complaint I may have had about the UI or individual applications has disappeared thanks to the creative minds of S9 users.

You can download the new firmware by clicking THIS LINK. Highly recommended.

If you don't already own a Cowon S9, but have been considering it. Stop waiting. The S9 is shaping up to be THE best pocket media player of the year.

4D

Steinheil Anti-Fingerprint Film for Cowon S9.

The Cowon S9 has a nearly scratch-proof screen, but like every other touchscreen player is a magnet for fingerprints. A check through http://www.sgpstore.com/ found this high quality LCD Protection Film for my S9. The feature that stood out was "Anti Fingerprint". My order arrived within a couple of days, and so far I'm impressed with it's anti-fingerprint ability.

The package contains two protectors, a cleaning cloth, and a plastic squeegee. Application is easy, but you have to make sure your screen is clean. A spec of dust is enough to make a visible bubble beneath the cover.

The film is a perfect fit, covering the entire front glass of the S9. It is translucent and not transparent, but photos and movies are only barely affected shining through the film. There is a little optical downgrading, but no more than the effect of a fingerprints covering the screen. It's not perfect, but after a few hours of tapping my S9's screen there are no discernible prints on it. You'll still need to clean it occasionally, and keeping your hands clean is advised. With this screen protector those ugly splotches from each tap won't both you again.

4D

Noreve Leather Case for the Cowon S9. My Review.

While my Cowon S9 is so good looking that it is something you want to show off naked, I need something with a belt clip to take it safely along with me. Noreve was fairly quick after the S9's release to come out with a beautiful leather case for it. I was a bit surprised when mine arrived that it didn't close with a snap. This case has magnets embedded in the cover and a metal plate in the body. It closes securely and doesn't come open on it's own or even when shaken vigorously. Fit is snug, yet the S9 slides in and out easily. It's a good thing, since to charge or sync the S9 it will have to come out of the case.

The S9 is well protected, yet the power, volume +/-, and headphone jack are all accessible with the cover closed. There is an opening on the back for the microphone and reset hole. Track and play buttons on the top are covered, but can be pressed through the leather. Noreve included a small screwdriver that made it easy to install the belt clip mount. If you don't need the belt clip there is a smooth decorative screw to cover the threaded mounting point.

I'm not sure if cows are demanding more pay, or getting more rare, but this case is one of Noreve's priciest at over $50. You can get a case from Jetmall for a little more than half what the Noreve case costs, but it won't be as nice. You'll need an appreciation for the Red color too. I think Noreve's case for the S9 is worth it's cost. You won't find a better case anywhere.

4D

Cowon S9 gets Widgets!

UPDATE: The english version of the S9's new firmware is now available. For more information the download page is HERE. For a direct download of the 2.10 firmware ZIP file click HERE.

Not to be surpassed by the (upcoming) Samsung P3's user interface, the Cowon S9 is getting new firmware that includes widgets. From my point of view they don't add any new functionality to the S9, but do add visual distraction. The Korean companies (Samsung, iRiver, Cowon) are playing king-of-the-mountain with their touchscreen PMPs. I like it. Competition is a good thing.

The widgets include both digital and analog clocks, an alarm clock, battery level indicator, a mini photo viewer, shortcut menu to media apps, a play control, a recorder button, and memory status.

·

The firmware now allows using a photo from your collection as wallpaper/background image in the home and other menus. Also notice the battery level icon in the upper right corner. There are several other small bug fixes and improvements. The U.S. version is not out yet, but usually follows the Korean release (shown above) within a week. I'll post a download link when I see one.

·

4D

January Updates for Your Media Player!

I'm not sure what the push was, unless the manufacturers were simply trying to keep to a once-a-month update schedule, but several of the newer media players have received firmware updates this month.

The Samsung P2 is more than a year old, but today I found two new games that work on it. Thanks to theP2Zone.com you can download them yourself. They are Sudoku Champ:

and Bubble Bang:

Released for the New Samsung P3, it is wonderful that Samsung has kept gameplay the same between the new P3 and the older P2. I'm a fan of Sudoku, and this version is very well done with a good touchscreen interface. Bubble Bang will get tiring after a couple of rounds, much in the same way that popping the bubbles of bubble-wrap does.

The Cowon S9 gets new 2.08 Firmware.

This is only a minor update over the previous 2.07 version, but a step forward none-the-less. You'll get:

- Improved page-up and page-down in documents mode.

- Displayed charging status when the device is connected to PC by USB cable.

- Improved low bit rate MP3 playback.

- They fixed the error that auto pivot was irregularly not working when auto pivot is just changed to be on.

- They fixed the error that displaying files abnormally when music in music favorites is playing in shuffle mode.

- They fixed the error that Bluetooth headset was not working when you turn on Bluetooth while some particular music files are playing.

Beyond new firmware the S9 now has a multitude of user-created interface alternatives, and custom versions of most apps that eliminate most of my original complaints about the player.

Iriver goes one step further with the 2.10 firmware update for the SPINN. It adds a Memo app that lets you draw or write directly on the screen.

The photo app has been improved. I can now rotate images easily, but apparently my photos are still not supported by the Zoom function. The Korean version had the capability to scheduled recording off FM radio, but once I changed to the US version that feature disappeared.

Even the iPod Touch gets an update this month. 2.21 firmware fixes some security flaws and a few other things. Minor, but appreciated!

So if you own any of these players, go get the updates. Their ability to be updated after purchase means your investment gets better as you continue to own it.

4D

Bluetooth-Capable MP3 Player Comparison

If you're not a fan of wires or the small ear bud headphones that come with 99% of the MP3 players out there, the best option available right now is Bluetooth. Not every player comes with it, and the ones that do vary in how well it is implemented. Bluetooth support is actually pretty rare among the wide array of players available. Yet if you've got a player that does include it, your music experience can spread beyond your ears. With some players you'll also get the ability to transmit files back and forth to other MP3 players or your PC if it has Bluetooth capability.

Definitions: Bluetooth is an industry specification that describes how Bluetooth-compliant stereo headsets, mobile phones, and external devices can easily interconnect with each other using a short (10 meter) wireless connection. There are several different uses for Bluetooth. Your PC may support Bluetooth keyboards, mouses, speakers, network sharing, headsets, headphones, and file transfer. The best of the pocket media players supports Bluetooth headsets, speakers, file transfer, cell phone pairing, and even game play over Bluetooth. Some acronyms we've been talking about include: (EDR)Enhanced Data Rate, (OPP) Object Push Profile, (A2DP) Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, (AVRCP) Audio Video Remote Control Profile, and (HFP) Hands Free Profile.


Players and the profiles they support:
- Samsung YP-P2: Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. A2DP, AVRCP, OPP, HFP
- Samsung YP-T10: Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. A2DP, AVRCP, OPP, HFP
- Cowon S9: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. A2DP, AVRCP Profiles
- Iriver SPINN: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. A2DP, AVRCP Profiles
- Insignia Pilot: Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. A2DP, AVRCP Profiles
- Philips SA5245BT: Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. A2DP, AVRCP, OPP Profiles
- Sony NWZ-A828KBLK : Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. A2DP, AVRCP Profiles
- Haier Ibiza H1A030BK: Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. A2DP, AVRCP Profiles

I've had a chance to try out the bluetooth on both Samsungs, the Philips, Insignia, Cowon, and Iriver. The Iriver SPINN and Cowon S9 are both relatively new, and when using bluetooth on both I've run into a few problems with the devices running slow or choppy, or causing the music to skip or breakup. They also have difficulty seeing standalone bluetooth speakers. Each has gotten better with recent firmware updates, and I have faith they'll both get the bugs worked out eventually. The Philips is reliable, and even sends FM radio over bluetooth which is something no other player seems capable of handling. The Philips also adds the ability to send files to other devices once connected. I've tested this with the Samsung P2, and was able to send a music file from the Philips to it, as well as send a file back to the Philips from the Samsung. Bluetooth file transfer is not terribly fast, but will get the job done. The Philips also worked with the Samsung T10 and my Samsung Instinct phone.

All of the players I've tried sound great when their audio is sent over bluetooth to a decent receiver. There are several over-ear headsets out there in the $50 to $100 range. With relatively small driver, you'll miss the lower frequencies and this may contribute to Bluetooth's poor reputation for stereo audio transmission. With better quality bluetooth headphones my experience matches that of wired connections to good headphones.

Some headsets to consider are: The Sony DR-BT50, The JBL Reference Series 610, and Motorola S805. With most Bluetooth headphones/headsets you can also pair with with a cell phone and use hands-free for sending and receiving calls. The Samsung P2 and T10 can also be paired with bluetooth cell phones and be used to send and receive calls, pausing their music automatically when a call come in.

The Insignia Pilot appears to be out of production, but it represents a great value if you can find one. Bluetooth works great on it, and it pairs easily with all compatible products I've tested.

Summary: If you're tired of the wires, Bluetooth has matured into a great way to get rid of them. The Samsung Players lead the pack, with Cell phone pairing, file transfer, and even device-to-device game play over bluetooth. Philips comes in second. Philips also makes several other great Bluetooth accessories, and appear to be aggressively working to put bluetooth in even more. The Insignia does a great job, but limits it to stereo audio. The same is true of the Cowon and Iriver players, but I'll reserve final judgement on them until their firmwares evolve some more.

I've mentioned Bluetooth in several posts. For me it's a killer application, making portable media players with bluetooth profoundly more user friendly, versatile, and enjoyable than what came before.

Some previous posts relating to Bluetooth. Enjoy!

4D

Cowon S9 Review.

Intro: Cowon is famous for it's media players. Latest in the line is this beautiful S9 Curve. The first thing I look for when I get a new player is the latest firmware. Cowon is on the ball. Version 2.05 came out before mine arrived, and I ordered mine from Jetmall.net the first day they were available in the U.S.. Version 2.06 came out 12/24. I've always thought Cowon's players were bulky and not very practical or portable. The S9 changes the rules. Clearly Cowon has noticed that beautiful, innovative looks can help sell players.
Included: The S9 comes with a USB cable and earbuds with pads. The USB cable is proprietary, although my S9 also works with the cable that came with my iriver SPINN. Replacements for the included charging/data cable shouldn't be hard to find. The User Manual shows optional TV output and line input cables that should be available in the near future. You get a set of token iAudio earbuds. I recommend investing in a better set of headphones to fully appreciate the S9's audio output. You get a small CD which includes the JetEffect media player/sync application. There is also an array of paperwork including the User Manual, Cowon's Warranty Policy, Russian and Korean registration cards, and an offer from eMusic for 35 free songs + 1 free Audiobook. Controls: The top edge reveals a volume +/- rocker, Play/Pause button, and FWD/REV rocker. A power/hold slider is on the bottom edge beside the 3.5mm headphone and data cable jacks. There is a microphone and reset hole on the back. The top mounted controls make sense if the S9 is in your pocket, but are a little hard to reach when holding the S9 naturally.
·

Dimensions: 2.2(W) x 4.17(H) x 0.5(T) inch. Slightly thicker than the Samsung P2. In fact it is thicker than the P2, Touch, and SPINN. It uses the same AMOLED screen as the SPINN. The P2 ends up with the smallest screen among those shown.

Music: Yes, it plays music. In fact Music appears to be one of the best applications on the S9. Cowon did some work here, and it should leave you pleased.

+ File formats supported include MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and APE.

+ The Music app features a hortizontal Cover-Art mode accessible by tipping the S9 on it's side.

+ You can Zoom-in on art or lists. Great if you need reading glasses!

+ You can sorts songs by several categories, although getting to that category list is several iconic taps from the main menu.

+ There is a nice Quick Menu which can slide out from the side to display the previous, current, and next song in the cue.

+ A tap on the cover art will reveal information about the current file.

+ There are 26 equalizer presets to choose from.

+ There are four user-definable equalizer settings.

+ You can add any song to a Favorites list.

+ You can tag A and B spots in a song to repeat between.

+ You can sync media to the S9 using Windows Media player 11.

- There is no full-screen cover art option.

- There is no on-screen volume control.

- The horizontal Cover-Flow display shows every song rather than just individual albums. If your album has 20 songs you'll have to pan through 20 copies of that same cover art on the screen.

- Access to song and category lists takes backward, cumbersome steps from the Now Playing screen.

·

Pictures: Yes, it displays photos. Unfortunately they forgot to include a full-screen photo display option (without icons)!

+ JPGs at any resolution will work so long as they are not progressively formatted.

+ You can easily zoom in on a photo, and once zoomed-in can pan around with finger strokes on the screen.

+ You can swipe left or right to move to the next photo.

+ There is a variable speed slide show option with two transition options.

+ Photos can be rotated by simply rotating the screen or using left and right rotate icons on the screen.

+ You can turn OFF the G-sensor to prevent photo auto-rotation.

- There is no option to use a photo as wallpaper on the S9.

- There is no way to clear icons off the screen so you can see a photo unobstructed! The Pictures app still needs work. With such a great screen the S9 should allow unobstructed photo viewing. B-
·

Video: Yes, it play videos. Oh my!

+ AVI and WMV are supported. Maybe more. 480x272, 30 fps (recommended).

+ You can bookmark a time position in a video to return to later.

+ When vertical, the video player displays size, frame rate, kbps, kHz, and any equalizers that may be associated with the current video.

+ When horizontal you can turn OFF the G-sensor to keep the video from switching to portrait view. Useful when handing the S9 to someone else.

+ You can have the S9 make thumbnail images of successive scenes in the video. You can then jump directly to any scene by selecting it's thumbnail.

+ Video will display full screen when the S9 is horizontal, and videos smaller than screen resolution can be stretched to fit the screen.

+ You can save screen shots from video which can then be found in the Video Capture folder under Recordings. One example:

It is clear Cowon spent a good deal of time developing the S9's video player. It makes good use of the G-sensor, great screen, and audio capabilities of the player. Subtitles can be turned on or off (from the Settings Menu). While it would be nice to have screen brightness control from the video player, I don't count it's absence as a negative. Video playback on the S9 gets an A.
·

Documents: Yes, you can display text on it.

+ You easily can zoom in or out on text.

+ You can change the background and font color.

+ You can manually scroll or page through a document.

+ You can have the S9 automatically scroll through text, with timing you can set.

- No alternative fonts to choose from (yet).

- No horizontal viewing of text.

- No full screen (no icons) viewing of text.

The document viewer would be far better if it could actually display PDFs or Word DOCument files. Alas, I haven't found one player yet that could. I'll rate the S9's document viewer a B-. Better than average, but just barely.
·
FM Radio: Yes, you can listen to FM radio on the S9.

+ It has a 24 position preset station array which once set makes it very easy to get quickly to the station you want.

- The autosearch function is a bit too sensitive though, as it will find stations above and below the actual frequency in addition to the one you want.

+ You can remove frequencies from the array, and easily add your current manually tuned station to any spot.

+ The S9 also will leave the radio playing after exiting the Radio app. You can listen to radio while viewing photos or text or simply browsing around.

+ You can record from FM to a WMA file.

+ You can choose from 32kb/s to 256kb/s quality level for recording (in the Settings menu).

- FM does not broadcast over bluetooth, which is a shame. It does on my Philips SA5245BT player.

- There is no Stop, OFF or Mute of the radio, and the only apparent way to turn it off is by shutting the S9 off or entering the Music or Video App.

- no RDS support.

·

You'll need to have headphones plugged into the S9 as they will serve as antenna for the radio. You can select from Korea, Japan, USA, and Europe/China for your country. The player uses an original and clever graphic analog wheel as one way to tune the radio. With the inaccurate auto-tuner and NO MUTE option I give FM radio a B.

·

Recording: There are three sources you can record from on the S9. The FM radio, internal microphone, and from an external source via the options line-in cable. You can set each source independently for the quality you want to record at up to 256kbps. The onboard mic is fairly sensitive. Mounted on the back of the S9, it does a good job picking up voice from the front. It will take further testing to determine it's range and usefulness. I may update this section later. FM recording is good, so long as you've got a good signal. I don't find this very useful as it's hard to anticipate exactly when a DJ will start a song, and many DJs like to talk over the beginning of songs. Line-in is where some interesting potential lays. You could record songs directly from a portable CD player, skipping the PC altogether. Recording is in WMA format. Recording on the S9 is simple and straightforward. You can pause and resume. There is also an untested Auto-sync option, which would conceivably allow the S9 to seperate a long record session into seperate tracks, using silence to trigger each new file. Recording gets an A. Line-in put it over the top.

·

Bluetooth: The S9 supports bluetooth headsets and remote control from those headest. I've tested my S9 with Sony BT50's, JBL Reference Series 610 Bluetooth Headphones , Insignia NS-BTHDPs, and a cheap headset that simply identifies itself as BT Stereo. Only one connection at a time is allowed, compared with the Samsung P2's two simultaneous headsets. Connection was easy (assuming you know how to put your headset in pairing mode). The S9 keeps track of devices it has previously paired with, making subsequent connections much simpler. Equalizer settings DO work over Bluetooth, a nice surprise. One thing that doesn't seem to work is connecting to Bluetooth speakers. My SPINN also suffers from the same problem. The Samsung P2 sets the standard for Bluetooth implementation. The S9's Bluetooth is comparitively limited but functional. B.

·
Flash. Yes, flash games formatted for the 480 x 272 touchscreen will play on the S9. The S9 didn't come with any, so nothing to report here.

·

G-sensor. The S9 will detect rotation of the the screen when playing music, videos, or photos. In the Music player, the horizontal position gets you something akin to coverflow on the iPod Touch. Album covers are displayed and you can pan left and right through them to find the next album you want to play from. It works tilting the S9 either right or left from vertical. Videos can be viewed vertically in a small window, or full screen when the S9 is horizontal. Photos are the same. Unfortunately Text does not rotate nor does the G-sensor detect rotation in the Radio player, File Browser, or Recorder app. Perhaps in a future update we'll see some more clever use of the G-sensor. Other devices with similar technology use the G-sensor to detect a shake for changing song tracks. I also see some potential in games for the S9.
·
User Interface: The S9 has external button controls as well as a touchscreen to interact with. Cowon obviously learned a lesson from the first iPod Touch. The biggest complaint against that Touch was no external controls. You'll find Volume +/-. Play/Pause, and FWD/BACK controls on the top edge of the Cowon. A great idea as that's where they will be easiest to access when the S9 is in your pocket. Samsung did the same thing with their new YP-P3 touchscreen. The only thing wrong with top controls in your pocket is that the headphone jacks are on the bottom edge of the S9 and P2. The S9 and Samsung P2 both have Bluetooth though, so it's possible to use wireless headphones. You could always cut a small hole in the bottom of your pocket, though. ;-)

·

The S9's touchscreen is fairly sensitive. I've had to tap it more than once on occasion to make it work, but that is something I've experienced with every touchscreen player I've tested. The S9's touchscreen is better than most. Once turned on you'll see an array of icons to choose from. Things get a little more confusing from here on. You get two set of icons to choose from, with one being more colorful than the other. You can choose Music, Videos, Pictures, Documents, Flash, Browser, Radio, Recorder, Utilities, or Settings. Music is what most people will use most, and here is where the S9 is most confusing. One tap on the Music icon takes you immediately into the Now Playing screen. You've got to find and tap on a small menu icon to get to where your music is listed. It'll take another tap on another icon to get a level up to the categories list. You can sort music by Folder, Artist, Album, Song, Genre, Year, New Music, Playlists, or Recordings. To me this seems a little backward and requires more steps than usual to find a particular song. Video and Radio is the same way, taking you to the player before letting you pick a file or station to play. In contrast the Picture and Document apps list files first before displaying them. The S9 UI has many inconsistancies like this. Icons are not always obvious as to what they do. You'll jump from the top of the screen to the bottom more than should be necessary. Options for many of the media players are within the player, but many more can be found in the Settings menu. A final complaint I have is that there is NO on-screen volume control. The top edge is not the most ergonomic place to reach when naturally holding the S9 in your hand. UI: A-

·

Aesthetics: I'll have to admit the S9 only caught my eye because of the original curved body images cowon teased us with several months ago. Although the actual device isn't professionally lit when you see it in person, the design still holds up. You don't notice the curves much from the front, but the S9 feels very comfortable in-hand. Thebody curves from top to bottom, and also from side to side. It will rock in both directions on a flat surface. I've never tried to control a touchscreen device while it lays on a table, but if you do, the S9's curve may challenge you.

·

Conclusion: As is, the S9 is a good device. $239 for the 16gb Titanium Black version compares well with the iPod Touch 16gb at $299, Samsung P2 16g at $250, and other 16gb players with fewer features. Audio format support and sound quality is excellent. Video playback will entertain you well for hours should you ever find yourself stuck in an airport or on a long bus ride. Photo display needs a tweak. Cowon has already updated the S9 once. I fully expect them to solve the problems I've noted and make it an amazing player over time. With it's potential looming, I recommend the S9. It will only get better.

·

4D