Cowon A3 30GB Portable Multimedia Player

The A3 is a good player. The quality of the audio and video play is extremely high quality. But it has its wee faults.

It can't play back on a HD TV in anything but 720x480 resolution. Technically this is HD (High Definition), but most of us expect HD to be a little higher than that!

Cowon says you can charge the A3 via the USB interface. But as this takes 90+ hours, it's pretty pointless. So don't forget the mains charger or buy a spare!

The various firmware releases for the A3 are of uneven quality.
In one, you'll find the playback of recorded video (.asf in format) within the A3 doesn't work. In another you'll find the DVD VOB files playback is broken. But the above playback of .asf works!

English Technical support from Cowon is virtually non-existent. This Korean company really doesn't want to talk to it's customers. So if you've got a problem then you're left stranded. They don't appear to be in a hurry to fix problem. Thank goodness for http://www.iaudiophile.net/ and their members support.

This device isn't a car mp3 player for the driver as it stands. You'd be risking life and limb trying to do something simple like raise the volume or skip a track!

There is a wired remote (£$20) for it which is pretty essential for car owners or for those of us who like to close their eyes whilst listening to music. :-)

This may all sound very negative. But I enjoy using my A3 as a music and podcast player in the car as well as a video player when I'm on the coach or train.

I've used it to plug into a TV to play back the odd _simple_ Powerpoint presentation or video clip of my latest development. Quite a weight saver it is.