Looking to upgrade from Cowon D2

[i2fish]

My D2's battery is dying and I am looking for an upgrade.

I've been eyeing the J3 and A860 so dearly, but I've no place to try them. So I have some questions about them:

Is navigation friendly in pocket?
Is there physical button to start/stop voice recording?
Is there bookmark feature for audiobooks?

So far I have tried
Clip +/Zip: the screens are too small for me.
Sony E460: Hard to navigate in pocket. EQ only has 3 notches
iPod: Not a fan of itunes

Other recommendations are welcomed, I have no requirement on sound quality.

Location: New York, US
Capacity: 4GB+
Budget: 150~ USD
Use: Audiobook, music, voice recording
Type/Design: DAP or PMP
Features: Voice recording, bookmarking for audiobooks
Display: 2.4in+ display
UI/Controls: Touchscreen with Tactile buttons (play/pause, next/previous songs, start/stop voice recording)
Battery life: 20+hours
Dimension: Not larger than iPod Touch

[CrowdAds]

[kredig]

what about getting the cowon iaudio 10 or c2?
with the c2 you will feel really familiar and the c2 (16gb) is ony 145$ at the moment.
the iaudio10 would be probably also nice but there isn't a memory extension slot...

[The DarkSide]

i2fish: go to B&H Photo in NYC and check out some players. I can't say I'd meet you there this week (class trip for my son this Friday), but next Friday I'm free. I'd help you go over what's there and make it a bit easier.

[i2fish]

@kredig
I don't like the touch panel on the iaudio 10, I used to have a Samsung Q2 with a touch panel and it's a pain to use.
I prefer to not get the C2, if it's similar to the D2, you can't use it vertically, inconvenient when using it with one hand. But where can you find it for 145? The price is tempting though.

@The DarkSide
It's a bit inconvenient for me to go over to 34th st. I might go there once I made my choice and want to see the sample first.

[kredig]

well, maybe there is a UI avaible to use it vertically in the future (i think there is a UI for it already).
and i saw it for this price when i looked at amazon

[tienbasse]

Originally Posted by i2fish

So far I have tried
Clip +/Zip: the screens are too small for me.
Sony E460: Hard to navigate in pocket. EQ only has 3 notches
iPod: Not a fan of itunes

Other recommendations are welcomed, I have no requirement on sound quality.

Looks like you already did your homework, so I guess Kredig's proposal are your best bets.
Or a second-hand Cowon J3/S9.

Sony A84x would also be a good choice since they're easy to operate without looking. A86x are tactile so a bit more difficult. But both these Sony series don't provide a lot of battery life (10-15h depending on the exact model) compared to Cowon models.

[i2fish]

Sony has the A860 rated at 25 hours, I knew they would be less but not by that much.

I am probably settling at the J3, the C2 sells for 169 new at amazon, 145 for a refurb.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by i2fish

@kredig
I don't like the touch panel on the iaudio 10, I used to have a Samsung Q2 with a touch panel and it's a pain to use.
I prefer to not get the C2, if it's similar to the D2, you can't use it vertically, inconvenient when using it with one hand. But where can you find it for 145? The price is tempting though.

@The DarkSide
It's a bit inconvenient for me to go over to 34th st. I might go there once I made my choice and want to see the sample first.

Apparently you CAN use it vertically: http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=40330