iAudio X5 - OR - Toshiba Gigabeat FX0 (10, 20, 40, 60)

[Maxo]

As I noticed that Suntec doesn't ship to Europe anymore I looked around for other audio players like the X5. The iRiver H3X0 is just too fat (more than 200g i think) and its SO ugly!

iPod... Nah! I hate that white and theres no colordisplay, no fm tuner, no recorder and it gets scratches so easily!

Creative Zen Touch - Too fat!

Olympus m:robe 500 - VGA-cam - for what? I got the same cam in my cellphone! And I have a real digitalcamera with 5mp, so that would be stupid to have a third one.

And then I saw the Gigabeat lineup! Im not in the g-ones, though theyre very thin (13mm) n dont weight much (138g i think). But I hate monochrom displays!

But the F-20... This is just perfect!

http://www.geekstuff4u.com/images/gbf01.jpg

Lets compare the details (Ill take the F20 n the X5 20gb)

Weight:
X5: 148g - F20: 160g
(little) advantage for X5, but I dont really care about 12g...

Battery Life:
X5: ~15h - F20: ~11h
thats a advantage of the X5, a huge advantage of the X5L

Audio Format:
X5: the normal ones +FLAC +OGG - F20: the normal ones
alright, a third advantage for the X5 BUT I wouldnt use FLAC anyways n I dont really need ogg with 20gigabytes

Price:
X5:
iAudio X5 20 GByte: 349 Euro (official prices) - F10 269€ (www.geekstuff4u.com)
iAudio X5 30 GByte: 379 Euro - F20 319€
iAudio X5 60 GByte: 499 Euro - F60 619€
Advantage F20, but thats not a big difference (I compared the official price n the price of geekstuff4u.com)

Video/Photos:
X5 - Xvid - F20: doesnt support video n jpeg yet but there will be an firmwareupgrade for those features!

Design:
Though the X5 is quite beautiful - But the F20 is the most beautiful player EVER!

Display:
X5: 1,8" - F20: 2,2"
Because I like big displays thats a great advantage of the F20!

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summarize:
the F20 is bigger, needs more energy n doesnt support ogg, but is slightly cheaper, has a better display and is even more beautiful than the X5.

But theres another problem: The F20 seems to support only .sig format -> Id needs software for every computer -> You cant just plug it in
This is similar to the iPod. Though this sucks I dont care that much about that.

[Fido]

Personally the F20 isn't a competitor on my list, between the battery life and the forced software use that's an automatic out. Personally I don't like the design, and don't trust their firmware promise unless they update their's regularly, it could easily be delayed if they don't do firmware well, and whats the point of a color screen without picture/video support?

Also, I think you have the prices mixed up, it looks like you're pairing the 10 GB version of the F20 with the 20 GB version of the X5, which would make the price difference 30 euros for the 20 GB version.

[Krishna]

Toshibha doesn't plan on releasing video support for this player, also it doesn't currently support USB OTG. Navigation and sound quality is also said to be mediocre.

The only advantages that the Toshiba has are:
Screen- One of the most beautiful displays, and biggest
Size- X5 is actually 19mm thick if you include the hump
ID3 tag browsing

And looks are subjective, so...

[shaka_1205]

I personnaly would take the iAUDIO X5 over the F20 because of the X5's functionnality and Cowon's regular firmware upgrade basis. However I do agree that the F20 is one of the most beautiful player but like Krishna said, looks are subjective.

[Martinp]

You don't need to know which one I would buy ...

[Krishna]

Even though I said that the looks are subjective, I must admit that that it does look stunning.

[zaphanathpaneah]

The first and formost thing we need to know is how does the thing sound? Asthetics are cool and everything but hey...I got to be blown out of my shoe to buy this thing. I already own 3 players and my fourth has to be the best thing since sliced bread.

The iRiver 340 is sweeter than a honey glazed sugar cookie. Best dap since ....the m3. However the x5 is a serious contender that can change the shape of the mp3 world. There is only one thing though......there are no standard inputs on the x5 or m5? They both do mp3 incoding and voice recording but where is the external mic jack? Where is the in put jack? This is a bit disapointing. Can someone shed light on this? Is it on the cradle? If it is that's pretty f~(%#d up right there. So if I am going into a sales meeting and bring my x5 alone for the ride I have to tote my cradle and cables to? WTF!

[eddycha]

hey. a lot of news about the toshiba gigabeat. The one reason why i had previously disregarded the gigabeat series was the quoted 10-11 hour battery life which in my opinion isnt very good.

However, new information coming out shows it has a 16 hour battery life. The design of the player looks outstanding and the screen impeccable, i might just considor it over the new x5 and the sony nw-hd5. Though both really apeal to me at the moment. The x5 has the ability to win due to the video playback and the x5l with 35 hour battery life, but im a sucker for size as well so this might not work for me.

If toshiba managed to implement video on that gourgeous 2.2 screen (superior to 1.8"), then id get it :p

Just my 2 pennies (UK)

[Erasure4ever]

It has no FM radio and no recording feature. The X5 also has much better sound capabilites and a joystick interface.

Oh and btw the Olympus mRobe has a 1.3MP camera not a VGA camera.

[En_croute]

So if I am going into a sales meeting and bring my x5 alone for the ride I have to tote my cradle and cables to? WTF!

The X5 (and M3) have a built-in mic, that's pretty good.
An external mic can be attached by the sub-pack - annoying if you forget, but small enough to carry around "just in case".

The cradle can stay on your desk!

[Phil K]

Nice design, but I think we are all coming back to the fact that the iaudio is just too sodding expensive ! Someone has overpriced this baby to silly degrees.

[Krishna]

Nice design, but I think we are all coming back to the fact that the iaudio is just too sodding expensive ! Someone has overpriced this baby to silly degrees.


Do you mean toshiba is too expensive?

[zaphanathpaneah]

Paying a little more is ok for what you want rather than paying little for or even getting free something that you don't like or can't use fully. Just my opinion. Toshiba is a bit expensive too but in all the prices for this size storage on a DAP is about the same. And for the cheap ones..... quality is a factor to consider.

[bradavon]

Nice design, but I think we are all coming back to the fact that the iaudio is just too sodding expensive ! Someone has overpriced this baby to silly degrees.
The X5 seems about average to me. No more than an iRiver H3xx.