iAUDIO
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iAUDIO is a brand of portable digital audio player produced by Cowon.
Contents |
[edit] iAUDIO series
The iAudio range consists of players based on both flash memory and hard disk drives. Flash-based players are available with a capacity of up to 16GB. The hard disk drive based models currently have capacities up to 60GB. The iAUDIO 6 is the worlds first player to use Toshiba's new 4GB 0.85" hard disk
Cowon also releases players under their own brand name, such as the Cowon#Cowon A3.
[edit] Flash memory-based players
[edit] iAUDIO CW100 and CW100s
Cowon entered the digital audio player market in October 2000 with the introduction of their first MP3 player, the iAUDIO CW100. In March 2001 the iAUDIO CW100s was released, a revised model of the previous players.
[edit] iAUDIO CW200 and CW250
In December 2001 Cowon released the iAUDIO CW200. The CW200 has audio playback capabilities, an FM Radio and voice recording through a built-in microphone. There was also a revision of this player, the iAUDIO CW250.
[edit] iAUDIO CW300
In December 2002 Cowon released the iAUDIO CW300. This model was essentially iAUDIO CW200 but using AA batteries for power. Most reviewers also regard it as having a higher build quality.
[edit] iAUDIO 4
The iAUDIO 4 was introduced December 2003. It had most features that users of the CW200 and CW300 were missing. Upgrades from previous players come in the form of UMS standard, BBE sound processing effects, line in recording and a 124 colour backlight LED display. This player uses the STMP 3420 chipset by Sigmatel.
[edit] iAUDIO U2
The iAUDIO U2 was introduced in July 2004. It was also Cowon's first player to feature a navigational joystick instead of the 2 rockers found on most the previous releases.
The U2 uses the STMP 3520 chipset by Sigmatel. This is an upgraded version of the STMP3420 that can be found in the iAUDIO 4. Consequently the iAUDIO U2 has a similar feature set to the iAUDIO 4. New features are USB 2.0 compliancy and the possibility of playing back the open source audio format Vorbis. The U2 is also Cowon's first player to feature an internal clock. The iAUDIO U2 is powered by an integrated li-ion battery that allows a playing time of up to 20 hours. The battery can easily be recharged by connecting your player to a computer's USB port.
[edit] iAUDIO G3 and G2
The iAUDIO G3 was introduced November 2004. The internal hardware is very similar to that of the iAUDIO U2. Both players use the same Sigmatel chipset. The only difference between the two players is that the G3 is powered by an AA battery, allowing a playing time of up to 50 hours.
The iAUDIO G2 is a cheaper version of the G3 which was introduced spring 2005. It lacks some main features of the G3: no FM radio, the interface is only USB 1.1 (compared to USB 2.0 on the G3), and the playback time with a single AA battery is down to 40 hours.
iAudio G3 product page iAudio G2 product page
[edit] iAUDIO 5
The iAUDIO 5 was introduced December 2004. It is the successor to the popular iAUDIO 4 and is powered by the same Sigmatel chipset that are used in the iAUDIO U2 and G3. The iAUDIO 5 is relatively similar to the before mentioned players. What sets it apart from other players is the fact that it has 1000 different backlight colour combinations. It is powered by an AAA battery which allows for a maximum playback time of up to 20 hours.
[edit] iAUDIO F1
Introduced July 2005, the iAUDIO F1 can be described as an iAUDIO U2 with an interesting design, a colour OLED display, and higher power outpt (32 mW vs. 20 mW for the U2).
This player was and still is a favorite subject of ridicule for many iAUDIO fans. The player's design is supposed to represent that of a Formula 1 sports car, which some criticize for making the F1 look more like a toy rather than a serious piece of portable audio equipment.
It plays Vorbis, WMA, WAV, ASF and MP3 files and can tune to the radio, as well as record from the radio. It can also record directly from sources or record using a built in microphone.
It comes in 256MB/512MB/1GB of Flash Memory
[edit] iAUDIO U3
Introduced in October 2005, the iAUDIO U3 is the successor to the iAUDIO U2. The main difference between the two players is that the U3 features a color screen (260,000 colors, 160x128 resolution) which allows playback of MPEG4 videos encoded in XviD, as well as picture display. Like the iAUDIO X5, the U3 only plays video files at up to 15 frame/s with a resolution of 160x128. Most videos must therefore be converted to be played back on the U3 using the provided software from Cowon. The player can also display JPEG and TXT files. The support for audio files was also enhanced from previous models: the U3 is the world's first Flash-based player that is able to play FLAC files (but only from compression rate 0 to 2 with the initial Firmware v1.11. It now supports up to Q8 with V1.13). Another new feature is the U3's a powerful sound output of 30mW per channel (at 16 ohm, achieved by utilizing the new Telechip TCC770 audio chipset and Cirrus Logic CS42L51 Codec). Like the U2 the U3 has a built-in Lithium polymer cell for a playback time of up to 20 hours. As with all iAUDIO devices, there's no need for the use of software, since the U3 is a UMS device (though additional software is required to take advantage of some features, such as converting video to the right format to be played back on the player).
With the firmware version 1.20 Cowon added ID3 browsing and DRM capabilities to the U3. This makes the U3 the first iAUDIO player that allows the user to browse its contents by the contents of ID3 tags embedded in the files.
Features:
- 512MB / 1 GB / 2 GB / 4 GB Flash memory
- 260,000 color TFT LCD screen, with a resolution of 160x128
- Support for MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV, Vorbis, FLAC, and MPEG4 (video)files
- Support for recording in WMA format at 32K, 64K, 80K, 96K, and 128K
- USB 2.0 High Speed Connection
- FM radio
- Line in recording
- Voice recording via built-in microphone or an external microphone
- FM radio recording
[edit] iAUDIO T2
In August 2006 Cowon released the iAUDIO T2. The T2 is a necklace type audio player. Features a color screen, though it doesn't support videos or photo viewing. Other features include FM radio, voice recording and the Cowon's traditional wide codec support.
[edit] iAUDIO F2
In September 2006 Cowon released the iAUDIO F2. The F2, with a design similar to a mobile phone, is the successor to the F1, and very similar to the U3 in features. Now instead of the F1's OLED display, it features a color LCD display. Apart from FM radio, voice recording and line-in recording, it features also video playback, photo and text viewing.
[edit] iAUDIO 7
In June 2007 Cowon announced the iAudio 7, based on its precedesor iAudio 6 but within its innards of (4GB, 8GB, or 16GB) flash memory instead of a hard disk. Again, the OLED screen from the iAudio 6 model was replaced by a TFT with 260,000 colors. The device uses the proven swing-control and supports MP3, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, and ASF for audio files as well as Xvid for video media. However, the frame rate of video playback is not very high - only 15 frame/s.
It is worth noting that this player has no USB-Host (USB On-The-Go) capabilities as against iAudio 6.
iAudio 7 has some USB-Host (USB On-The-Go) capabilities. It can upload photos from many cameras. See Cowon website for list.( Ref the manual[1]).
[edit] iAUDIO U5
In August 2007 Cowon announced the iAudio U5 at IFA 2007. Designed more for entry level users, it has a new slim designed that is unlike any other iAudio product. It features Windows DRM10 support as well as mp3 and wav (OGG and FLAC supported with Korean firmware V2.13)[1]. Comes in 4GB and 8GB versions with a 1.8-inch (46 mm) LCD with 128x160 resolution and 65K colors. This player has no video playback support and only a 24hr continuous audio playback time.
[edit] HDD based players
[edit] iAUDIO M3
The iAUDIO M3 was introduced March 2004. The player is Cowon's first DAP with an integrated 1.8-inch (46 mm) hard drive. When the M3 was released there was a lot of controversy about it, because the actual unit has no display. All but a few basic functions have to be controlled via the remote control. Many people loved the concept, other people were not so fond of it.
The iAUDIO M3 was the slimmest player at the time of its release.[citation needed] The iAUDIO M3 comes in several different models. A basic 20GB version, a 40GB version and a 20GB "L" (longplay) version featuring a 35 hour battery life.
Cowon improved the player's functionality by adding support for the audio codec FLAC in the 1.30 firmware release.
When the iAUDIO M3 was first released outside of Korea, there was a quality issue with the player's remote control. There was a widespread "fading" issue, in which the text of the remote slowly disappeared. This issue was rectified by the rapid recall of all faulty remotes and free replacements.
[edit] iAUDIO X5
The X5 uses much of the same hardware as the M3, and as such has much of the same features and capabilities. It has almost identical features to the Iriver H300 Series. The X5 includes a color screen on the unit, and has several new features: limited video playback (MPEG-4 (XviD) at up to 15 frame/s). This means most videos will have to be converted to play on the X5. The X5 supports a wide array of codecs: MP3, (Ogg) Vorbis, WMA, ASF, FLAC and WAV. It also supports picture viewing, an integrated clock and USB On-The-Go - a feature that e.g. lets you download images from your digicam without a computer. iAudiophile has compiled a list of compatible devices.
It features excellent sound quality, and there are numerous different ways to customize the sound output (through the headphone out or dedicated line-out) with its BBE-Jeteffect system (which is featured on all iAUDIO models after the iAUDIO 4)
As with the M3, there is an "L" versions which is 4 mm thicker and has a longer battery life. Unlike the M3, the X5 comes in 20GB, 30GB, and 60GB variants. It is likely that there will be no 60GB X5L, as the 60GB X5 itself is the thickness of the 20GB and 30GB X5L due to the increased size of the hard drive. The 20GB, 30GB, and 60GB capacities offer a rated battery life of 14 hours for audio playback with a 950mAh battery. The 20GB and 30GB X5L models specify a rated playback time of 35 hours with a 2250mAh battery. Video battery life is unspecified.
In contrast to many current MP3 players, X5s do not use ID3 tags for browsing music. Instead the interface uses a more conventional folder system. This allows users to manually customize how the files are ordered and displayed. However, this may be a drawback for users who lack well organized music collections, or prefer to organise their music with media library software such as Windows Media Player or iTunes. m3u playlists can be used to organise the music collection - these playlists can be created with nearly every standard software audio player (Winamp, jetAudio, Windows Media Player). Additionally you can add files to an on-the-go playlist.
Several beta releases (starting with 2.10b6) feature support for DRM 10 (Digital Rights Management) WMA files, which are used by such services as Yahoo! Music Unlimited, Real Rhapsody and Napster To-Go. However, this support is limited and has yet to make it in a final version, and in fact was notably absent from the final 2.10 release. It does not support files from the iTunes Store, as they are encoded with Apple's FairPlay DRM system, not WMA DRM.
Cowon announced in May of 2007 that the X5 series had been discontinued. The iAudio X7 series will be the successor and will be released at some point in the summer of 2007.[2] No further information regarding the X7 has been stated.
[edit] iAUDIO M5
The iAUDIO M5 is basically a simplified version of the X5. It lacks an FM Radio, a colour screen (it has a greyscale screen instead), and USB-OTG functionality to save production costs. As with the M3 and the X5, there's also an "L" version available, which features enhanced battery life. The "L" version of the player is a little thicker and heavier though and costs slightly more.
[edit] iAUDIO 6
The iAUDIO was presented for the first time in January 2006 at the CES in Las Vegas. It is the first ever digital audio player to feature a 0.85-inch (22 mm) hard drive. This technology allows the production of high capacity digital audio players in an extremely small form factor with very competitive pricing. The iAUDIO 6 has drawn quite a lot of attention due to the fact that it features an innovative new control system called "swing touch". It also features USB On-The-Go capabilities and support for the free and open source codec FLAC. It also support videos and is able to tune to FM Radio.
[edit] BBE and jetEffect
All players, starting with the iAUDIO 4, feature an audio enhancement licensed from BBE Sound, Inc.. These sound enhancements can be accessed via the "jetEffect" menu on all iAUDIO players. In jetEffect there is a 5-band equalizer and several customizable presets plus the BBE system.
The first BBE enhancement is simply called "BBE". It is designed to add clarity and more pronounced highs, which is claimed to produce no audible processing side-effects. It also increases the prominence of vocals relative to amplified instruments.
The second, "Mach3Bass" is intended to increase the bass, while avoiding the "boomy" sound low-quality equalization often imparts on music.
The third enhancement is "MP Enhance". It is an algorithm designed to compensate for the artifacts introduced by MP3, WMA, Vorbis, AAC, and others. It extrapolates the upper range (treble frequency) of the files and attempts to restore stereo separation lost during some types of compression. It also attempts to regenerate harmonics that were lost during the encoding process and boost those that were weakened.
The fourth and final BBE effect is called "3D Surround" (this version is old, the newer version is BBE ViVa, but it is not implemented on iAUDIO players). It creates a seemingly larger sound stage, to impart a "surround sound feel."
Alternative firmware
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For more details on this topic, see Rockbox.
Rockbox is an free and open source firmware, released under the GPL license. Among others, it supports iAUDIO X5, X5V, X5L, M5, M5L, M3 and M3L players. Features included are:
- support of over 15 audio codecs, including Ogg and FLAC
- support of Replay Gain (volume normalization), gapless playback and Last.fm
- MPEG video playback support
- many games, including Sudoku, solitaire, Pac-Man and Doom
- customizable graphical interface through themes
- installable plugins: clock, calendar, dictionary, text and image viewer, and screensavers
- multilingual (more than 30 languages supported)
- narration of interface, useful for the visually impaired
The above features are subject to the platform limitations. Rockbox may lack some features of the official firmware (for example support for DRM-covered music) and may considerably change the player interface. Depending on the manufacturer and reseller, usage of Rockbox may actually void player warranty.
