My hunt for new multimedia device

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desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
Hey,

What I have right now:

1) Motorokr E6 (with 1Gb MicroSD)
2) ipod nano 1st gen (1Gb)

My motorokr really sucks when it comes to music playback and it doesn't have 3rd party apps.

my iPod nano is ready to die. Play >>| (select next) and |<< (select previous) buttons on the click wheel are not working, battery is not giving anything more than 2hr backup.

So, I thought of getting a new device. First I thought of 5800XM but when I tried couple of songs on this, I felt that it's pretty useless to burn 19k on this phone. Even on MDR-EX32LP, which gives very clear audio on my motorokr, 5800XM is giving out too much amount of bass. I turned of the equalizer, tried with every equalizer setting and still. Too much bass is something that I never like. I like to hear to each and every tune/sound made by every music instrument used in the recording.

Then I went to apple store to see how the ipod touch is. And damn, I really liked gaming and the audio quality was also very much impoved.

YES. The audio quality of new gen ipods has increased a lot and they are again worthy buys



Since I have been using Motorokr, I am determined to go only for touch screen based PMP's.

Now, I had to select between Cowon D2 and ipod Touch.

Since, I don't play games and I don't watch that much of videos, I am thinking of going for Cowon D2.
Pay some 7k-8k for 4Gig D2 and then buy 8Gig memory card for another 2k. That means that I get 12Gig of space on the player.

On the other hand, I play lot of games and I do have liked the ipod touch.

I have two days to make a decision and right now, I am inclined towards Cowon D2(thanks to its superior audio capabilities and breathtaking battery life of 52hr music and 10hr video). Once I get hold of one player, I will put up a full review here.

:)
 

gxsaurav

You gave been GXified
Go for Cowen D2. I saw the specs, it syncs directly with Windows Media Player so you can be rest assured that all your audio will automatically convert to WMA & Videos to WMV while syncing.
 

gxsaurav

You gave been GXified
Nah...better let a Multimedia device do a multimedia device's work. If it is a small computer he wants on the move then better buy a good smartphone like HTC Touch pro.
 
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desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
I'd suggest iTouch. Doubles up as a computer on the move!

I want music player on the move, not a computer.

Just kidding.

Yes. ipod touch is a great buy but there are few things in Cowon D2 that are dragging me towards it.

like these:

1) battery life
2) no need for any s/w to copy songs (though videos need conversion). Drag-and-drop.
3) most importantly, memory expansion (integrates into players playlist unlike that on zen)

ipod touch too has it's advantages like second-to-none UI, gaming capabilities and large screen.

Anyways, I will be going out today to test one more player, Samsun P2.

Here is a little bit of detail about the player:

Memory Capacity 2GB / 4GB / 8GB

Display Type: 3" touch screenTFT LCD WQVGA (480 x 272)

Bluetooth 2.0 enabled and can connect upto 2 headsets. This player can bind to your phone and act as bluetooth headset (included earphone has mic) and hence you need not switch between phone and player when you get a call.

FM Radio with recording

Battery: 35 hours audio and 5hrs video

size: 52.0 x 100.0 x 9.9mm

Weight for Unit 85.0g

File Format Supported MP3, WMA, OGG(UMS only), JPEG, SVI, WMV, TXT

Video:

SVI (Video: MPEG4, Audio: MP3 (44.1kHz 16bit Stereo, 128kbps), Resolution: 480x272, Frame Rate: 30fps)

WMV9 (Video: WMV9 Simple Profile, Audio: WMA9 (Max 860kbps), Resolution: 320x240 or 480x272, Frame Rate: 30fps)

Review: *www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2007/11/samsung-yp-p2-review.php

Nah...better let a Multimedia device do a multimedia device's work. If it is a small computer he wants on the move then better buy a good smartphone like HTC Touch pro.

Ejjactly. For this purpose, I have my motorokr which does most of the things except multimedia.

Go for Cowen D2. I saw the specs, it syncs directly with Windows Media Player so you can be rest assured that all your audio will automatically convert to WMA & Videos to WMV while syncing.

yeap. Also,I think I can do drag-and-drop files to this player. For covertion of videos, this player comes with a s/w that converts the video to Xvid and to fit perfectly to player's display.

Finally I got Cowon D2
 
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gxsaurav

You gave been GXified
After looking at the specs of the Samsung device, I would have opted for it instead cos it has 3" screen & supports bluetooth headphones. But since U don't need video, cowon D2 is good enough.

What was the cost of Samsung P2? It also supports MTP so WMP 11 will auto sync.
 
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desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
8Gb P2 costs 11k. But instead of buying P2 for 11k, it's better to get Cowon S9 curve for 2k more.

Moreover, after seriously checking specs, I felt that it doens't have anything specific to rival ipod touch that costs 1k more and the only extras in P2 are bluetooth and radio. there is no voice recording, no memory expansion, no FM recording, not the best in audio quality.

And even ipod touch and cowon S9 couldn't match the audio quality D2 and so I went for D2.

And S9 is superior to ipod touch when it comes to audio/video playback and customizations.

Review on P2's Sound Quality:

The P2’s sound quality is very good and will work well with higher end IEMs and headphones. Sound quality will impress the majority, but for those who are listening to their P2 in quiet listening environments with an ultra high-end setup, I will go into a bit more detail. Being overly critical on sound quality, I find the mid bass is lacking clarity, running into the lower end bass. The highs tend to be very bright, stating this not as a good or bad aspect, but more of a personal preference of sonic characteristics. Again, that was for the audio snobs, the rest of you will be very happy with the P2’s sound quality.

I was almost tempted to go for S9 curve but then since you know audio quality was on priority, I went for D2.

Finally here is what I think:

1) Good media player for a budget of 5k: Creative Zen 4Gb
2) Good media player (priority being audio) inside 10k: Cowon D2/Sony NWZ-A728/B
3) Good media player (priority being video) inside 10k: PSP
4) Good media player (priority being video) inside 15k and with gaming: ipod touch
5) Good media player (priority being video) inside 15k and that can play most of audio/video formats: Cowon S9 curve
6) Good media player inside 20k: Cowon A3/ Archos 5


I am trying to write a review of my player and once you see the amount of audio customization that I can do on D2, You will accept that buying this one is better than Samsung P2 (and sacrificing on screen size is good for this) :)
 

k4ce

Youngling
see it depends on what u do most ... if ur quest is for better audio , go for the cowon ... no doubt ... cheaper , better ....

but ipod touch has many more capabalities like W-lan , support for 3rd party apps and games ... but the more u use any of these features , the lesser battery u will have for audio playback .... so think bout it ...

if i were u , i wud stick to the cowon D2 ... cos once the novelty factor of the ipod touch wears off , u'd be really pissed wid its not so impressive battery backup ...
 

krazzy

Techtree Reviewer
I have used both the Cowon D2 and the S9 and both sound the same. You should've gone for the latter instead.
 
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desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
ah okay. I couldn't get a chance to test the audio quality of Cowon S9 as it was a new entry and the store didn't have a demo piece. But it sure is one hell of a player.

Highly recommended!!!

But anyways, saved some 4.5k :)

and btw,

Cowon S9 4Gb: 12k
Cowon S9 16Gb: 16k
 
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krazzy

Techtree Reviewer
I had the S9 with me for a few days and it is totally awesome. However despite having a capacitive touchscreen the sensitivity isn't as good as the iPod Touch.

It is the one on the extreme right. :D

*img113.imageshack.us/img113/431/dsc01130ip5.jpg
*img113.imageshack.us/img113/dsc01130ip5.jpg/1/w600.png
 
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gxsaurav

You gave been GXified
The more u see, the more confused U get. What is the point of having so many features in a device which is supposed to only play video & audio? Do u really need a browser in PMP???

Cowen S9 with 16 GB for 16K is a good deal I would say. Enough space & good screen size.

Is there some phone with 3" touchscreen & Symbian/Windows Mobile along with good camera, catered for multimedia use other then Nokia 5800XM
 

gxsaurav

You gave been GXified
The HTC Touch HD is indeed a be all end all phone specification wise & the Touch Flo 3D UI is also really easy to use. How much does it costs & how is the 5 MP Camera is has? Is it better then Nokia N79 or N82 or at least similar in quality.

I searched on Naaptol.com. HTC Touch HD costs approx Rs 54k & Touch Diamond Rs 25k. That is insane price for a phone. In 54K I would rather prefer to buy a Dell XPS with bigger screen then a mobile phone.

I remembar, when K750i came I bought it for Rs 10.5k 6 months after releasing & it was the flagship camera phone at that time. Today the falgship camera phone costs Rs 30k approx....to hell with the high cost :mad:.
 
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desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
The more u see, the more confused U get. What is the point of having so many features in a device which is supposed to only play video & audio? Do u really need a browser in PMP???

Cowen S9 with 16 GB for 16K is a good deal I would say. Enough space & good screen size.

Is there some phone with 3" touchscreen & Symbian/Windows Mobile along with good camera, catered for multimedia use other then Nokia 5800XM

Not sure.

Seriously, I felt that 5800XM is a great phone and a worthy buy till the minute I tried it. My colleague bought this phone and music on this phone is not so great. I felt that music fom Samsung i450 (priced at 12k) is much balanced and clean than that from 5800XM. And the touch too is not that great. Not a worthy buy for 20k. I would pay around 12k for this phone!!!

The HTC Touch HD is indeed a be all end all phone specification wise & the Touch Flo 3D UI is also really easy to use. How much does it costs & how is the 5 MP Camera is has? Is it better then Nokia N79 or N82 or at least similar in quality.

I searched on Naaptol.com. HTC Touch HD costs approx Rs 54k & Touch Diamond Rs 25k. That is insane price for a phone. In 54K I would rather prefer to buy a Dell XPS with bigger screen then a mobile phone.

I remembar, when K750i came I bought it for Rs 10.5k 6 months after releasing & it was the flagship camera phone at that time. Today the falgship camera phone costs Rs 30k approx....to hell with the high cost :mad:.

Say thanks to Nokia(N-series) and Apple (iphone) for creating the trend of insanely pricing the flagship models.

At one point, spending 10k for a phone seemed idocracy and now you will find 10k-15k phones everywhere and spending 30k for a phone doens't seem to be a big thing.

My friend is thinking of buying Blackberry phone (in India) for 30k and he doesn't even know what email push is and what actually Blackberry means. He just want to buy if because it's Blackberry. And if you think he is rich, no, i he buys BB phone, he will be left with few hundred bucks for whole month.
 
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gxsaurav

You gave been GXified
At one point, spending 10k for a phone seemed idocracy and now you will find 10k-15k phones everywhere and spending 30k for a phone doens't seem to be a big thing.

All thanks to the release of iPhone at 31k. :D. Seriously, if I have to spend 30k for a mobile phone then I would rather like to buy a Netbook instead.

I paid 19k for my N79 & already I am feeling why I bought something this costly. But then again, the plethora of features & Symbian OS has spoiled me & I now use it like a small PC :D.

HTC should decrease the price of Touch diamond to 15k & do some aggressive marketing. They will clearly be dominating the market with a powerful phone having 2.8" touchscreen & Windows Mobile with such a sleek UI. Touch screen phones are all the rage these days & Touch Diamond has a seriously balanced hardware & software to bo sold in mass quantity at 15k. Infact, if it has a 5 MP camera at 20k, I would have purchased it

My friend is thinking of buying Blackberry phone (in India) for 30k and he doesn't even know what email push is and what actually Blackberry means. He just want to buy if because it's Blackberry. And if you think he is rich, no, i he buys BB phone, he will be left with few hundred bucks for whole month.

Lolz....help him, put some brain in him & tell him (read:lie) that blackbarry's multimedia capability are pretty low.
 
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desiibond

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
Lolz....help him, put some brain in him & tell him (read:lie) that blackbarry's multimedia capability are pretty low.

I tried a lot to put some sense into this mind. Recently, He wanted to buy mp3 player. Told him to try zen stone but instead he went to apple store and bought ipod shuffle (and is really struggling to use it) :)

Tried to explain that if he wants a phone for office use, E71 is the best bet for him or else he can even get HTC touch if he wants touch screen but still he thinks BB and iphone are the best in the market and when my other colleague bought 5800XM, which IMHO is much much superior to iphone, he said that it's like iphone. :)

I now know why Apple is making so much money these days :)

All thanks to the release of iPhone at 31k. :D. Seriously, if I have to spend 30k for a mobile phone then I would rather like to buy a Netbook instead.

hehe :)

I paid 19k for my N79 & already I am feeling why I bought something this costly. But then again, the plethora of features & Symbian OS has spoiled me & I now use it like a small PC :D.

Any product is worth for the money if the product is priced properly and is utilized to it's full extent. 19k may be heavy but it's price will never fall beyond 14k. Right?
HTC should decrease the price of Touch diamond to 15k & do some aggressive marketing. They will clearly be dominating the market with a powerful phone having 2.8" touchscreen & Windows Mobile with such a sleek UI. Touch screen phones are all the rage these days & Touch Diamond has a seriously balanced hardware & software to bo sold in mass quantity at 15k. Infact, if it has a 5 MP camera at 20k, I would have purchased it

Agree!!

BTW, I said bye bye to iTunes finally, but am really really struggling to get used to Jet Audio :(

Samsung Omnia, HTC Touch HD.

These two are really amazing devices :)
 
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