Cowon X7 becoming reality after years of speculation?

[dfkt]

Some realistic news via GenerationMP3 (Google translation). - With an 1.8" HDD it might compete with the iPod Classic, and the other very, very few players still left that give 100+GB of data storage (most of which aren't any good anyways). Not a bad move, for some people's needs. Also rumored is that it will run on Android.

After all theses years of speculations, dating back to 2007 - here, here, and here. And of course our very own Cowon X7 mockup from the "Photoshop A Fake" contest...

Make us proud, Cowon - your iAudio X5 HDD player heritage is quite legendary, just like the iriver H100/300, or the Creative Zen Vision:M.

[CrowdAds]

[rickysio]

Huzzah!

[WalkGood]

Very interesting news, I think that’s a good move for cowon as there’s virtually no competition in the 100gb market. Now let’s just hope they deliver on the firmware and who knows, maybe they'll chip away at the fruits market share.

BTW thanks for sharing

[lebellium]

Oops looks like I forgot to bring the news here too. Sorry! Thanks dfkt

If it is really Android-powered, I don't think it would be an iPod Classic competitor as Android is not interesting on a small screen.
Then it would rather be a bigger PMP (and so nothing to do with the old X5)
Hmmm

[rickysio]

Maybe they're imitating the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini style of interface?

[deadohiosky]

this comes way too late, app. 3 years too late.


a hdd player in a time where you can have 64 gb flash players which are also way more energy efficient and not prone to mechanical wear, plus lightweight. times are gone for daps that weighs 200 grams.

android and high capacity is tempting, but to me, the disadvantages tip the balance.

[TechyguyDR]

Oh, interesting

[rickysio]

Originally Posted by deadohiosky

this comes way too late, app. 3 years too late.


a hdd player in a time where you can have 64 gb flash players which are also way more energy efficient and not prone to mechanical wear, plus lightweight. times are gone for daps that weighs 200 grams.

android and high capacity is tempting, but to me, the disadvantages tip the balance.

These can have 320GBs.

[deadohiosky]

Originally Posted by rickysio

These can have 320GBs.

your point being?

as i already said even if they had 500 gb , they still would be more prone to mechanical defect or "plastic deformation", soak up more power and most of all it's a hdd... a big chunk of metal although it may be 5 mm thick/slim.
this mp3 player is doomed to be a brick.

and being the x5's predecessor it most likely will not have a fancy 3.3" display which would justify such a big mp3!!! player

again (afawk) this is just an mp3 player and it will most likely play music (with rumored android, touch display and video playback seems possible though) and it will certainly exceed 90 mm in height and 60 mm in width.

[The DarkSide]

I have my D2, new J3, and I'll get this as well,...........................Damn, I'se a Cowon fanboi!! Best part is I can carry all my tunes in mp3 VBR V~0 w/no down-converting to conserve space,..........mad sweetness.

[Mikerman]

Thanks for the news. As with anything in the scarce field of jukebox DAPs nowadays, I'll believe the news and availability when I see it, especially when we're talking Cowon, which has been rather, er, deliberate in the past. But my hopes remain!



I like the idea of adding bluetooth--bluetooth earbuds, anyone? As noted above, a jukebox flash drive would be nice, but we likely are a year away from that (unless Apple adds more flash to the iPod Touch next month).

I'm not sure about the touch screen controls (although the screen looks handsome): physical buttons are so nice to have, for playing on the go (when running, hiking, etc.)--no looking required. At least dedicated physical volume buttons would be nice.

So, Cowon, it's up to you--don't let us down!

[The DarkSide]

Just an FYI - if Cowon releases a D3 I'll get that as well,.......................I've become a monster I say!!!

[TechyguyDR]

If I could I'd get a whole bunch too. But being a cash strapped college student doesn't really allow for it

[Syndrome]

Although yes HDD's are on their way out, if they can cheaply produce this DAP, then they can hit a very good niche market.

[Xinz]

If it runs on Android, it will be more of a tablet already. I will rather it keeps off Android and make it a focused MP3/PMP player

If they make the hard disk easily swappable at least to techies, I believe it will appeal to us

[Syndrome]

Just a question... What kind of mock up is that? Obviously its not cowon, not enough goofy bright circus colors.

[Danneq]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

I have my D2, new J3, and I'll get this as well,...........................Damn, I'se a Cowon fanboi!! Best part is I can carry all my tunes in mp3 VBR V~0 w/no down-converting to conserve space,..........mad sweetness.

Having too many DAP:s can be a sweet curse. I am even considering re-ripping all of my CD:s in LAME CBR 320. Even if that is overkill, there is more than enough space.


Now, if only Creative would come to their senses and release a true follow up to the Vision:M which actually sounds good instead of just looking "nice". It would also be nice to see iRiver releasing a follow up to the H300 series...

[The DarkSide]

Actually, VBR is better than CBR (well, I guess this is IMO, YMMV).

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Actually, VBR is better than CBR (well, I guess this is IMO, YMMV).

IMO as well.

[Danneq]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Actually, VBR is better than CBR (well, I guess this is IMO, YMMV).

Aren't they pretty much the same, but VBR being much more effective whilst CBR wastes a lot of space? If you have more than enough space, the matter of constant or variable bitrate is more a matter of choice than quality. Right?

EDIT: Our friend Wikipedia says this:

CBR would not be the optimal choice for storage as it would not allocate enough data for complex sections (resulting in degraded quality) while wasting data on simple sections.

So would this mean that VBR0 sounds better than CBR 320? Anything over CBR 224/VBR1 (VBR 2 seems more transparent than CBR 192) is completely transparent for me, so I do not think I would be able to tell any difference anyway...