Hands on with the Cowon S9

Click to see the Cowon S9 photo gallery.

(Credit: Nate Lanxon/CNET U.K.)

Cowon S9 photos

(Update: CNET's full review of the Cowon S9 is now available.)

Cowon's S9 touch-screen MP3 player has arrived, bringing the expected music, video, and photo playback, and extras such as FM radio, Bluetooth, voice/radio/line recording, a Flash player, and a text reader. So far, I'd say the S9's design is spot-on, with a slight curved back and a bright 16:9-formatted OLED screen set at a 480x272-pixel resolution. The user interface is also quite impressive, combined with Cowon's choice of a capacitive touch screen, the onscreen control is about as attractive and responsive as you can get without investing in an iPod Touch.

The Cowon S9 comes in 8GB and 16GB capacities priced at $199 and $239, respectively. The cost could be worth it if you're a real stickler for sound quality, as the S9 is Cowon's first player to include the suite of BBE+ sound enhancements. The BBE+ suite improves on the already impressive BBE effects included in CNET faves like the D2 and iAudio 7, adding more than 30 presets in addition to a five-band EQ with independent bandwidth control.

Now for the bad news. The first drawback I've noticed on the Cowon S9 is that it just feels kind of cheap--which is a complaint I rarely have with Cowon. Unlike the glass and steel design of the iPod Touch, the S9 uses an all-plastic design that--though lightweight--has a hollow and flimsy feel. Even the all-plastic Samsung P2 feels a little more durable and substantial.

Another aspect to the S9 I'm not crazy about is the identical-looking volume and track skip rocker switches at the top edge of the player. I'm sure I'll eventually remember which one does what, but so far I've mixed them up more often than I've got them right.

The other end of the S9 has some issues too. On the bottom, you've got a nonstandard USB plug (one of the first times I've seen this on a Cowon product), and a headphone jack set smack in the middle. I leveled the same complaints against the Archos 5, whose use of proprietary USB jacks is expected at this point, but the placement of the headphone jack right where you naturally want to hold the player for watching videos is a pet peeve of mine.

Overall, my first impressions is that the S9 sounds fantastic, has terrific onscreen navigation, and offers a beautiful, crisp 3.3-inch display. At $200, however, you're going to have to really like all the little extras offered by the S9 (file formats, Bluetooth, FM radio, EQ) to look past its mediocre construction quality and choose it over the Wi-Fi-enabled, App Store-wielding iPod Touch.

I'll be keeping the S9 with me over the holiday break to give it some time to grow on me. I'll post a full review of the S9 after the upcoming CES madness has died down. In the meantime, you can read Nate Lanxon's first impressions over at CNET U.K. and check out our Cowon S9 photo gallery.

If you have any burning questions you want answered or comparisons you want made, let me know in the comments section and I'll try to reply over the next few weeks.

[tipoo_]

pretty.

[Striker007]

Just because the S9 has touch and is black doesn't mean it's a competitor to the touch. It's more in the range of the nano (and it beats it in every way possible). The S9 is meant for music and the iTouch is meant to do everything, but none of them actually good.

The touch walkman is gonna be the Touch competitor and based on history, quality wise it's one in the bag for Sony.

[dude7895]

Spot on comment

[zip22]

just because it doesn't have wifi doesn't mean the S9 competes with the nano. The 3.3 inch touch screen put this right in the range of the iPod touch.

[manuel_v_v]

I think think they are planning on competing with the nano bc price wise they are not league. But then again its kinda in between the nano and the touch ( as far as price ) for $200 you can the 16g nano, and for $229 the 8g Touch. The S9 is $200 for 8g.

So what you opt for will be based on how much your willing to spend and ultimately what you want. I would personally would have to agree with Donald on this one, for an extra 30 bucks I would definatly go with the touch.

Matter of personal choice tho because both products are rather close in price and form factor

[manuel_v_v]

Two typos up there first line should go " i think they ARENT planning on competing with the nano bc price wise they are not IN THE SAME league"

[MadLyb]

Was looking forward to this one, but sounds like the didn't quite pull it together.

Why do manufacturers continue to use non-standard connectors? Some arrogant engineer who thinks he can do better? So, exec trying to save a few bucks? It is a brain dead move and keeps me away from many juicy gadgets.

Oh well.

[Biggnaa20]

A standard 4 pin adapter can only be made to do so much. As you start to demand more from your device manufacturers will need to put in devices with non standard (hopefully more capable) connectors. The Archos players are a good example where the capabilities outshine the abilities of a standard adapter. I can't say whether the S9 falls into that category as well...but i have passed on plenty of nice tech too because of the adapter/charger.

I STILL think that manufactured should include a standard port for charging and simple syncing...with additional pins colocated if needs be.

[Zrynn]

The S9 doesn't use a non-standard connector. It's actually a standard in Korea where Cowon is based. That does add a slight bit of hassle to us in other markets but still, you can order replacement or extra cables for this only for cheap so it's not a huge deal.

I think the main differences between the iTouch and the S9 are wifi/ease of use vs sound and video quality/customization. The iTouch is simple and well simple where as the S9 has a bigger learning curve but is very customizable if you take the time.

If your looking for a dedicated music/video player with perhaps less extras (But all free) than you want an S9. If you prefer to sacrifice some quality for a wider range of uses (including wifi) than the iTouch is more for you.

Anyway, there are my 2 pennies.

[4dthinker]

With TV out and stereo line-in, as well as the thin ends (thanks to the curve) the large thin proprietary connector makes sense to me. Just don't lose that cable. Bluetooth is limited to headphones. Plastic body worries me. I hope they've put a scratch resistant coating on it.

[runesje]

http://video.naver.com/2008121910055855573
Well, the screens seems good to me...

[myles taylor]

I've been waiting for any kind of competitor to the Touch for awhile. I love my Touch to death and I wouldn't want anything else, but competition breeds innovation. Looks nice, but needs to step it up a little bit. Hope to see more competitors to the Touch soon.

[koincidence]

Well.. I have to say, the iPod is made to market itself and is made so. To be visually appealing from first sight. I owned ipods in various forms before, and had several lay down and die.. poor battery life and weak sound.

This is a music player, and should be viewed as such. Once I put it in my pocket, I don't need it to be heavy, while I want to hear the music in the best way possible.

Cowon make some of the best sounding MP3 players on the market... and probably the best. And after all it is sound I want. I will buy one of these simply because I care about the way my music sounds and not how I am perceived using a product.

People are compromising the quality of their music over the cool factor of a product. Isn't that a bit weird?

[7dee]

Spot on.

I've owned many MP3 players in the past (not just that, a lot of Walkmans, CD players, MP3 CD players, minidisc, etc). Perhaps I am old fashioned (yes I understand the current industry of everything-in-a-box) but I buy an MP3 player for music. Sure, I watch an occasional movie, but that does not even come close to the 4+ hours a day I listen to music. So to me music is by far the most important aspect of any multimedia device I buy, especially a dedicated MP3 player. I have my phone for all the rest. Heck, if I wanted everything in a box not caring too much about specific qualities I would stick to my phone, buy an IPod Touch (which is a great device in that regard), etc.

The reason I even consider an MP3 player is because of the amazing sound Cowon (and some other, Sony, IRiver) devices produce. What's the use of having 3 devices that can do everything, but are also quite mediocre at everything.

Though, I have to say that the way a device feels, is important to me. Consider it sort of a confirmation of the quality. Then again, there is no way I could ever doubt Cowon's quality. The D2 was all plastic as well and it's a brick. Also visually, which kind of brings me to this:

Cowon used to make product that just had a lot of features and sounded absolutely fantastic. However, they almost always looked as basic as possible. I still bought them with pleasure for reasons described above, yet I always wondered why they would not match Apple's looks and interface, combining it with Cowon's hardware?

Well they just did. It looks amazing and sounds amazing, so I am more than happy. I have rarely seen a company this size make such a huge step up in what they produce, and I am sure this will help them appeal to a much broader audience. This is just the first step, I can't wait to see where Cowon is taking this.

[darno grim ccb]

Don't worry about build quality, although the device is light, the plastic is very high quality. The buttons are solid and smooth, the screen is scratch resistant. The sides are reinforced with metal on the inside, and there are no creeks, in fact I put the build quality at the very top of daps. If you get one in your hands you will see, light weight doesn't mean cheap. Don't know what Don is smoking.

[darno grim ccb]

creaks, lol

[7dee]

That's good to know. How does the screen feel? Is it glass? Plastic? Do the sides actually feel like metal, as in strong and cold?

Not a direct comment on build quality, but I can understand why Donald would look at any PMP from a marketing perspective as well. Or in other words: "How would most people be happy with it"? In that respect, the ITouch scores a lot of points since most people regard looks and amount of features to be the most important, and the easiest to compare devices with, regardless of the quality of the individual features. Cowon has always gained support from a smaller group of people who'd settle for nothing less than a perfect sounding player, an MP3 player as it should be, if you would. The S9 is different in that respect as apart from usual Cowon qualities, it features almost everything that is cool to have in a PMP, very good choice of hardware and certainly a huge boost in the looks/UI department.

[trkwkr179]

This player is actually meant to compete w/the Korean DAP/PMP market, not the ipod touch. The P2/3 & the upcoming Sony touch possibly. The ipod lineup is really a moot issue, very played, and really has no bearing on the success or failure of this product. Look at it for what it is, a great looking, sounding, and very versatile media player.

[tungstenmustang]

I bought my first iPod, a 16GB iPod Touch 2G about two months ago. I didn't buy it to look popular, although most people like to assume that about people who buy one(or buy an iPhone). I'm sure some do but I bought one because I liked it.

It looks nice. It has excellent audio quality and plays video just fine and the App Store is wonderful. So many games and unique apps.

The Cowon S9 is nice but it in no way competes with the iPod Touch.

[pitchblak7]

hahaha tungstenmustang please dont say things like that. Ok, i have used the i Pod touch hundreds of times, the audio quality is not "excellent" it is mediocre at best. The screen is dull and just doesn't compare to the S9's screen at all. The S9 is the best in its class at what it does, play movies, and listen to music, in those departments the "App Store wielding" i pod touch doesn't compare. and seriously, 95% of the stuff in the app store is useless garbage that i would never even bother with. Besides an extremely limited palette of about three good games that cost ten dollars each and SOME useful applications, the stuff in the app-store is gimmicky and low quality. If i want internet, ill use my phone so i don't need to pull up to McDonalds to use it...

[rramsdell]

Linux/ MAC and Windows systems will brick this device simply be copying files. It is amazing that Cowon, although WELL aware of the issue, will now do a single thing about the problem. Can anyone even reach Cowon other than chat where it is the same guy every time I start the support Chat. This is the second s9 I have had and both bricked.

Read and enjoy.

http://www.cowonaerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23964
http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=29420
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44884

[jazzyjason90]

OK first off to those of you about to throw the idea of getting an s9 out the window stop. I bought this player right when the s9 was in the middle of beta firmware updates and now am proud to say we are at 2.41. This update fixed alot of crucial complaints with the player including the interface. Secondly, you will not find a player similar to listening experience or quality from Apple or Microsoft. I took the plunge and got the 32 gig titanium player and have NEVER been happier. Now to address the areas of the player I'm sure you all want to know about from an actual s9 owner. Build/construction: The player is light yes, but to me does not feel cheap especially since I have the leather case from Cowon that protects the player well. The Zune HD feels no more as heavy than the s9 to me and it's construction is sturdy. With Gorilla Glass, the players screen is way more sturdy than most PMP screens. Interface: Ok this is the biggest grips with the s9 especially with older reviews and I agree. Many s9 owners griped about the s9's issues and I'm happy to say the interface has gotten a major improvement with 2.41. Were hoping that with the next release, the interface will be even more intuitive. Sound: Without a question the sound is the BEST out of any player period. Cowon has been famous for their quality of sound and there's no denying it, the sound is pure bliss. With the supports of WAV, FLAC, OGG, and now Gapless playback with 2.41 any Audiophile will be thoroughly pleased with this player. With over 40 EQ's including 5 EQ levels with BBE+ and 4 custom presets you can save really makes the s9 shine. Video: Ok again this screen is NOT OLED but AMOLED. Which blows the touch's screen out of the water. Honestly everyone, the screen must be seen to be believed. Watching full length films is a treat, and is stunning along with pictures. Battery Life. This is oddly not mentioned because well really any fanboy wouldn't post this lol. 55 hours of audio 11 hours of video. Need I say more? Overall: The s9 is not without it's quirks. The picture viewer is in need of improvement. Interface needs tweaking. But the awesome thing is Cowon is listening to the user base and fixing these issues, making a stronger player with ever release such feature being gapless. The one thing that makes this device really shine though is its open source UI building in flash. Unlike a Itouch or a Zune which is "locked" or needs to be hacked to change it's UI or have it rockboxed the Cowon's is open source. Which mean that many owners have made stunning UI's that truly make your s9 yours! Anything from Music UI's, to Full on Interface changes the S9's customization is unlimited. You can even put the Touch's or Zune HD's UI on your s9!!! Go to iaudiophile.net just to see how many UI's have been made including DNW's famous Aero Ultimate G1 which gives you a set of icons and widgets that you can snap into grid anywhere on your s9 including 4 desktops which you have access to. Youtube Aero Ultimate 4.50 to see. Trust me everyone this player beats out the competition on quality. It may not have a flashy interface such as the touch's or the Zune's as far as tactile but it's getting there fast with firmware updates. Get this player, trust me you will quickly fall in love with it.