Rating: Summary: Maybe 5-star...but not until it works Review: I purchased this product because of its across the board 5-star rating. "Great" I said. "Just what a guy not completely tech savy needs" I said. Just installed and tried to use. I can't seem to pull tracks from a cd onto the system. Even following the directions..it doesn't work. Transfering cd recordings to mp3's doesn't work. There's obviously another step, but not according to the instructions. Now the real problem. There's no one to talk to. JetAudio lists a toll free number on their user's manual..but it seems to be a fax line. I have sent e-mails to JetAudio and Cowon (the parent company in Korea)...no response. If I wanted something that didn't work I would have gone with a 1-star item. Follow-up: It seems the company had been overrun with holiday orders coupled with shorthanded holiday staff. A downloading patch and a clarification of instructions are here. All problems have been resolved. Good product.
Rating: Summary: Could be better... Review: I just received the 256mb version of the iAudio CW200. I had been anxiously waiting for this MP3 player for several days and eagerly ripped open the box when I did receive it. I am sure those of you who are reading these reviews have already heard about the good points (large memory, sound quality, size, sleep mode, EQ settings, etc.) so I will delve into the other (mainly negative) issues that were not discussed which I feel are worth mentioning about such an expensive product. The first thing that caught my attention was how small and light the product was. Even with the battery, the player was very light and portable and fit easily in my hand. Now, get ready for some bad news, iAudio. The second thing that caught my attention was the build on the CW200. I noticed that two edges of the player had small dents, not a big deal, but when I drop $...on a product, I expect it to be flawless in every way. The player didn't seem to be used, but rather it was just a minor flaw in regards to the workmanship. Another aspect of this player that I did not like was the display. The LCD shown on the website "www.....com" shows a bright blue background with dark font that contrasts well with the backlight, making for easy display reading. What I got instead was a darker bluish tint with dark lettering, which made the display rather hard to read. I expected more contrast between the letters and the backlight. One thing I did like about the CW200 was that it showed the filename of the MP3 played, instead of just the title and track ID tag. I liked this because I like to rename my music files and don't really bother with changing each and every ID tag. The case was also nice, fit snugly and provided good protection, although they could've chosen a better color (like black) instead of white. The software that you use to transfer files, JetShell is useful and relatively easy to use. It allows you to change the ID tags as well as convert the MP3's to a different bitrate. What I would have liked is the ability to convert the bitrate on the fly while the files were being downloaded to the player, and the ability to convert multiple files at once, instead of just one at a time. The CW200 also has only 6mw power output, which is OK for such a small player, but other MP3 players, such as the iRiver-IFP series "www.....com/" have higher outputs (10mw) per channel, which provides more power for larger headphones or high-end earphones. The CW200 does have a better signal-to-noise ratio (95db) which provides excellent quality of music. Which leads to the earphones, which could have been better, such as the one iRiver provides, the Sennheiser MX300 earphones, which are fairly decent. The jog dials are relatively easy to use, you dial them either up or down, or press them in to access the menu and select items. It was the pressing in part that I did not like too much. Oftentimes it would not press in properly because if the dial is a little bit in the up or down position, it won't press in. Aside from these issues, the player is not bad, but for $...I was expecting more, a lot more. I am debating whether to return this product and just wait for better MP3 players to come out and for prices to drop. Maybe I am just a crazy audio enthusiast who's incredibly picky with his music, but at that price, thats who iAudio is really targeting with this product.
Rating: Summary: Very Good MP3 & FM works great as well Review: I've been searching for a MP3 for awhile now and read every review of every type of MP3 going. I settled on this for these main reasons: 1) Memory. The new unit has 256Mb which is good for about 5 CD's worth of music at 128 kps. If that's not enough for you, you best be looking at a jukebox player not a flash. 2) Belt clip. It seems like a lot of units don't come with a clip for a belt. Well this one comes with a case that fits perfect, easy to use, and it has a belt clip. 3) Small. Size does matter and as far as MP3's go, smaller is better. This one is very small and near weightless. 4) FM tuner. For the TVs at the gym that are setup on FM stations, this works great (nice a clear). Also, works well with normal FM radio stations (as long as the feed is within the same city). If these are your reasons for an MP3, you're not going to find any better. Some bonus things include: clear voice recording (uses about 14.5Mb/hr), FM recording works great!!, you can setup your MP3's in separate folders (great for playlists), easy to read display, bright backlight, easy to use buttons, case fits great, auto-off (configurable), Menu easy to use, and software easy to use. The only knock I have is that their is no plugin for MusicMatch yet, but that should come and if it doesn't, the JetShell software works good enough.
Rating: Summary: Awesome Player ! Review: Defintly buy this mp3 player it is awesome. I bought the 256mb model and it is so easy to use. The program JetShell is a simple drag and drop program and no converting copyriight .... The sound is excellent. 4 eq's and the user one is great to sutomize. Very lightweight. Excellent. There are no flaws that i have found.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic Product, A++!!! Review: The Cowon iAudio portable digital audio player is a fantastic device! Here is a summary of the various components. PHYSICAL UNIT: This is a very small (3 in. tall, 1 in. wide) and light (less than 2 oz. including the battery) unit. It has a LCD screen on the front which displays quite a bit of information, such as the name of the current song (which scrolls across the screen), the time remaining, battery life, memory usage, etc. This information is presented in a compact yet clear manner. The LCD had a back light feature that can be programmed to stay on for a set amount of time. The unit is highly customizable with an interface that is quickly learned. Battery life is about 9 hours on a singe AAA battery. Although this does not sound like much, remember, it is for a single battery. MP3 PLAYER: The 128 Mb model will hold about 40 MP3s (assuming an average size of 3 Mb). The sound quality is very good. The unit has four folders (albums) to organize your music. Songs can be played sequentially or at random, and you can choose from several pre-set equalizer settings, such as rock, classical, etc. I don't have a lot of experience with MP3 players, but I am more than satisfied with this one. VOICE RECORDING: I originally found this looking for a digital voice recorder. It does a GREAT job! For the 128 Mb model with no MP3s loaded, you get nearly 9 hours of clear recording time! The microphone picks up well and there is a level indicator so you know how strong the input signal is. There is a quick key combination that puts you directly into voice recorder mode, so if you are in the car and want to record a thought, you can do it without even taking your eyes off the road. There is one drawback for using this as a voice recorder -- there is no speaker, so you would either need the headphones or plug into an external speaker to hear playback. ANNOYANCES: I have only a few minor complaints about the iAudio. (1) The small plastic protective cover over the USB plug is hard to get off if you don't have long enough fingernails. (2) You can't connect the USB cable to the player while it is in its carrying case. (3) The ear phones are comfortable and sound nice, but they fit loosely in the ear, easily falling out if you are exercising. (4) The software does rip MP3s from CDs, but it is not the most user friendly interface I have used. While this may seem like a lot of annoyances, they are all relatively small, and don't diminish from the experience. Overall, this is a great product! I have used the MP3 Player and Voice Recorder extensively, and am completely pleased with my purchase.
Rating: Summary: This thing is just so cool Review: It's really tiny, light, battery friendly, looks cool, won't skip, and enhances life dramatically. Pros - it kicks booty Cons - without one you are only living to half your potential
Rating: Summary: awesome player Review: This is an excellent mp3 player -- the sound is incredible with a 95db SNR and a very customizable eq setting (bass,treble,dynamic bass,loudness, etc). The included earbuds are of avg. quality and does not do the sound quality justice - personally I'm using Sony's EX70s, the white imported kinds and looks great with the stylish white clip/case included with the player -- great for the gym by the way. I'm also getting very good FM reception with the radio function in NYC. The voice recorder I've only played with a little to test and its clear and sensitive, but I wouldn't know how well it would do in say a classroom lecture. The software is very easy to use and also allows you to convert WAVs/CD tracks to mp3 files easily. Highly recommended! If you're doing some comparing - the riosport series have a very unimpressive sound fidelity and terrible radio reception, the creative muvo sounds good but doesn't have FM radio, voice rec. EQ settings, or a display and the cw200 has all these things plus its practically the same size and the cw200 offers a 256MB model vs 128. The only other option I'd think about would be the iriver ifp series - but if you're an audiophile, compare these two and you'll know the cw200 sounds better (90 snr vs. 95 snr)
Rating: Summary: This is the one! Review: This is an incredible product and company! Absolutely the best portable MP3 player in its class. It is very small (smaller than a credit card) but has plenty of storage (choose 64, 128 or 256MB version when you buy). Also has a great FM radio, voice recorder, good sound quality and an excellent display & controls. The product is well made and comes with a case, belt clip, decent ear buds, cables & software. It's easy to drop the player into a shirt or pants pocket. The software is VERY easy to use -- just drag and drop MP3s or files from your CD (it will automatically convert them to MP3). Click a button and it will look up your CD song titles from an Internet database. If you're interested, it also has a utility program that will convert any animated GIF or image file into a logo you can download to the player. Your custom animated logo displays on the LCD when you turn the unit on. Very nice. When you download an MP3 file to the player, you can choose any Windows font and size for the song title display. I like the hand script fonts -- they make the display look friendly. The LCD has a blue backlight and you can adjust how long the backlight stays on after a button press. The MP3 player includes a full equalizer. Separate +/- control of bass, treble, loudness & dynamic bass. You can save your settings under a "User" selection, or choose from several preset equalizations (rock, classical, etc.). There are also lots of other options to allow you to customize how the player works (if you want to). Read the instructions to understand what the buttons do. Other than that, everything else about the player and the software is simple. The player has a lot of nice options to play with, but it's easy to use right out of the box if you're not a techie. Jet Audio customer service is unbelievably good. I placed my order at the busiest time (one week before Christmas) and they still shipped the same day. The players were ordered through Amazon.com from the "New & used" option -- that means Jet-Audio fills the order directly. When you place the order, there's no option to choose a shipping method and Amazon.com says it could take up to 21 days (yikes!). I placed the order & emailed Jet-Audio to see if they could ship faster. They replied immediately and said the product would ship that day -- I received it two days later (in California). I purchased three players and had a problem with one. I sent them an email and they handled the problem that same day. You just can't ask for better customer service. Great product, great company, great price ---
Rating: Summary: Best mp3 player available Review: I was looking into the sony and panasonic mp3 players before i came across this product. Its small, plays out music at great quality, comes with high preformance earphones, blue indglow lcd screen, long lasting battery life (only 1 AAA battery included), large amount of space for mp3s, no copyright problems (unlike the sony mp3 players), Clear FM radio reception, nice leather pouch with clip, and neckstrap also included. Once you get this package you are ready to go just slap in a battery, install the easy to use software, plug in the usb cable and you will have 128mb of songs in less than a minute. I highly recommend this product based on the size, style, simplicity, and cost. Many people say that the only negative is that the memory cant be expanded but I figured that with the sony mp3 players you have to buy a memory stick which run from 40 - 120 bucks. Purchase this product over any other mp3 players and you will be satisified. the software included to transfer music files is hassle free and takes you step by step if you have any problems, once i opened it up and connected everything i had 128 mb of music on it in less than 1 min. i had a sony mp3 player before and it took me a good 30 min to get my songs on.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic Product Review: Absolutely fantastic product. A joy to use, in every respect. Can easily be upgraded to 256. The 4 folder design lets you organize your songs very efficiently. Sound quality is outstanding: best of all the MP3 players I've looked at. Beautiful design, and software is a breeze to use. Beats the Rio Sport hands down. Truly a Next Generation player. Designed by a company in Korea!! Go JetAudio. Excellent for the gym and working out!
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