Digital Trends

Cowon iAudio X5 20GB October 6th, 2005 | by Ian Bell

The iAudio X5 comes in two flavors, a 20GB model that goes for $300 and a larger 30GB model priced only $50 dollars higher at $350. The 30GB version includes an inline remote control and a charging cradle. When physically compared to an Apple iPod photo, the Cowon iAudio X5 is about the same size, measuring in at 4.1” by 2.4” by .06” and weighing only 5.4 ounces. Screen size is about the same as the iPod photo at 2 inches, but other than its physical dimensions, the similarities really stop there. The 2-inch LCD screen is capable of up to a 160x128 resolution and can display up to 260,000 colors. Whereas the iPod photo uses a touch sensitive wheel for navigation and control, the X5 uses a tiny metallic joystick for getting around. 

The build quality of the X5 is probably the nicest we have seen, featuring a scratch resistant exterior coating with metal trim, the look is very appealing.  The right side of the player has your play/pause, Rec/A-B and power/hold and reset buttons, while the left side of the player houses the headphones jack and USB host controller. There is a single slot on the bottom of the player which is where the included adapter plugs into. This adapter will be very precious to you since it has the AC adapter plug, USB connection, and line-in/out jacks. You might even want to buy an extra adapter in case you lose this one, otherwise you are screwed. Adapters can be purchased from the company’s website for only $9 dollars, which seems pretty reasonable.

Audio enthusiasts will fall in love with the X5 since it supports MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV and MPEG4 (video) formats. Sorry, no AAC love here, but at least it supports FLAC and OGG. The X5 comes with an FM radio receiver and lets you either record the radio station you are listening to, or your voice, using the line-in recording connection. Other file formats supported by the X5 include Text files, and JPEG picture files, including image enlargement. ID3V2, ID3V1 and filename tags are supported by the X5 as well.

One surprise that hit us is that not only is the X5 compatible with the Windows operating system, but MAC OS and Linux v 2.2 users can also use the X5, although this only includes file transfer since the Cowon software is only compatible with Windows. However, since the X5 is viewed as a mass storage device, this is all you really need anyway. For a complete list of features, please visit the X5 product page at the Cowon American website.