Crave

The latest firmware for the Cowon S9 offers a more flexible and unique touch-screen user interface.

(Credit: Cowon America)

Cowon is throwing some extra heat behind the S9 touch-screen portable media player it launched in January. The company recently rolled out a 32GB version of the S9, complementing the existing 8GB and 16GB models. The new 32GB model will set you back $299 ($100 less than the 32GB iPod Touch), and is available directly from Cowon or from Amazon.

Existing Cowon S9 owners also get a treat in the form of new firmware. Version 2.30 of the Cowon S9 firmware brings many little tweaks to the user interface, a new notepad utility, improved video playback for high-resolution videos, and a few bug fixes. You can get your hands on the new firmware from Cowon's support page.

Cowon S9 photos

The Cowon S9 is one of the first touch-screen MP3 players to use OLED screen technology.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

The Cowon S9 is a gorgeous-looking touch-screen MP3 player that had the unfortunate fate of appearing on my desk right before the end of 2008--a time when all I could think about was egg nog, Macworld, and CES. It took some time to recover from it all (especially the nog), but the tide of touch-screen MP3 players waits for no man, and my review of the S9 was overdue.

So here's the good news: the Cowon S9 sounds fantastic, and its 3.3-inch OLED display is so pretty I thought my eyes would melt. The bad news? Well, yeah, there's some bad news too, but I want to break it to you gently. Head over to CNET Reviews for my full report on the Cowon S9.

For another, more enthusiastic take on the Cowon S9, my U.K. colleague Nate Lanxon recently posted his review, as well.

Cowon S9 photos

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.

The Cowon S9 portable media player.

(Credit: Cowon)

Despite rumors of shipping delays, Cowon America has announced that its S9 touch-screen media player will arrive in the U.S. before the year is out. If all goes as planned, The S9 will be available to order by December 19 from Jetmall for $199 (8GB) or $239 (16GB).

Designed to compete against Apple's iPod Touch and Samsung's YP-P2, the Cowon S9 includes a 3.3-inch touch-screen display, Bluetooth audio streaming, BBE+ sound-enhancement effects, FM radio, Flash player, and an above-average assortment of audio and video format support (MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, WAV, APE, AVI, WMV, and XVID).

With luck, we will have a full review to offer by the end of the week. Until then, you can see last week's video of the Cowon S9 in action.

I wasn't blown away by the photos that surfaced earlier this week of the upcoming Cowon S9 media player's touch-screen interface. Today, we've got a video of the S9 interface in action, showing off an encouraging amount of system responsiveness and graphic user-interface sophistication.

Despite the S9's advantages of Bluetooth, advanced EQ, and all-around impressive codec support, I still feel that the S9's similarity to the iPod Touch comes off more like a flattering imitation than an exciting alternative.

That said, people have fallen in love with products like the Samsung P2, which has a touch-screen interface I still find a little clunky. If this video is any indication, the folks at Cowon have done well to value the responsiveness of the S9's touch screen. This is also the first time I've ever seen Cowon sweat the small details of their GUI, bringing animated screen transitions into play and having a little fun with the way the main menu icons drop into place.

Is it just me, or does the user interface on Cowon's S9 media player look a little familiar?

(Credit: CNET Asia)

I don't want to spoil it, but I'd be lying if I said the S9's GUI doesn't come across as a poor imitation of the Apple iPod Touch. I know that iPhone and iPod Touch comparisons get thrown around a lot these days, but really, this thing makes the Meizu M8 look original.

Like any Cowon device, the S9's file support and sound quality are probably fantastic, but if it walks and talks like a knock-off, no amount of FLAC compatibility will make you feel better about flashing this thing around.

If the rumors are right, it may be awhile before this Touch contender makes its way stateside. There's still no word on official U.S. pricing, but a Korean press release puts the 4GB S9 at 219,000 won ($150), 8GB for 259,000 won ($178), and 16GB for 309,000 won ($212). Unless you're spending December in Korea, don't expect to see the S9 until 2009.

More photos of the S9 are available on Cowon's S9 product page.

The Cowon S9 touch-screen portable media player has not yet been officially announced for the U.S. Bummer.

(Credit: Cowon)

Cowon is teasing three new portable video players for the upcoming 2008 IFA showcase in Berlin. Along with the Cowon P5 unveiled last month, the newly announced S9, O2, and L3 make up a formidable new product lineup of touch-screen beauties--none of which have been officially announced for the U.S.

The prettiest of the bunch, the Cowon S9, includes a 3.3-inch OLED touch screen (480x272 resolution), music and video playback, photos, Bluetooth, composite video output, FM radio, voice recorder, and a built-in accelerometer that will rotate the screen depending on how it's held.

The backbone of the S9 is a 500MHz dual-core processor and a rechargeable battery capable of 40 hours of continuous audio playback. No word yet on price or memory capacity.

The Cowon O2 looks like an A3 without the infuriating joystick.

(Credit: Cowon)

Next up is the Cowon O2, a portable video player with a gargantuan amount of video and audio format support. The O2 is being offered in white, pink, and black, with either 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB capacities, which can be expanded using SD memory cards. The O2's 4.3-inch touch screen can be used for video, photo, and music playback, and extras such as a built-in speaker and TV output are also included. Cowon also lists a "recording" feature on the O2, which could mean video, line-in, or voice recording (or all three).

Given that Cowon saw fit to load the O2 with so much video codec support (Divx, Xvid, MPEG-4, WMV, H.264, MPEG11, MJPEG), and the O2's side panel looks remarkably like the video input panel on the Cowon A3, I'm betting we'll see similar AV recording capabilities included on the O2.

Finally, the biggest beast of the bunch, the Cowon L3 is a 7-inch touch-screen PVP (800x480 resolution) that continues Cowon's encroachment into the realm of GPS.

The Cowon L3 includes a built-in mounting bracket on its back.

(Credit: Cowon)

A SIRF III GPS antenna seems to be built in to the tablet-size Cowon L3, along with an internal speaker, FM transmitter, SD card slot, an IR sensor for the included remote control, and a metal latch plate presumably for mounting the device in your car.

The L3 relies on Flash memory, although there's no official word on how much memory Cowon has crammed in there, how much the device will cost, or if it will even make it to the states.