u3 or i7 or u2?

[halebyrd]

i want a cowon. i am using it for the gym and in my car.....not much video...i can't find any u2??/ how come??? i think the is the u3 might be better than the i7 for the gym because of the buttons....need opinions--please. thank you hale'

[Almoxil]

The U3 has tactile controls and it's smaller, so it would be my choice for a workout player (not that the iAudio7 doesn't work, but it's larger and lacks tactile response from the controls, especially if you switch songs or FM stations often). The U2 is a rather old player, so it's very hard to find. You can still find the U3, though.

[halebyrd]

thanks for your post. i appreciate it. i think i will go with the u3! i just don't want to get it and find out in 3 months that they have come out with a new and better one. i think it will be fine. thank you!

[FURR]

Look Here to buy U3 or look Here for the U5. both great players.

[JK98]

why buy the U3 when you can buy the U5? The U5 charges faster 2 hours vs 3, and the U5 is smaller( in volume) than the U3 since it is around half the thickness even though the other dimensions are larger. The u5 also has a 1.8" screen vs 1.2" on the U3. The U5 lists 24 hour play time vs 20 hours for the U3. The u5 is listed as having 32 wats per channel vs 30 for the U3. The U5 is also the same price or less than the U3. so I guess the Cowon players to consider are the D2, i7, or U5?

[JK98]

Why aren't there reviews of the U5? Is the U5 so new?

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by JK98

Why aren't there reviews of the U5? Is the U5 so new?

Yes, it's new... and compared to most other Cowon players it doesn't exactly look interesting, specs-wise. Well, they wanted to enter a cheaper market segment with the U5... they certainly managed to cut down on the usual Cowon key features (no Ogg, FLAC, MPEG4, line-in, sub-par battery life, etc).

[JK98]

"they certainly managed to cut down on the usual Cowon key features (no Ogg, FLAC, MPEG4, line-in, sub-par battery life, etc)."

I don't see myself making use of the other features you mentioned. It would have been nice if the U5 was a bit thicker and had the battery life of the i7. The tiny screen on the i7 may not be so easy to read though.
Do people really watch videos on a 1.2" screen? Even watching them on a 2.5" screen for long periods of time doesn't seem like much fun. As for OGG and FLAC, how many people use those?

[derf]

I actually use ogg and it was a deciding factor when getting my iriver T60.

[JK98]

Derf, how do you like the T60? A review I read on it says that it is easy to press the joystick the wrong way and lose your place. While this wouldn't be so bad during music play, it would be extremely annoying while playing lectures. Does the T60 support 16kbps mp3?

[derf]

I like my T60 very much. Great sound, small, solid. The joystick is quircky and needs some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it works ok. As for playing 16 kb/s mp3, I will have to check, the lowest bitrate I have on it is 32 kb/s wma files. The specs on the iriver website say it will play as low as 8 kb/s mp3 and wma files, see here: http://www.iriver.com/product/p_detail.asp?pidx=85

[JK98]

Thanks. i think I want a screen of at least 1.8" though, so that eliminate the T60 and i7. The players I am considering now are the D2, U5, and Creative Zen.