Cowon D3 - The (unfortunate) review

[globiboulga]

Originally Posted by Digital Pride

"A piece of s***" Really? Don't you think you're exaggerating just a little bit? Don't get me wrong, the system is laggy and has some bugs to iron out, but to say that it is the WORST is in my opinion not very objective and as someone who knows Cowon's history a little short sighted.
Cowon's players are nutorious for being buggy at first release, from the X5 to the J3. While it is an annoyance to have to deal with bugs, we put up with it for two reasons-one because Cowon ALWAYS improves their players through numerous firmware updates, two its players media playback is SUPERB almost bar none. While I admit that it is a bit suprising that the player has this many bugs(or so you say) many if not all of these issues will corrected with firmware updates.
I apologize if I seem combative but I find the new D3 to be a device with a great deal of potential with the possibilty of being Cowon's best player yet. So I ask that we not condemn it just yet until we see what the finished product will be.

Within the first 5 hours, the player frooze a total of seven times on me. SEVEN. The music application was more responsive than expected, but you would notice stuttering and occasional hiccups while the music was playing - seriously? The player spends 4 to 5 minutes "working" on the media library everytime you start it, during which time you'd better wait if you don't want to freeze it cold again. Everytime you try to multitask, it struggles... Don't get me wrong here, i LOVE Cowon products, but putting a player in that state on the market is a disgrace. And I've lived through buggy/laggy S9, D2 and never really care for the Cowon UI problems before...

Then again hang on there, an update review with the new firmware - which specifically addresses some of the point noted in the review is coming... But I rate a product that I think is finished. The point about the firmware updates or waiting for finished product is invalid. This should be the finished product. What do you think the lambda person will say in the street. I was one of the first to get an X5 and while it had bugs, it was a perfectly usable player out of the box... This is very different here. I'm not rooting it, I'm not tinkering, I am trying to do basic activities, and it's difficult!!!

[globiboulga]

Originally Posted by simmo

Having one on pre-order I am most disappointed to hear the rumours are true. The freezing is of great concern to me, so much so that I will probably cancel my order until more reviews with the new firmware. It should have been better tested. We have just came out of a recession and expecting people to pay £280 for this will do little for Cowon which is a great shame. Why is the firmware not fixing these issues?

Simmo, the new firmware is an improvement. I had a few small "hanging" periods, but none of the real freezes I experienced with the base firmware. I'll update the review tonight. And yes, the player plays 1080p content PERFECTLY fine. And is very responsive when using the seek bar as well during playback. Let's put it this way: the video part if flawless, the audio section has some tethering issues (hiccups and some "cracking" where you feel something in the background is causing is to stutter) and the overall Android experience feels sluggish and unrefined.

[Digital Pride]

Originally Posted by globiboulga

Within the first 5 hours, the player frooze a total of seven times on me. SEVEN.

Seven times?! Wow. Hmm... tough to defend that.... I quess I can understand your frustration, I mean that's just bad! I hope that it's just a really buggy unit you got there and not something that'll be the norm.

[globiboulga]

Review updated with new firmware - See post #2

[folksoter]

Originally Posted by globiboulga

Review updated with new firmware - See post #2

WOOOW that's a good news . can you post some videos please?

[Digital Pride]

Originally Posted by globiboulga

PS2: Still no freezes so far (lag) with the latest firmware!!! Looks like we're ready to never use that reset button again!

See? Just like I told ya, Cowon's firmware upgrade to the rescue!

[globiboulga]

Originally Posted by Digital Pride

See? Just like I told ya, Cowon's firmware upgrade to the rescue!

We can debate on the Cowon beta strategy ad nauseum, but while there are improvements, it does not excuse releasing a player with barely usable features and such significant issues as playback stuttering (which are still very much present)... And again, I am REALLY impressed by the sound coming out of the player, REALLY. It's like I'm back to my X5 days, or I'm using my S9 with my Corda Headsix. And just for that alone we are now back to 50/50 sending it back. It'll be a coin toss tonight, I imagine.

[doniago]

Really, imagine if Apple released sub-par products because they relied on their fan-base to wait them out while they worked out the kinks...

...oh, wait a minute...

[simmo]

Thanks for doing the second part of the review. I will pospone my purchase at best as there are other items on the market that i can wait for. I did want the D3 sound and the video codec support but maybe they will sort out the lag. Thanks again much appreciated.

[tulient]

To be honest, I would probably still buy the d3 as horrible as it looks if it were more pocketable like the J3.

Do we really need 4 inch screens on everything these days?

[dfkt]

4 inches for video, sure.

For audio, get the J3.

[tulient]

Originally Posted by dfkt

4 inches for video, sure.

For audio, get the J3.

No. I want cowon sound and android on the same device.

[LukesRamen]

Originally Posted by tulient

No. I want cowon sound and android on the same device.

He wasn't forcing you

[globiboulga]

Uploading a video on YouTube. Will post the link on first post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqDsTCjeFcU

Note that I did not test the applications I tried at the end. Just grabbed the apks and installed et voila!
Video shown is 1080p.

[tirim4]

Loos a lot smoother thoug the ocasional lag when pressing next in music player for example seems really annoying and should be at the top of the Cowon firmware developers list of work.