When will Cowon be offering a device that uses AA battery?

[608zz]

I love my iAudio G3. However, I need one that has 4+GB of flash memory. When will Cowon offer this or something similar that uses the AA-standard?

I don't want anything that charges via USB, and probably won't even settle for something that uses the AAA-standard.

If Cowon doesn't offer a flash-based device that runs on the AA-standard and has no limits on the number of files/folders it can have., I will be going with whatever company will produce one.

[LiaFail]

I completely agree with you. I would even consider a 2 gig at this point, if the file/folder limitation is removed. I am looking for an AA-only powered DAP. Why was the G5 not released? I have been holding off purchase awaiting information from Cowon about an upgrade to its G3, or a larger flash based, AA-supported, WMA-DRM support device. I too may have to look elsewhere owing to no response from Cowon.

[608zz]

Yeah, I too might settle for a 2GB if the file/folder limitation was solved. It's certainly possible, as the U3 has shown.

Cowon could put the U3's CPU into the G3. Why won't they do that?

It's a sad thing to see only news of video players from Cowon. Are they dropping out of the personal audio market?

It would be nice to hear something positive from Cowon regarding a AA-powered personal audio device.

[notguilty]

I think it may need some work. Apple did 4GB, getting around the hardware limitations by using a HDD chip. I don't know how technically difficult that is, but I imagine it is technical issues like that that keep Cowon, and other Asian creators* from making such players.

* since even US and Canadian companies manufacture in east Asian countires, I'm loath to use words that are too similar to manufacture.

If they aren't selling, they'd have to drop out--but if that were the case, why the I6? If they do drop out, from whom will we get quality DRM-free DAPs?

[608zz]

Come-on, Cowon, up the memory of the G3. MobiBLAH and lots of others can do it, why can't you? Change the CPU if that's what it takes.

[Levander]

Is anybody mass producing flash drives over 2GB? I bet if it was available, Cowon would be doing it. You notice that when one company moves up to the next size of storage in their DAP, all the other companies soon follow? It's because Toshiba or Samsung or somebody that manufactures those things have found that prices for the parts they purchase to make that stuff has fallen enough that it's affordable enough to manufacture and sell them at a price point consumers will pay. Then, all the DAP manufacturers just purchase the drives from the companies that are producing the drives.

The reason for using proprietary batteries over AA or even AAA is that you can often make the proprietary battery much smaller than the standard sizes. Think about those little circular batteries you see for watches and stuff, and how much smaller they are than the standard size batteries.

[608zz]

Cowon already has a 2GB flash device, the U3. They used to even offer a 2GB version of the iAudio G3, but the Sigmatel STMP-3500 series CPUs (what's in the G3, i5, U2, and F1) have a quirk which limits the number of files to 650 and number of folders to 50, which in turn would put a damper on making use of much more than 1.5GB of the 2GB. I want Cowon to either fix this quirk, or make a successor to the G3 which uses non-limited CPU (such as the one in the U3).

I have plenty of reasons to choose the AA-standard over a proprietary battery. Device size is no excuse for Cowon not making a successor to the G3. Examine the G3. It's only 17mm thick, and certainly small enough. I consider the other flash devices to be too small, since they can't use the AA-standard. Last time I examined those button batteries, I noticed that they have relatively little power compared to the AA-standard or even the AAA-standard. The AA-standard is the king for flash devices. I hope Cowon continues to recognise it as such.

[skinklizard]

I can't find one any where… at any price!

My 2G G3 was perfect – till it was stolen, and I find another…

Alternatively, a removable Li-ION or Li-Polymer battery would be acceptable as long as it had an external charger and the batteries were readily available. Something like the batteries Canon has with their IXUS cameras would be great. Surely this would be simple enough to develop?

It really does suck when you’re out and about with a flat battery… removable batteries negate this problem altogether.

Come on Cowon!!!!

[Freddie__J]

Originally Posted by 608zz

If Cowon doesn't offer a flash-based device that runs on the AA-standard and has no limits on the number of files/folders it can have., I will be going with whatever company will produce one.

Haven't you realized by now that no company has been able to make a Flash, AA-standard MP3 player with no limits on number of files/folders or the length of files it will play?

Apparently that is 65th century technology because no one has been able to pull it off.

Netlibrary is a free Audio Book service that offers free Audio Books yet there aren't any flash players available that will play the files and/or display the correct time, not because it is some strange format . They won't play simply because the files are too big. I'm not talking bigger than the capacity of the MP3 player. An Average Audio Book from NetLibray is 145MB.

Although a 1GB play may be able to play 5,000,000 hours of songs, it can only play 2 minutes of any one file. If it is longer than that, it won't play, or the resume function won't work, or it won't display the time so there is no way to stop it and come back to where you were, or as in the case with Iriver, it will get 4 hours into the book and then reboot and start over.

Yes the MP3 player companies can give you a built in FM radio (if we want that we would buy a radio instead of an MP3 player), a voice recorder, a fireplace, a kitchen sink, and a home gym, all built into their MP3 players but they can't figure out how to make a 1 GB player play a 140MB file and display the correct time, even with "Plays for Sure" technology.

This is true with all MP3 makers including Creative, Iriver, Scandisk, Panasonic, Toshiba, Cowon, etc etc etc.

The AA standard battery technology has been an especially tough technical obstacle to get past as evident by the few number of MP3 players that have it.

I guess it is better to have built in batteries with low play hours that have to be charged as a way of keeping people from using their MP3 players too much. Why should you be able to use your MP3 player at anytime? With the AAA batteries you can use it everytime but if you want to use your MP3 player everyday at work for 8 hours, you need to buy 8,000 batteries per month or be constantly recharging a rechargheable.

An AA battery is slightly bigger than an AAA but provides much more play time. I have heard complaints of bad battery covers on some players so perhaps the reason to go with AAA was so there is more chance of breaking the battery cover and then having to buy a new player or send the broken one in for repairs new to the frequent need to change the battery out.

With all the bigger players like Ipods out there, no one can claim the AAA is to keep the unit small. With all the different MP3 players made, why not have some small, some slightly bigger using AAA, and some even bigger units with the built in rechargeables?

Yes there are millions of MP3 players with all kinds of options but nobody has been able to pull of making one with the basics.

Simply making an MP3 player that will play any length of file as long as it fits with in the memory capacity is a no brainer yet no one has been able to do it. Doing so would not affect those people who don't want to play big files so I don't know why this can't be done.

Laziness or just technically ignorant would be my guess. If Windows Media Player 10 can do it, why can't any MP3 players?

The MP3 player companies should be ashamed of themselves.

I had sent back my Iriver for not being able to play long files and was going to go with an Iaudio G3 until I found out it either won't display the file time correctly or not at all depending on the audio book.

I have now gone back to a portable CD player and am waiting to see if any MP3 company can at least come up with 15th Century technology.
Maybe in another 500 years they will.

[Freddie__J]

Originally Posted by Levander

Is anybody mass producing flash drives over 2GB? I bet if it was available, Cowon would be doing it.

Scandisk is selling a 4GB flash but the technology to use a standard AA battery has eluded them. Technical stupidity at it's greatest.

The reason for using proprietary batteries over AA or even AAA is that you can often make the proprietary battery much smaller than the standard sizes. Think about those little circular batteries you see for watches and stuff, and how much smaller they are than the standard size batteries.

Then why aren't they using a circular watch battery? Who cares how small the battery is when the majority of MP3 players like Ipods are 15 times bigger than a AA standard battery. No, the ONLY reason for a proprietary battery is to force the customer to 1. Buy an entire new MP3 player when the battery will no longer take a charge and 2. To make money off of inflated repair costs to replace the proprietary battery.

We aren't talking about needing 10 batteries like would be needed for a laptop and hence the proprietary battery in those devices. They make giant MP3 players with propriety batteries and minature ones with low life AAA batteries but they can't or won't make an AA battery MP3 player.

Instead of making bogus excuses for their laziness or technical incompetence why not encourage them to take a basic electronics class so they can at least move into the 18th century.

[Freddie__J]

By the way, I would pay $1000 for a 1 GB flash player that will play long files and display the time correctly along with a resume feature that uses standard AA batteries. I would pay $1500 for the same thing with bookmarking feature. No radio, no recording, no big color screen, just a basic MP3 player as desribed above. Apparently even for this price it is beyond the capabilities of the MP3 players.

[cygig]

Me G3 fan. Simple: Battery. I listen to average 3 to 4 hours of music a day and it can last me a week. No worries about battery when i travel overseas, no need for charger, laptop or wat...AA batteries are avail worldwide.

2GB and above will be fine with me, colour screen will be cool. The files and folder limit dun bother me.