Cowon iAudio D2

Launch price £150.00

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Stuff says

An astoundingly versatile little player and a genuine threat for the iRiver U10. Only some poor design choices and compatibility issues hold it back from pocket domination

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The world of portable video has much in common with the music jukebox market. Just as Apple sits haughtily above its MP3 foes, so French company Archos rightly dominates the PMP scene.

This is no bad thing: it means us gadgeteers can ignore what the masses are pocketing, and search for a plucky underdog to back. And no dog is more overlooked than that of Cowon, maker of a charming new player called the D2.  

Small wonder
The D2 has much in common with iRiver’s wonderful U10. Both players are weeny – the Cowon is marginally taller and wider – and come in 2GB and 4GB flavours. They also initially seem way too small to watch video on, but the D2 is deceptive: its screen is the same size as an iPod’s, with space saved by the inclusion of a touch-screen.

This is where the D2 really differs from the U10, whose ‘D-Click’ system conceals buttons in the screen’s frame. The touchscreen works well enough, but there is one downside: Cowon has tethered the guitar pick-esque stylus to one corner with a piece of elastic. Not exactly beautiful.

All if forgiven, though, when you see the quality of the screen. Like the U10, it’s a QVGA number, but is capable of displaying 16 million colours and playing 30 fps video. In short, it’s really quite special.