Cowon iAudio D2
For
Decent music and movie performance; very portable; impressive battery life
Against
Screen is small, poor off-axis and prone to smudging; fiddly menu system
We gave this unit a four-star review back in April 2007, complimenting it on its smooth picture performance and impressive 52-hour battery life.
So why the loss of a star? With the fierce competition that's appeared since that initial test, certain of the Cowon's drawbacks are more obvious and jarring.
The touchscreen interface is a nice novelty, but the screen tends to get smudged and covered in fingerprints very quickly, while the menus are complex and fiddly compared to rivals.
Additionally, at 2.5in, it's a very small screen compared to the current leaders, while off-axis viewing is very poor indeed. You'll find you have to hold it straight on and close to your face to get a decent image.
That said, both sound and vision are very passable, and the D2 is a compact unit that'll fit any pocket. But now, there's better kit out there.