Cowon D3 Review. Getting Better Daily.

My Cowon D3 arrived straight from Korea on Monday 1/31/2011. The D3 is the first device from Cowon running Android. At the moment it is running Android 2.1 (I think), although I'm hoping they'll upgrade it to 2.2 (or higher) eventually. I've actually seen no proof anywhere of what version Android is on the D3.  To distinguish their android devices Cowon has adopted Plenue for the class name. According to them it means "Create Pleasure".

Cowon is known for their media players, and the D3 has benefited from their media experience.  The standard Android media apps have been replaced by Cowon versions.  Nearly every available codec is supported, and so little or no transcoding will be needed to play your music and video files.

Hardware: 
-  Capacitive AMOLED 3.7" screen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution.
-  WiFi 802.11 b/g support.
-  FM radio, along with recording from FM.
-  Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A2DP/AVRCP/OPP
-  Speaker
-  Microphone for audio recording.
-  G-Sensor
-  Multiple touch sensing.
-  Touch (haptic) feedback.
-  MicroSD-HC expansion slot.

-  Dimensions: 64.2mm x 116.4 x 11.8mm, 120g. or  2.53" x 4.58" x .465" thick, 4.233 ounces.

Include in the plain brown box was a proprietary USB sync cable, a Korean AC 220v Power supply, Cowon typical earbuds, and a quick guide (in Korean).   According to Cowons website  a manual CD should have been included.  It was not.

Right Edge



Bottom End



The D3 is capable of both HDMI and Composite video output, but it appears those will require separate custom cables from Cowon. I have not yet found a source for them.

Charging will take 7 hours over USB (with the screen OFF) and 3.5 hours with an AC Adapter.   You'll get an average of 21 hours music play or 10 hours video play on one battery charge.

Music: The D3 supports MP3/2/1, WMA, OGG, WAV, ASF, FLAC, APE, and M4A file formats. If you have lyrics in LDB format they can also be displayed. There are 35 JetEffect 3.0 EQ presets and 4 User configurable EQ settings available.  As with other Cowon players, a tap on the music icon takes you into the Now Playing screen. There is a big arrow in the upper right corner you can tap to take you back to the list of songs, which can be sorted by Album, Artist, Song, Folder, and Genre. The now playing screen itself has icon access to EQ presets, Shuffle and Repeat toggles, a Play ALL/1/Folder toggle, a playback speed setting that will speed up or slow down playback in 10% steps from 150% to 50% of normal speed.  Pitch doesn't change which is nice.

You also have the typical Play/Pause,  Next Track/FFwd and Previous Track/Rew buttons. Throw in a track position bar with total time and position time visible in fine print on the high resolution screen.  Songs that include the information will display their Title, Album, and Artist right below the album art. Tap on the album art to reveal Lyrics if any exist for the current song. Press down on the title, album, or artist, and after a few seconds the D3 has sorted through the entire song list for songs that match that item.

Lastly, When you tip the D3 on its side the display changes to a 3D-ish cover art arc. On this display you'll see the title of the current song, and your position number among the total number of albums. Tap on any visible cover to have it flip out and display the songs it contains (below). You can tap on any song you see listed to start playing it.  Tap the top bar of the list to flip back to the arc. Swipe left or right to rotate through all the albums.  You can turn this landscape display off in Preferences. When you do the Now Playing screen doesn't re-orient at all when the D3 is rotated.

This Music application is (almost) as thorough as the one on the J3. You can bookmark (press the D3's Menu button) any song from any list, and any position within a song.  The D3 doesn't do gapless playback.  I give Music an A-.  The sound quality is great when it isn't cutting out.  There is a need for on-board playlist/favorites creation or I'd give it an A+.

Video:  The D3 will play video formats including: AVI, WMV, ASF, MP4, MKV, MPG, DAT, TS, TP, TRP, and 3GP. Maximum resolution it will play is 1920x1080 (full High Definition), although not every resolution and audio and video codec combination up to that is guaranteed to play. It has played every video file I've thrown at it so far though. Those didn't include DAT, TP, or TRP files yet, as I have no sample files in those formats. VOB (DVD) files play if you change their extension from .VOB to .TS

You can resize many videos to fit the screen with a press on the screen or two.  Doesn't work if the videos have their own black bars. You can find videos by Folder or Thumbnail images or Bookmarks you may have previously set. The Thumbnail list (image below) adds video length to the info presented.  A long press on any movie file pops up more info, with Add to Bookmarks, Delete, and Details options.  Details will include the file name, file size, and resolution of the video.

Controls on the video Now Playing screen include AB marking, a play speed option (50% to 150% of original speed), and the usual play/pause FFwd/REW-next/previous buttons. The video title is displayed on the top edge of the screen.  Press the android menu button and you get several more options. Direct links to the list, details, and Add to Bookmarks are there, as well as Screen capture, AV-Out, and screen/subtitle settings.  Video play on the D3 gets an A+.  Better than on the J3 thanks to the larger screen size, higher resolution, and added codec support.

Pictures: The D3 will display your JPG, PNG, GIF, and BMP photo files on its beautiful AMOLED screen. The Photo app is typical Cowon.  Tapping on it you begin with the last Photo that was displayed. It will tell you the total number and position within that number of the photos in the current folder.  The big arrow in the upper right corner will take you to your photo list(s). Photos can be separated into folders, and folders can be selected individually. There is a nice slideshow feature with transitions and transition time choices.  You can manually rotate photos to best fit the screen, and they will also rotate when the D3 is itself rotated from landscape to portrait view or back.  Two-finger pinch or spread can be used to zoom out or in on details, and a double tap on the photo will also zoom in on it in steps.

Pictures can be used as contact icons or Wallpaper. Tap the photo to bring up the controls if they are not already visible.  Then tap the bottom right icon to get a pop-up window for the choices.  Now if only the D3 had a camera that contact icon feature would have been great.  As it stands, the Pictures app is fine.  Nothing overwhelming.  I'll give Pictures a B+.

FM Radio: The radio app is a welcome addition to the D3.  So far this is the only android-based  player I've got with FM radio. You'll need to have headphones plugged in to serve as antenna, and the radio will not output over bluetooth.   Options include auto-scanning for channels, Preset List, Add Preset, Preset Off, Start Recording, and Settings.   Under Settings you can set your region, and turn stereo on or off.  You also get an OFF switch.  I'll give Radio a B, as there is no RDS feature.

User Interface:  Cowon has decided they need to improve on the standard Android interface. It starts with a bottom bar that shows the available memory and amount left on the D3, next to a slider to switch between the Apps page (image below) and the home page. The left side of the bottom bar toggles between displaying the free space available, the number of running apps, and the day/date. The rest of the interface is rather normal for Android, with widgets and shortcuts and bookmarks as icons spread over 5 possible pages. On start-up the D3 wants to scan for new media you might have added, and it warns you that the system may not be responsive until it is finished.  There have been four firmware updates since I started writing this blog post, and with each the screen response and fluidity has improved. I have no doubt that Cowon will keep working on the D3 until its interface performance is on par with the iPod Touch. It is very close right now.

One thing I find annoying is the lock screen Cowon insists on using for the D3. My Archos Android players don't have it, and swipe-to-unlock is an unnecessary extra step in an otherwise competent execution.

On the good side, the D3 has external buttons for power/hold (image below), and volume +/-, play/pause, and FFwd/Rev (right side).  There are off-screen touch buttons for Back, Menu, and Home.

You can almost completely control media play without touching the screen.  A single press of the PLAY button will usually start playing music without unlocking the screen.  The power button will lock the touchscreen with one tap, turn the screen OFF with a quick double-tap, and bring up the power OFF option with a two second hold.

Bluetooth: I had no trouble pairing the D3 with my bluetooth headphones. I was disappointed to discover there is no gapless playback using bluetooth. Controls worked fine from the headphones or the D3, including volume. Additionally, in the Music app's preferences, you can turn off the headphone's ability to control the D3.  I tried pairing a bluetooth keyboard to the D3 and although it paired it reported there was no support for keyboards.  The D3 does support file transfers over bluetooth, but my first few attempts (with my PC and an Archos 43)  have failed after downloads got past 80%. I have succeeded since.  I'll blame it on the earlier firmware.  At this point bluetooth for headphones is still a little buggy.  I had the occasional cut-out or momentary freeze while listening to music, and I've never experienced the same on any other player. As such, Bluetooth gets a C+.  Hopefully it will improve with firmware updates.

Internet:  I had no trouble connecting to my home or work Wifi. The web browser works reasonably well, and multitouch zooming is greatly appreciated.  There is a slight response delay after tapping on any on-screen link. It is as if the screen sensor has to think for a second before responding.  Side-by-side with my iPod Touch the difference is notable. Scrolls are just a bit choppy on the D3 where they are smooth on the Touch.  The D3 will show more info on a screen than the iPod Touch as the Touch adds an options bar on every web screen.  The 800 x 480 screen is good, but not as crisp in detail as the Touch's 960 x 640 Retina display.  Many web pages recognize the Touch and reformat to a Mobile view for it.  The D3 usually gets a more typical PC page view on the same pages.  Double-tap and finger-spead to zoom both work as expected.   The web browser experience is better than on any lower resolution device, and better than any device without multitouch. It still isn't up to the standard set by Safari on an iPod Touch or iPhone, so Internet gets a B from me.

Apps:  No app store on the D3.  I've been able to side-load applications to my D3, and most have installed with no problem, the lack of an on-board market is a serious shortcoming Cowon needs to address.  Out of the box the D3 includes your typical music, video, pictures, and radio media apps.  You get email, web browser, YouTube, calculator (including simple and scientific versions), task manager, document (.txt) viewer, alarm clock, paint, voice recorder, calendar, contacts, comix, and twitter too. There are a few more apps on the Korean version of the D3 that disappeared when I installed the North American firmware.  Until either Cowon or hackers get a Market app working on the D3 I have to give it a C B for Apps.

Update 3/23/2011: Amazon.com has opened their Android Appstore now, and although the number of apps available is small you can expect it to grow exponentially. Easy to add their app to the D3.

Conclusions:  The D3 is a nice package with decent hardware and great potential. It has the power to drive my large Sennhieser headphones with authority. Music and Video codec support is the best you'll find. There are two reasons I won't recommend the D3 right now:  Price and maturity.  Amazon.com lists the D3 with 32gb of memory for $358.  A 32gb iPod Touch is $275. The new D3 is NOT $83 better than a new Touch.  The price is too high, even if every feature worked perfectly.   As I stated previously, Cowon has updated the D3 Firmware 4 times since I received it. It still exhibits random freezes, audio cut-outs, slow touch response, and no easy access to Android apps.   I assume Cowon will eventually resolve these issues, but right now the D3 performs worse than my old HTC Hero Android phone. Cowon needs more experience with Android.  Hopefully they are learning fast, as the D3 is not quite ready for prime time.

2/10 EDIT:  Cowon updated the firmware on 2/10/2011 to version x.27.  I've installed 3.27 on my D3, and the audio cut-outs I mentioned seem to have been eliminated.   Still no gapless playback, and no apps store.

4D.

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Archos 70 Review. 250gb and Android 2.21!

My Archos 70 Internet tablet w/250gb arrived Thursday 12/16/2010, and I had it updated to android 2.21 within 15 minutes of unboxing it. Archos has already update the 2.21 firmware once to address some early WiFi and processor management issues.   I also have their older Archos 7 Home tablet, and was looking forward to see if they had learned anything.  They have!

First of all, the screen on the 70 uses capacitance to sense your touch.  It also recognizes two fingers (multitouch!). They've added a graphics co-processor to help speed up the UI (User Interface) as well as games, and with an ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor the experience is delightful.  This Archos 70 has removed the impatience and frustration I developed using their 7 Home.

The Specs...

- Dimensions:  201 x 114 x 14 mm – 400 grams / (7.91 x 4.49 x 0.55 inch – 14 oz)

- Screen:  WVGA 800 x 480 pixels, 7'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors. Capacitive multitouch.

- Storage: 250 GB Hard Drive. The hard drive version is 4mm thicker than the flash memory version.
- Wireless:  WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR.
- Webcam:  Front facing, VGA resolution (640 x 480).
- Outputs:  Mini HDMI output. (Mini HDMI / HDMI cable sold separately), and stereo headphone jack.
- Controls:  Volume +/- rocker, and Power/Hold/Reset button. On-screen  Back/Menu/Home/Search icons.
-  Other:  Microphone, Stereo Speakers, G-sensor, and Kickstand.

This model in Archos' generation 8 line-up has the same media features as all the others do. Great music playback capability.  Great Photo and Video display capabilities as well.  They all have access to Archos' Appslib application store, and can be easily "hacked" to add the standard Google apps and Market access. I'll refer you to my review of the Archos 32 and Archos 43, as well as the technical page for the 70 at Archos.com for more info about the media capabilities.  Where the 70 stands out is that it and the 101 get capacitive (skin sensing) screens, and that means interaction is easier and multitouch comes in to make the web browser and photo gallery app easier to use.  Android apps that can take advantage of multitouch also work better when it is available.  Since the 70 has a front facing camera, it also comes with the FRING video chat application. The 7" screen makes every app more enjoyable.  text is larger.  Images are larger. Videos are larger.  GAMES are larger!  Yet at 7" this tablet is nearly the perfect size to enjoy at home as well as take with you when travelling.  Steve Jobs obviously hasn't used a 7" tablet if he thinks they are dead in the water.  Expect a smaller iPad from Apple eventually.  ;)

Hard Drive:  As all the data is on a hard drive, expect load times to take a little longer than they would on the Flash memory version. You have room for far more apps and media on this version though, and you don't have to swap out or even bring along microSD cards when you need more space. 

Bluetooth:  The smaller tablet from Archos also have Bluetooth, but at the 7" size the potential becomes more interesting.  You can pair a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with it.  Add a good word processor from the android market and you'll have a serious work setup. The kickstand props the 70 at a perfect angle for viewing, and it will even stand the 70 up on end if you don't mind a little wiggle. Bluetooth can also be used to pair a $25ish GPS module to the 70, and with Google navigation it becomes a very functional GPS nav unit.  I find I can also send pictures to my Canon Printer over Bluetooth, and the printer will then print them out. Lastly, you can send the audio output of the 70 to Bluetooth headphones or speaker docks.

E-Reader: At 7" the 70 is also the same size or larger than most dedicated e-readers out there.  You can find Kindle (Amazon), Nook (Barnes and Noble), Google Books, and Aldiko ebook apps for the 70, and it becomes a competitive e-reader that doesn't discriminate on where your books came from.   I've tried several e-readers.  I've tried several tablets.  At this point the Archos 70it stands out as the best solution to both categories. With battery life rated Music up to 36 hours, Video up to 7 hours, and Web surfing up to 10 hours, expect around 10 hours for ebook reading before needing to recharge.

3D Games: Archos added a graphic accelerator with 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 capabilities to this series of tablet.  It means the 70 can play animated 3D games as well as your X-Box or PlayStation.  An example 3D game is included, and does a good job of demonstrating the power you have in your hands. The G-sensor in the 70 allows the tablet itself to become the controller of the game. A few more example games can be downloaded from this link: Archos.com.  Yes, you can play these games on the smaller gen 8 tablets.  No they are not as cool there as they are on the 70!  Hook the 70 to your HDTV and play on the BIG SCREEN with the 70 as controller!

Build:  Although the 70 appears to be all plastic, it is plastic molded over a steel frame. The screen is glass.  I find the body stiff and durable.  You hear the occasional squeak of plastic case edges meshing when handling the 70.  You can feel the hard drive spin, although my 50 year old ears don't hear it. The kickstand is plastic and flexes a little. There are rubber feet on the back to keep it from sliding on a table. Unlike previous Archos tablets there are no dock ports to be blocked when standing it on its lower (long) edge. Cable jacks are all on the left end, or the top edge when stood on it's kickstand end. You can't recharge it over USB, so keep track of the include AC charger. The screen is viewable from a wide angle left and right, and only darkens up when viewed from low angles to the bottom edge. Speakers sound better than those on the 43, but won't replace your home theater speakers for audio quality.  Two or three people at a time could easily enjoy watching a video on the 70.

Summary:  I like it.  While the resistive screens on Archos' smaller tablets are some of the most responsive I've tested, the capacitive screen on this 70 is a joy to use. My wife has already laid claim to it for her Angry Birds addiction, as the version on her iPhone is "too small!".  Video viewing is a delight, with good audio from the stereo speakers. It makes a reasonable digital Photo Frame if you're charging it on your desktop and not otherwise using it. Archos appears to have learned their lesson. They have been responsive to owner complaints since it came out, with a firmware update that addressed the most major ones. Check out their support forum HERE.   Given that Samsung wants $550 for its Galaxy Tab, this $318 Archos 70it tablet with very similar specs is a winner. If you don't need the 250gb hard drive, give the $268 8gb version a look. 

4D

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Nook Color Review.

I've been a Kindle owner since the first one came out.  Although Amazon makes a fine piece of hardware, I think they've got their work cut out for them now if they want to stay on top of the e-reader game.  Why?  Color.  More specifically Barnes & Noble's new color touchscreen Nook.

The new Nook is $249, and you won't find a nicer gadget for that price.  Mine arrived Friday 11/19/2010. You get WiFi, a Web Browser, the ability to (above) play music (MP3 and AAC), videos (MP4), photos (JPG), and a few games on TOP of the ability to display almost every document format there is. The screen is beautiful, and the same IPS technology as is used on Apple's iPad. No color shift when viewed from an angle. 16 million color capable. Rotates to be viewed in landscape or portrait. 1024 x 600 resolution for sharp crisp text rendering. The size is about right at 8.1 x 5.0 x .48 inches and just less than one pound in weight. It come with approximately 5gb of memory space for your own content, and a microSD card slot for up to 32gb more.

Reading: The color nook will display EPUB (including Non or Adobe DRM), PDF (above), XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, and PPTX files. There are 6 font sizes and you can select from 6 font styles, background color, line and margin spacing. Switching pages is as easy as a tap on the left or right edge of the screen, or you can give it a left or right swipe. Is there color in that document?  You'll love the Nook's screen then.

You also have access to magazines, newspapers, and Alive Touch™ children's books that can be interacted with and read aloud by the Nook.  No simulated voice, either.  Voice actors do the reading.

Apps: The Nook also comes with Pandora® internet radio, a Chess game, a Sudoku game, and a Crossword Puzzle app.  In addition you can lend ebooks to other Nook (or nook software) owners, as well as share book titles and lines from books to your Facebook and Twitter friends.

Pros:  The touchscreen is very sensitive, responsive, and unlike several other tablet devices I've tried hasn't induced any frustration in me yet. The industrial design is top notch as well. The back is a matte finish soft-touch surface. The intriguing notch in the lower corner (above) hides the microSD slot. The built-in speaker is plenty loud. The top edge includes a standard 3.5mm stereo jack that should fit the plug on your favorite headphones. The wide range of supported document formats is fantastic. I plan to keep copies of all my class syllabi on board.  With access to the web I also have access to my web based email. So long as any information you need with you can be saved as one of the document formats the Nook supports, the Nook could easily take the place of a laptop or netbook for content access.  The screen is also multi-touch, and a pinch or spread with two fingers will zoom out or in on most content other than movies.

Cons: There are a few glitches with the media apps that hopefully can be fixed with a firmware update. When looking at photos using the gallery application, all your photos appear in one long unsorted array. They even get mixed with the movies you have on board.  If you approach your media through the library and MyFiles option you can find them by folder.  You can only open them one-at-a-time though, and no slide show option is available there. If you have a multi-page PDF open the normal left/right tab or swipe doesn't work.  Only a vertical swipe will change pages.  With DOC files all pages are reduced to one single long page.  Only a vertical scroll will get you through the text. There is also no on-board way to delete files from the Nook.

MP4 Video Support

Conclusion:  Barnes & Noble has a winner here.   Any disadvantage (battery charge duration) is more than offset by the touchscreen interface and color screen. With a great color display, the Nook Color becomes far more than an e-book.  Not restricted to just text, the music/videos/photos you can bring along mean you won't grow tired of it.  Don't get one if you don't have WiFi access to the internet though.  WiFi is your access to the B & N bookstore, as well as the world wide web and all that can bring.  This model has no 3G connection.

4D