Tech Check: Cowon S9

01:30

A few monthes back you might recall that I reported on a new portable media device called the P5 from South Korean Company Cowon. It seems Cowon have been at it again, this time with a brand new even more compact portable device claiming to be one of the best sounding portable audio devices ever made. Big talk, but considering Cowon's glittering reputation particularly in the sonics department it seems perfectly plausible that the S9 may very well live up to the claims... Click the 'Read Full Post' link for more info, pics and videos.


On first impression the S9 is certainly a looker (Click images to enlarge). Clean lines and an elegant looking touch screen is complimented nicely with chrome accents. The question is what distinguishes this device from others on the market? Well when we get into the technical side of things it soon becomes abundantly clear that Cowon really means business and has gone out of it's way to really distinguish this device from the competition. Starting with the display...

Cowon have decided to use a 3.3 inch 480x272 resolution AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) capacitive touch screen display. For the less technical among us lets just say this was a very wise move. Unlike traditional LCD panels AMOLED's do not require back lighting as the pixels themselves illuminate when activated by an electric current. This means that they consume significantly less power than traditional LCD panels yet are still ultra bright, are capapable of producing ultra sharp images and have great viewing angles. The use of such a display has meant that Cowon are claiming class leading battery performance of 55hrs for audio and 11 hrs for video on a single charge, which is certainly impressive. The use of a capacitive touch panel also means the display should be highly responsive to touch unlike the less responsive resistive panels used in many mobile phones and other touch based media devices.

They haven't scrimped on any of the essentials either. As well as support for some of the most popular audio compression formats such as mp3, wma & ogg, they have also included support for loseless flac, ape and wav formats too. Video support is also decent with wmv, xvid and divx on board. Early reports have also indicated that while Cowon recommend re-encoding video to the player's native screen resolution of 480x272, certain higher res files do play smoothly. xvid and divx video support is said to be particularly good with certain reviews suggesting smooth playback up to DVD resolution (720x480) @ 30 frames per second, although wmv is said not to perform as well.

On top of this you also get a whole host of other features. Bluetooth 2.0 with A2dp is supported meaning unrestricted file transfer between Bluetooth capable devices and wireless Bluetooth headphone tethering is possible. You also get a text reader, photo viewer (jpeg format), FM radio and TV -Out functionality for hooking your device up to a television (cable must be brought separately however). Not to mention Cowons supposedly exceptional Custom EQ and sound enhancement technology known as BBE, said to significantly improve the listening experience. In addition you also get zooming functionality on the touch based interface for increasing the size of whatever is being displayed as well as album art support and a cover browsing system similar to Apples 'Cover Flow'.

The only real down sides are the price and capacity options. With the 8GB model retailing for a hefty £169 and the 16GB model coming in at £199 here in the UK, the S9 is certainly not cheap. Apparently a 32GB version will also be available in the future. I personally would have also liked to have seen an SD card slot included, as found on their older D2 model. In addition, it has been almost a year and a half and still no other company has built a sub 3.5 inch screened device with a web browser to rival that of the iPod touch. Not essential but would have been a great addition.

Here is an in depth 3 part review of the Cowon S9 from portable audio device website, 'anythingbutipod.com' (also available in HD).







To buy an S9 or for more info please visit:

Advanced Mp3 Players - Web shop
Iaudiophile.net - Cowon Fan Forum

Sneak Peek: Fresh For '09

00:40


With the new year fast approaching, we have already started to see a whole load of preview pics of upcoming styles and colourways slipping out onto the blogs. 2009 is already looking like it's going to be a pretty live year for retro kicks. Click the 'Read Full Post' link for a choice selection of what the new year has in store.

Reebok Court Pump Victory - Michael Chang: Any body who remembers the tennis court stylings of the great Michal Chang, may also remember his signature shoe. Along with Andre Agassi's Nike Air Tech Challenge line these have to be some of the most striking court trainers to emerge from tennis' golden era. Great to see Reebok resurrecting more 90's heat.

Reebok Sk700 - Kidz In The Hall: Definitely Not every ones cup of tea but the Sk700 cuts a nice profile IMO. These colourways put together buy hip hop duo 'Kidz In The Hall' will form part of Reebok's Classic Re-Mix collection. These are scheduled for a March 2009 Foot Locker release. Not convinced by the colourways myself but perhaps we will see some more in due course.

Nike Air Pegasus '89: Definitely one of the most anticipated retro releases of next year. 20 Years after it's initial debut Nike are bringing back this revered runner. Pre-release shots seem to show they have stayed pretty faithful to the original silhouette. These will definitely be taking their spot in my collection.


Nike Air Max BW - JD Sports Exclusive: JD have been know every now and then to drop some tasty colourways and this BW is looking pretty fresh to me. It is a slight variation of the original Persian violet colourway (shown below) which will also be seeing a first quarter '09 re-release.

Nike Air Max 1 - Safari: Seems like Nikes humble safari print has come a long way over the last few years. This tidy little print seems to have shown up on just about everything from retro runners, SB windbreaker jackets, mutant hybrids and even new skool basketball kicks. The Grey variation Premium SP edition shown in the first photo down are actually already available from Proper in the US. The other colourways are scheduled for release sometime during spring/summer of '09.


Nike Air Digs: Now here's a long lost gem I never would have seen Nike resurrecting in a million years. The Air Digs as it is known is actually a Women's volleyball shoe which originally made it's debut in 1991. Teal/Pink colourways and gum soles are always welcome, definitely one for the 80's kids. On my hit list for sure.


Nike Air Structure - New Colourways: Since it's coveted return this year Nike has released a steady stream of original, retro inspired and new colourways of this 90's classic. It seems the fiends can't get enough and 2009 will see a raft of new colours emerging, starting with these four. As with the Air Max 1 Safari Premiums, the first two colourways shown below are already available at Proper in the US.

For more Sneaker news & Info visit these useful spots:

Sneakernews
Sneakerfreaker
Sneakerfiles


Gone Fishing: Back On The Case

01:26

Apologies for my lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. I have had a lot of stuff to do and haven't had much time to be posting on the blog. I sometimes find it difficult to find the time to go into the depth I would like to go into on some topics and at the same time maintain a high standard of interesting content (rather than just posting any old junk, like so many other blogs) so I often end up not posting until I have the time and info to do the job properly. I also try and rotate each sub category, but sometimes actually have a whole load of stuff to post that falls under just 1 category and end up putting off posting until that category comes round again. I think I may start to just post stuff when I come across it or feel to any way no matter what sub category it falls in. Got loads of stuff I've been meaning to put up so will be back on the case very soon , so watch this space!

Just Arrived: Asus Eee PC 900HA

00:56

Finally received my net book in the post and I gotta say I'm pretty chuffed. This titchy little affair goes by the name of the Asus Eee Pc 900HA. If you haven't seen an Eee Pc or any 8.9 inch screened net book in the flesh then you will probably be shocked about just how tiny these things really are. Unlike the original Eee Pc 900's this one comes with a speedy 54,000rpm 160GB hard drive and a 1.6Ghz atom processor. This model is actually unavailable in the UK and Europe so I had to import it from the US. The damage? well...It was supposed to cost £248 shipped but after a slapping from the tax man it came in at around £295. Definitely worth it though. Over the next few weeks I will be putting it through it's paces and with any luck get a review out soon. Believe me....you need one of these in your life. Hit the link for the official Asus Eee Pc website.

Asus - Eee Pc Website

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