Pros: Great screen, Sensitive touch controls, audio quality, tons of file support, SDHC slot, battery life, 10-band EQ, expandable extras
Cons: No EQ during video playback, gaps between audio tracks long, no playlist support, interface navigation slow, audio output less than previous Cowon players.
When the Cowon O2 was released, I was saving my pennies to pick up perhaps the answer to all my portable needs - a large screen for video viewing, excellent sound quality, and a SDHC slot. Granted, it does everything that it was advertised to do (minus poor MKV support, but I can live with that since the majority of my video files are XviD), but its the minor annoyances that prevent this player from being the ultimate PMP.
First the positives: The screen is excellent, although not as sharp as some would want (480x272 resolution), but for video viewing, it is more than acceptable. The touch screen is very nice and sensitive. Audio quality is standard Cowon stuff, you get the BBE, Mach3Bass, and 3D enhancements, along with the crystal clear reproduction that you would expect from them. The SD slot is a must-have for me, as I have tons of stuff archived on SD cards that I can just carry along with me, rather than move stuff around if I wanted something new. The 10-band EQ is excellent, as you can precisely tailor the audio output to your tastes. Battery life is rated at 8H Video / 18H Audio. My personal real-life performance shows that it's pretty close to that, provided you bump the brightness of the screen down and set the screen to shut off as fast as possible when playing audio.
The negatives: The interface is extremely slow and unresponsive at times, especially when browsing through your files. Sometimes the screen will register a touch, but the actual command is not recognized, sometimes needing a second touch. The interface reminds me of Windows Mobile, with X buttons, scroll bars, and non-finger-friendly lists. The included stylus is fat and not exactly helpful when trying to press some of those small buttons on the screen. The audio output is noticeably lower on this player than previous Cowon offerings, for video output (especially with no EQ settings for video) the volume has to be maxed out, there are no exceptions to this rule, and its STILL not loud enough for some situations. My audio volume is 35-38 (out of 50) and anything under 25 is not very audible. The lack of playlist support is not a big deal-breaker for me as I have all my audio sorted perfectly in folders, but for others, it could prove to be quite annoying. There is a "favorites" list that you can add tracks to, but it shares that list with video files as well, which negates any benefit you may have or want for playlist support.
My complaints regarding this player seem like they can be remedied with a firmware upgrade, and if Cowon gets around to fixing these issues, this could very well be the perfect PMP... however, until they do, these small nagging issues prevent it from being exactly what I was looking for. Buy Cowon O2 32 GB Video MP3 Player (White)!
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