Cowon A3 (60GB)
Manufacturer: Cowon Systems, Inc. Part number: A3-60SL
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be at the top of your list.
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CNET editors'
review
Cowon A3 (60GB)
price range: $344.95 - $350.68
The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be at the top of your list.
The good: The Cowon A3 portable video player (PVP) offers outstanding audio and video format support; a sharp, colorful screen; the most attractive Cowon user interface we've seen; built-in video output; video and audio recording capabilities; and superb audio quality.
The bad: The Cowon A3 is cursed with a clumsy joystick interface; a highly reflective screen; no support for DRM-protected media; and archaic music sorting. It's also a little on the chubby side.
The bottom line: The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be at the top of your list.
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User reviews
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Average user rating:
3.0 stars
out of 3
reviews
Showing opinion 1 to 4 out of 3
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7
stars
A great PMP that does ALMOST everything... However it does have a few flaws.
by jaebisco
on
January 28, 2008
Pros: Plays a plethora of audio & video formats, is very sturdy, it has the nicest screen I have ever seen on any PMP, can be a USB host, it can record audio and video & has AWESOME sound quality!
Cons: The joystick sucks & it is hard to select files, is bulky, the battery doesn't last as long as advertised, no gapless audio playback (boo!), won't play copyrighted music & not easy to navigate music,.
Summary: The Cowon A3 is a fantastic portable media player (PMP) for the money. The Cowon A3 can play practically every audio format out there except for .m4p files, copyrighted music ...
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Summary: The Cowon A3 is a fantastic portable media player (PMP) for the money. The Cowon A3 can play practically every audio format out there except for .m4p files, copyrighted music and .shn files. The A3 can also play just about any video format. The video quality on this player is excellent and the best I've ever seen in a PMP. The player also records audio and video, but I have yet to try either... (I am hoping I can take some of the shows I have on my DVR and transfer them onto to my A3. I am not sure if this is possible, but I am going to try.)
-The audio player has an amazing amount of customized settings that can be adjusted. There are so many ways to tweak the sound that you can always make any song sound perfect. I LOVE that it can play and record FLAC files. AWESOME SOUND QUALITY!!!
-The player appears to be constructed well and it has not skipped or froze up or anything like that (so far).
-The A3 is also a USB HOST!! You can also use the A3 as a portable hard drive. You can plug in other mp3 players (not i-pods) and flash drives as well. GREAT FEATURE!!!
-The radio, photo and document features are nice extra features to have.
Now onto some of the cons:
-Player is BIG and bulky and looks like it was designed 10 years ago.
-The joystick design is not good. It can be overly sensitive. It can be frustrating just selecting a file. When pushing the button inward it often can be pushed to a direction instead of inward.
-Considering this player has so many sick audio features it is a shame that it lacks some key features. The player DOES NOT HAVE GAPLESS PLAYBACK BETWEEN TRACKS!!! I HATE this and find it very annoying! The player will not play copyrighted music, .m4p, or .shn files.
-It is strenuous to navigate the player to find music or a select track. There is no search or group by feature; the only way to get to a track is to go by each folder one by one... very annoying.
-The battery doesn't last as long as advertised. I get maybe about 5 hours of video and about 8 hours of audio.
-Would be nice if it came available with a larger hard drive. Many players are out that are 80 gig and larger. Considering how big this thing is and how much it does, it would be nice if it had come in a 100+ gig model.
Overall it is a great player for the money. While the player does have some draw backs, those can be overlooked if you looking for a no-nonsense player that is loaded with features and playback abilities with phenominal sound and video quality.
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2 out
of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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6
stars
Great Sound & Video Spoilt by a disgraceful joystick interface.
by jimval
on
June 23, 2008
Pros: Great sound & video, format support
Cons: Joystick, Primitve File structure, Jet audio is buggy, Joystick, Joystick & Joystick
Summary: This could have been such a great PMP. My priority was the best audio and video output you can get followed by format support. I did not consider the negative ...
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Summary: This could have been such a great PMP. My priority was the best audio and video output you can get followed by format support. I did not consider the negative reviews in relation to the joystick interface as I did not consider it important, but let me tell you, the A3 now drives me mad. It is almost impossible to know what this joystick is going to do when navigating through music folders.
What a pity.
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9
stars
superb PMP
by freebase52
on
April 5, 2008
Pros: great pic and sound, excellent support
Cons: no kickstand, thumbstick hard to use
Summary: very fast processor, extremely long battery life-most protable electronic devices have to be charged prior to every trip I take but I don't charge my Cowon but once a ...
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Summary: very fast processor, extremely long battery life-most protable electronic devices have to be charged prior to every trip I take but I don't charge my Cowon but once a month, small and light weight, easy to navigate, very intuitive design, firmware upgrades are very easy, comes in a great package-includes everything you need for free including all of the software you need, fairly priced, great for recording tv shows and taking them on the road, tv input and outputs, easy usb connection, awesome mp3 player, holds at least 4 movies and hundreds of mp3's; Con's- can have problems with ffwd through movies, Transformer movie gets choppy, needs a kickstand
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4
stars
not for mac users
by larrine harris
on
March 27, 2008
Pros: the inline recording was great
Cons: the included software and lack of support for mac
Summary: the in line recording was great. although the fm receiver worked well for a few minutes then did not seem to pick up many stations. also i felt it should ...
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Summary: the in line recording was great. although the fm receiver worked well for a few minutes then did not seem to pick up many stations. also i felt it should have come with a better user guide not instruction on how to download a user pdf. Also after spending $300 it should have come with better software. Not a basic software then hopes of a better way to get media on the unit for a few dollars more. If i wanted to be nickled and dimed i would have just bought another ipod which by the way works full ********* with pcs and macs.
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Showing opinion 1 to 4 out of 3
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Specifications
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Manufacturer:
Cowon Systems, Inc.
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Part number:
A3-60SL
General
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Device Type
Digital AV recorder
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Key Features
Video capture from external source,
Digital audio player,
Voice recorder,
Digital video player,
Digital audio recorder,
FM tuner,
Digital photo viewer
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Width
5.2 in
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Depth
0.9 in
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Height
3.1 in
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Weight
9.9 oz
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PC Interfaces
Hi-Speed USB
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Features
PDF viewer,
USB host function,
FM recording,
Text viewer
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Packaged quantity
1
Display
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Display Type
TFT 4 in - Color
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Display Form Factor
Built-in
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TV Standards Supported
PAL,
NTSC
Memory / Storage
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HDD Capacity
60 GB
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HDD Form Factor
1.8" - Built-in
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File System Supported
FAT 32
Still Images
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Supported Still Images Formats
JPEG,
BMP,
PNG,
GIF,
TIFF,
RAW
Digital Audio
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Supported audio formats
WMA,
AC-3,
G.726,
MPEG 1 Audio,
APE (Monkey's Audio),
FLAC,
ASF,
WAV,
Ogg Vorbis,
PCM,
MP3,
MPEG 2 Audio,
AAC,
Apple Lossless
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Sample rate
96 kHz
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Signal-to-noise ratio
95 dBA
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Audio output
Built-in stereo speakers
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Microphone
Built-in microphone
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Recording bit rate
192Kbps
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Digital audio features
ID3 tags support,
Equalizer
Radio
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Tuner frequency range
FM: 76 - 108 MHz
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FM station preset qty
25
Video
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Video Playback Formats
XviD,
MPEG-1,
Motion JPEG,
MPEG-4,
VOB,
OGM (Ogg Media),
WMV,
DivX 4.0,
MPEG-4 SP,
DivX 6.0,
ASF,
MPEG,
AVI,
DivX 3.11,
DivX 5.0
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Video Capture Supported
Yes
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Video Capture Formats
ASF
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Video Capture
ASF - 720 x 480
Connectivity
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Connections
Audio / video input,
Audio / video output,
S-Video output,
Hi-Speed USB,
Component video output
Power Adapter
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Type
Power adapter
Battery
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Rechargeable Battery
Rechargeable
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Battery Enclosure Type
Internal
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Technology
Lithium polymer
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Battery
Lithium polymer Rechargeable Internal
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Battery Life Details
10 hour(s),
7 hour(s)
Miscellaneous
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Included Accessories
Stereo headphones,
USB cable,
AV cable
Power
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Recharge Time
5.5 hour(s)
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