The J3 has most of the other basic PMP bases covered. Playlists can be synched from any MTP media player, or you set up a favourites list on board. You also get stereo Bluetooth, an FM radio, a voice recorder, the option to place multiple bookmarks in both audio and video files, a file browser and DRM support for the likes of BBC's iPlayer.
The OLED screen is gorgeous
Of course, Apple can still teach the Koreans a trick or two: the J3 still doesn't support gapless playback.
The longest I managed to get from a full charge of the old S9 was 9 hours 50 minutes of video playback and 45 hours 30 of audio. The J3 trumped both those numbers with 10 hours 30 of video and an impressive 58 hours and 45 minutes of audio.
The 16GB J3 costs £199. Pick up a 16GB Micro SD card for £30 and that makes a 32GB J3 pretty much the exact same price as a 32GB iPod Touch. The Touch does more - internet connectivity, games etc - but the J3 sounds better, is a superior video player and using it doesn't involve fannying about with iTunes, so take your pick.
Verdict
All the core strengths of the Cowon S9 are still in place, including superb sound and excellent video quality, while the addition of a memory expansion slot and improved battery life are very welcome. The wholly unexpected and unheralded appearance of support for H.264 video and AAC audio now makes the J3 one of the best PMPs on the market. ®
Thanks to AdvancedMP3Players for the loan of our review device.
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Cowon iAudio J3 personal media player
COMMENTS
Cowon and the old guard.....
I only have one problem with any of these media devices / mp3 players. Capacity. I have an old style 60G Creative. Half decent screen, decent format support, decent battery life, decent cable connectivity so I can use it with TV's in hotels and the like...
In fact, since I bought it five years ago, it has been excellent. It is used /every/ day. Literally.
It will only be swapped out when it breaks.
But, if it broke now, I would be stuffed. There are no more 60G players on the market. I don;t particularly want to buy a device and then have extras sd cards laying around, wondering which is which, music, audio books, vids, etc....
I know these flash drive jobbies are nice a quick and quiet and small and light, but where is the volume?
Nah........ until somebody makes something that is at least as good as it was five years ago, then I have to hope my Creative will get me through.
Next week, it will be heading from Brazzaville to Kinshasa!
Re: Apps
"Without apps, PMPs are going nowehere."
Eh, no, I think there are probably enough people out there willing to buy a PMP for its media playing capabilities alone. Not all of us want some fantastically converged jack-of-all-trades device.
Besides, Cowon players were running touchscreen Flash apps before Apple even got rid of its boner for the clickwheel. Ok it's Flash, and we all know the limitations there but really, if I want to do something specific with a Cowon the chances are I'm going to be able to do it. So there's no "App Store"? Well that's ok because last time I didn't want my device manufacturer dictating what I can and cannot do with it and I know I'm not the only one.
Really ? Applications.. ?
Is that really the reason Apple are ahead in sales ?
Not tip top marketing ?
Personally, I've never really understood the 'application fascination' for media players.
You put music* on it and listen to it. Isn't that what a media player is ?
What extra application could you /possibly/ want on a media / music player?
Beats me, really does.
P
* .. and audio books and Ricky Gervais for me!
Gapless is supported
having got the J3 myself a week ago, I can confirm it does indeed support gapless. I have tested using mp3 (LAME encoder) and FLAC. Both played gapless through various albums beautifully.
