It is, however, rated at a surprising 10 hours of video playback time and 18 hours for audio. The rechargeable battery, alas, isn't removable. True to Cowon's product legacy, the A2 is packed with tons of features, including an FM tuner, audio and video line-in recording, voice recording, and an alarm that doubles as a recording scheduler. The hold switch on the bottom of the player also toggles between the built-in LCD and an external monitor. Two speakers and a microphone are built into the top of the player, and a panel on the side opens to reveal line-in and line-out ports, a USB port, and a USB Host port. To select menu items, you push the joystick straight in this is something we wish would just go away, since most manufacturers seem unable to make a joystick that's easy to push straight in without it accidentally slipping to one side. You browse files via a Back button and a four-way joystick. The analog controls are minimal and located well buttons labeled A, B, and C behave differently depending on context, and the menu interface clearly tells you what each will do in a given situation. There are also some file-compatibility issues that need to be worked out before we can get really excited about this product.Īt 5.2 by 3.0 by 0.9 inches and 10.5 ounces, the A2 is bulkier and heavier than the Archos AV500, despite having the same-size screen (4 inches diagonal, 480 by 272 pixels). Its video and audio playback capabilities are good, the design is attractive, and the interface is fairly easy to use, but we're a bit disappointed in what we feel is the device's main feature: video recording.
Cowon a2 firmware upgrade portable#
The Cowon A2 is a portable media player/recorder with a 30GB hard drive, a widescreen 4-inch LCD, and an integrated FM tuner.