The Cowon IAudio X5 is an all-around class act, from its stylish black case to its bright color screen. Weighing in at less than 6 ounces, and measuring about a half-inch thick, this hard drive-based digital media player packs plenty of features into a small package.

The player lets you play back MPEG-4 video, record from the built-in FM radio, and record from a line input. You can also use the device as USB host, which allows it to copy files from other USB devices such as digital cameras without requiring a PC as the intermediary.

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Cowon iAudio X5 Reviews

CNET Reviews reviews the Cowon iAudio X5 and gives it a ‘Very Good’ rating. They write – ‘The iAudio X5 looks like an iPod killer on paper, but this palm-size video and music player suffers from poor music browsing and some key design missteps. Small size; video player with 260,000-color LCD; customizable wallpaper; FM radio; line-in and voice recording; photo viewer; text-file reader; excellent sound quality; reads photos directly from digital cameras; compatible with OGG and FLAC formats.’

PCWorld reviews the Cowon iAudio X5 and writes – ‘The X5’s controls are a pleasure to use. The joystick makes navigating through a large music collection easy, and the player supports M3U playlists created in programs such as WinAmp. You can also create playlists on the device itself. As an audio player, the X5 is very good, with bright, clear sound and the ability to drive even larger headphones. It’s also very versatile: The X5 can play back MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, and WAV files, though it doesn’t work with any of the online music subscription services at the moment. Nonetheless, these minor quirks aside, I found the X5 to be a great little digital media player for the price–one that packs a lot of features into a small, easy-to-handle package.’

Cooltechzone reviews the Cowon iAudio X5 and writes – ‘Before we even begin, it would be difficult to criticize iAudio X5 in terms of features. Let’s just put it this way – if everything works, as it should, then the iPod doesn’t stand a chance. The only thing that iPod has it going for is Apple’s marketing, and the fact that it’s perceived as a cultural accessory than an electronics gadget.’

PCMag reviews the Cowon iAudio X5 and writes – ‘The X5 delivers sound quality that rivals the Apple iPod — and a feature set that buries the iPod. So many features, however, hamper the player’s ease of use. Very good sound quality. Solid recording capabilities. Interesting sound enhancement options. Broad audio file format support. USB Host port lets you transfer images directly from a camera. Doesn’t require drivers. Joystick navigation can be tedious. Screen is small and blocky. No online music store support. Requires a small adapter for charging, line in/out, and USB.’

Cowon iAudio X5 Press Release

From the Manufacturer
Sturdy, versatile, and remarkably compact, given its voluminous storage capacity, iAudio’s X5 portable multimedia device is sure to be a hit. The 20 GB audio/video player and recorder can store about 5,000 songs (4 minutes each, 128 kbps) in a nearly unparalleled choice of formats, from MP3 and WMA to linear (uncompressed, CD-quality) WAV files, Ogg Vorbis files (which sound a bit better than MP3 for files of comparable size), as well as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec, compressed but designed for 1:1 encode/decode). The X5 can recognize up to 2,000 folders and 10,000 individual files, and its super power-saving circuit provides up to 14 hours continuous playback on a full charge.

Cowon iAudio X5 Features

MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV, MPEG4* (video) playback, FM Radio Receiver and Recording,
Voice Recording, Line-In Recording
TXT (Text), JPEG** (Image) File Viewer (Image Enlargement, Background Screen Designation)
Built-In HDD (20GB/30GB)***, USB Host****, File Copy/Delete
USB 2.0 Interface
260,000 Colors TFT-LCD, Resolution 160×128
Long Playback Time : Up to 14 hours playback (35 hours for iAUDIO X5L)
(Based on company’s self-test, The playing time may be shortened according to settings.)

Multi language support
Enhanced Integrated Navigator
Play/Pause, Recording/Pause While Recording
Next Song/Previous Song, Fast Forward/Rewind, Section Repeat
Resume, Fade-In, AutoPlay Features
Search Speed, Skip Speed Setup
Volume (Digital 40 Levels)

Various EQ and Sound Field Effects
-User-Adjustable 5-Band EQ
-Normal, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic, Vocal, User
-Supports BBE, Mach3Bass, MP Enhance, and 3D Surround.

Clock, Alarm, Timer Recording, Sleep Function, Power Saving Shut down.
Power, LCD On/Off, Hold Combined Switch
LCD Auto Off Time Adjustment, Brightness, and Contrast Adjustments
Easy Firmware Upgrade
Supports ID3V2, ID3V1, FileName
Device Information Verification
(Firmware version, HDD capacity, HDD volume, total folder number, total file number)

Supports MAC OS (Data transfer only)
Supports Linux v 2.2 or higher (Data transfer only)

Software
-JetShell (File transfer, MP3/WMA/WAV/AUDIO CD PLAY, MP3 ENCODING)
-JetAudio (Integrated multimedia player software, music/video conversion feature)

Playback format MP3 : MPEG 1/2/2.5 Layer 3, ~320kbps, ~48khz, mono/stereo WMA(ASF) : ~256kbps, ~48khz, mono/stereo OGG : ~q10, ~44.1khz, mono/stereo FLAC : compression level 0/1/2, ~44.1khz, mono/stereo WAV : ~48khz, 16bit, mono/stereoXviD MPEG-4, CBR ~256kbps, up to 160×128, 15 fps JPEG**

Capacity Hard disk (20GB/30GB)***

PC interface
USB 2.0 (Max. 480M bps)

USB Host (OTG) ****

Cowon iAudio X5 Specifications

Battery – Built-in Rechargeable Lithium Ion battery (Up tp 14 Hours Continuous Playback)

Power Supply – AC adapter DC 5.0V, 2A

Charging Time – Approximately 3 hours when using the AC power adaptor (6 hours for iAUDIO X5L)

Buttons Main unit: 5-way Jog(NAVI/MENU, VOL+, VOL-, REW, FF), PLAY, REC, POWER & HOLD switch
Remote Control (Sold Separately) : PLAY/PAUSE, FF, REW, MENU, VOL+, VOL-, MODE, REC

Switch 1 switch (Hold)

Display 160 x 128 dot, 260,000 color TFT-LCD

SNR 95 dB

Max Output 16 Ohm earphones : 20mW + 20mW

Frequency Range 20Hz~20KHz

Size (excluding the LCD) iAUDIO X5 : 4.08 X 2.39 X 0.56 inches (103.7 X 60.8 X 14.3 mm)
iAUDIO X5L : 4.08 X 2.39 X 0.72 inches (103.7 X 60.8 X 18.3 mm)

Weight
(including the built-in battery) iAUDIO X5 : 5.11 oz (145g)
iAUDIO X5L : 6.35 oz (180g)
including the built-in battery

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