COWON A3 Expert Reviews

Records audio, video, voice, and radio content. Sharp photo and video display. Strong file support. Excellent EQ.

Poorly designed joystick controller. Big and bulky. Mobile TV options are not available in the U.S.

This big portable media player does plenty of neat tricks, including recording video. It also had a big, bright screen, and its navigation feels similar to that of an Archos device, but more evolved.

The A3's main rivals are the Archos 605 WiFi and the Creative Zen Vision:W, and the A3 trumps them both in most respects..

Lots of file format compatibility; beautiful LCD display, great audio and video quality

Joystick navigation is difficult; confusing interface; short battery life; no Bluetooth or WiFi

The Cowon A3 portable video player (PVP) offers outstanding audio and video format support; a sharp, colorful screen; the most attractive Cowon user interface we've seen; built-in video output; video and audio recording capabilities; and superb audio qual...

The Cowon A3 is cursed with a clumsy joystick interface; a highly reflective screen; no support for DRM-protected media; and archaic music sorting. It's also a little on the chubby side.

The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be a...

Remarkable sound, a stunning display, recording capabilities, and support for a wide range of file formats make the Cowon A3 a strong PMP contender.

Gorgeous display, Rich sound, Compatible with wide array of A/V formats

Clumsy joystick control, No support for DRM services

Archos pushes the definition of portability with this hardcover-sized player featuring its own keyboard and Wi-Fi.

Recording straight from TV rocks. The sharp resolution is sweetly addictive. Piles on features, including an FM tuner, radio and voice recording, and AV out. Substantial six hours of battery life while playing video.

Awkward joystick control induces endless errors. Gets hot during use, making it ideal for cold flights or lonely Arctic expeditions.

The Cowon A3 is the most capable video player we've looked at to date. It has the best screen we have ever seen on any media player. Playback for most videos is smooth and glitch-free and audio quality is close to perfect, supporting multiple codecs, maki...

Price; image quality; sound quality; amazing video and audio codec support; support for DVD VOB files; direct video and audio hard disk recording and encoding

Mini joystick is unbearable; HD video is nowhere near as nice to use as Cowon claims; no kickstand

Certainly the most capable handheld video player we've seen to date. With its unrivalled screen and codec support, its direct recording capabilities and its ability to playback DVD video files without transcoding, Cowon's A3 is a well-priced behemoth for

With a big, bright screen that looks great when playing videos and a 10-band equaliser, the 30GB Cowon A3 is an impressive multimedia player.

If you're looking for a single portable device to carry both your audio and video files, the Cowon A3 probably isn't your best choice. But as a portable video player, the A3 has just about everything you could want - if you can tolerate the tiny joystick

Can Cowon's latest PMP take on the best of the rest and come out on top?

The A3 is such a multi-talented media player that it's hard to knock it too much for the battery life. If its sheer power and flexibility you're after, the A3 has no peer, but taken with the other shortcomings - its lack of style, old-fashioned physical i...