View Full Version : Cowon A3 release date and price? - Part 2
Original thread here- http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12841
As the original thread became rather unwieldy, this thread has been created in its place. Please keep discussion limited to on-topic material. Off-topic material may be removed without notice.
Seeing you OT talkers made the mods close my thread[laugh]
The last we heard was
I emailed Cowon, and this is what they told me.
The A3 and Q5 are in production. They will be available to the US, it just took a while to be done.
Thank you,
Tech Support Team
Cowonamerica, INC.
We have been told in August or September, but nothing official and I cannot guarantee the dates.
Thank you,
Tech Support Team
Cowonamerica, INC.
Now now, let's all stay on topic this time otherwise Doniago will become very upset and ban your asses!
Release date discussions only. All other ravings here (http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15804). [yes]
(blinks) Uh. What he said.
Or, as was said in a classic tv show- "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
zaphanathpaneah
07-16-2007, 21:00
Forgive us, we have sinned oh might overlord. Spare us and we will serve you well.(beer and piza for starters)
Hm. Substitute mixed drinks for beer and we'll see...
Ahem, anyway...
Sorry if we're coming off harshly here, but the last time we tried this thread, and just recently, it kept getting blown off-topic.
Asking people to limit their posts to the actual subject seems like a pretty tame request. :)
NcowNteR
07-21-2007, 07:01
since i live in the mighty country of Holland (no i don't do drugs[toungue]) the Us release doesn't interest me, so if there's anyone who could tell me when the dutch/european release is. tell me please(btw i will be on holiday so there's a (large) change of me not reacting[wink] )
Looks like the a3 is real afterall, I took this from the q5 thread, thanks roscomc[thumbsup]
The a3 is in the picture in the link below, showing early September how long now?
Cowon will show at Berlin (IFA 31/8 - 5/9/2007), the following devices:
http://www.virtualmarket.ifa-berlin.de/index.php5?id=39553&highlight=&fid=455&offset=200&count=100&Action=showCompany&bmp=721acf69638a439998ff83e70602d1c1
iAUDIO T2
iAUDIO U3
iAUDIO F2
iAUDIO D2
iAUDIO 7
COWON A2
COWON A3
COWON Q5
COWON N2
COWON L2
Just two words, I can't wait! [help]
Good news. I had given up on the A3. If it's like the A2 but better, like supposed to be, then I'll probably prefer it to the Q5.
Eric
isnt that a picture of the A2 and Q5 on that German site.
^ who knows! its most likely the A2, as we assume the A3 has a black shell as shown to us at a eailer convention (CES i think)
zaphanathpaneah
07-26-2007, 14:30
This page is old. The A3 is canceled, i'm sure. I hope they cancel it and do a major overhaul rather than just incremental upgrades. Intels pulls that crap on us. Yeah they do and we all fall for it. They come out with a 2.2gb chip then a 2.3ghz then a 2.46 etc....etc.. The A3 should be redesigned. Wait ....don't cancel this thread...yet....it's on topic. If it will be released Cowon is targeting the holiday season to maximize on profit. How many here on this thread who already have an A2 and will REALLY buy the A3? Cowon knows this. Release date???? it will be longer than we think.
This page is old. The A3 is canceled, i'm sure.
Im sure if the a3 is listed as showing at the trade show its not cancelled
^ agree; the page was last updated on 29.06.2007 thats not old.
I think cowon just want to seize the moment and update one of their old but very popular models. There maybe only a few monor hardware updates we do not yet know the final configeration of the device. (hopefully we will see it in all of its glory. With new minor hardware updates comes great things inc new features and software spec and who knows what.
I think in Cowons eyes, the major upgrade from the A2 was their new Q5 model.
Other then that i think we may expect to see the A3 on sale end of the year and on par with current prices of the A2.
Emailed Cowon, and they told me a mid September release date.
I hope its for real this time, this is the most specific answer I've received so far. Hopefully..... maybe.....
zaphanathpaneah
07-28-2007, 23:16
that is good news. September 2008 should be enough time for Cowon to release it. It will be good it showed up by august.
Rockin_amigo14
07-29-2007, 01:00
september 2008?! i hope you mean 2007!
if the A3 can stay on the same price level that the A2 is currently on, I'll definitely consider picking one up.
Yeah, Cowon's rep said mid-September 2007. :)
So we're waiting... still...
zaphanathpaneah
07-29-2007, 20:18
Nooooooo..I meant 2008. That is what it feels like. Remember when it was to be released in Feb, then march, then april...Soooooo what makes you or anyone here ont his forum think Cowons word is any good....huh? It they say Sep think Jan.
I'm just being a little hopeful. I mean, the release dates they are giving us have to be right sooner or later. Why not sooner?
You know... since NOBODY knows (not even Cowon) when the A3 will be released.. maybe it would be more constructive to setup a "pool" ... just for fun of course. We could all put in a date, and whoever guesses closest wins!!
omjeremy
07-30-2007, 12:47
(I know I'm double posting, but it has to do with both devices. Delete if you want, mod.)
So, I chatted with Cowon America today. Here's the response I received:
me:
Is Cowon still planning on making the A3? Also, do you know when the Q5 will be available in the USA?
Technical Support Team 2:
it will be releasing end of august
me:
Which one?
Technical Support Team 2:
both I believe
zaphanathpaneah
07-30-2007, 13:55
(I know I'm double posting, but it has to do with both devices. Delete if you want, mod.)
So, I chatted with Cowon America today. Here's the response I received:
me:
Is Cowon still planning on making the A3? Also, do you know when the Q5 will be available in the USA?
Technical Support Team 2:
it will be releasing end of august
me:
Which one?
Technical Support Team 2:
both I believe
I contacted COWON tech support also and they said Feb...soooo what is different.
bloodycape
07-30-2007, 14:19
Cowon tech support team 2 told me today that they have been informed that i maybe a 40gig model. Nice.
Ok, let's organize our facts.
The A3 IS going into production (no one seems to argue that point any more).
Cowon says the release date is going to be end of August- mid September.
Cowon has lied to us more than just a few times about the release date.
Conclusion: Maybe it will be released in the next couple months, maybe next year. We will only truly know when the product gets released.
I don't think they "lied" per se. It's just that (especially) the Cowon reps in America have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of when they'll see the product (ZERO). They are speculating just like everyone else. Granted, there were apparently some issues with the product that meant they couldn't be ready even in Korea... I don't think Cowon is stupid... I really think they want to be out there and be competitive ASAP... but sometimes things just simply don't go your way.
bloodycape
08-02-2007, 00:43
They told me that in two weeks they will be told about their new products. So take that for what it is worth.
zaphanathpaneah
08-02-2007, 14:36
I contacted them again today and they said .....they don't know but "perhaps by years end"....soooooooooo I really think by January or February. That would be great. Gives me enough time to buy an Archos, use it for a year then sell it and buy a Cowon.
chrises08
08-02-2007, 19:02
you know what would be a nice addition to the A3 is that they make it bluetooth enabled.
I think Samsung and others are aggressively pushing UMPC in the market.
You can get a decent one at around $700, and I feel in near future the competition and broader market adoption will push the price in $500 range.
I had my eyes set on A3 for sometime, but delay is going to put UMPC in tempting position.
A powerful handheld computer is best PMP. [thumbsup]
UMPCs are still pretty large. And apart from a select few, the battery runtimes are not great. Also, they are slow which could mean they might not perform as well as you might think on video (especially).
But... things are progressing, but if you're talking about UMPCs replacing small PMPs within the next year... I don't think so.
eoniverse
08-17-2007, 12:14
They told me that in two weeks they will be told about their new products. So take that for what it is worth.
Worth about the same as a politician's promise during an election year.
BTW... it's been two weeks since your post.
Anyone hear anything definitive?
My guess = [no]
Glad I didn't wait....
Did you see this?
http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16290
"... The A3 and Q5 are two new media players - the A3 is an update of the top-of-it's-class A2, with better compatibility and a host of new features - should be with us in the first week of September Also that week, we're expecting the Q5 to arrive. The Q5 is a touch screen, wifi capable media player which is one of the most requested products here at AMP3 - we're hugely excited to see if this really can be as good as it seems! With experience of iAudio's recent launches, we feel confident of saying that it will be!"
This is what I received via Email today from Advanced Mp3 Players .co .uk
sweet
Nocturnal
08-19-2007, 10:36
We are still Hopin' That COWON should update us. A Representative from COWON itself will surely help a lot. At this moment patience is a must.. [wink]
Dead1nside
08-20-2007, 02:32
It's great we've got a tentative release date, but we don't even know the feature list yet... unless it's the same one that they released what seems like ages ago... oh know.
zaphanathpaneah
08-20-2007, 17:28
I believe it is. The only improvments are chipset for better performance and codec support. Not much...that's all.
I'm waiting to see what they have done, better performance and codec support should not take over 6 months to implement.
Nocturnal
08-21-2007, 07:35
COWON is still having the right time for its release.. I think all upgrades have been done... the codecs.. chipset.. the control pads... and the very spirit of the GENIUS A3 itself.. The answer for our wait is TIME. And its gonna be on CHRISTMAS... [yes] Its the only perfect time to have another genius on hand [yes] [thumbsup] [yes]
eoniverse
08-21-2007, 11:53
COWON is still having the right time for its release.. I think all upgrades have been done... . The answer for our wait is TIME. And its gonna be on CHRISTMAS... [yes]...
Please clarify since they've missed their own declared release date at least once..... if not twice.
which Christmas are you talking about: 2007, 2008, or 2009? [laugh]
Dead1nside
08-21-2007, 14:11
I'm waiting to see what they have done, better performance and codec support should not take over 6 months to implement.
Completely agree.
On a separate note, I hope it's still Linux based.
Okey Doke guys, time for some specs news: http://www.dapreview.net/news.php?item.4063.5
Dead1nside
08-21-2007, 15:06
Thanks for the news Dominic. I'm very disappointed that 60GB is the largest model, hopefully this IFA will be an unveiling proper of the player it's looks and it's other specs such as battery life. With such a low-capacity model like 60GB, I'd imagine that the pricing's going to have to be pretty aggressive.
Am I to understand that the A3 will in most cases not require the transcoding of videos such as XviD/DivX?
USB 2.0 Host is unique, and a boon.
prosciutboy
08-21-2007, 16:41
I am pretty sure cowon took time to improve design and maybe also to implement advanced controls such as the ones of the iaudio6.
From CES 2007 we did not get any news, neither pictures of the A3 and now that AdvancedMP3 gave some more specs no picture is shown to illustrate the product as it is usually done.
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/newsdesk_index.php
Now we can dream what became the A3 [excited].
Of course at the end if the design is the same, we will be a little bit disapointed [unsure] .
From what I've heard, 60 GB is the largest at the initial release. Some time within 1 year of the release 80 and/or 100 GB models should be available.
Still no info on possible h.264 use. Still no hard info on the .mkv or .ogm container formats. (subtitles? multiple soundtracks? and many more)
Looks like the majority of the A3 will be a big ? until it's release.
Nocturnal
08-22-2007, 07:50
Please clarify since they've missed their own declared release date at least once..... if not twice.
which Christmas are you talking about: 2007, 2008, or 2009? [laugh]
The most possible time for now is this coming Christmas. I think COWON is silently claiming another surprise for us. Cowon's silence may either mean improvement nor innovation... [thumbsup]
Lets just give time for COWON to do the better. Further, we are the ones who are gonna have the newly innovated GENIUS... the COWON A3 [smile]
zaphanathpaneah
08-23-2007, 09:56
Dream on brother. It will most likely be next year. And one can only hope that cowon makes more changes than just simply codec support and a chipset upgrade
dasreich
08-24-2007, 03:53
I'm waiting for the A3, hoping to save up till then. With my A2 now at 1yr 8mths old now, I hope to hold the "fort" till then.
Maybe by the time I get it, price wise it would have dropped to a comfortable level.
Hi everyone.
I saw this in the advancedmp3players.co.uk website:
"Release Dates from Cowon (iAudio) Date: Saturday 18 August, 2007
News Summary:
Breaking news on Q5, A3, D2 8GB & i7 16GB!
News Content:
Some breaking news, you read it here first!
We've just received word on some tentative launch dates for the latest round of hotly anticipated new iAudio players:
The A3 and Q5 are two new media players - the A3 is an update of the top-of-it's-class A2, with better compatibility and a host of new features - should be with us in the first week of September Also that week, we're expecting the Q5 to arrive. The Q5 is a touch screen, wifi capable media player which is one of the most requested products here at AMP3 - we're hugely excited to see if this really can be as good as it seems! With experience of iAudio's recent launches, we feel confident of saying that it will be!
Speaking of recent releases - the D2 and i7 have been massive successes too - both featuring astounding battery lives and the best audio quality available anywhere. We're expecting larger capacity versions of these players too. The D2 will be available in 8GB internal memory capacity (remember, it takes HD SD cards too, so has massive expansion capacity) from the end of August - that's this month!
Also, the i7 should be coming into stock in a massive 16GB (that's the first 16GB flash player in the world!) at the same time as the 8GB D2 - again, that's the end of this month!
These dates are subject to final confirmation, but we're pretty confident that (barring any last-minute production issues) they are correct.
Keep your eyes on the news section for further information!"
zaphanathpaneah
08-26-2007, 12:32
Awesome...dudes.
OMG! First week of sept?! That's awsome!
NcowNteR
08-29-2007, 13:42
ow damn, i just ordered an A2 thinking that it'll take months till the launch of the A3 but the A2 is good as wel[blush]
ow damn, i just ordered an A2 thinking that it'll take months till the launch of the A3 but the A2 is good as wel[blush]
I don't think you have anything to worry about. :)
mymandarin123
08-31-2007, 09:33
latest IFA news of Cowon A3 & Q5
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/08/31/ifa_cowon_iaudio_wireless/
Cowon said the Q5 will arrive in Europe late September, priced at €649 ($886/£439) for the 40GB version and €699 ($954/£473xc) for the 60GB model. The A3 comes out at the same time, priced at €449 ($613/£304) for the 30GB product, €499 ($681/£338) for the 60GB model
Isn't that more expensive, then expected ?
Isn't that more expensive, then expected ?
Yeah, much more, I thought we were hearing 300 and 400.
Also, the battery life looks lousy- 10 hours for music, 7 for video...
Glad I just found me an X5. Might consider buying an A2 now..... Glad I didn't wait for this.
omjeremy
08-31-2007, 11:27
The pricing scheme is incorrect. That may be the prices for Europe, but I'm sure it'll be different in the USA.
The battery life is pretty crappy too. lol, if the A3/Q5 are that expensive they'll totally bomb. No way in heck I'm going to pay over $600 for an A3 or over $800 for a Q5. They're not THAT cool.
For $800 I can get a Raon Everun, which is much more versatile than the Q5.
zaphanathpaneah
08-31-2007, 12:17
The pricing scheme is incorrect. That may be the prices for Europe, but I'm sure it'll be different in the USA.
The battery life is pretty crappy too. lol, if the A3/Q5 are that expensive they'll totally bomb. No way in heck I'm going to pay over $600 for an A3 or over $800 for a Q5. They're not THAT cool.
For $800 I can get a Raon Everun, which is much more versatile than the Q5.
Yeah...but that thing is a super huge brick. You need both hands to carry that thing. wow....you are better off getting a laptop. It is lighter and would cost less.
I'm sticking with my A2 for the forseeable future
omjeremy
08-31-2007, 14:18
Yeah...but that thing is a super huge brick. You need both hands to carry that thing. wow....you are better off getting a laptop. It is lighter and would cost less.
The Everun is only a pound, so unless you have some totally awesome laptop, the Everun is lighter. Also, the battery life on the Everun is pretty darn good. But, I do see your point! We're in the price range of a whole computer. Heck, I just bought a brand new dual core HP computer for 300 bucks.
Yeah...but that thing is a super huge brick. You need both hands to carry that thing. wow....you are better off getting a laptop. It is lighter and would cost less.
She does not
Get back on-topic please.
zaphanathpaneah
09-10-2007, 15:04
What was the topic again ?
globiboulga
09-14-2007, 06:41
At 500 euros, the A3 is 100 euros more expensive than the touch and 150 more expensive than the classic 160...
There's no contest.
And even for a Cowon fan, that's pure joke.
[cry]
I remember the X5 was the same price and better in every critical aspect (especially battery life). The choice was then easy.
I mean we are disapointed about their releases on a fan site!!!!
I rest my case.
RIP Cowon.
Dead1nside
09-14-2007, 08:01
Couldn't agree more globiboulga, support for Cowon is one thing, financial stupidity is another.
globiboulga
09-14-2007, 08:23
And I am here frantically trying to find a 60GB X5 TO BUY IT TODAY, and obviously can't find any (it seems many are for sale on the cheap in Russia, but I am don't speak russian... or South Africa but they don't ship overseas).
I mean why did they have to stop the X5 production FFS, knowing that they would only release expensive PMPs?
[cursing]
zaphanathpaneah
09-14-2007, 08:56
I feel your pain. Be care full with south African companies. I can't be certain about the legitimacy of what you saw but....allot of scams originate in south Africa. Google scam and south Africa and you will see for your self. Hope you fine one. There was a thread on here about how to replace the hard drive. Could you not do that instead?
globiboulga
09-14-2007, 09:13
Yeah, I am not too keen on either South Africa or Russia as far as buying hardware goes.
I have a D2 at the moment, but I travel a lot and I want a large capacity player. Having considered all of Cowon latest offering, I can't find anything satisfying given the prices, capacities and battery lifes.
I am still refusing to go ipod because of the lack of rockbox and the poor SQ (amazed that Cnet even noted that on their classic review and only gave an 8 despite the amazing battery life), but it may, eventually, be the only solution, soften by the fact that I can correct the SQ issue by plugging the ipod line out to my portable headphone amp, by passing Apple miserable attempt at sound amplification...
That would be bye bye FLAC then... Just would have to find an alternative to iTunes that would allow drag and drop...
Honestly, Cowon does not make any sense anymore. These prices are just wrong. And of all their product line, they ended up killing their flagship product that gave them the best results. You just have to see this website to see how popular the X5 is...
Have you noticed the ibunny thread about the comms and newsletter has vanished? [rofl]
zaphanathpaneah
09-14-2007, 11:00
Fight the machine !!! :-) I hear you. Ipod does suck but.....you are right....eventually every one will be made to accept iPod. "Resistance is Futile".....
The iBunny thread has been deleted? By whom?
zaphanathpaneah
09-14-2007, 11:08
I found this under Cowon Systems.
Default Scheduled release date for Cowon Q5 and A3 in the USA.
To those who are patiently waiting for a chance to purchase your Cowon Q5 and Cowon A3. The scheduled release date is mid September for the Cowon A3 and end of September for the Cowon Q5. For those inquiring about pre orders for these products please check our online stores 1 week prior. Everything will be posted on the main page of Cowon America when pre ordering is available. Thank you for your cooperation.
Regards,
A few of our staff and some other guy
P.S.
For those that keep re-logging onto to our support system asking the same questions over and over each and every day please knock some senses into yourselves. You are going to get the same answers as you did 2 seconds ago. Please do not abuse this free support service, all your ips are belong to us!!
Last edited by iAudio Bunny : 08-13-2007 at 08:02 PM.
It's already almost end of September and there are no news about release of A3 and Q5. Does anybody have any new information?
sprinter
09-24-2007, 14:04
It's already almost end of September and there are no news about release of A3 and Q5. Does anybody have any new information?
i have new information ,buy a archos 605 160gig , this waiting is for a a3 is a joke ,im just awaiting stock for the 605 then, im in
i have new information ,buy a archos 605 160gig , this waiting is a joke ,im just awaiting stock then, im in
I need Ogg Vorbis support. AFAIK Archos doesn't support it, so it is no option for me.
Someone just posted here a link to Pixmania. They're selling A3 for 300£. Their prices would mean about $360 for 30GB and $385 for the 60GB model. The availability should be mid Octobber. The 80GB Archos 605 is $350 (without any plugins). For my needs the A3 delivers much better features/price ratio. I don't need WiFi or any Pocket PC functionalities, since I plan to buy a Neo 1973 (http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo1973) when it's released for end-users.
Taken from the q5 Thread
Prices and availability from Pixmania U.K:
COWON A3 30GB - 296£ / 424€ (19/10/2007)
COWON A3 60GB - 316£ / 453€ (19/10/2007)
Prices and availability from Pixmania France:
COWON A3 30GB - 440€ (19/10/2007)
COWON A3 60GB - 470€ (19/10/2007)
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/624056/art/cowon-iaudio/a3-multimedia-player-30-g.html
Someone just posted here a link to Pixmania. They're selling A3 for 300£. Their prices would mean about $360 for 30GB and $385 for the 60GB model. The availability should be mid Octobber. The 80GB Archos 605 is $350 (without any plugins). For my needs the A3 delivers much better features/price ratio. I don't need WiFi or any Pocket PC functionalities, since I plan to buy a Neo 1973 (http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo1973) when it's released for end-users.
How do you figure the 60GB A3 will is $385? £300 GBP is about $600 U.S.. or is that just a guess at the typically lowered prices when they arrive in the U.S.?
I would drop everything and get an 80GB Archos for $380.. but if it's going to be around $600 or even $500, I don't know if I want to bother. But I will wait and see, I want to be hopeful about this :)
How do you figure the 60GB A3 will is $385? £300 GBP is about $600 U.S.. or is that just a guess at the typically lowered prices when they arrive in the U.S.?
Yes, this just my guess based on comparison of current A2 prices i EU and USA.
javi0084
09-26-2007, 11:02
And Archos isn't going to support .ogg. I emailed them about it a few days ago and they said that the choice of codecs was based on their popularity and they don't plan to offer .ogg any time soon, not even as a plug-in.
Thats a shame.
javi0084
It's their choice. My choice is not to buy any player that doesn't support Ogg Vorbis. It's an essential feature for me, so Archos won't get my money.
Personally I absolutely don't understand this. There are free libraries prepared for use in portable players, which they can use. Also I do believe that Vorbis is much more popular then AAC, WMA or other lossy formats. At least this is true for music enthusiasts, which I think is the target group for these players.
I don't know if anyone else saw this, but advancedmp3 is now reporting the release of the A3 is pushed back to November.
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=70&osCsid=cfc485dda9121a777728540e7ad8b4fc
$570 for the 30GB? Wow. I don't know about that...
It's been already mentioned here. I'm really disappointed. But there is simply no alternative to the A3. So I'll have to wait, I have no other choice.
Dead1nside
10-01-2007, 17:31
It's completely put me off. Having that little space for the cash, with no extra benefit really other than a chipset change... makes it worthless to me at least. I hope they do better with an X5 successor, larger hard drive, slimmer, better UI, features etc. and definitely a better price.
I don't know if anyone else saw this, but advancedmp3 is now reporting the release of the A3 is pushed back to November.
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=70&osCsid=cfc485dda9121a777728540e7ad8b4fc
$570 for the 30GB? Wow. I don't know about that...
The A3 60GB is coming out £30 cheaper than the A2 30GB did. The 30GB A2 was priced at £350 on advancedmp3players when it first came out. Though in the week it came out the store was doing a 10% off week so it ended up being £315 for the one week but after that it went back to £350. So really I'd say it's not a bad deal in all.
So really you guys should be looking at what sort of price the A2 came out and base it around there. You can't just convert the price between our currencies because UK pay way more for stuff than Americans do. With things like the PS3 etc we generally just have to put a £ in instead of the dollar sign and round down a tiny bit it's that ridiculous.
sprinter
10-09-2007, 13:34
Thats it ,ive had enough ,605 wifi 160gb ordered £248 deliverd
i thank you all for your input ..Cheers guys
Dead1nside
10-11-2007, 14:05
The A3 60GB is coming out £30 cheaper than the A2 30GB did. The 30GB A2 was priced at £350 on advancedmp3players when it first came out. Though in the week it came out the store was doing a 10% off week so it ended up being £315 for the one week but after that it went back to £350. So really I'd say it's not a bad deal in all.
So really you guys should be looking at what sort of price the A2 came out and base it around there. You can't just convert the price between our currencies because UK pay way more for stuff than Americans do. With things like the PS3 etc we generally just have to put a £ in instead of the dollar sign and round down a tiny bit it's that ridiculous.
Yes, woohoo it's £30 cheaper than the age old A2... way to go Cowon, you've successfully not read the market properly. The whole industry has moved on, nobody but audiophiles are going to buy at that price and even then I'd call them silly.
Moved on? Buy an A2. Why not? With that said, the Archos units are pretty good.... but no ogg support (which is weird since Archos is pretty dedicated to Linux).
I do agree that Cowon missed the market... but perhaps they don't see a market anyhow. Might be wise to skip a generation. My personal opinion is that Cowon is lazy and didn't want to do any work and nobody did the work for them... so there wasn't anything "real" to deliver.
Dead1nside
10-11-2007, 15:24
What saddens me is there is a market for these high-end PMPs that Cowon is the only one that fills (to my knowledge) but even this is a poor product refresh, more of an A2.5 than an A3.
What I think Cowon'll lean towards more in their next generation is a D2 like DAP, or at least expanding on the D2, forgetting about the X5 and A2 lines. Their only interesting product, that innovates is the D2 which I would recommend and the Q5 at the moment - which doesn't have in-built wireless and is simply too expensive for what it is, it's more of a PDA/platform than a DAP, and it's not got in built wireless or Linux...
I think you're right in the fact that Cowon's really missed this cycle, perhaps next generation they'll do better. But it's a really do or die time for technology companies and I'm not sure how much money they're making... don't go the way of iRiver subservient and playing to the market with knock-off cheap looking flash players.
Kind of wandering off-topic here folks...
Dead1nside
10-11-2007, 17:00
Yeh sorry about that.
Yes, woohoo it's £30 cheaper than the age old A2... way to go Cowon, you've successfully not read the market properly. The whole industry has moved on, nobody but audiophiles are going to buy at that price and even then I'd call them silly.
I wasn't saying that it was great price but there were a lot of people moaning that it was more expensive than the A2 and saying it should eb round the same price when it came out. So I was simply pointing that was likely to be incorrect and that it should be around the same price.
baddog993
10-26-2007, 18:11
Well I would agree that it should be around the same price as the a2, however with archos having a same or just about the same and with a cheaper price puts the a3 in a tough spot. The negative thing I dont like about the a3 is the decreased battery life and the maybe the price not sure about it since its not out in the us yet.
Hi everyone.
I just ordered A3 60GB from the webshop www.pixmania.com. They inform availability for 12/Nov (aprox 1 week from now). Their order confirmation confirms. Price is € 476 vat included (we have 21% vat).
I will let you know when I will receive it.
^ That date keeps on changing i dont think it has been confirmed
Cowon A3, delayed until January 2008!! [rofl]
http://www.portacomp.ch/index.html?/html/content/iAudio.htm?/html/nav/nav_marken.html?marken_cowon_iaudio
thunndarr
11-06-2007, 21:34
Well, I've been checking the Korean shopping sites basically every day to see if the A3 is listed and lo and behold, it's finally listed. However, there isn't a price yet, which means it's not actually for sale. But I would assume that it's a few weeks away at most (in Korea.)
Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/07/cowons-all-singing-all-dancing-a3-november-14th/) Says NOV 14th
And about us$387 30gb, us$465 60gb[thumbsup]
Finally, A3 has been announced at korean site
http://product.cowon.com/product/COWONA3/product_page_1.php
zaphanathpaneah
11-07-2007, 05:35
well this is good. It only took 18 months but....still good.
SEANprizzle
11-07-2007, 11:13
Ripped from Engadget:
Rumored forever before its CES debut in January, Cowon is finally releasing their A3 personal media player. So tell us oh gentle reader, was the DaVinci chipset; 4-inch, 16M color, 480x272 800 x 480 (!!) pixel display; USB host; FM radio and recorder; MPEG-4 video recorder; 1280 x 720 HD output; and vast codec support including DivX, FLAC, OGG, and wide variety of lossless audio worth the wait? Available November 14th in 30GB and 60GB flavors for ₩349,000 (about $387) and ₩419,000 (about $465), respectively.
zaphanathpaneah
11-07-2007, 15:38
Ripped from Engadget:
Rumored forever before its CES debut in January, Cowon is finally releasing their A3 personal media player. So tell us oh gentle reader, was the DaVinci chipset; 4-inch, 16M color, 480x272 800 x 480 (!!) pixel display; USB host; FM radio and recorder; MPEG-4 video recorder; 1280 x 720 HD output; and vast codec support including DivX, FLAC, OGG, and wide variety of lossless audio worth the wait? Available November 14th in 30GB and 60GB flavors for ₩349,000 (about $387) and ₩419,000 (about $465), respectively.
yeah...I read that in the post above. What do you think though...about the release date?
SEANprizzle
11-07-2007, 16:30
wellllll Z... I'm guessing this COULD really be legit. Dasper from post 91 claims Pixmania has the ship date listed as the 12th (close enough).
IF I purchase this, it'll be my first Cowon product so I'm a little nervous. I think I will wait for some of the pros here in the community to really pick it apart before getting it. $465 for a 6 gig is ALLOT of lap dances!! It's almost as much as an 80gig PS3 and that has Blu-ray. Damn...
zaphanathpaneah
11-08-2007, 11:20
wellllll Z... I'm guessing this COULD really be legit. Dasper from post 91 claims Pixmania has the ship date listed as the 12th (close enough).
IF I purchase this, it'll be my first Cowon product so I'm a little nervous. I think I will wait for some of the pros here in the community to really pick it apart before getting it. $465 for a 6 gig is ALLOT of lap dances!! It's almost as much as an 80gig PS3 and that has Blu-ray. Damn...
:-) Dude you are funny? Hey lap dance are hot but they last only a few mins (more if you sell you car). But anyway you are right it's allot for ONLY 60gb of storage. Min is only 30gb and that is not enough. I too will wait for the reviews before I take the plundge.
November 14th? I'll believe it when I see it. COWON has cried wolf before, and we all came running. It's probably just another fake release date to get our hopes up and stop us from thinking at the new Zune which comes out on the same date.
November 14th? I'll believe it when I see it. COWON has cried wolf before, and we all came running. It's probably just another fake release date to get our hopes up and stop us from thinking at the new Zune which comes out on the same date.
True, but the zune is a completely different player to this, you have to convert files and use their software, the a3 will be drag and drop no converting 99% of formats
Hi everyone. Pixmania adjusted delivery date from 12/Nov to 23/Nov for my order of A3-60GB.
SEANprizzle
11-09-2007, 06:48
I thought it was the Chinese who did the water torture[devil] That was where they would tie a prisoner down and slowly drop cold water on their head until they went crazy[cursing]
It turns out they learned this from the Cowon Marketing Dynasty. At least with the Chinese technique you could see when the water was coming...
SEANprizzle
11-09-2007, 06:50
February.....drip...........July.....drip......... November..........drip
True, but the zune is a completely different player to this, you have to convert files and use their software, the a3 will be drag and drop no converting 99% of formats
True, but at least the Zune will exist.. the A3 almost seems like vapourware now. Personally, I won't be watching much video on the A3 anyways - mostly listening to MP3s. Cowon lost me.
AFAIK the A3 is out in Korea, cowons homeland.
But yeah if you won't be using it for video then it'd be a waste of money.
soccer2668
11-14-2007, 17:14
i just email cowon and they said at the end of this month or early next month. i know we have heard it before but it might be different now because christmas is coming up and its listed on the uk website. so who knows?
so who knows?
cowon doesnt thats for sure[rolleyes]
Hi everyone.
Pixmania revised again delivery date of my order to 5/Dec. In the meantime, AdvancedMP3Players web has now the A3 listed and their date is 12/Dec.
Prices are about the same in both sites
pacers721
11-28-2007, 17:36
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9825093-1.html?tag=cnetfd.blogs.item
soccer2668
11-29-2007, 11:24
wow i hope this is true. i email cowon a week ago and i got a response that the a3 should be available in early December as well.
Pricing announced via Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/29/cowon-a3-us-launch-details-revealed/)
us$349 for 30gb (wtf may as well keep the a2)
us$399 for 60gb
So what were you all worried about[biggrin]
Available now in the Netherlands.
soccer2668
12-05-2007, 23:22
at which website?
also what websites out there currently have the a3 on it? this question includes all foreign websites. im interested to see where all the countries stand compared to the US.
at which website?
also what websites out there currently have the a3 on it? this question includes all foreign websites. im interested to see where all the countries stand compared to the US.
http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17907
at which website?
also what websites out there currently have the a3 on it? this question includes all foreign websites. im interested to see where all the countries stand compared to the US.In the Netherlands at mp3spelers.nl (http://www.mp3spelers.nl/index/category?id=14), €398 and €448 for 30GB and 60GB respectively.
http://mp3-prehravace.heureka.cz/prehravac-mp3-mp4-emgeton-cowon-a3-60gb/porovnani-cen/
http://www.seznamzbozi.cz/mp3-prehravace-c3147/cowon-a3-30gb-p18097780.html
there are currently 2 60gb models on amazon.co.uk for £319
Cowon A3 now selling in Japan!
http://www.cowonjapan.com/product_wide/product_A3_feature.php
lets go to Japan then...:-)[biggrin]
WhatWhat
12-10-2007, 21:36
The A3 is listed for sale at JetMall.net
The A3 is listed for sale at JetMall.net
http://www.jetmall.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=382
http://www.jetmall.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=383
Right on COWON's pricing of $350/30GB, $400/60GB. No case this time though, unlike the A2 :(
Says silver... Does that mean the Black might come out after all?
I should have mine by Monday. It was shipped on Tuesday. I have to start ripping my DVD's (oh...yeah ...I mean yeah my home made DVD's...)
A3 is widely available now and price is known. I'm unstickying this thread.
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