D2 Inital thoughts

[Gabble]

I got a D2 beautifully presented as a Christmas present after dropping many hints. I’d done my research as to what alternatives were available when deliberately avoiding, for inexplicable reasons, anything that keeps the doctor away.
The only MP3 player of any note I’ve owned is the Sony NWA-3000 20 gig version - black, sleek, just lovely to look at, but crazy when it comes to adding tracks and simply getting it to interface with the PC in a user friendly manner. And the volume restrictions a pain! But enough about Sony; it had its time, its place, but it’s time to move on.
So Cowon D2, selected with the FM radio instead of the DAB, mainly as I’m not at all up on DAB; I think our location is poor on reception, and in my own mind I couldn’t justify the price difference - so the FM would suffice.
From what I wish for in an MP3 device the D2 is pretty near perfect. Perhaps a little more storage space would be nice, but really 16gig with expandable SD support is sufficient when being realistic.
I managed to make friends with the D2 fairly quickly on Christmas morning once I’d got the language set right. The user interface is logical, the sound quality exceptional - I’ve only used the stylus on the touch screen thus far as I think I need to invest in some of the much vaunted screen protectors. I might worry about the longevity of the lovely miniature screen, but the device seems robust enough and how long it’ll last will no doubt be down to luck or misuse on my part. Why should I be worrying about that when I should just be enjoying what the D2 can offer?
I like audiobooks and so far it has handled all I’ve thrown at it – playing the chapters in perfect order and remembering where I was when I sleepily switched it off the night before. These are the simple things that it succeeds at without any trouble. I’ll mention the battery at this point. Not that I’m one for monitoring or even remembering when it was last charged, but it does seem to just last and last, and although I’ve had it plugged into the USB on my PC for copying tracks across I haven’t needed to plug the wall charger in since day one.
I’ve played around with AVI files - just to see what it could do – the bundled ’jetmail’ software had no issue with converting all sorts of video formats – and the D2 displayed them all nicely on the perfect little screen. I could become suspicious. I’ve worked out how to navigate files and upload album art, although the instructions in the box certainly didn’t help, and the album art only worked for me as a drag and drop option; perhaps I’m not doing it right. But that’s one of the nice things about the D2 – there are a few ways of doing the same thing or getting the same output, but it’s nice to discover and learn, and allow your knowledge of the device to evolve through time. That way you don’t get bored with picking it up and feeling almost smug as you click away at the touchscreen.
I heartily recommend the D2 to anyone who doesn’t want a slice of apple in their life. It might not have behind it the design resource of Apple or even Sony, but it undoubtedly has character and carries with it the credentials of a company not quite at the zenith of their mass produced output, and as a consequence take a little more care over the needs of their customer base or potential clientele. A device worthy of challenging its mass market cousins, and surpassing them on actually listening instead of trying to dictate.

[paragon]

Nice post im also very very pleased with my d2 ive only got 2gb ! but it was <£50 new so couldnt resist (may have to order a 16gb card soon) havnt done anything with video mines purely for the audio quality and with the cheapo fiio amp and the ultrasones its jaw droppingly good

[ayume]

I just use my thumb and fingers for the touch screen, anything wrong with this?

[LighT_Sh4v0r]

Screen gets dirty, but that's all.
I do it as well.